Are You Kidding, Private Practice Edition

I just had to break my unintended hiatus with the following:

Pete and Violet? Really??? Am I the only one who is on the fence with this one?

TV worlds colliding

So I'm watching my TiVO'd Private Practice (Dell has a daughter? Wow!) and I hop onto IMDB to see if that really is Billy Dee Williams playing Henry. It turns out the episode was directed by Maggie Seaver... I mean... Joanna Kerns!! Apparently she's become this uber director and has directed episodes of Grey's Anatomy, Army Wives, Men in Trees, ER, Scrubs and about 40 others. Who knew?!

Anything but "Real" Housewives

Not to talk about television for 2 days in a row, but...

Is anyone else feeling bittersweet about the season finale of Real Housewives of Atlanta? Truly some of the best Train Wreck Television of our time. Heck, even Anderson Cooper is into it -- and if it's good enough for the Silver Fox, it's good enough for me. If you are a fellow fan, you will understand why I was laughing so hard when I saw this link about Hot Mess "I-Spell-Cat-K-A-T" Kim. There was no way she was going to record an album with freakin' Dallas Austin (who's first name, I suspect, is really Melvin).

So what do you think, how did he wind up in a recording studio with Kim -- did he owe someone a BIG favor? Was he paid $$$$$ to do it? Clearly something is not right in Whoville.

Oh, and for the record, I am totally Team Nene.

J. Crew discounts

How have I not known about this?!

...there were two nuggets that will save you money if you like J.Crew clothes: 1) At the online store, coupon code "JUSTASK" always gets you free shipping (update: apparently the new code for this is ""ROCKCENTER" 2) Teachers and students always get 15% off. Call and use you your .edu address, or show your school ID in-store.

A quick glance through the comments on The Consumerist shows that the shipping code may have been pulled, but the student/teacher discount is awesome!

Package of the Day

I really do enjoy it when packages arrive and they look like this inside:

View of the Day

The view from our first hotel room in San Diego.

After 12 hours of traveling we finally made it to our "happy place". Say it with me now: Ahhhhhhhh.....

Hope is a 4-letter word

It seems strange to me to feel such joy and promise on election night. My first two presidential election nights were coupled with feelings of amazement, frustration and the notion that somehow I was being swindled. Tonight it quite different.

Looking at Barack's (I'm sorry... President-Elect Obama's) 52,076,486 votes - and counting! - and knowing that one of them is mine warms my heart. No more will it be "us" and "them". The "real Americans" versus, what, us "fake Americans"? Tonight's speech gives me an entirely different feeling: one of pride and, dare I say it, hope that our country's future is in the right hands.

* I do reserve some frustration for the outcome of Proposition 8 in California. Only 22% of the votes are currently in and things are not looking positive. I have a hard time understanding how someone feels they should have the "power" to take away someone else's existing right to marry the person they love. But maybe it's just me...

Civic Duty of the Day

Found while pumpkin picking in Warwick, NY last weekend. Despite an effort to keep things equal, McCain pumpkins were no where to be found.

Despite my obsessive love of politics, I have kept out of the political blog discussions. I get so tired of people telling me why they are right for believing what they do and I am clearly wrong for not agreeing with them. You have your reasons for believing what you do and I have mine. Let's just agree to disagree and get out there to vote, okay?!

We are not able to vote early here in New Jersey, so I have no idea what sort of lines we will be in store for today, but I fully intend to wait it out no matter how brutal. The way I see it, our lives, liberties and the pursuits of preppiness may be at stake!

Up to: 11/3/08

Watching:
Rachel Maddow
Her commentary last night on equating the absurdly long voting lines to the long-ago abolished polling tax was fantastic. Plus I admire how she manages to come across as being genuine while still being super snarky.


Missing:
Smedley the Pumpkin
Even though Halloween is over, I had to pay homage to Smedley, Mr. Cupcake's pumpkin masterpiece. I think it's the faux hawk that really makes me laugh.


Packing for:
San Diego
We are both in desperate need of a vacation and spending 8 days wandering around our very favorite place in the country will do us some good. Getting to check bags for free and eat a meal with real silverware in First Class will do us even better!


Neglecting no longer:
This blog!
Writing my blog has been one of the most fun parts of running The Creative Cupcake. Life has happened, as it usually does, and I haven't had as much time and energy to keep up with posting as I would like lately and hopefully that will be changing very soon. Recipes, crafts and life's funny anecdotes are all bottled up and need to be shared!

It's my party, and you'll pay if I want you to.

