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Luke Hillier

@lukenotjohn

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September: ☄️🫣🧸🥀🎸🎫🪩📚🌺🦖🍁🌟😱 by @lukenotjohn

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15 days ago

teachers in tenderness (xvi) by @lukenotjohn

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22 days ago

since around college, i’ve been saying that I was hoping to make a friend that loved to bake. around 2 years ago, i finally realized that you must Be the Baker You Wish to Meet in the World.

in the first half of the 2020s I went from someone only capable of chili, stir fry, and pasta to a fairly confident cook (shoutout to the glory days of Bon Appetit!) but my baking endeavors seemed to constantly flop. I struggled with the inability to course correct & would be embarrassingly despairing over failed attempts. Baking also tends to be fairly public (it is ill-advised to consume a cake on your own) which made it feel higher stakes to boot. these aspects really bumped up against my perfectionist tendencies towards avoiding what I’m not already good at…but I really loved baked goods lol!! so you see the conundrum.

In 2025 I felt like it could be a good push to bake through a good bit of @alisoneroman Sweet Enough and I’ve learned so much through the process. more importantly, i’ve baked some very tasty treats! Here are most of them and a brief review, starting with these “Tiny Strawberry [+Cherry/Blueberry+Peach] Galettes” which were a 10/10.

“[Raspberry+Blackberry] Cornmeal Shortbread Tart” 10/10

the first recipe I baked from the book & the one I’ve made the most since. super approachable & foolproof, I’ve enjoyed any fruit combination I’ve tried and love how the cornmeal makes it taste just a bit more memorable & distinct. This has become my go-to bake.

“Raspberries & Sour Cream [+Biscoff]” 6/10

this is (perhaps ironically?) the recipe featured on the cover and does make for a simple, pretty snack but wasn’t super memorable for me.

“Raspberry Ricotta Cake” 6/10

a straightforward and simple recipe with nice, unflashy results. I was bummed, visually, that the berries sunk to the bottom & want to retry now that I know the flour trick. This cake mostly stands out for being the last thing I baked for MeMe a couple weeks before she died. For about a decade, she ensured that every gathering featured a cherry pie (my childhood favorite), so it always felt special to bake for her.

“Old-Fashioned Strawberry Cake” 7/10

my rating is slightly aspirational as I think taken in Ohio by @lukenotjohn

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a month ago

August ⛱️🌸🐣🏇🖼️🎂🏁🏞️👶🏻🌞🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒☁️🫈🦉🌸📚🤰🏻🛌📷🤣 by @lukenotjohn

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2 months ago

“Call my name and the whole woods rise up inside me.” — Taylor Johnson (“Consider the Deer” in Inheritance) taken in Adena Brook Ravine by @lukenotjohn

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2 months ago

July 🌅🇺🇸🌱🪟🌳🍏🎶🏦☂️🏺✝️🥚🌧️📚🌸🧗🥙📖💨😈

(not pictured: @allieflower09 and me going to Cobra with @saggiesplinters which was a highlight of the month we didn’t document much to our immense regret) taken in Ohio by @lukenotjohn

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3 months ago

teachers in tenderness (xv) by @lukenotjohn

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3 months ago

“…the task of attention is to abide with an ever-moving, ever-entangling world that is not ever in stasis. Walking, like wading, requires of people that they learn to make themselves available and responsive to a dynamic, ever-flowing world, because without such an attentional disposition they will distort the world by dividing it into things that exist in isolation.” –– Norman Wirzba (This Sacred Life) taken in Gahanna, Ohio by @lukenotjohn

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3 months ago

June 🪩🌁🖼️🎨🥭🪾🍫🏙️🪻🍜🌅🏄👀🌱🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒🌊🥋📚✝️ by @lukenotjohn

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4 months ago

growing up, my family used to go on summer vacations to Rhode Island every few summers, but we hadn’t been back since the early 2000s. it was so great to return this week and enjoy time together on the coast. we even found the beach cottage that we used to always stay in and enjoyed some time on the beautiful beach nearby. other highlights included lots of delicious seafood, the Point Judith lighthouse at sunset, all the blue hydrangeas everywhere, Cooper’s sheer delight in the chilly Atlantic, more smiles from Millie, & all the adults in the family getting hooked on Mahjong Vita lol. taken in Rhode Island, USA by @lukenotjohn

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4 months ago

It’s been 3 years (& some change) since I moved to Columbus. There are a few outstanding items unchecked on my wishlist (a good Thai spot, safer drivers/better public transit, competent and progressive elected officials, & more public art) but overall it’s been a delight learning the city and letting my roots unfurl here. taken in Columbus, Ohio by @lukenotjohn

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4 months ago

May 💜🦷☁️🏡⭐️😄🤍🌧️🎓🦪🎂📚🐞😱 by @lukenotjohn

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4 months ago