08/31/2026
I don’t think I’ve shared much about this on this page, but I think you guys should know about a pretty special person who is a huge part of my story.
My friend, my godmother, one of my biggest supporters, and now my angel — my Aunt Lori.
Lori was my mom’s best friend from the time they were kids, through their teenage years and well into adulthood. Because of that, I was lucky enough to have her in my life from the very beginning, for more than 20 years.
And then she was stolen from us far too soon.
An aggressive cancer took her just weeks after she was diagnosed, and there are still moments when it doesn’t feel real.
If there are a few things you should know about Lori, it’s that she loved bread, she lived life unapologetically, and she somehow managed to be an introverted extrovert — someone who could live a little in the shadows while still having a presence you couldn’t miss. She was someone I admired, loved, and related to in so many ways.
And she LOVED pink.
If you know me, you know I’m pretty heavily tattooed. But not a single tattoo on my body has color in it except for one tiny pink heart on my left hand. That one is for Lori.
Pink is probably my least favorite color on the planet, which makes it almost funny that it has become one of the colors that means the most to me. But when someone you love leaves this earth, you find them in things. For some people it’s butterflies, cardinals, certain songs or sunsets.
For me, it’s pink.
Tonight I was driving to the bakery,
something that still feels surreal to even say, and the entire sky was glowing pink. And I cried.
I just looked up and said, “Hey Lori. Thanks for cheering me on all these years. I really wish you were here to see this, but I know you’re screaming for me from heaven.”
There are so many people I wish could walk through those bakery doors when we open, but damn, I wish she could be one of them. I know she would’ve been one of the first in line, probably ready to tell everyone she knew that her girl opened a bakery.
So hold your people tight. Say the things. Chase the dream earlier than you think you’re ready to. Love people loudly and live your life unapologetically.
Time moves fast, and sometimes it’s stolen from us far too quickly.
And when the sky turns pink, I’ll keep looking up. 🩷