There was an article on CNN.com a few weeks ago about inviting people to a party you are throwing and then expecting them to pay for themselves and, in part, for you. I've been invited to a few such parties in the past, some of which were handled (in my opinion) properly, and some not so much.

Friend A was having a birthday party. She gave me the date/time and name of the restaurant, and never mentioned my paying for myself, her or anyone else. Even when talking about it, somehow it conveniently never came up in our conversations that I would be expected to pay.
I picked out a fabulous gift and arrived eager to celebrate her big day. Fast forward to the end of the evening, after several bottles of champagne and a rather extravagant menu, you can imagine my shock when I was handed a bill for my portion that was well over $200 - between this, her gift and parking in the city, I was out close to $350! Until that moment, I had never even heard of being invited to a party and then being expected to pay. I quietly paid the bill and when I tactfully brought my surprise up with her a few days later, she accused me of being a bad friend and not caring about her happiness. Ummm... what?! Needless to say, she is now simply referred to as "A" since the "Friend" part is long gone.

Friend B also had a birthday party with a set menu with wine/beer/soda, tax and tip included, and notified each of us of the price per person beforehand. Knowing that money was tight for us at the time, in no uncertain terms she explained that she wanted me there to celebrate with her and she didn't want us not having the extra money to keep me from coming. She did not expect anyone to pay for her and she paid for half of each person's cost (the restaurant charged $50/head and we only paid $25). She even arranged for any additional bar tabs to be put on individual checks so that each person was responsible solely for their own consumption. Also, she specifically put on the invitations that gifts would not be accepted since "our presence was all the presents" she wanted.

Personally, I am not a fan of these types of celebrations in any capacity and have graciously turned down the last several such invitations. I would be mortified to surprise my closest friends with a $200 per person bill at the end of an otherwise enjoyable night out. At least with Friend B's approach, I knew what the expectations were before I arrived. I realize people throw parties like this for a variety of reasons, but I just could never ask someone else to pay for my own party. Let's not even discuss people who have (vocally) expected me to pay AND bring an expensive gift.

What do you think? Have you ever been invited to a pay-your-own-way party that was done in a "proper" way? Any horror stories?

Time Waster of the Day

Test your color IQ! Arrange blocks in order of their hue in 4 different color combinations.


My score was 3 (all in the blue/green spectrum). How about you?

Thanks to Jessica at How About Orange... for the tip!

Let's Go Etsy Shopping!

I love being able to support fellow crafters whenever I can. Over the past few weeks, I picked up some adorable handmade goodies from tremendously talented Etsy crafters that I just had to share:


Dahlia Headband from Lupin


Felt Flower Necklace from Rosetutu


Peacock Woodgrain Linden Hobo from Enju


Fabric Necklace from FabricFarrago


Scrub Cap from TheHatCottage
I LOVE wearing this when I clean the apartment -- it keeps my hair off my face and sweat free!


His and Hers vinyl wall decals from VinylVineyard
These look adorable marking the doors to our separate bathrooms.

Vital Question of the Day

Was butter really so difficult to cut before?


One Click Butter Cutter

Up to: lately

I haven't had the chance to update lately because of both terribly interesting and absurdly boring life-nonsense. In the midst of all of the kerfuffle, I managed to glitter some pumpkins and turn yet another year older. Technically, much like last year, I celebrated the 3rd Anniversary of my 25th Birthday. Even my cake played along:

The celebration itself was quiet and low key since I haven't been in much of a celebratory mood lately. I cooked my own birthday dinner: Salmon with lemon dill sauce, roasted asparagus and fingerling potatoes. Easy-peasy and SO tasty! I also baked my own (really, really, really yummy) Cookies & Cream cake. Not only was it my own favorite birthday cake, and I've had several fabulous ones from the Cupcake Cafe, but Mr. Cupcake claimed it was the best cake he's ever eaten. And that man has eaten an awful lot of cake in his day! It was a Devil's Food cake with a Vanilla Bean frosting, which I think was the most delicious part. It had the consistency and spread-ability of the frosting in a can, but without all of those stabilizers and preservatives. I can't remember where I originally got the recipe from, but I urge you to try it next time you bake. Heck, I wish I had a bowl of it right now!


Vanilla Bean Frosting
4 oz (1/2 brick) cream cheese, at room temp
1 stick butter, at room temp
16 oz (1 box) confectioners' sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

1. Combine butter and cream cheese.
2. Slowly add sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until smooth.
3. Add vanilla beans and extract, stir until combined.

