To blog or not to blog...

** 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

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!