All Kinds of Randomness

Time Waster of the Day: IKEA Edition

2010-02-05T21:32:00.000-05:00

{Found on How About Orange}

What is your IKEA name?

On the Pole, with Ms. Stewart

2010-01-20T14:18:00.000-05:00

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of terribly uninteresting drama and recurring sinus infections {lovely}, so until I feel back to "normal", I wanted to pop in and leave you with this little unexpected ray of sunshine.

{Click on the photo... you won't be sorry!}

Flickr Favorites Friday

2010-01-08T12:21:00.001-05:00

1. baking corner, 2. Warmth, 3. Dissect, 4. brrrrr, 5. Rocco French Bulldog 1, 6. Hot Cocoa, 7. snow on trees, 8. Untitled, 9. ribbons of chihuly

A New Way to Tie One On

2010-01-06T23:44:00.000-05:00

I am a scarf girl. Winter, summer, snow or sunshine, I'm likely to have a scarf on. I love that they instantly transform a hum-drum outfit into something that looks like it took time and thought to put together. A black cardigan, white tee and jeans **poof** becomes an actual stylish outfit.

Generally, I fall into the Parisian/European method of tying my scarf, where you fold it in half, wrap it behind your neck and pull the ends through the loop. Quick, simple and chic. That is until today, when Sarah over at Classy & Fabulous turned me on to a whole new way to get my scarf on.

Take a look at this video by Michelle from Chic Critique:

How fabulous is that?! I can tell you, my scarf tying will never be the same.

A second helping please, Sam I Am...

2010-01-03T22:28:00.000-05:00

By most measures, yesterday's In-Law Fest was a rousing success. No fights. Lots of Prosecco and THE most delicious ham a pig has ever given its yummy, yummy life for. So good, in fact, that I had to post about it and make sure that any of you ever have to make a ham, you use this recipe. The meat wasn't at all salty and more moist than you can imagine. And the glaze, oh, the Maple-Orange Glaze is... well... Oh! worthy.

I can't post the actual recipe here, but you can head over to America's Test Kitchen and it is available for free -- you just have to register on their site. While you are there, check out the Best Drop Biscuits recipe, for what can only be described as super quick, idiot-proof buttermilk biscuits. It's all so tasty, it almost makes me want to have my in-laws over more often. Almost.

Family Dinner: Disco Balls and Xanax

2010-01-02T10:12:00.001-05:00

Our holiday centerpiece for this year.

Today is the last of our holiday celebrating. Most of Ed's family is coming over and will somehow cram into our fairly small living room for supper and gift swapping. In addition to setting myself up for a crazy day by making a ham (the one thing I think I have never cooked before) -- there will be mucho tension because of some things that went down over the past few months. Fortunately, we made a run to the liquor store so at least we'll have some adult beverages to dull the pain.

New Year, New Page

2010-01-01T13:50:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite things about New Year's Day is the, well, newness of it. It's like your life is opening a blank journal to the first fresh, blank page. A few days ago, I saw the cutest set of Moleskine journals in Real Simple magazine. The twelve color coded, numbered journals are set up like a daily planner, but without all of the bulk of the ones I've carried in years past.

Available at Moleskine.com or on sale at Crate & Barrel retail stores

As luck would have it, I came across the journal set at my local Crate & Barrel store. The best bonus of all -- it was on sale for $15!! I doesn't seem to be available online, but you might be lucky enough to score one in person. Now if only I could find something that could keep me *on* my carefully planned out (and now pretty) schedule...

MWF ISO Perfect Lip Liner Pencil

2009-11-10T11:36:00.001-05:00

Every girl has at least a couple of Must Have items in her beauty arsenal. I, for one, can not function when I know that I am down to my last tube of of Burt's Bees lip balm. Dry lips and the occasional raggedy cuticle are all no match for my teeny tube of yellow goodness.

Tip: Stock up when the holiday gift sets go on clearance at Target the week after New Years. I found them for 50-cents for a package of 3 tubes and a tin!! I am STILL working through last year's haul!

A few years ago, the product designers at Bobbi Brown had the smarts to stick a small lip brush at the opposite end of their lip liner pencils. It was handy and meant there was one less thing I needed to carry around in my makeup bag, plus the lip pencil was wonderfully creamy and not at all drying. Perhaps more importantly, it got me to fork over the $$ for its multi-tasking ability.

I have been using mainly glosses and tinted lip balms over the past few years, but lately I find myself wanting something with a little bit more pigment and staying power. Hello lipstick, old friend. So when I went to the Bobbi Brown site to pick up a new liner, I was sad to see that they have done away with my little friendly brush!

A quick check online tells me there are a few other options to try. But I'm still torn.

So I turn to you, my 2 {sometimes 3!} readers out there. Do you have a favorite pencil I should try? Am I ridiculous for making a big to-do about a silly little brush and stick with my must-have? Besides, does anyone even use lip liner pencil anymore?