Notes: (1) A hand mixer should work just as well as a stand mixer. (2) If you don't have a vanilla bean, you can add an additional teaspoon of vanilla extract. (3) This recipe makes enough for 12 cupcakes. If frosting a large (9"+) layered cake, you may want to double the recipe. I made a 10" cake and had to keep the filling quite thin in order to have enough to barely cover the top and outside. I cheated and just added cake crumbs to the sides to cover the super thin layer.

Watching: Grey's Anatomy

Icicle? Christina? Seriously???

Note: I'll update the post with further thoughts after the episode is over, so we can properly discuss, but I'm traveling and there is no one else around so I just had to get that out.

Bring on the hot chocolate!

I just took a peek at today's weather report and we're looking at a 67-degree high and 47-degree low tonight. As a warm-weather-phobe, I am in my glory. We won't even talk about the fact that last Sunday (a mere 5 days ago) was a record breaking 91-degrees. This weather has been more bi-polar than my Gemini mother!


Fortunately, Mr. Cupcake has a half-day today -- which was supposed to be a full day off, but I lost that battle hands down -- so hopefully we'll get to spend a good chunk of the day outdoors. What I am looking forward to most, besides wearing my ice blue pashmina that makes my eyes look fabulously sparkly, is Starbucks Hot Chocolate. Not being one to drink a hot beverage on a hot day (seriously, I don't get people who do that), I have been itching for my Grande Non-Fat No-Whip Hot Chocolate and I think today will be the perfect day!

Cloud Blue: Color of the Day

A few days ago I read about Pantone's Colorstrology website (of course I bookmarked it and now can't remember who wrote about it). I am so inspired by color and texture that I could not wait to find out what mine would be and what it would say about me. It is so spot-on accurate that I had to rush over and post about it:

You have a creative mind and an adventurous spirit. It nay be a challenge for you to keep your equilibrium due to your sensitive nature. Partnerships are very important to you and you should s surround yourself with people who are kind and loving. It is essential for you to be creative and exress your childlike spirit. Don't let the weight of life or responsibilities weigh on your spirit. Your personal color resonates with vision. Wearing, meditating or surrounding yourself with Dream Blue eases your emotional nature and promotes balance and well-being.

What is your color? Find your birth date and post in the comments!

Favorite Tips of the Day

Here's a little secret about me: I LOVE to organize things! A peek inside my studio and office in it's current state might seem otherwise, but nothing gets me going like a stack of empty plastic tubs or [gasp] a trip to The Container Store. Powerful shredders make me weak in the knees. I have even been known to swoon over a particularly well managed desktop in-box. No productive day can start without a list, and perhaps even a list of the different lists that I'd like to accomplish. The other day there was a fabulous blog post over at Clutter Control Freak that combined two of my loves -- a list of ten rules about organized living!

1. Shop 'til you Drop - be a good consumer and get out there and buy stuff, even stuff you do not need or want. When you think you have enough go and buy more. Better yet every time you feel emotionally upset or are having a bad day engage in shopping therapy to make yourself feel better. Just remember that in order to create more clutter you must always add to what you already have so if you buy duplicates of any item make sure you keep each and every one!

2. Do not plan - live in the moment and only deal with what is going on right now. Who cares if you cannot find your socks, your briefcase, or your keys tomorrow morning? You are happy right now and you should be able to do only what you want to do at this moment.

3. Assign the same level of importance to everything - this will make you feel truly overwhelmed and if you are feeling overwhelmed you can just go shopping!

4. Accept every free item that is offered to you - if it's free it must be worthwhile and it must be worth having.

5. Never ever say no, to anyone or anything, not even to yourself - This method is guaranteed to win you friends because no one will ever be mad at you! and in addition you will likely be rich with clutter. Definitely a win/win situation for the clutter lover!

6. Procrastinate - why make a decision today when you can do it tomorrow, or the day after, or the year after that!

7. Create emotional attachments to your stuff - being emotionally attached to stuff is so much safer than forming relationships with people. Stuff will never abandon you, hurt your feelings, or be late for a lunch date! When your stuff has such wonderful emotions and memories attached why would anyone want to go out and create new memories??

8. Stay stuck in the past - the future is so uncertain but the past is a known entity. There are no uncertainties in the past! Actually moving forward in your life would mean that you have to clear the clutter (horrors). Better to stick with what you know than face an uncertain future.

9. Think emotionally not logically - use your emotions as the basis for every decision in your life and you are guaranteed to have more of what you already have!

