one more for red

i had such a swell time culling the color shots for poppytalk's autumn colour week that i thought i would share one more for red...i also feel giddy, excited and totally honored that for four of the days, a picture of mine made it into the colour collection. swoon! thank you poppytalk for the inspiration and fun! aappy autumn!playing along with poppytalk's autumn colour week. check out the flickr pool here.

Sinuses be damned, I want cupcakes!

Just yesterday I read on Cupcakes Take the Cake that my favorite bakeshop was shutting down for the rest of the year. I had plans for coffee with the sherpa gal so we switched it up a wee bit.

We hit a favorite thrift store in the San Fernando Valley, then hit Leda's Bakeshop for samples galore, a nice chat with the nifty cupcake makers and probably more sweets than a gal with a sinus infection needs but hey, I'm playing the sick card and well, Leda's makes the best ginger scones ever!I'm not sure you would ever really want to go thrift shopping with me. I talk...a lot. I talk to you, I talk to myself, I offer fashion advice (unsolicited of course) to anyone around me. I drop stuff when I see something extra spiffy and I oooh and aahhh out loud. Sometimes I even clap and/or jump up and down. I've been known to try things on right there, in the middle of the aisle. One of my requirements for thrift shopping is to wear nifty shoes because sometimes you can't try stuff on so you have to hold up to your chest and then look down to see if it looks happy with your shoes. That is of course how I ended up with the wacky housedress. I also run a commentary on things that won't fit me and I make up outfits on the spot.

"Oooh, wear this with aqua colored tights and yellow shoes and put your hair in a pony tail!"

I also pick up vintage bits that I have NO need for but hold onto them because they are vintage and you know, only two dollars. I put the nifty fruity train curtains back but kept the gold accented chicken.. Don't even try to figure me out. I know I just wrote how we are trying to purge but it was a chicken. Do you even know how I feel about chickens? We did have a scary moment when we thought a wallet had been lost or stolen but it was just hiding and we were able to escape the thrift store (my total was just under $21.00!)Walking into Leda's is quite heavenly. It is a teeny-tiny shop and there are always oodles of samples and they offer a fantastic assortment of yummy vegan sweets. I even picked up a vegan brownie and STILL have some left. I got half a dozen of the itty bitty cupcakes and cradled them on my lap all the way home and then put them in the fridge to recover from the heat. It has been super duper HOT lately.At some point I remembered I had the cupcakes. How could I have forgotten? It was picture time and the light is changing and there are clouds and since I don't have a fancy camera or lightbox set up I made due with what I had and proceeded to take almost 100 photos. I know! Get a life, right? Anyway, the cupcakes are really pretty and still in the fridge waiting for Mr. a-go-go to return from work. Can you believe it? I share! That was my day, it was delightful even with this awful, evil migraine mimic-er. Dinner is done (rosemary, white bean & tomato stew), aspirin has been consumed and I'm (finally) watching The Core! I better hurry before the mister gets home!

Have a most stupendous weekend and please help me plan our road trip!

Bakeshop Bounty

Even though 7-eleven sells a pretty tasty cupcake, I still frequent cupcake shops around town. I'm a pretty picky cupcake eater. I like more cake than frosting and I don't like super sweet. Sadly, my sense of smell has once again, gone AWOL so I'm missing out on the nuances of flavor in a lot of the cakes I try. I think my favorite cupcake shop is Leda's Bakeshop in Sherman Oaks. Big Sugar in Studio City is an adorable shop but their cupcakes, for me, aren't on the top of my list. However, if I'm jonesing for a bar I go there. She makes the best bars I have ever encountered! Especially the peanut butter chocolate swirl. Last time I was there I sampled her new pecan bar which is heavenly. Kind of like pecan pie but without all that stickiness, plus, it has a shortbread crust and ya know, I kinda like the shortbread.

