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Loryn Benkowski

@la.benko

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𝕝𝕒.𝕓𝕖𝕟𝕜𝕠
scenic artist. genetically crafty. calligrapher. baker. teal lover. mama to two miracles.

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this girl. fearless threenager 🥹💪🏻 taken in Hollow Brook Golf Club by @la.benko

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a year ago

5.10.15

And just like that it's been a decade.

Ten years of the highest of highs and lowest of lows, how lucky I am to have you by my side through it all. Happy anniversary, Bear 💕

(And how lucky we are to have @daniellecoonsphoto
capture all these moments 🫶🏻) by @la.benko

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a year ago

by @la.benko

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6

2 years ago

Halloween 2024 recap: the end of the themed costumes era 😢

In the summer Wynnie found Llewyn's dragon costume from Halloween 2020 and asked to be a Dragon Princess 🐉👸🏼for Halloween so I found myself cutting a gazillion dragon scales again for one last time 🥲

Dragon Princess included a light up tutu and bedazzled wings, scales and a tail.....and lots and lots of hot glue and glitter 🫣

Llewyn begged to be Spin from Spiderman and thankfully we had unusually warm weather this year that he didn't freeze in this spandex onesie. ☺️

After counting candy Llewyn asked Wynnie if they both wanted to be dragons next year, so who knows what'll happen...maybe I should start cutting scales now 🙃 taken in Cortlandt Manor, New York by @la.benko

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2 years ago

Managed to squeeze in a few minutes to take pictures before Wynnie ran off to school for the day in it. Started this back in August and cut way too many felt scales by hand but it was totally worth it 😍 Princess Dragon for the win! by @la.benko

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2 years ago

little loves 💕 by @la.benko

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3 years ago

Dóchas- Noun. Gaelic. Hope, trust, reliance

It's been one month since my sweet baby girl crossed the rainbow bridge. She decided it was time to join my Dad in heaven on Christmas Eve. I like to think her passing from this world onto her next adventure was my Christmas gift to my Dad.

We had a beautiful 17 years together. At the time I was processing my first experience with loss and grief and not coping well. I went for a drive and found myself at a (kill) shelter in the middle of nowhere Georgia. I went in and while I was looking at another cat she stuck her paw through the cage and bopped me on the head. It was love at first sight. She chose me and I'm so grateful she did. She had the most perfect outline of a Trinity knot on her face and I decided to change her name from Soda to Dóchas (later to be Dokie affectionately) she gave me hope, and made life at the time worth figuring out.

She moved with me to too many apartments, countless road trips in my VW Beetle between Texas and Georgia and New York. She was the perfect cat. Champion snuggler and hunter of all the sun rays she was my constant companion through the college all nighters, heartbreaks and countless moments of joy never leaving my side. (I even ended a relationship with someone because they called her fat one too many times 🫣)

She was my first baby, but helped me navigate the journey of motherhood and was an incredible cat sibling to Llewyn and Wynnie. My wish for her when her time came was that she would be home, warm safe and loved with family and that's exactly how she left us; laying in my arms in front of the warm fireplace. We ended our journey as we started it, together.

Until we meet again my sweet baby girl, thank you 💕 by @la.benko

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3 years ago

Second year in the books for participating in the @metopera bake off and won Audience Favorite 😌

Used @sallysbakeblog Chocolate Raspberry Cake recipe with a vanilla bean buttercream frosting. The little vanilla bean specks 😍

Clearly I had way too much fun piping, and tiny attention-to-detail projects is my happy place.

I lost track of the amount of times I was asked "how long did it take?!" 🤷🏻‍♀️ Too long but also not long enough...with the hustle and bustle of this time of year plus what my day to day is this was a much welcomed (and needed) moment for me to relax, focus, learn some new things and give my brain and body a moment to slow down. 💕

#sweatercake #christmascake #buttercreamcakes #hudsonvalleybaker #floralcakes taken in The Metropolitan Opera by @la.benko

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3 years ago

My favorite boo crew 👻👻

Woo these took a minute to make!!
Spooky ghost & BOO-gie ghost (get it? 🫣)

Probably the last year I'll be able to get them in a duo costume together so next year should be an adventure.

I definitely recommend installing lights into costumes, it makes it so much more magical ✨

Oh, and sweet little silly ghost sugar cookies for Wynnies classmates 🙃 by @la.benko

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3 years ago

One of my favorite memories with my Dad was having ice cream together after dinner. His love for sugar ran deep. There was never a birthday without a cake or a meal without a dessert. At his funeral we had a candy bowl full of his favorite candies to share with everyone because that's what he would have wanted.

Today marks 8 years without him.

When my Dad died my grief was so strong and heavy and intense I found myself grasping for whatever I could the months following his death that brought me even a second of light in the darkness I felt I was constantly living in.

I was told "the firsts are the worst".

Thanksgiving was the first. I woke up early that morning and decided to bake an apple pie. Dessert was my Dad's favorite part of any holiday. The journey of baking and later sharing that pie with family and friends was the first time I felt connected to him since his passing because I could feel his joy through their joy.

The weight of grief finally felt a little lighter.

Anyone who knows me knows that I will find any reason to bake.

Monday? Fresh baked bread because why not.
Friday? End of week celebration cake. Birthday, anniversary? I got you covered. Christmas? Two words: Sugar. Cookies.
Hard day? Good day? Mercury in retrograde? Some combination of flour, sugar and butter without a doubt.

I found myself baking every holiday, every birthday, every possible moment I could find an excuse for a baked good because it became my therapy. Baking has become my love language. It has become the tool to help me overcome the unbearable weight of the death of my father. It is the way I continue to feel connected to him every single day especially during those special moments and holidays I know he should be here experiencing but was denied the opportunity to do so.

So the next time you see me come bumbling in with some type of baked goods know this:
-it will be made with love
-that you are special and loved and important to me
-sharing and making these little moments of joy with you does more for me than you will ever know
-hopefully it will be delicious

Grief is a lifelong journey so I guess I'll just keep on baking 💞 by @la.benko

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3 years ago

"what I want to be when I grow up" day at school....Scenic edition 🥹🥹 by @la.benko

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3 years ago

how are you almost two my Wynnie Roo 🥹💟 taken in Cortlandt Manor, New York by @la.benko

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3 years ago