10. Keep everything "just in case" - in order to keep your clutter you must assume that everything you have will have some usefulness in the future. You do not have to plan to use it tomorrow or even the next day just someday! You should not be planning to use it anyway or you are breaking rule #2!

I think these are so on target and I fully intend to incorporate these habits into my daily life at once!

Moment of reflection

Seven years ago, today, I was driving to work with the radio on. I was living/working 5 miles from NYC at the time and cursing the traffic I had to fight everyday. Within a split second, everyone's world changed and what used to be important no longer was. Family friends were now gone. Everyone was particularly proud to be an American, whether you lived in Lower Manhattan or Omaha, Nebraska. I remember getting home that night and lighting candles on our front porch and hanging flags from anywhere I could.

I can't help but think about what has happened to that national pride and our feelings of true unity? In an election year, it becomes especially important to keep perspective on what is truly best for our country, regardless of our own personally held beliefs.

Today I'm going make sure I take some extra time to remind myself of what is truly important in my life, remembering that life can change in a split second.

Summer vacation, finally!

While everyone else is saying "goodbye" to summer and heading back to school, Mr. Cupcake and I are headed down the shore for our summer vacation! Because of the Mr's busy schedule (and his charming inability to leave work unless every last thing is done to absolute perfection at the direct risk of his personal life), we haven't taken a proper vacation since we moved to New Jersey in March. We had the opportunity to travel together at least once every 6 weeks while living in Dallas, so needless to say, we are ready for a few days of R&R and "us" time.

Here's to days filled with sand and sun,

calm, peaceful nights

and maybe a jackpot or two!

The bags are packed, and the mammoth September editions of my favorite magazines are waiting to be read. I can't wait to see what shenanigans we find ourselves in this time!

"It looks like it's a pterodactyl out of a gay Jurassic Park."

I just finished catching up on this season's Project Runway and overall, I'm pretty underwhelmed. It seems the number of whiny, overly dramatic designers is way up this year. Fortunately they seem to be falling in the bottom 2/3 and are slowly being "Auf'ed".

My picks have been more or less in line with the judges, though I really think Joe should have won the Olympic challenge. It was the only one presented that I could actually picture the athletes wearing without looking completely ridiculous (really Jerell, what were you thinking?!):

photo (c) BravoTV.com

I adored last week's drag queen challenge because it allowed the designers to really go outside their comfort zones and was fairly unrestricted. I'm going with Terri, Kenley and Korto for top 3. What do you think of the season so far? Early favorites?

{gasp} She's alive!

Blogger tells me it has been 3 months since my last post, which seems to have just flown by. Quite a bit has happened and yet when I sit down to write a catch-up blog post, none of it seems terribly interesting.

The store is still closed, despite my best intentions to have it open weeks ago. I'm still trying to unearth some of the more vital things from the cavernous depths of our storage room like, say, my sewing machine and my printer. Most of us might think my sewing machine would be found in the box marked "Sewing Machine". Clearly, we would be wrong. I don't know what was going on in the mover's heads while packing everything up, because boxes marked "Living Room" contain bed sheets and those marked "Office/Studio" have been filled with everything from towels to our blender. Not surprisingly, none of these things were located anywhere near the studio in our old apartment.

No official re-opening date has been set, but with any luck it will be sooner rather than later. I have some brand new sizes of your favorite preppy prints (Norwalk, Annapolis and Stone Harbor) that I am super excited about. There are some absolutely gorgeous new vintage and vintage-inspired trims that will knock your socks off, too.

I feel so out of the preppy blog loop that I so adore so I'm going to make a valiant effort to get back to posting regularly. See you around!

Patronizing Prompt of the Day

This morning I called Bally's (the gym) to cancel my membership -- for the 3rd time in as many months, but that's another post -- I went through their telephone prompts to hopefully speak with a live person. Along the way, I was offered this as one of my options:

If you wish to cancel for buyer's remorse reasons, press 3.

As if trying to cancel an already paid-in-full contract wasn't difficult enough, they need to mock me while I'm doing it.

Time Waster of the Day

What do plutonium, FM radio, Spam and Israel all have in common?

photo from JohnMcCain.com

They are all younger than John McCain! Regardless of your personal political leanings (and I'm not about to get into mine here), the concept of this blog is pretty amusing.

When waiters don't give you lemons...

When out for a meal, generally my drink of choice is a Diet Coke with lime. It seems silly, but it really grinds my gears when a waiter will refill my drink but not replace the lime/lemon. I can kind of see if I just order it as a "Diet Coke" but I am always careful to specify the "with lime (or lemon)" part. Heck, bring me a little plate with 3-4 slices to have for any refills right off the bat and you are almost guaranteed a big tip.