Whoops! & Flickr Friday Favorites

2009-11-06T13:19:00.002-05:00

I knew I had a busy week, so I wrote and scheduled a few funny/interesting posts for this week... or thought I did. Heck, I even remember doing it. Apparently the blog gods were conspiring against me, because not only did they not post, they are completely gone from my account! Oddness... I will certainly have time to post next week, so in the meantime, want to take a guess on what has been consuming my time??

1. Welcome to Las Vegas (178/365), 2. Peacock Plumes, 3. 03.12.09: ladies..., 4. Lace Jacket for Wedding Dress, 5. Wheel of Fortune, 6. Pristine, 7. My new 3 1/2" high heel sky blue DUNE shoe, 8. Vegas Baby!, 9. Ribbon Curls (Infinite)

Flickr Favorites Friday

2009-10-30T16:04:00.001-04:00

1. mrcz1117, 2. Lovely Green..!!, 3. Rainbow of Ribbons, 4. STAATSGALERIE, STUTTGART, 5. rose cupcakes, 6. i don't know what's on the other side of this life

Happy Halloween... just don't ring my bell!

2009-10-30T14:59:00.002-04:00

I am not one of those people who get all excited about Halloween. Frankly, I pretend I'm not home when kids knock on my door, grubbing for candy. Ha-ha! Trick's on you... I'm sitting right here on my couch.

My mom was not one of those crafty, creative stay-at-home moms that my friends had. She had a job and less than no time to come up with something unique for me. When I was growing up, the extent of my costume creativity was to throw on one of those flammable smock deals from the local County Discount with the plastic mask that would totally be illegal today. I did have a brief stint as a homemade She-Ra in the mid-80s, but I clearly peaked early. In high school I upgraded to less whorish versions of the Slutty Devil or the Slutty Witch but that was just about as festive as I ever got.

Not much has changed since those days. This Halloween will be just another Saturday, cleaning the house and running errands. Now, if you want to talk day-after-50%-off-candy... I'm your girl!

I think I just put Spanx on my couch.

2009-10-26T15:55:00.001-04:00

After the pudding incident the other night, I tried a dozen different things but nothing could get the darn chocolate {mint!} pudding out of the fabric on our couch. Truthfully, I could have probably hidden the stains with some strategic pillow placements but what fun is that?! I was upset and hell bent on fixing it somehow, and since a new sofa is out of the question, I moseyed over to SureFit to go slipcover shopping.

I had an unspeakably ugly experience with an unfitted slipcover years ago for a {three times} hand-me-down couch in our first apartment. "Never again," I swore. And one AMEX and 3 UPS shipping days later, here we are.

I went with a three-piece stretch fabric, so the couch could have some definition and wouldn't look like the Big Blob of Fabric, Part II. This super stretchy, gigantic shower cap (and two matching cushion covers) arrived today and I got right to work putting this bad boy on. I realized pretty quickly that I was putting the equivalent of Suede Spanx onto my sofa.

In the end, our sofa went from looking like this little slice of pretty to looking like this:

Yes, it could be much worse. I know that. But after all of the huffing and puffing involved in getting the main cover on, I expected something a little more snug fitting. No idea how I got the left side straight and the right side is bunched up - and there is a good amount of fabric sort of tucked into the back, behind the cushions. Apparently, my couch is too skinny for Spanx. I, on the other hand...

But I digress. I do love how the cover accentuates the back pillow lumpiness, and gives the seat cushions the faintest hint of the couch equivalent of a camel toe. Klassy. {Could be worse... could be worse...}

Also, I clearly need to take a minute to reorganize my bookshelves. But that's another post for another time. I need a nap!

Flashback Friday: Have Mercy!

2009-10-23T11:02:00.031-04:00

For every ridiculously viral video about cats, there exists a gem hidden in the depths of You Tube. I am happy to bring some joy to you today in the form of everyone's favorite mousse-using Uncle Jesse.

For some reason, knowing that Jessie & The Rippers exists in some semblance of perpetuity makes me smile.

Lesson of the Day: Episode 2

2009-10-21T21:59:00.001-04:00

Did you know that throwing a poor, innocent little pudding cup 12 feet across the room might not be the smartest move? Particularly when you are aiming at a person who is sitting on a pale blue couch? I did... though someone else, who shall remain nameless, seemed to have slept through that day of Life Lessons 101.

Poor thing never stood a chance,because now my couch looks like this:

It was much, much worse (throw pillows were taken down as collateral damage) but it took me a few moments to find the humor in the situation and grab my camera. And by humor, I mean that kind of laughing you do when you are completely enraged about something but it oddly comes out in the form of a laugh. So the Resolve is working it's magic and I am hoping for the best.

And I'm still craving pudding...

Update: So the Resolve didn't lift a darn bit of it, even after 3 applications. I can (mostly) hide it with pillows, but there is definitely going to be some sofa shopping in my future. So long California vacation... it was nice knowing you.

Lesson of the Day

2009-10-20T10:08:00.027-04:00

This morning I had a late start, so I made the call to spray in some dry shampoo to make my hair remotely presentable in public. I knew I was just running a few errands and, frankly, the people at Target don't usually look too hot themselves at 8am. So I felt okay.

