Do I have a sweet treat for you today! Smarties, I would like to introduce you to Mandie Miller, cake baker extraordinaire and owner of Got What it Cakes! We featured Mandie in 2011 and wow, has she grown! I met Mandie a few years ago when I was organizing a fundraiser/silent auction and she kindly donated one of her beautiful and delish cakes for auction. If I was to ever cross paths with somebody, it was Mandie. She bakes and sweets are the sole reason that I run. She is the most genuine and sweetest person that one could ever meet, and designs cakes that are almost to pretty to eat, well almost. After interviewing her I am seriously considering making her my new BFF, what more could a girl ask for. She is full of energy, bakes delicious treats and we share the same girl crush… I am in love!
CSP {hearts} Mandie Miller! Enjoy getting to know this gem in our awesome city!
Mandie’s Smarty Mom Fast Facts
Married to: Joshua Miller (9 years in August!)
Mom to: Isabella (6 ½) and Lillian (4)
Occupation: Custom wedding cake maker
‘Hood: Near Lake Wylie
Hometown: Born in Kansas, but moved here when I was 4!
Who is the most famous person you have baked for at Got What it Cakes?
I’ve gotten to do a bunch of famous people, but Katie Couric wins! I’ve done cakes for Fantasia Barrino (American Idol winner), Emily Maynard (Bachelorette), Cody Simpson (teen singer), local celebs and more! I was *this close* to doing one for Justin Bieber, but it fell through at the last minute…his security is tighter than the president’s! I have a few in the works for this year, but can’t say anything yet 😉
You were featured on Katie Couric’s television show. Tell us about your screen debut and how it all happened?
It’s a long story, but a good one! My bestie, Jenn, went to Michigan with a girl named, Laura, and they were friends on facebook. Laura works for facebook in consumer affairs and had contacted Jenn to talk about Jenn’s brand new photography business and business page she had created for it. Jenn told Laura that I had a successful cake business page and that it was my only source of “marketing” and to contact me too (I’m forever indebted to Jenn for this!). Laura sent me a few questions over email, then we did a conference call with facebook, and she said she’d pitch the story to a few outlets. I honestly didn’t know what she meant by that, but a week later, a reporter with The New York Times called!!!
Actually, multiple reporters called, and all of them did stories on me! Some of the biggest were Huffington Post, Modern Mom, CNBC, Redbook, and of course The NY Times. But nothing compared to the call from a producer with the Katie Couric show! I was contacted on a Monday, flown up on a Thursday and the episode aired Friday! Katie was one of the places Laura pitched my story too, and I guess Katie read about me in the Times article as well! She was celebrating Facebook’s 1 billionth user and the COO of it, Sheryl Sandberg, was there. They wanted some “facebook success stories,” and chose mine as the business related one! I flew a 3 tier cake up to her (never again!), had a driver with a sign with my name on it, and got to have my makeup and hair done too! My mom even got to join me since she was in New York visiting family at the same time! I was a broadcasting major, so my two world collided in one day. It was such a full circle moment for me. One I will never forget. I couldn’t believe I was meeting one of my idols, and I swear when I say this…she was the nicest, most down-to-earth person EVER!!!! She exceeded any and all expectations, and was truly grateful for all I went through to get the cake, and me, up there!
Who is your celebrity crush?
I love Andy Cohen and would freak out if I got to meet him/make a cake for him! I adore funny guys, like Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, and Steve Carell…I would geek out if I met one of them! I was in love with Justin Timberlake for many, many years, but I danced next to him at a club, so I moved on ☺ But I also have my girl crushes too, like Kelly Ripa! I kind of LOVE celebrities! Reading about them is my guilty pleasure…it lets me zone out!
What is something that most people don’t know about you?
This is hard because I consider myself an open book kind of person! But a random fact is that I sleepwalk almost every night. I’ve “shampoo’d” my hair with body lotion while sleepwalking. Gotten dresses in numerous outfits, multiple times a night. I almost poked my eye out with a dresser drawer during one escapade. I do a lot of weird things, but mostly I just pace, check on the girls, dress and undress, talk, etc. I don’t know what this says about me, but I think I may be a bit stressed 😉 Here are some other fun facts… My secret dream is to be a comedienne, but my stage fright would prevent me from ever seeing it to fruition. I’m terrified of karaoke…it literally makes me sick to my stomach to think of singing on stage in front of anyone…ever (see the previous stage fright issue). I cry every day of my life…multiple times a day. Not out of sadness! Stories of gratitude, hope, achievement, sweetness etc. move me to tears. I like that I feel so much…makes me feel like I’m truly living.
Behavioral trait you hope your children don’t inherit from you?
Procrastination and disorganization! My husband is neither, so I hope they turn out just like him! I hope they turn out like him in many different ways, as he is heaven sent!!
The phrase you’ve said to the kids more than any other at home is…
“It’s not a big deal”…I say this multiple times a day. I have two girls, so things can tend to get dramatic, and they’re pretty laid back kids, so I’m quite lucky. But I’m trying to instill in them the power of perspective. Is this really a big deal, or are you simply annoyed, frustrated, etc.?
But I also make a point to tell them how smart and beautiful they are throughout the day. They should have no confidence issues! 😉
Household appliance you couldn’t live without?
My KitchenAid for obvious reasons!!! Next comes my two ovens and my four refrigerators! We don’t drink coffee in our household, so the coffee maker is only used for my mocha frappuccino filling ☺.
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