Open for Business

Our adventure is reaching new heights, reader! I am unbelievably enthused to announce that I was able to open Emma's Diner a full month ahead of schedule. This past weekend we opened the doors and served hundreds of visitors in a grand opening I could only call a smashing success. I am feeling invigorated and inspired, albeit incredibly sleep-deprived. My apologies, reader, if this post doesn't keep you entertained quite as long as it's predecessors. As I type these words they are blurring together so while I have so much to say I will be signing off early tonight. My boyfriend shares your frustration as he is not getting as much of me these days as he would like either.

Without risking losing you as a devoted follower by turning this journal into a shameless plugging platform for my economic endeavours, I do want to extend an invitation to you to come down to Emma's Diner and experience our old-fashioned homestyle cooking and atmosphere. I can personally guarantee you an awesome experience including a delicious meal prepared by a top chef.

If the first few days of business are any indicator, Emma's Diner is going to be a successful business with a loyal following. Our reviews have been excellent and the whole place is buzzing with the excitement of what is yet to come. Our goal is to be a 5 star restaurant within a year of our opening. Wish us luck!

XOXO
Emma

Childhood Sweethearts

My fabulous reader, I am thrilled you keep coming back. Our adventure is unfolding nicely and I can sense exciting things coming this way. Today I want to introduce someone who has been an integral part of my life for as long as I can remember.

My parents, being highly successful, belonged to an exclusive club run by the uber rich Goth family when I was growing up. Membership in the club mostly meant attending stuffy parties where you would consume strange food you had never heard of and watch the other members as they gloated and pompously patted each other on the back. The children at these parties, myself included, would seek refuge in each other's bedrooms or playrooms and participate in some chicanery or another with our parents too busy brandishing their glorious tail feathers to each other to pay any mind to what we were doing. Now, reader, I need you to understand that my parents participated in this display of hierarchical treachery in body only. My father knew how to open his tail up wide and prance around like all of the other dancing fools but on our leisurely walks home he and my mother would bring themselves to tears satirizing the whole fiasco.

For us kids, though, these socialite gatherings were something we yearned for. We eagerly awaited the next time we could leave the books and the studies on the shelf and enjoy play with others. There is an immense pressure on the children of successful people. Half of the world expects you to do great things like your parents while the other half expects you to be an entitled cad with no sense of self-worth or ambition. It would be a Nobel Prize or an orange jumpsuit. No in between. Perhaps it was this common pressure that forced us together as a tight group. We spent our time together inside and outside of school. I'm sure it would be appear from the outside that we thought ourselves too high upon the horse to interact with the other factions of students at our high school but our clique formed out of mutual insecurity and feelings of never being good enough. We shared our hopes and dreams with each other as well as our fears and darkest desires.

It was out of this unique cross we bore that Alexander Goth, the proverbial prince, and I became childhood sweethearts and eventually lovers. Our love story began while we were still in diapers and continues to this day. Nobody was more excited about my new place than Alex. He almost lives here already. At some point I will be ready to have him move in, but for right now I am happily enjoying my time to myself getting to know who I am without my parents and siblings playing such huge roles in the play. This monologue has been a long time coming and it has been well rehearsed.

My Beautiful Independent Life

XOXO

Emma

A New Start

Hello readers! I am so delighted you have returned to see how my adventure begins. Throughout my childhood I had the blessing of opportunity. From a very young age I was allowed and encouraged to explore my interests and discover new things. I dabbled in the arts, sciences and more. Two passions my mother passed along to me were gardening and cooking. She taught me from a young age that one could not truly exist without the other for a love of gardening meant you would want to enjoy the fruits of your labour, so to speak, and only an accomplished cook could do your award-winning produce justice. In the reverse, to be a true master chef, one requires access to the very best ingredients and the most obvious way to ensure this is to grow them yourself.

Before I was finished middle school, I had mastered gardening and cooking skills. Now I don't quite have the intrinsic passion for gardening that my mother has but my passion for cooking keeps my interest in garden flowing. During my sophomore year I made up my mind that cooking for others would be my life. I took cooking classes and watched cooking shows as often as my other studies would allow. I developed my own flavour pallet and began perfecting gourmet cooking skills. By the time I graduated high school, I was already impressing everyone I met with my delicious meals. I graduated with top honours and was chosen as valedictorian of my class. I shocked everyone at the ceremony when instead of announcing I would be attending Simversity and pursuing a career in one of the sciences or perhaps law I proudly informed my fellow graduates and their beloved families that I had just purchased the local diner and would be spending the summer renovating in preparations for our grand opening in September. Stay tuned for more on that!

Graduation day was everything I had dreamed and more. I had the gorgeous gown, the perfect speech and a handsome date in my long-time sweetheart Alexander Goth. The sun was shining and birds were singing as my classmates and I accepted our diplomas from our headmaster and celebrated into the wee hours of the morning. I would say it was the best day of my life if it hadn't been for the enormous surprise my parents had in store for me the following day.

The morning after graduation my parents let me sleep in until near noon. My mom had prepared eggs benedict for brunch which is my very favourite thing to eat. After breakfast my parents uncharacteristically suggested that we all go for a walk. We had only gone just a little over a block when my dad stopped at a newly built home that had popped up across the street from my new diner. He turned to me with a huge grin across his face and handed me a key ring full of keys announcing, "Congratulations on growing up! Our gift to you is your own place close to work and built just for you."

Next week I get to move into my new pink dream house and start work on the diner. I have never been more excited to start a new chapter in my life nor have I ever felt so blessed. Come along with me, reader, for an incredible journey. It is going to be one fun ride!
XOXO
Emma

Looking Back

Hello world! Growing up with a famous writer for a father has inspired me to put whatever genetic talent I may have inherited from him to good use. As I prepare to spread my proverbial wings and leap faithfully from the warm and safe nest my parents have provided me into adulthood I wish to take this opportunity to reflect upon the past. Without a doubt, I am one of the fortunate ones.

My childhood home in Newcrest. 

It might even be fair to say that I grew up with a silver spoon in my mouth, although my parents were

Family movie nights on the weekends.

diligent about nurturing all of the appropriate characteristics in myself and my siblings. My parents worked hard for the things we had and they never complained about it. They simply showed us that being dedicated and working hard reaps huge rewards. Not to say there weren't trade-offs. With a father who spent most of my childhood working as a surgeon and a mother who was practicing astrophysics in space I had to be responsible at a young age for myself and my brothers. Please, reader, do not think I am crying a river about my missed childhood. I loved my parents' ambition. It gave me something to reach for and every moment we spent together was enriching and filled with unconditional love.

We ate our meals together as often as possible. 

With a strong foundation and fierce determination I feel ready to take on the world. I am confident that many extraordinary adventures await me beyond the comfortable walls of my opulent nest. I am eager to stand on my own two feet and build my own empire. I hope you choose to join me.

XOXO
Emma