Fast forward to 10 minutes ago, when I get home and discover that a sort of... umm... paste has formed on my scalp. Apparently, getting a little overheated while running around while wearing the dry shampoo is not the way to go.

Lesson Learned! Spread the word...

Guilt Free Chili... Really!

2009-10-19T11:35:00.000-04:00

I meant to write about this over the weekend, but that would have majorly interfered with my laziness. Saturday and Sunday were gray, rainy and bitterly cold here in the Northeast and that gave me the perfect excuse to bust out my never-fail and totally guilt-free chili. With very low fat and TONS of fiber and protein, I never think twice about going for that second bowl.

Quick Recipe

Sauté a diced medium onion and 3 smashed cloves of garlic in 1 Tbsp olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot (I use a 5qt LeCreuset).
Once mixture is softened, stir in 2 Tbsp chili powder (store bought or homemade mix) and let bloom in the oil for a minute or two.
Mix in 1 lb ground turkey (I like the dark meat) and break it up with your spoon as it browns.
Once meat is browned, add 1 large (28oz) can of whole tomatoes and 2 (14.5oz) cans of dark red kidney beans.
Let simmer for 30 minutes with cover *on*. You'll see how the sauce changes and the mixture changes from liquidy to "chili-y" an the tomatoes break down. Remove lid and simmer for another 30 minutes or until liquid thickness is to your liking.

Notes

This is sort of the base recipe I work from. Most of the time, I play around with adding different chilies or veggies. In this batch, I replaced the liquid from the tomatoes with 6 oz of a chocolate stout we had in the fridge. It gave it a great, hearty oomph.
I salt everything as I go, instead of all at once.
My own chili powder mix that is a rough estimation of:

3 parts smoked paprika
2 parts ground ancho chilies
2 parts cumin
1 part coriander
1 part garlic powder
1 part cocoa powder
1 part oregano
1/2 part nutmeg

Cider + Donuts = I love fall!

2009-10-15T16:42:00.000-04:00

Since I am going to be talking a lot more about my photography, I wanted to start things off right. And by right, I mean with donuts.

We stopped off at the same farm that I blogged about last year, which is a 15 minute drive from my mother-in-law's new home, expressly for the purpose of eating these very donuts. We lucked into getting some from the very last batch of the day, warm from the fryer. If you try hard enough, you can actually hear my husband begging me to hurry up so he could get to eating. I was all too happy to oblige.

I will be back...

2009-10-15T15:46:00.000-04:00

I'm just now getting around to sprucing up the place, so I'm asking you to please pardon the mess around here in the meantime. There have been a lot of changes over the last year or so here at Casa Cupcake - new apartment, new habits, and even a possible new career - and I am looking forward to getting back to blogging on a more regular basis. My yummy recipes and annoying observations aren't going to write about themselves, you know!

To blog or not to blog...

2009-09-18T00:40:00.005-04:00

** I know that I am quick to unsubscribe from stagnant blogs, so if you still check in from time to time, stop in the comments and say hello! **

Once upon a time, this very blog was both funny and snarky, superficial and insightful, topical and regularly updated. Then, as it is wont to do, life happened. Month after month of complete and utter nonsense were heaped upon both Mr. Cupcake and me. Pure rubbish, of which we had no control, but were somehow responsible to clean up. But who wants to hear the boo-hoos about all that?

The good news is that, within the next week, most of it will be behind us and our lives can go back to "normal" [ha... normal]. My normal used to include blogging here and, the truth is, I miss it. Sometimes things happen and need to be shared, but my 140-character Twitter field just can't do them justice.

I am going back and forth about whether to continue on with this blog (and a major revamp) or start up something completely new. I have been blogging here since 2005, but I want to go in a different direction and not focus on The Creative Cupcake as much. I am taking my daily creativity in a whole new direction, and I'd love to be able to share what I am doing. Naturally there will be talk of shopping, great reads, DIY craftiness, tasty eats, and all things pink and preppy. So if you like photos of yummy baked goods, or are dying to know my very biased opinions on cheesetastic television , stick around!

Are You Kidding, Private Practice Edition

2008-12-10T23:02:00.002-05:00

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

2008-11-22T08:52:00.000-05:00

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

2008-11-21T08:21:00.000-05:00

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

2008-11-20T08:31:00.000-05:00

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

2008-11-19T21:15:00.002-05:00

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

View of the Day

2008-11-09T13:39:00.003-05:00

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

2008-11-05T00:39:00.002-05:00

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

2008-11-04T07:50:00.000-05:00

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

2008-11-03T20:58:00.003-05:00

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.

2008-10-10T09:10:00.000-04:00

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

2008-10-09T10:58:00.002-04:00

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!

2008-10-08T09:22:00.000-04:00

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

2008-10-07T10:52:00.000-04:00

Was butter really so difficult to cut before?

One Click Butter Cutter

Up to: lately

2008-10-06T08:42:00.004-04:00

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

2008-09-25T21:55:00.002-04:00

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!

