About Lydia
I am originally from Maine, born and raised on a small island. My husband, three kids and I moved across the country to Alaska in 2021. We reside in a small, basically unpopulated area, where we love to get out into the surrounding mountains and trails. We now haul our own water, bask in the 24 hour daylight in the summer, try to stay warm in 50ºF below zero in the winter and thoroughly enjoy fresh moose and caribou meat. I am a coffee lover, seafood hater, occasional quilter, food preserver, carb enthusiast, movie buff, animal lover and moderate green-thumb gardener. The kitchen is my favorite place to be. Nothing makes me happier than the smell of fresh bread baking.
I timidly started cooking my freshman year in college, and I am mostly self-taught, with a few tips from the wonderful Kyra Alex (my mentor and friend). The photography on the blog has been quite the learning curve for me. I started out with a Canon Powershot, and have progressed to a Canon EOS Rebel T5i
About Island Bakes
I started the blog in 2013, mainly wanting to share my love of food with the world. You’ll find lots of chocolate, imperfect cakes, cookies, a sporadic salad, easy weeknight meals, homemade bread, and the occasional healthy dish. All the food on the blog is made from scratch. No boxed cake mixes here!
The blog follows my journey of food and photography. Something of which I have become more confident and willing to take more risks in, over time. On Island Bakes, you’ll find an assortment of recipes that range from very easy, to moderately difficult, depending on your skill level. My hope is to inspire you to branch out, try something different, and maybe take a few risks. Overall, I hope what you will take away from Island Bakes is, happiness, excitement, courage and enthusiasm for creating food for you or your loved ones.
If you want to see where I do all my cooking- check out my kitchen here!
Press
I was honored to be featured in the Blue Hill Co-Op Quarterly Newsletter, Autumn and Winter 2015. As well as, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter of 2016.