Peace, Love, Cupcakes

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It just came out in the news that British spy agents were able to hack into an al Qaida electronic magazine and replace bomb making instructions with..... cupcake recipes.  Ohhh, how I love that.  Apparently, the title of the article was, "Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom" and included recipes featured on the Ellen Degeneres show.  

Cupcakes helping to create world peace.  That's the kind of politics I can absolutely get behind :)



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Cupcake Poll

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I'm taking a poll!

Why?  Because I'm about to delve into the world of cupcake-baking, and I'd like to know where I should start!  I've already found a killer Strawberry Cupcake recipe, but I need at least a handful of other flavors to add to my go-to list. 

Tell me what your favorite cupcake flavor is!

A Dog, A Girl, and a Fake Cupcake

Because I needed a photo for the new blog, I decided to have Bo take a new one. And then, I thought, hey, I should upload the large version for you to see. Plus, I know how much you love some oddball poses of Rory, right?

Everyone say treeeeeats!

She makes me laugh. A lot.

(Ok, so I miiiiight have photoshopped the color of the cupcake topper. The red was just too red for the photo. So, you know. Engineering degree not for naught.)

Anthro Adoration

I found this little surprise in my mailbox last night.  A padded envelope, addressed in a cute squiggly pale pink border.

Oh, good heavens!  It's from Anthropologie!  But but but...I didn't order anything.  And it says it's "Especially For" me...?

OHDEARGODSQUEALING&JUMPINGUP&DOWN!  Anthro sent me an early birthday card!!!!  And in true Anthro style, it's freaking adorable.  Full of the sweetest details and yet somehow still simple and clean.  If you zoom the photo, you'll see that they're sending me birthday wishes in the form of 15% off during my birthday month.  Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

And And And And And, that candle is actually a necklace!  Seriously?!  Again - definitely zoom to read the text details on the back.  Just. Too. Sweet.

note i:  If you're wondering how the heck Anthro knew my birthday, it's because I let a girl at the store counter talk me into signing up for their membership card.  So far, the only thing I've understood about it is that it's free and keeps track of your purchases so that you don't have to keep the receipts.  Beyond that, I had no clue.  

note ii:  This so coulda been next week's Tuesday Twee fodder, but you really can't expect me to have waited another 6 whole days to post it.  I would've self-combust by then.

note iii:  Yikes, I can't believe this whole week has been about cupcakes.  I truly apologize for that.  But don't think for a second that you get to blame me for any sudden cupcake-induced weight gain or sugar comas.  Nu uh.  You're on your own.

Le Cupcake Sigh

Way, way back in the day, I wrote about my dreams - nay, plans - to visit some local cupcake shops.  Well, last night, I finally did it.  We phoned in an order of 6 cupcakes to Heavenly Cupcake, drove down to the Gaslamp to pick them up, then sped home to try them all out. 

The verdict?  Yawn.

I'm really sad about this.  All the buildup, all the pining, all the yearning, all the wonderment.  I'm starting to think that maybe I'm not a cupcake fan after all?  This doesn't seem even remotely logical considering that my favorite food is cake with frosting.  And hello - what girl doesn't swoon over anything in miniature?  Cupcakes should be an easy win.  They really should be. 

Now I'm realizing why a couple of people have asked me if I do cupcakes for weddings.  And as such, I've now got my finger pressed on Buy for some cupcake cookbooks on Amazon.  I'll definitely be reporting my findings.

Six whole cupcakes to try.

Mr. Vanilla With Caramel*

Madam Red Velvet

Little Pumpkin Spice

Senor Signature de la Shop

(Vanilla cake with orange and chocolate, topped with chocolate frosting.)

(I only purchased this because it was their signature.  Otherwise, ewww.)

La La Carrot Cake

Coconut Kid

Bo and I tasted and then rated each one, just so you'd know what we thought of each.  In the end - basically, if the cupcake had cream cheese frosting, we liked it better than the rest.  Otherwise, it was Meh City.

We both made icky faces after biting into the orange thing.  Nasty!

The Vanilla Caramel was white cake with a teeny drizzle of caramel sauce.

Once again, I was disappointed by Red Velvet.

Bo's immediate response to the Pumpkin: "Yours is better."  (We love him.)

I tried the coconut 4 times to see if it was made with flavoring.  Pretty sure it was.

We both liked the carrot best.  The cake was moister, plus it had the cream cheese frosting.

* These names are totally my own.  I was too broken-hearted to go back to the shop for their given names.

Tuesday Twee: The Whole Set

You might remember - a couple of weeks ago, my Twee post was about a superpritty necklace given to me by Sidenote.  It looks like this, right?

Well!  My friend, Angela, here in San Diego got me this little gift for Christmas.  And the funny thing is that she bought my gift months ago.  Like, what are the odds?!

Now, it's one big happy cupcake family.  We love.  We love so, so much.

Tuesday Twee: Charmed

Remember, way back, when I visited Sidenote Cal in Minnesota?

The sweetest girl had a present for me when I arrived.

A present that couldn't have been more perfect.

A present that I now wear almost every single day.

The very definition of twee, indeed.