2008-09-19T09:01:00.004-04:00

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

2008-09-13T10:11:00.002-04:00

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

2008-09-12T08:37:00.003-04:00

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

2008-09-11T09:18:00.003-04:00

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!

2008-09-01T01:09:00.004-04:00

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."

2008-08-26T15:19:00.002-04:00

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!

2008-08-25T20:00:00.003-04:00

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

2008-05-22T13:44:00.003-04:00

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

2008-05-13T19:59:00.005-04:00

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...

2008-05-07T22:59:00.004-04:00

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

2008-05-01T16:05:00.003-04:00

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...

2008-04-25T00:06:00.004-04:00

... 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?

2008-04-22T15:02:00.003-04:00

I love positive stories about strong women:

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

Live Blogging: New Jersey!

2008-04-13T21:55:00.003-04:00

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

2008-03-07T17:42:00.002-05:00

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!

2008-03-03T16:46:00.003-05:00

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!

2008-02-26T00:41:00.004-05:00

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

2008-02-20T10:44:00.004-05:00

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

2008-02-17T20:35:00.002-05:00

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

2008-02-16T01:11:00.003-05:00

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

2008-02-16T01:06:00.002-05:00

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

2008-02-14T04:35:00.005-05:00

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...

2008-02-14T03:53:00.003-05:00

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.

2008-02-06T21:24:00.001-05:00

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

2008-02-03T00:21:00.000-05:00

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

Observation of the Day

2008-02-02T00:04:00.000-05:00

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!

2008-01-31T13:30:00.000-05:00

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

BIG Sale on Basic Ribbons!

2008-01-31T13:26:00.000-05:00

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

2008-01-29T17:07:00.000-05:00

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?

2008-01-26T04:50:00.001-05:00

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

2008-01-17T23:18:00.001-05:00

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

2008-01-13T08:46:00.000-05:00

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

2008-01-12T21:10:00.000-05:00

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.

2008-01-12T02:31:00.000-05:00

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...

2008-01-11T17:07:00.000-05:00

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

2008-01-08T12:41:00.000-05:00

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

2008-01-08T02:31:00.000-05:00

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

2008-01-07T23:49:00.000-05:00

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?

2008-01-07T23:39:00.000-05:00

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!

Up to: 12/18/07

2007-12-18T22:47:00.000-05:00

Celebrating:
Mr. Cupcake's Birthday
Birthday kisses, wasabi peanuts, Raspberry Truffle Mousse Cake and plasma TVs (a small one for our room) are what turning 28 is all about!

Needlessly Wanting:
Cricut Expression
While I can't think of a single (valid) business use for this electronic die cutter, I can think of 101 unnecessary ones!

Watching:
Run's House
Late night channel flipping proved fruitful when I stopped on an episode of Run's House. Now I'm hooked and stalking my mail carrier since I added the previous seasons to my Netflix queue.

Finishing Up:
Last Minute Holiday Orders at The Creative Cupcake
Today was the last day for Priority Shipping and Saturday at noon will be it for Express Overnight in order to make Christmas delivery. It has been a hectic holiday (shopping) season and I am looking forward to a few days of R&R before the family comes to visit on the 26th.

Newsletter: Holiday Shipping & New Gift Boxes

2007-12-12T10:46:00.000-05:00

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

I shopped but have not yet dropped

2007-12-05T03:37:00.000-05:00

Late last night, I got some rather interesting/potentially life altering news (not to worry... it is largely positive) that may or may not happen in the near future. Kind of complicated so I promised those involved that I wouldn't blog about it now, but I promise to divulge all 3 of you reading this pretty soon.

Anyhow, it came out of nowhere and kind of threw me for a loop and while there is no real fix, I generally recommend treatment for these types of things with a bit of retail therapy. Believe you me, I did not disappoint. Along with a few pairs of jeans, a sweater, new Initials bag (the Sassy Baguette in Vermont / damask print and a turquoise monogram -- so cute!) and some other "little" things, I picked up:

Criss-Cross flats at Old Navy

Velvet flats at Old Navy

Pine Cone Hill PJs at Give Simple

Yoga Booty Ballet from Amazon (based on the recommendation of PPP)

I am doing my best to stay away from Etsy. I have no self control and I cannot be trusted near handmade goodies. Tomorrow I have to run some errands, which means a swing by Target. While there is no telling how much damage I will do there, I can only hope that a good Target-fest will get this out of my system once and for all!

Going to the Chapel

2007-11-26T03:03:00.000-05:00

Well, we've already been to the chapel... 3 years ago today, to be exact. We had our fair share of disasters that day (I still can't talk about my flowers/florist without getting mad), but at the end of the day we were getting married and that was all that mattered to us.

Take a walk down memory lane with me...

My shoes were my something blue

Being traditionalists, we spent the night before apart and saw each other for the first time during our pictures -- the one above was at Fairmont Park.

You can't tell in this photo, but the bottom hem of my dress was fairly muddy thanks to rain the day before and my brother stepping on my train in an earlier photo. I was too excited to care!

