It's Your Captain, Hannah, Speaking
Baby's first newsletter and a little about me (if you care)
Welcome all to the newsletter I’ve been putting off for over a year!
Not because I don’t want to be here, but simply because creating food (+ travel) content is… hard. Coming from someone who has spent the past 11+ years in marketing, seven of those specifically in social media marketing… I had zero clue about this level of hustle.
Until you’re strategizing your own content calendar, developing (and testing) recipes, drafting blogs (FIGURING OUT how to run a blog *still doing btw*), capturing, editing, and analysing content, and so much more… Phew, you may think you know, but I promise you, you don’t.
The idea of adding a newsletter to the mix, no matter how potentially worthy of a cause? Well, it’s just felt a bit daunting.
But then I figured, it doesn’t have to be. This can be my time to shine my not-so-serious nature. I don’t have to worry about meta descriptions or SEO or if my mango shortbread is stacked sexily enough to photograph. I can just flowww here, and hopefully you like it.
Obviously, while sharing all the newest recipes, trip adventures, and ramblings in between.
To kick things off, figured I’d go the classic route and give you some BTS about little old me:
Once upon a time, in a land far away… just kidding, but how is it that I graduated college over a decade ago?? I mean, aging is a privilege, but my gahd it do be flying.
I’ll press the fast-forward button slightly, past the Bachelor’s I completed (though I really wanted to go to culinary school). Past the first semester of school I completed in NYC before deciding not to be completely $$$ destitute by the end of those years (among other reasons), and finish out my schooling in North Carolina, where I grew up.
I’ve had a love for baking for as long as I can remember. I mean, I made waffles so much as a kid, I had the recipe memorized. From scratch, of course, though I did grow up in a Betty Crocker household.
I ended up moving back to NYC in my mid-twenties. Honestly, the best thing I’ve ever done for myself. Fast forward a few more years, and I was really burned out. My job was absolutely crushing me, and the pulse of the city just wasn’t doing it anymore. Sometimes you just want to sit in your apartment, without feeling guilty that you should be out and about with all the people you can hear milling around, OK??
So, I made a plan (as any type A person who’s good with her money does). I knew I had a window of time before I needed to re-sign my lease in the spring of 2023, and I didn’t want to sign on that dotted line for another year. I thought through all the adventures I wanted to take, that might take a minute, and picked the ones that would fit together best.
I found a sublet for my apartment, put in my notice a few months later, and once I finished my last day of work on a Friday, I was on a flight to Quito, Ecuador, the following Tuesday. Kicking off two months backpacking solo around South America.
After South America, I was back stateside for about 10 days before heading out on part one of two US/Canada road trips. The first was with my mom, the second with friends. Oh, and I buzzed my hair off in between, for another bucket list check mark. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
I finished out the year with the biggest of bucket list items: pastry school. Now, pastry school looks different everywhere. I completed a six-week certificate course in Scotland, at the, now closed, Edinburgh School of Food & Wine. During the week, I was in the kitchen learning different techniques and recipes. On the weekend, I was exploring Scotland, from Edinburgh to Dunkeld (possibly the cutest town I came across), Glencoe to the Isle of Skye.
The weather was absolute trash most of the time, but man, Scotland… when you can see it… a stunner.
With that, I still would consider myself very much a home baker. I’ve never worked in a professional kitchen - outside of my time yelling menu counts to the line cooks, as a hostess in college.
I flew back on Christmas Day and spent the remainder of December brainstorming my options. At the time, going back to the world of corporate held not only zero appeal but deep anxiety. My fellow highly-skilled-multi-taskers-who-can-handle-more-work-than-most… You need to let ‘em know it’s not all on you, babe.
I’d loved spending the last two months in a kitchen learning everything I could, while also exploring so many new places over the better part of a year. (To note, this wasn’t my first travel rodeo. My first solo trip was to South Africa for two months right after college, and I’ve been squeezing in adventures ever since.)
My first thought was: “I’ll make baking boxes.” You know, those pretty, custom boxes that you curate monthly for one-off purchases or work with brands to create unique spreads. Tried it. Gonna be honest, I hated it. It took the fun out of baking for me. This need to have perfect bakes, in perfect boxes, tied with perfect ribbons. Pass.
After lots of research, trial and error, and, honestly, having the idea for accent golden in my head for years, I landed in the content + website space. The first blog I ever had was during my time studying abroad in Limoges. But I kept putting off accent golden, feeling too overwhelmed with everything else to put the time in.
Ina Garten explained my brain so perfectly in her memoir when (paraphrasing here) she learned that for her to create something new, she needed everything else off the table first.
Now here I am, over a year later, hustling my buns off, learning a bajillion new things every week, and squinting for the light at the end of the tunnel, confirming that we can turn this into a stable, full-time shindig.
So huge thanks for being here. From likes and comments to clicks and reviews, I see it all and really truly appreciate it. You is kind, you is smart, and you is very important to me.
Now, if you’ve made it this far, it’s now time for the most fun icebreaker of them all, two truths and a lie. Comment which one you think is a lie (if you’re reading this on Substack) or just scream it loudly in the comfort of your own home:
I was one class away from a minor in French
My favorite hot sip is an Americano
Aside from culinary school, I originally wanted to go to school for fashion journalism
I promise these newsletters will not all be this long. Just had to one-way chat it out this time, ya know?
Have the best weekend friends!
Byyyyyyeeee,
Hannah
P.S. If you want all the real-time videos and updates, follow me @accentgolden on Instagram and TIkTok
I think the lie is Americano!