I saw this post on Slashfood this evening and I can totally relate to Al Lewis's passion over his lack of lemons. Is anyone else fanatical about your citrus garnishes?

Important Lesson of the Day

ALWAYS resist shopping on the opening day of a brand new Marshall's. Even if it is just around the corner. Even if you are out at 8am anyway. Even if the promise of racks of heavily discounted designer purses that have not yet been pawed over 147 times seems too great to ignore. Must. Always. Resist.

I've been bitten...

... by the shopping bug!

Spring seemed to arrive out of no where late last week and temps have been well above normal by double digits. It makes me so glad that I finally replaced my missing pashmina two weeks ago! The change of weather has inspired some warm weather shopping which, in addition to my just-moved-and-need-to-buy-new-everything shopping has been helping to ease [distract me from] what has been a surprisingly difficult transition. Some fabulous new treats have been making their way into the Cupcake apartment, so let's take a trip through my AmEx statement:

L.L. Bean - Rugby Stripe Boat & Tote in Lime


Garmin - Nüvi 660

This particular purchase has even inspired a surprise getaway for Mr. Cupcake and myself!Yes, hon, I know how you hate surprises -- even fun ones -- and, no, I am not going to tell you... so don't even ask!

Staples - Sloane Luxura Manager's Chair

I've been after the Eames manager's chair in light blue for years but snagged this sort-of-look-alike for almost 50% off!

Merrell - Plaza Leather Moccasin in black

Aside from being absurdly comfortable (hellooooooo, new street fair shoes!), I found them at Marshalls, on clearance!

What gems have you found lately during your own retail therapy?

Robin Roberts: Little Greek Boy?

I love positive stories about strong women:

Robin Roberts loses her wig... truly a beautiful moment!

Live Blogging: New Jersey!

Tonight will be out first night in our new apartment and I can honestly say that it did not come a day too soon. This move has been a nightmare at the best of times, and I am thrilled that it is more or less over.

Truthfully, this past month sucked most of the humor out of me so the blog posts that I started along the way were all fairly boring. I could regale you with one tale after another about canceled flights (yes, there were more), movers not showing up and absurdly mislabeled boxes (they packed my pasta pot with our computer monitor?!) -- but I'm sure you'd rather hear about what's coming up for The Creative Cupcake.

Because of complications with our move, we won't be able to open on April 15th like we had planned, and the store will officially re-open by May 15th. There's a good chance some fabulous backstock will make its way into our Etsy store before then, so watch the blog for an announcement.

Our show schedule is starting to take shape and there are some fantastic towns that we can't wait to visit. For all of our local customers: we will be missing the Crafts in the Park in Westwood (which, incidentally, was the very first show we ever participated in back in 2005), but look for us all over Bergen County as well as Central & Southern NJ during the Fall.

With any luck, my blogging and hilarity levels will be back to normal once I can get our apartment into some semblance of order. If nothing else, a photo of our den (where ALL of the office/studio/miscellaneous boxes and things were placed) will provide you all hours of laughter!

Live Blogging: Newark Airport

I am blogging to you, live (as opposed to??) from the Admiral's Club in Newark Airport. I've been sorely behind in my rantings and ravings lately and wanted to remedy that while I had some spare time.

Mr. Cupcake is quite the seasoned traveler and has flown over 200,000 domestic miles since October, 2006. In this time he has had one flight that was canceled on him. The powers that be must not be too happy about our moving back East because we have not had much luck on this particular trip. We boarded our 7:05am flight to Newark on Tuesday morning and upon getting our wings de-iced, the de-icer guy noticed a problem with the plane's engine (that the rest of the mechanics and the pilot did not?!) and we were promptly de-boarded. American wasn't able to procure another plane for our flight, so they canceled it entirely. Three hours later, we boarded a new flight and taxied to the runway a scant hour after we were scheduled to takeoff. Not so fast! There was some bad weather in New York, so we were blessed with over 2 hours of waiting on the plane, on the tarmac before finally taking off a mere 6 hours after we were supposed to.

Surely with all of that hassle, the travel gods would smile on us for today's trip back to Dallas. Clearly not! After being delayed 30-minutes, our flight was canceled entirely because the co-pilot mysteriously was "unable to make the flight". Fan-freakin-tastic. So as an entire plane full of people bum rush the counter, we book it to the Admiral's Club. OK, so Mr. Cupcake booked it while I lagged behind. Miraculously, he is the very first on line and the wonderfully cheerful receptionist was able to snag us the last two confirmed seats on the plane. Whew! Finally, a ray of hope.

