Every Time a Bell Rings....

Well friends, it is the most joyous of holiday seasons. I truly love this time of year; everyone smiles a little more, gives a little more, rejoices a little more. There are many who say that this season is over commercialized and they would be right, but we must remember where we live. It is our nature as Americans to over commercialize, to push every boundary and live out the American dream, which unfortunately is typically tied to monetary gain. Thus, we are bombarded with holiday sales, the crazy Lexus commercials portraying the luxury car adorned with the big red bow, told every Kiss begins with Kay and so on and so on. You can choose to be disenchanted with the holiday for these reasons or you can choose to find the miracles that this season always produces. As with everything, it is all in where you look either with your eyes, your heart or your spirit. For example, Patricia and Joseph Busenhart are using their limousine service to give children a little extra joy this year. They are giving some very deserving kids a ride that they may never have had in life and they are doing this because it is the right thing to do. They are not promoting themselves or doing this to gain business. It is simply out of love and being able to help your fellow soul.

We had a lovely young lady come in recently who needed some cupcakes for her friend who was Jewish. Our lovely lady was not Jewish herself, but she wanted to bring cupcakes to her friends celebration, so we did a little research in order to decorate the goodies in true Hanukkah fashion. She wanted her friend to know that she loved her and was a part of their family regardless of religious beliefs. I thought that was so telling and wonderful.

Our dear friend Morgan has created a blog based on her passion and desire for filling her life with adventure and love. Her project starts in the New Year and not only will it enrich her life, but I have no doubt that fellow bluegrassians will read her blog and fall in love with their home all over again. I feel that this is a gift to all of us. I know that I personally, take my wonderful home for granted and sometimes it takes a new voice to remind us how fortunate we are to live in a beautiful place.

A dear sister-friend of mine was recently approached by an old deaf gentleman selling handmade wooden placks that simply read 'Jesus Loves You' for $1.00. My dear sweet friend bought one of these placks with a $5.00 bill and told the gentleman to please keep the change. The old man looked at her, tears welling in his eyes and was shocked that someone would be generous. To this man, four extra dollars was equivalent to a million extra dollars. Just simple kindness changed his holiday season.

I could go on and on, but the point is that you can always find miracles in everyday actions. It may not seem like a miracle to you or even that huge of a deal, but to someone else, it may change their world. So, yes this season is commercialized, but I do believe that the human race still holds the true meaning of this season in their hearts and not their wallets. So with that being said, I want to wish all of you the happiest of Christmases, Hanukkahs and Kwanzaas from the entire BabyCakes Cupcakes family. We love you all and know that each of you will have a peaceful, joyous and loving holiday season.

Peace & Love,
T

What I Am Thankful For

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Thought I would share my two favorite guys on Thanksgiving morning. One is running the camera and the other is just doing his normal morning routine.



Two reasons why I am so very thankful. Have a blessed Thanksgiving everyone!

Peace & Love,
T

Winning Cupcake Statement of the Day

There were a lot of deserving statement winners of the day regarding our cupcakes, but the prize must go to the lovely mature lady who brought her grandchildren into the shoppe around five this afternoon.

Lovely Mature Lady: "We were afraid that we would miss you before you closed. You guys close at 5:00 right?"

Me: "No ma'am, we actually close at 6:30 during the week".

Lovely Mature Lady looking at her grandchildren and giggling a little: "Are you serious? We literally ran 3 red lights to make it here in time."

Me laughing: "Well, thank you for putting your car in jeopardy to have our cupcakes and I am sure your grandchildren loved the adventure."

You gotta love cupcake mania. The runner's up were as follows:

"The pink lemonade cupcake seriously changed my life."
"I have been avoiding you, so that I could lose a few pounds, but I missed you too much."
"I did some research and you can carry-on cakes and pies, so I need your cupcakes to fly to Chicago with me."

I soooo love you guys! You absolutely brighten my day and my laughter has filled this shoppe all day long!

Peace & Love,
T

You Know You Want One!

Lyla says come and get some yummy cupcakes. How can you resist that adorable face?!