I thought this captured the "real" us... because we often stop to casually lean against building columns! This was in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

We are standing at the top of the Rocky steps at the Art Museum. It's amazing how good we all look after running up a few flights!

The rings & "I do"s.

Broad Street near City Hall - the perfect place for a dip. We couldn't stop laughing because cars kept passing us by to honk and congratulate us, not that we knew any of them.

The ballroom during the cocktail hour (in the balcony).

We went with old-school Sinatra for our first dance - The Way You Look Tonight

The emptiest the dance floor was all night -- our band was phenomenal.

Of course we thought it was the most wonderful night and enjoyed every second. For months afterward, we kept joking that we wanted to have a party every year to celebrate -- if someone else was paying this time!

Up to: Day-After-Thanksgivng

2007-11-23T20:24:00.000-05:00

Official Day-After-Thanksgiving Sandwich Recipe

Side 1:
1. Crusty bread (this year it was a slice of French Boule from Central Market)
2. Thin spread of butter
3. Shmear of Maple Sweet Potato Puree
4. Layer of Cornbread Stuffing (or is it technically dressing? I never know...)
5. Light layer of gravy

Side 2:
1. Crusty bread
2. Shmear of cranberry sauce (canned is not only preferred in our house, but mandatory)
3. Layer of Green Bean Casserole (new for our Thanksgiving table this year)
4. Layer of white meat turkey (in our case, chicken)
5. Light layer of gravy

Note: both layers of gravy may be omitted to make room for "The Moist Maker" of Friends fame -- a slice of bread which has been soaked in gravy. This is highly recommended.

Zap in the microwave for 45 seconds and then marry the two halves. Best eaten while standing over the kitchen counter, after returning home from ridiculously early bargain power shopping. Even better when chased with a piece of pumpkin pie.

How do you build your perfect Day-After sandwich?

Giving Thanks

2007-11-22T00:01:00.000-05:00

I am thankful that tomorrow will be a cool Thanksgiving here in Dallas. Last year, Thanksgiving Day was in the mid-80s and far too warm for this pair of East Coasters. We couldn't get over how non-"holiday" our mood was because of it. Luckily for us, tomorrow will be much more like what we are used to, with an afternoon high of 51. I might even get to bust out my scarf that I knitted last year. Should I bother pointing out that yesterday we tied the record high at 82-degrees? I will never get used to the crazy Texas temperature swings. They're almost worse than my mood swings (right, hon?)!

This year it will just be Mr. Cupcake and me feasting on all of my Thanksgiving goodies, which I am also thankful for. Not having to worry about the current state of our apartment neatness will always make me grateful. This happening smack in the middle of the busiest time of the year for The Creative Cupcake (when I have no spare time to clean my home to a Martha-accepted level) makes me down right joyous. Plus it means more stuffing for us!

Another one of the things I am thankful for is the Thanksgiving-themed "Helen Keller, The Musical" episode of South Park. Aside from your basic level of hilarity from turning The Miracle Worker into a musical, there is a turkey involved. Kind of like Charlie Brown and his sickly tree... only with poultry.

Producer: What the hell is that?
Cartman: Thats Gobbles. The physically challenged turkey.

So wrong but, yet, so hilariously right.

What funny/quirky things are you thankful for this year?

Pucker up!

2007-11-16T12:39:00.000-05:00

I can't explain it, but this photo gave me the giggles this morning. At least Travolta had his good hair plugs in for the occasion. [/smirk]

How can this be...

2007-11-13T23:58:00.000-05:00

This is particularly funny if you happen to know me in real life... and therefore how truck-driver-ish my vocabulary can be. The only time I think I could have a G-rating is while I'm sleeping (and even then all bets are off). Click on the image to see your own blog rating.

Thanks to Kerry from More, More, More... for the tip!

Hi there... remember me?

2007-11-12T18:10:00.001-05:00

I just wanted to take a second and let out a great big sigh of relief. I had a fantastic show last weekend in Southlake and we had a wonderful time in New York City.

Now that I have a small lull in my shows/traveling/general life craziness I hope that I can get back to more timely postings. I miss you all! Plus, it has been no fun watching TV and not being able to comment and discuss the finer points of Dell's infatuation for Naomi (love it!) with those of you reading.

Oh, and I didn't forget about my monogramming news... just working out the last few details. Stay tuned...

Coming soon: Monograms!

2007-11-02T12:31:00.001-04:00

For all of our monogramming fans, we are about to bring you something you are going to just love. I'm working out the final details now, but stay tuned for a great announcement next week!

Show Alert: Southlake / Carroll SHS Craft Fair

2007-11-02T12:21:00.000-04:00

If you're in the DFW area, stop by and see me this weekend. There will be special shopping perks all day Saturday!

Up to: 10/18/07

2007-10-18T01:45:00.000-04:00

Browsing:
Pottery Barn Holiday Catalog
Arrived today and I am loving these ribbon ornaments... never enough ribbons in my decorating!

