I had to give him a little nudge in the right direction, but Thomas got me the most perfect birthday gift last year. For years, my not-so-perfect kitchen design had me avoiding recipes that called for a dough to be rolled out, but no more! I now have a wonderful marble pastry slab to help me out with all my puff pastry, cookies and pie crusts. And that's not all... This particular pastry slab came with a few words of encouragement from Marlijn: To Begin, Begin.

Such a simple advice, but so on point. It's worked for me so far.

I began breathing on a cold November evening in 1985. Obviously, I haven't stopped since.

I began baking when I was, I don't know, six years old? First, of course, I just helped out my mom when she made pancakes or chocolate cakes, but I grew to make everything from those family staples to cinnamon rolls and French macarons. Now, I'm the one teaching my six-year old niece how to flip pancakes.

I began writing when I was in primary school. My first success was a short poem about an ant named Erika. Since then, I've ventured into the slightly more serious fields of book and music reviews and, the last couple of years, academic papers. I've even tried my hand at fiction. (Didn't work.) Mostly, though, I write simply to gather my thoughts. I have a lot of those.

I began reading blogs when a round of expert procrastination lead me to Joy the Baker two years ago. Now, my days start with coffee and half an hour of reading what my favorite bloggers have been up to.

I began a baking course on September 30, 2014. Since then, I've had trouble getting to sleep on Tuesday nights because my mind is filled with impressions and ideas. I have never felt so inspired in my life and I secretly dread the day that this course will end.

I began thinking about starting my own blog in October 2014. I began experimenting with content and design on January 2. I began creating this blog on March 3. Today, Les Filles de Madeleine goes online. Now, I really begin.

Let's see where this goes, shall we?