Even though our new take off time has been delayed twice, I feel OK. I just need you to cross your fingers that we actually get off the ground sometime tonight!

The Shop is Closed!

I closed out my last order this morning and The Creative Cupcake is now officially closed for the move. Assuming that everything goes smoothly (ha!) we'll be back up with the new Spring styles on April 15th. Just in time to spend your tax refund!

Still open for business!

As the title infers, I haven't closed down the shop yet since I might have an extra week to prep for the movers. Inspired by Caitlin's post from last week, I managed to stuff 8 trash bags with clothes I no longer wear. The upside is that they have now moved on to a better home. The downside is that I have so few clothes left, I am now forced to go naked 3 days a week. You've been forewarned.

We're still waiting on confirmation of our official move date, which is driving me absolutely nuts. I'm a planner, and without knowing when the movers are coming, I can't accurately create my lists upon lists 0f important things to make lists for. Not surprisingly, this move is causing my OCD to flare up a bit. Let's just hope the date falls on a day that I have clothing available to me. I couldn't afford the tip I'd have to give the movers otherwise!

Animal Disguise of the Day

Oddly colored cows, or gigantic Oreo cookies?

Photo taken along US-75 North on our drive up to Tulsa, OK yesterday afternoon.

Phone Call of the Day

If I don't answer when you call, it probably means I'm on the other line with Hill.

The Big Ta-Da! of the Day

Without further adieu, I bring you my enormously big, absurdly important news:

We're moving back to New Jersey!

Whew! You have no idea how good it feels to get that off my chest. I was made to swear absolute secrecy (on my massive headband collection, nonetheless!) back in December and couldn't tell a soul. In truth, we took the idea off the table twice during the decision making process, but in the end Mr. Cupcake's was made an offer he couldn't refuse. At the end of the day, while we love the calm, quiet (read: boring!) life we live here in Texas, we know there are a lot of opportunities waiting for us back East.

Oh yeah, we're moving in less than 2 weeks! Not that we have any say in that what-so-ever. For those of you just joining us, Mr. Cupcake and I moved to Dallas about a year and a half ago under similar circumstances. This time we will be heading up to NJ into temporary housing for a few weeks until we can find an apartment/house to rent sometime before April 1. April Fool, indeed.

For all of my Jersey girls, I'll be back on the show circuit in full swing this Fall and Holiday season. Once I have concrete dates and locations worked out, I'll be sure to post them.

Last time I was able to keep The Creative Cupcake open during most of the move, but this time is going to be a little different. I'll be taking orders until 2/25 (next Monday) and then re-opening on/around 4/15 with the launch of our Spring 2008 lines. I'll be keeping up the Basics Sale until we close, because I'm nice like that. Get your orders in ASAP!

With that said... I'm off to freak out about the 6,742 things I have to do before the movers show up!

Vital information: Starbucks Edition

Did you all hear about this:

Starbucks will close 7,100 stores nationwide for three hours on the evening of Feb. 26 to retrain about 135,000 in-store employees and people who oversee the stores.

"We will have all new standards for how we create the drinks," said spokeswoman Valerie O'Neil. "They will be trained in creating the perfect shot, steaming the milk and all the pieces that come together in a drink."

Some people have speculated Starbucks will return to manual espresso machines, but O'Neil said the espresso-making equipment will be the same. "It's really about ensuring that the customer experience that we provide is the best that it can be."

Starbucks began informing workers over the past couple of days. It will close company-operated stores from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. local time Feb. 26.

It's not as if I go to there every day, or even usually at in the early evening. I can't help but wonder: Will the simultaneous closing of every Starbucks cause a national catastrophic caffeine-deprivation-related event?

San Francisco: In Pictures

1. Dungeness Crab at the Wharf (just before being devoured with a loaf of freshly baked Boudoin)
2. The sea lions hanging out at Pier 39
3. Mr. Cupcake's inability to lay off the Crackberry
4. The sea lions nearest the tourists, modestly (thankfully!) hiding their naughty bits for a split second

Coming soon...

Enormously big things are brewing for The Creative Cupcake and us personally that I am --> [this ]<-- close to being able to blog about. Sure, I've been teasing you and alluding to it for a few weeks, but it'll be worth the wait, I can assure you. Huge, people. HUGE!