Reading:
Celebrity Detox: The Fame Game
Think what you may of Rosie, but I find her to be refreshing in our twisted world of faux-celebu-perfection.

Watching:
Private Practice
How much do I love that Shonda Rimes created Pete's character to exist in a place so far beyond what his pretty boy looks might predict? And how cute is Dell's crush on Naomi? I still miss her on Grey's.

Traveling to:
New York City
Heading "home" in 3 weeks - first time since the big move. Lots of friends and family to see, and even more pizza and bagels to dive into. I've missed my New York!

Hey there, The Gap

2007-10-17T19:30:00.000-04:00

I see you there, checking out my key fobs. Sure, it could be some super cool girl spending 2 minutes looking for a cute way to keep track of her keys. [If if is... Hi!] But I wouldn't be surprised if I stop in The Gap one day and see similar key chains for sale.

Luckily, you bought one before everyone else did -- you trend setter, you!

San Diego: Part Deux

2007-10-12T12:45:00.000-04:00

Sailboats along Harbor Drive.

In truth, I never *want* to leave San Diego. Despite my kicking and screaming (which made for an interesting trip through airport security), we made it back to Dallas last night. I'll post more photos ASAP, since none of my little helper elves bothered to come and magically work on my orders while I was gone!

Happy Birthday Eric!

2007-10-07T15:04:00.000-04:00

Though it's not something that I talk about often (if at all) here in Cupcakeland, I was adopted when I was a baby. The short version of the story is that it turned out that I had a biological brother (almost a year older than me) who was adopted by another family and grew up several hours away from me. Even though we spent 24 years growing up in very different environments, we found out that we are oddly alike in a very innate, biological way that I partly attribute to being born within a week of each other and thus, both Libras.

Why all this info? Today happens to be his birthday, and since we can't be together this year to celebrate together I sent over an ice cream cake (technically, a picture of mine from last week). I figured with such a crappy (but thoughtful!!!) gift, I could at least throw him a little blog posting. Cheers to a wonderful year, my friend!

I loves me some big brother!

Good reads?

2007-10-01T23:18:00.000-04:00

I'm heading back to San Diego for the better part of next week and want to pack my bag full of books since I have absolutely no intentions of doing even a shred of work while I'm there. I already have a copy of Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster, thanks to Alyssa's recommendation. Kitchen Confidential is also waiting for me at the library. Any must-read recommendations from my dear readers? New releases and all time favorites, biographies and fiction, trashy and educational- all are welcome.

Diamonds are a girl's best friend

2007-10-01T22:50:00.000-04:00

French headbands in our Brown Diamond pattern - $10-$15

This month we're also introducing a brand new pattern to our line of French Damask Headbands. The Diamond collection come in 3 color combinations: Blue & Pink, Brown & Blue and Green & Pink (of course). Additionally, we've added a blue pattern to our Paisley collection. All of our French collection patterns come in our 3 sizes: Small, Medium & Large (Small not available in Scroll collection). Be sure to check them out!

Child Size Headbands

2007-10-01T22:42:00.000-04:00

Preppy headbands in our Nantucket print - $8.50-$12.50

We've carried smaller headbands at our shows the past few months and since they've been a big hit with our customers, we are bringing them to our website's permanent collection too. In the past, young girls would wear our medium size and the tips would fall past their ears and irritate the whole area. Just as great as our standard comfort inserts, the newer size is about an inch shorter all around, making them perfect for toddlers and smaller children. You can find them in our newly redesigned Headband Page in the Preppy, French and Velvet styles.

Another year older

2007-09-30T21:58:00.000-04:00

In the grand scheme of things, I don't mind getting older. I am not one of those people who would relive my high school experience or want to stay in college forever; I definitely came into my own after those times were behind me.

I do realize that in the grand scheme of life, I am fairly young. In fact, that has always been my "thing" -- being the Young One. In my former career, I was a good 10-30 years younger than my clients and those we worked with. Among our post-college friends, I have always been the Young One. Ironically, I've always joked that I was 22-going-on-45 since I act like anything but the Young One. I can't help but feel that I blinked and suddenly find myself in my [gulp] late 20's.

This Saturday was spent in celebration of the 2nd Anniversary of My 25th Birthday. Thanks to a surprise refund from Uncle Sam that arrived on Wednesday (the government, not my actual uncle Sam) I was able to get the gift that I wanted but never thought we could actually afford right now. As if that wasn't good enough, we scored some of the most delicious Chocolate Cherry Bread from Central Market which served as the tastiest Birthday Breakfast I've had in a long time. Mr. Cupcake started the day off in one of my favorite ways -- with a schedule! In a mockery of my daily "To Do" lists, he created a schedule of the day's activities, including notated comments. There was lots of relaxing, eating the yummiest of my favorite foods and the dorkiest rendition of "Happy Birthday" via text/photo/voice message from my brother Eric.

What Mr. Cupcake's cake lacked in size, it made up in thoughtfulness.