But, back to Leda's. It ain't cheap. The tiny bite sized cupcakes are $1.50 each and if you pick up a few it adds up quickly for not so much cake. I need to say this though, her flavors are so, so, so perfect that you only want to eat one so that you can savor it. There is just the right amount of frosting dabbed on top sometimes hiding a dollop of ganache or lemon curd. Flavor bursts can aptly be applied here. The vegan goods at Leda's are awesome. The chocolate peanut butter cookies are to die for and well, my absolute favorite is the ginger scones which are also pretty pricey pricey. The best part though of course is taking pictures of all the cuteness. Click on the pics for more info on flavors...

Happy Tuesday! More cupcake pics from moi:
Yummy Cupcakes
Cafe Unforgettable Cakes
Big Sugar Bakeshop
Leda's Bakeshop
7-Eleven
Alcove
Junior's Deli
Trader Joe's
Whole Foods

fakey cakes by jek in the box

Yummy Cupcakes

A couple of weeks ago when the lady Jenny and I hit the thrift stores on Thrifty Tuesday we stopped for cupcakes at Yummy Cupcakes in Burbank. I had been there once before but wasn't exactly keen on the experience. I was up for another go so we headed inside. It was so pretty with all the cupcakes every-which-way and the jars and jars of candles and stuff. I asked if I could take pictures and was introduced to Tiffany, the owner. We got to chatting and I had told her with a little wince and a cringe how my first Red Velvet from them was unsatisfying. She apologized and later, as I was checking out, she offered up a Red Velvet on the house and this one was much more satisfying than that first one I had. This one was moist and of a perfect texture and all the rest were just as yummy. My only complaint, which really isn't a complaint is that the frosting is too much. I'm a light-on-the-frosting kind of gall so I could have done without but after experiencing weeks and weeks of low customer service everywhere I turned, it was so nice and refreshing to meet and greet with the owner and have her be real. Thank you Tiffany! I'm hoping more and more choose Yummy Cupcakes for their sugar fix! Oh, and the one on top is a Lemon Tart! I also got the classic Yummy Cupcake and a Happy Day.

Cupcakes are popping up all over!

Methinks the cupcake craze is coming to an end. At least for it's bakeshop novelty bit. See, I picked up this sweet pink confection at the 7-eleven around the corner from the casa. This pink confection came from a convenience store. This pink confection came from a place that sells slurpees, condoms, cigarettes, chili filled hot dogs and lottery tickets.

AND. IT. WAS. DELIGHTFUL.



The scene that played out just before I purchased this delightful pink confection went something like this:

Me: Oh my gawd!
Mr.a-go-go: What?
Me: Oh my gawd!
Mr.a-go-go: What?
Me: I have to get this!
Mr.a-go-go: What?...That?...Why?
Me: I have to.
Mr.a-go-go: You don't need that. You don't need to eat that.
Me: I'm not going to eat it. I just want to take a picture of it.
Mr.a-go-go: You don't need it.
Me: I know I don't need it. But I do need to take a picture of it!
Mr.a-go-go: Why?
Me: Because! It's a cupcake! From 7-eleven!
Mr.a-go-go: You don't need it! Don't get it!
Me: Why?
Mr.a-go-go: Because I'll eat it.
Me: Then don't eat it. I'll eat it or throw it away.
Mr.a-go-go: No! You can't throw it away.
Me: Sure I can.
Mr.a-go-go: Oh come on! You don't need it.
Me: I'm getting it. You don't have to eat it. Gimme some money.

The whole time we're having this discussion, the guy behind the counter keeps motioning to where the plastic bags are so I can serve myself. He stands there just nodding his head. I have no idea what he thought we were saying but I got me a pink cupcake AND I took pictures of it AND I cut it in half and ATE it and it was good! Really good! Like a cupcake from a birthday party when I was six. The frosting was slightly firmed up. Who knows how long it sat there, I was scared to ask. There wasn't too much of it. It was sweet, the texture was a little grainy with sugar and the sprinkles added a bit of crunch. The cupcake itself was vanilla and spongey. Really moist and super delightful. I would eat this over a Trader Joe's cake any day.

So what are ya waiting for? Grab yourself a buck fifty plus tax and git yerself to a 7-eleven now! If they don't have cupcakes, have a coke slurpee for me!