Tomorrow/today (since it's already 3am) I'm going to force myself to do a little work outside of our apartment, which usually leads to an inspired blog post or two. And don't think that I forgot that I still owe you a San Francisco recap!

My terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

Conventional wisdom suggests that one should not be capable of having a bad day while on vacation. I am living proof that those people don't know a damn thing.

I woke up this morning feeling like someone had pummeled my lady parts. Nice, huh? Truthfully, it is an ongoing issue that I am aware of and need to deal with, but my vacation is not the time to remind me. Being out of commission certainly put a damper in my plans, not to mention my mood. It was not shaping up to be a very good day.

Especially after I realized that I left my comfy and fabulously warm pashmina (the mint green one I wore at my wedding) at the Admiral's Club lounge in Dallas. Not to mention my annoyance of having to cancel my spa appointment since I now need that money to replace said pashmina.

It is Chinese New Year's Eve and I am staying right on the edge of Chinatown. The promise of yummy dim sum is practically taunting me from outside my window and I was starving by 3:00. I thought of just ordering room service but who wants to pay $28 for a salad with rubbery chicken - when you can walk downstairs for the exact same rubbery chicken and save a few dollars. Ever the thrifty traveler, I get dressed and trek downstairs. Of course, the hotel has no food service from 3-4p so I wait it out in the lounge/bar area and work out today's crossword puzzle. Finally, at 4 I order a cobb salad and diet coke. What shows up along with the bill is, well, hotel food. And who charges $3.50 for a glass if Diet Coke these days? Ahh, yes. Hotels do. Then it hits me that I just paid $28 for a salad with rubbery chicken. The same rubbery chicken I could have eaten in my room, under the covers, watching Seinfeld reruns on TBS.

Blasted...

Here's hoping that tomorrow is a better day!

Edited to add: This was today's Happiness Project blog. Rather fitting!

Comforting Thought of the Day

There are very few things in life that a $3 bottle of fruity wine can't fix.

Observation of the Day

No matter how cute he is, whenever your husband asks you, "How much do you love me?", good news never follows. Ever.

Newsletter: BIG Sale on Basic Ribbons!

Click newsletter to read the full-size version.
Now, go shopping!!!

BIG Sale on Basic Ribbons!

Shop now for up to 40% off your favorite Solid, Polka Dot and Basic Striped ribbon accessories!
Sale ends 2/4/08!

Annoying Reality of the Day

I'm convinced that my laundry has the ability to reproduce. Why, it was just 3 weeks ago that I washed and folded our clothes, sheets and towels and now it looks like I need to wash them all again. The nerve of that pile, getting dirty like that. Wouldn't it be easier just to buy all new stuff?

Who needs transitions?

I'm having one of those weeks where there are 101 things floating around in my head and it's keeping me from concentrating enough to get a single one of them done. Actually, I've been meaning to write a few blog entries all week because there is a lot going on, but I feel too scattered to get anything sensical written. Note: Is sensical even a word? Some thoughts:

I need to figure out the key to getting myself to blog consistently. Maybe I need to make sure I work outside of the studio more. Maybe it is just a matter of adding it to my To Do list everyday. I think this week I'm going to experiment and see.

My flight is booked for a somewhat last minute getaway to San Francisco in 2 weeks. It was the very first place I traveled to alone, after college, back in 2001. 10/11/01, actually, so the flight over was a bit ominous, but I never once considered canceling. The Dungeoness crab and sourdough contingencies will be greatly diminished after this trip, I can assure you.

The studio is an absolute disaster and needs attention desperately. Part of me wants to post a picture to shame myself into getting on top of it.

Rather than procrastinate like I have for the past 3 years, I have already started our taxes. I truly miss the days when I could pop in the numbers from a few W-2s and wait for our check. The sheer amount of paper and calculator time is mind blowing, though clearly not quite enough to get me to set up a more efficient system or hire an accountant. At least I shouldn't be sweating it down to April 15th like usual!

Wow... I guess I can make it through a blog post without use of transitions between thoughts. Just not sure it was all that fun to read!

Annoying Thought of the Day

There is nothing like a pair of fresh-out-of-the-dryer jeans to remind you that it is not *just* water you are retaining these days.

A shopping kind of mood

It's one of those days, again, when I feel the need for a little retail therapy. The fact that it is not even 8am here and I am already window shopping does not bode well for my willpower. In my own defense (not that I need to defend myself), I have some money left over from Christmas burning a hole in my wallet. And that's just not healthy to have it hanging around, right? I didn't think so...