Not a complaint to be had and it certainly beats the pants off my past few birthdays:

Age 25 - Spent 3 days babysitting for Mr. Cupcake's supervisor's 2 small children while they were on a business trip. There were diapers. There were temper tantrums. Plus, they acted up so badly in my car that I ran a stop sign and got pulled over [no ticket -- out of the sheer pity the cop must have had for me] at 7:30am. There was not a lot of sleep nor fun for the Birthday Girl that year.
Age 26 - Mr. Cupcake was working and I spent the day largely by myself, save for an embarrassing lunch with my friend Aimee involving a sombrero and an ice cream potato. Even afternoon tea at the Metropolitan Museum of Art could not redeem my dignity. While the Carrot Top sighting helped a little, the whole moving halfway across the country thing made the whole day more stressful.

Side note: The one thing I did miss was my special birthday dinner. Since turning 20, I have celebrated each birthday with dinner at a small restaurant named Bruculino's on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Last year we discovered that the owners opened a new French Bistro restaurant (Bistro Cassis) in it's place, which was incredibly tasty, but just not the same. Each year I'd await the braciola that melted in my mouth and the gnocchi that were like little potato pillows from heaven. I heard a rumor that they actually switched spots (Cassis was down on 14th street) and renamed it Pomodoro -- I may have to do some detective work when I'm back in NYC in November.

On Notice: My TiVO

2007-09-28T03:03:00.000-04:00

Among all of the season premiers this week, there was only one that really mattered to me (OK, three if you count The Office & 30 Rock that I watch online). I settle into the couch tonight and flip on Grey's Anatomy. I am engrossed in the new story lines and trying to decide if I like Lexi or not (for the record, I'm leaning towards no... since I find her just as whiny/annoying as her half-sister). Izzy sees George at the door, and then...

Nothing.

My TiVO has taken it upon itself that I've seen enough and stopped the recording there. No ending. No previews of next week. I am not a happy camper.

TiVO, you've been warned!

Up to: 9/27/07

2007-09-27T01:30:00.000-04:00

Finally awaking from:
My bed
The Balloon Festival was even more exhausting than we imagined!

Planning for:
A return trip to San Diego
A week and a half from now I'll be back on the West Coast. Coronado, you've been warned!

Avoiding:
Grocery shopping
Have you ever had one of those weeks when you have no desire to cook?

Doing the happy dance for:
Nikon D40x
Coming on Friday -- I've been waiting for a new digital SLR for ages now and I could not imagine a better birthday gift!

Wait... Did she just say birthday gift?! [smirk]

Show Alert: Plano Balloon Festival

2007-09-18T23:32:00.000-04:00

Plano Balloon Festival
Friday 9/21 - Sunday 9/23
Location: Plano, TX
Event link: planoballoonfest.org

Chameleon
Pilot: Dale Tibodeau
Houston, Texas

We will be located just before the Kids Fun Zone, directly along the Launch Field. Stop by and say hello!

Up to: 9/18/07

2007-09-18T23:19:00.000-04:00

Sewing... and sewing... and sewing...

The only daylight I've seen in the past 5 days has been through my window, which I conveniently face away from while at The Beast. It's my own fault, really, since I grossly
miscalculated the pacing of my To Do list for this weekend's show inventory and now find myself a full 4 DAYS behind schedule. Since we have to set up Friday afternoon, that pretty much leaves 2 more days to pump out 6 days worth of work. I wish myself Godspeed.

Truthfully, it is weeks like this that I wonder why I have my own business when I could very "easily" go back to a traditional 9-to-5 job (note: please don't think that I think those of you reading with said jobs have it any easier/harder than those of us who take a more non-traditional path. I've been there -- it's not). But come Saturday afternoon or, better yet, Sunday around 7pm when we start to pack up and head home I'll be reminded of why I started The Creative Cupcake. Watching people enjoy my colorful, pretty things, meeting new customers and catching up with our "regulars", and noshing on lots of terrible, fried fair food is worth every sunless minute.

Open letter to my VW:

2007-09-12T11:28:00.000-04:00

My Dearest Helga,

Why must you be so spatially efficient? Why must you drive like a sleek car, and not the Soccer Mom Mobile that you appear to be. Your heated seats warming my buns in cold Northeast winters; your strong air conditioner cooling those very same buns in dreadful Texas summers. So strong and reliable. So German.

But today, sadly, I wish I didn't love you so.

We both know there has been some whistling. Some chirping that sounds like a cricket is stuck in your dashboard. I accidentally allowed your washer fluid reserves to get a little low, as you kindly remind me every 15 minutes with that charmingly shrill beep. But you knew I'd take care of you.

Helga, let me ask you something -- why is it that I am unable to take you to the mechanic to find out about that funny, whistling, chirping noise you've been making and discover that is a quick, $25 thing to fix. Why, oh why must it be some $1200, 2-day ordeal? Maybe it's just some bad PMS you're dealing with -- it's OK -- you can tell me.

Of course we'll have them fix you up like you've had an afternoon at Bliss -- even though it now means that my own Bliss massage/facial enjoyment will have to wait. Deep down, I still believe the sound is just you, telling me that you love me too.

