I bet you’re wondering what Water to Wheat means. I am so glad you asked! Here is our story. I am Aubrey Eitland, the self-taught cake baker and designer behind Water to Wheat Cakery. We are located in the rolling wheat fields of Oklahoma. Prior to that, I had the privilege of living by the beautiful waters of Ventura, CA, hence…Water to Wheat! There you go, that’s the story…just kidding.
I was born and raised in California, but then…love! That’s right, love brought me to the Midwest. When I was 30 I fell in love with a good ole Midwest boy. We met online in January of 2015, met in person in February 2015, found out we were pregnant June 2015, got engaged August 2015, got married October 2015, welcomed our baby boy in December of 2015 and sold my California home in December 2015. What a year, and I wouldn’t change a thing, because it brought me where I am today. We now have two boys and I finally got my girl.
That is the easy-peasy & mushy-gushy short story, but behind every success story, there are struggles. There are hard times. And there is a lot of hard work. You see, before we made our way to the Midwest, I was a single mom for 11 years. Being a single mom taught me strength I never knew I had, taught me to never give up and taught me the true meaning of perseverance. I would not change one thing about this part of me either, because through it all, I found my renewed Faith in God!
With a growing family, I struggled to leave them to go to work every day. I wanted to be home with them, I wanted to see my little girl roll over for the first time. I wanted to be the one to potty train my toddler and I wanted to be there for my teenager when he had a bad day. I wanted to figure out a way where I could stay home with them. With wanting to stay home with my kids and being at a job where I was not fulfilling my passion, I knew something had to change.
My mind went to my very first cake from scratch! It was for my youngest son’s first birthday. It wasn’t perfect (you should see a picture), but it tasted amazing. Just in case you’re wondering, it was an Old McDonald cake and his love for it brought me so much happiness. After that cake, I told myself I would never make a cake out of a box again and I would continue to learn and teach myself about baking. I started to make a cake every chance I got: for my boss’s birthday, for my neighbors, for friends’ baby showers, for every family member’s birthday or even “just because” cakes… literally every chance I got.
With much thought, prayers and talks with my husband we decided to take a leap of faith. I resigned my position with the TV station and started baking and designing cakes full-time.
So why Water to Wheat? Because both California and Oklahoma hold a great significance to me. California shaped me, taught me, and prepared me for the road ahead. Oklahoma, where all my prayers have been answered; love, family, land, animals and of course baking and designing cakes.
Life is all about taking chances and chasing dreams…so here’s to my cake baking journey and making cake dreams come true.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY - Ashley Ice Photography