Boatman Geller Notepads at See Jane Work


Doscher's Famous French Chew Vanilla Taffy


Flight Wrap / Top at En-Day


Starburst Wire Wall Mirror at Wrapables



Fused Glass Platter from iFuseSolutions


I refuse to make promises that any number of these items will not be in my possession by the end of the day.

Give me down to there hair

I have a small confession to make: I haven't had my hair cut since we moved to Dallas well over a year ago. For years I've kept my length somewhere between a chin-length bob and just at my shoulders. You see, I really adore my stylist Farrah in No. NJ and have been going to her for years. She just knows my hair and how it acts and which cuts I'd like. I had every intention of having her cut my hair when I would be back east to visit. I wouldn't cheat on her, not in a million years.

But you see, I just haven't been back home. When I was in NYC in November I didn't have time for an appointment. I might be up sometime in February but who knows for sure. My hair has just been growing and growing and I resigned myself to keeping it back/up/in a headband. Then, it came to my attention that it looked like this:



OK... in fairness to me, I usually blow it out straight and it never looks all wavy and greasy but I had it up that day. Bottom line is that it was WAY long for me and needed to be dealt with.

So I did something I promised I would never do. I found a new salon. Ouch, it hurts just to type it (sorry Farrah!!!). But let me tell you something... my hair looks fabulous in it's new, Andy inspired cut!!

Seriously, people.

What could our upstairs neighbors be doing at 1:38am that sounds like stampeding elephants running back and forth across the living room? And what is up with them moving heavy furniture across the floor ALL freakin' night long, every night for weeks. I know there are no small children living up there so what gives? I can't wait until we can afford to buy a place and move out of Animal House. What was funny and tolerable in college is not quite so charming 10 years later. Even if my kitchen is beyond fabulous.

Like a bat out of...

I am blogging to you "live" today from the Cafe in Central Market in Southlake. It is amazing the amount of work I've gotten done by simply getting out of my studio for a few hours. The 5-foot proximity to free refills of Diet Coke (with fresh lemons!) isn't exactly hurting my morale, either.

I managed to do a quick update of my blogroll (see on the right) but there are lots more to add. Particularly my fellow crafty/indie businesses with some fabulous blogs. Baby steps, I guess.

Not much on tap for Mr. Cupcake and me this weekend, but I *did* find the cable to connect my camera so I will have photos of some of the Spring 2008 lines for you next week. Lots of florals (poppies and daisies) as well as a huge bump in the number of vintage-style patterns. Super cute, I promise you.

What you are buying

Ever wonder what other people are buying from The Creative Cupcake as you shop? I've been looking at my sales figures and stats from 2007 and with over 600 unique items to choose from, you might be surprised to know there are some definite customer favorites:

Favorite Preppy Ribbon
Nantucket - Run a "Style Search" on the main page for everything available in this pattern.

Most Popular, Headband
Pink & Green Argyle (Medium), $12.50


Most Popular, Hair Clip
Preppy Mini Calla Bows in Norwalk & Sanibel, $4.50


Most Popular, Key Fob
French Damask in Black on Turquoise, $10



What is your favorite Creative Cupcake item?

Traveling Fool: 2007 Edition

Continuing the tradition from last year, here are the places I've traveled during 2007 (using the Dallas / Fort Worth metroplex as "home") :

San Antonio, TX**
San Diego, CA*
Minneapolis, MN
Austin, TX
New York, NY
Durant, OK

Rules: One or more days were spent in each location and cities marked with * were visited multiple times on non-consecutive days.

Last year I wanted to up the non-East Coast travel -- which I think I've accomplished. This year I hope 2008 will bring me abroad. We shall see...

Where was your favorite spot to visit in 2007?

Updating my blogroll

It has come to my attention that my blogroll (hanging out over there, on the right side) is a little, shall we say, lacking. There are lots and lots of fun blogs that I read on a regular basis but I guess I never got around to updating my list here.

Since it's now on my To Do list for this week, leave a comment or email me if you want your blog or site included in my update. Stop by and check it out later this week for some funny/inspiring/educational/nerdy/preppy/celebrity/foodie/business/decorating/crafty reading.

Missed me?

Long time, no blog! How was everyone's Chanukah/Christmas/New Year? I'm still catching up from the time off I took for the holidays and the week my family came to Dallas. I have lots to blog about but just need to find the time to sit down and write it all. Best of all (for you), there will be a few new headband and belt styles to share before they go live on The Creative Cupcake. If only I could find the darn cable to connect my camera...

Check back later this week!