Insert witty blog title here...

2007-09-12T10:45:00.000-04:00

Lots going on in Cupcake land, hence the sporadic blog posts as of late. As I type there are 43 brand new items waiting to be photographed and listed on the site -- all of which have been patiently waiting for close to 3 weeks now. No time then and no time now, but somewhere, some way I need to make time.

Our first event of the season is coming up next weekend and I don't feel even remotely ready. They quoted about 70,000 people for last year's attendance, which means I need to have a fair amount of back stock to keep our display full. It is also a 3-day show, with three FULL days (6am - 10pm on Saturday... are you kidding me?!) so I need to have a fair amount of sleep leading up until then. I am mostly dreading Sunday night when I will undoubtedly crash into oblivion, not to be seen out of my bed until Wednesday.

I've also discovered how much joy I get in throwing things out -- which is an odd thing for me (a self-proclaimed pack rat) to type. I have a bad habit of keeping things, rationalizing that I'll find a use for them but knowing they will inevitably end up in storage. I've been forced to weed through a good deal of it lately and have admittedly found a great deal of joy in deciding to toss things I haven't used/needed/wanted in the past year. It puts me in quite a zen state, I must admit. Our clothes closet has been put on notice, because I made an appointment with a consignment store and all bets are off!

Up to: 8/16/07

2007-08-16T16:04:00.000-04:00

Unpacking:
Wedgewood Sterling Dinnerware
After almost 3 years, I am finally unboxing and putting away our wedding china. My bets are on another 3 years before we actually use it!

Playing with:
New ribbons for The Creative Cupcake
They arrived on Monday and I can't keep my hands off them!

Planning for:
Austin
Visit Austin
The Mr. and I are headed down late next week. I can't believe it took us almost a year to finally visit.

Relaxing with:
Late Nights at the Dallas Museum of Art
Tomorrow night we'll be keeping cool with the free air conditioning and even free-er Starbucks, all while finally checking out the "From the Ashes of Vesuvius" installation.

New ribbons!!

2007-08-11T16:36:00.000-04:00

Next week I'm going to be adding 25 new ribbons to our choices! Among them are 6 completely new designs (aren't they fabulous?!) and some new sizes for existing design favorites.

This means I have to come up with 6 new names, inspired by some favorite preppy locations. Leave your suggestions in the comments and if I choose to use your name by 8/15, I'll send you a Preppy Ribbon Headband in that style. If that style is not available in the Medium size, I reserve the right to substitute an appropriate item in the same style. You can check out what we're already using here: Ribbon Swatches.

All Kinds of Randomness

Time Waster of the Day: IKEA Edition

On the Pole, with Ms. Stewart

Flickr Favorites Friday

A New Way to Tie One On

A second helping please, Sam I Am...

Family Dinner: Disco Balls and Xanax

New Year, New Page

MWF ISO Perfect Lip Liner Pencil

Whoops! & Flickr Friday Favorites

Flickr Favorites Friday

Happy Halloween... just don't ring my bell!

I think I just put Spanx on my couch.

Flashback Friday: Have Mercy!

Lesson of the Day: Episode 2

Lesson of the Day

Guilt Free Chili... Really!

Cider + Donuts = I love fall!

I *will* be back...

To blog or not to blog...

Are You Kidding, Private Practice Edition

TV worlds colliding

Anything but "Real" Housewives

J. Crew discounts

Package of the Day

View of the Day

Hope is a 4-letter word

Civic Duty of the Day

Up to: 11/3/08

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

Time Waster of the Day

Let's Go Etsy Shopping!

Vital Question of the Day

Up to: lately

Watching: Grey's Anatomy

Bring on the hot chocolate!

Cloud Blue: Color of the Day

Favorite Tips of the Day

Moment of reflection

Summer vacation, finally!

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

{gasp} She's alive!

Patronizing Prompt of the Day

Time Waster of the Day

When waiters don't give you lemons...

Important Lesson of the Day

I've been bitten...

Robin Roberts: Little Greek Boy?

Live Blogging: New Jersey!

Live Blogging: Newark Airport

The Shop is Closed!

Still open for business!

Animal Disguise of the Day

Phone Call of the Day

The Big Ta-Da! of the Day

Vital information: Starbucks Edition

San Francisco: In Pictures

Coming soon...

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

Comforting Thought of the Day

Observation of the Day

Newsletter: BIG Sale on Basic Ribbons!

BIG Sale on Basic Ribbons!

Annoying Reality of the Day

Who needs transitions?

Annoying Thought of the Day

A shopping kind of mood

Give me down to there hair

Seriously, people.

Like a bat out of...

What you are buying

Traveling Fool: 2007 Edition

Updating my blogroll

Missed me?

Up to: 12/18/07

Newsletter: Holiday Shipping & New Gift Boxes

I shopped but have not yet dropped

Going to the Chapel

Up to: Day-After-Thanksgivng

Giving Thanks

I will be back...