Hello, are you okay out there?? Or have we passed the point of being okay? Honestly, I've been feeling pandemic fatigue pretty hard over the last couple months. I felt like I was hitting a wall and moving around in a fog. All I wanted to do was stay in bed under the covers cuddled with my cats. I was frustrated at inanimate objects, ignored texts/calls from friends, and felt exhausted and burnt out but no amount of rest or chicken therapy was helping me feel better.

Sound familiar? What we're feeling is PANDEMIC  BURNOUT. It's caused chronic exposure to stress without a break, and the social isolation adds to the loneliness. I know I'm not alone feeling this. Everything is NOT fine, we don't have to go about as if we're okay and it's normal. This is not normal! As I started talking about it openly with others I realized that I'm not alone, started coming out of my fog and seeing rainbows again. 

So this month's edition is dedicated to hidden rainbows. It's a reminder that even though you feel exhausted and only see gray clouds inside right now, there's a rainbow inside of you and the sun will come out again.  

In This Month's Issue:

• Rainbow Bakes 
• Tips for Baking with Easter Candy
• Chicken Lady Chic Gifts Ideas 
• Egg-stra! Egg-stra! Read All About It: A roundup of vintage cookbooks and recipes. Water Pie, anyone? 

You heard it here first! Coming up in April, I'm doing an Easter collab baking project with Very Best Cookie in the Whole Wide World. You'll be able to taste and order our delicious limited time creation, delivery and shipping available. I'm so excited about this upcoming project and can't WAIT to share all the details with you. Until then, here's a preview of what we're baking up...

Bok-bok-BAKE!

Christina

P.S. Want to laugh so hard you might pee your pants? (Yes you do!) Find and click on the not-so-hidden rainbow somewhere in this issue.

Rainbow Bakes

Baking can be therapeutic to help relieve stress and anxiety. Check out Depressed Cake Shop for inspiring bakes that raise awareness for mental health. Rainbows always cheer me up so here's a few of my favorites:

Baking with Easter Candy

If only chickens laid chocolate eggs... Here's the best Easter candies to bake with and which are better left for eating. 

CHOCOLATE EGGS: Cadbury Milk Chocolate Mini Eggs are hands-down the best in terms of pastel color palette, look and how they hold up while baking. The Whopper Robin's Egg malt balls are my favorite in terms of flavor and looks, but they did NOT bake well. The malt inside disintegrated in the heat and left sad pastel puddles. In the Peanut Butter category: M&M's Peanut Butter Eggs are all great but I'm not a fan of the color palette. Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs are delicious and great to bake with but missing the pretty pastel colors. 

PEEPS: The Bunny-shaped Peeps will hold up best while baking so they're recognizable. Chick Peeps look like a pastel blob after baking. When's the last time you played Peep Wars in the microwave? I really miss the Washington Post's Peep Diorama Contest.

CREME EGGS: If fondant filled chocolate eggs are your jam, Cadbury is the only brand that matters. Try this Scotch Creme Egg encased in chocolate brownie crumbs or Creme Egg Millionaire's Shortbread.

JELLY BEANS: Big, small, I like them all! I live for the Starburst Jelly Beans but love how pretty the Brach's Speckled Jelly Bird Eggs look. Try this Jellybean Sugar Cookie from Sally's Baking Addiction.

Chicken Lady Chic

Haven't you heard? Chicken lady chic is all the rage. Support rad independent artists!

Egg-stra! Egg-stra! Read All About It

A roundup of egg-citing and weirdly wonderful news to tickle your curiosity