Peace & Love,
T

Blessing Number 999

I slept like a baby girl on a pillow of fluffy goodness last night. Why you may ask? Well the Cupcake household was blessed with a brand new, fluffy, soft, mattress from heaven. To some people, this would seem like a very routine purchase; your old mattress is dead, so you need a new one. For me, it was blessing number 999. I can remember in the not so distant past, days when I wasn't sure how I was going to provide the very basic of necessities for myself. There was one night in particular, in the winter, when the heat had been shutoff and I had no hot water. I was unbelievably sick with a temperature so high that I could not stop my body from shaking violently, but there was no way that I could afford a trip to the emergency room. I had never felt so alone and quite honestly, scared. So as I lay there, crying, I said to a higher power with all honesty and conviction, "I can't do this anymore. I cannot carry this load. My life is yours". Even today, 11 years later, when I close my eyes, I can smell every smell, see myself pitiful and broken, like it was yesterday. This was a huge point for me; I always strived to be very independent, make people see that I could handle any situation, everything was perfectly fine in my little world; basically I didn't want to burden anyone. Pride is such a powerful thing. So, the next morning I did not wake to my heat magically turned on, hot water flowing, food stocked in my fridge and birds singing at my window, but I did wake. To be perfectly honest, my life proved to be even more challenging over the next 8 years, but the difference was that my path was placed in front of my eyes. It was my duty to make the choices that would honor my promise. I believe that when you pray, meditate, beg; your higher power gives you the ability to fulfill your own request. If you ask for strength, you get the opportunity to be strong, if you ask for love, you get the opportunity to learn how. I asked for a new life and my higher power steered me as long as I did not question. So, when a huge decision came up, instead of stressing or over thinking, my mind settled and somehow I knew the choice would make itself. That's how I ended up in Lexington, ultimately, meeting my husband and being blessed with the love that I needed. Every member of my most cherished extended family has come into my life through the most routine, daily occurrences. Like we were just waiting for our time to meet. Even reconnecting with family members has happened, I believe, when we could truly appreciate one another. People ask me, "How did you come up with the idea for the cupcake shoppe?" and I answer very honestly, "I don't know." They look at me like I am a little crazy, but it is a completely honest answer. I woke up one morning and just knew this was supposed to happen. That was blessing number 998 and it was a huge one because through the shoppe, I have met some of the most amazing, creative, loving people. It happens everyday when someone new walks through the door looking for their sugar fix.

So as I laid my head down last night, surrounded by pillowy-goodness, I said two words, "Thank you." The same two words that I have said every night for the last 11 years. Blessing number 999.

Peace & Love,
T

Could you please pass me a slice of tomato cake with extra lard?

I have been sloshing new cupcake ideas around in my head lately and I am feeling the retro vibe. I can remember certain cake flavors that were a stable around my grandmother's house when I was a small tike and I think it would be fun to put a new twist on old standbys. So, in my search for 1940/1950/1960's bake goods, I have come across some crazy grossness. I'm not sure if people just didn't have access to amazing ingredients or if they actually enjoyed these items, but I had to share them with you readers.

Item one, Maids of Honour. Now by the name you would think that these little delicacies would be yummy, light and wonderful; invoking ideas of romance and love. Oh dear friends, let me just say two words....mashed potatoes. Actually the recipe said a 'heaped tablespoon of mashed potatoes', in addition to puff pastry, lemon, nutmeg, cottage cheese and ground almonds. Seriously, I want to get sick just typing it. Item two, Tomato Soup Cake. Not only is a can of tomato soup added, but also lard, just for good measure, plus cloves, nutmeg, raisins and walnuts. Item three, Mayonnaise Cake. Now I realize that mayonnaise is used for everything under the sun and most of the time it is wonderful. Now is not one of those times. The recipe calls for mayonnaise and cold coffee. I'll repeat that ....mayonnaise and cold coffee. Baked. Together. I even found a cure for pneumonia which used lard and turpentine; let's all pause for a moment of silence to remember all of the poor pneumonia suffers of bygone years. It has become clear to me why Duncan Hines made a fortune back in the day and I truly believe that he may have saved a ton of people from food poisoning.

Suffice to say, the previous gems won't make it into BabyCakes Cupcakes lineup, but I do plan on having some cool flavors that will make you sigh and say "I remember when..". I would also like to apologize if anyone happened to be eating while reading this post.

Peace & Love,
T

There's Cookie Dough in Your Wedding Ring

Husband and I went shopping this weekend, which of course, is one of my favorite things to do. I actually really enjoy shopping with the husband. He has great taste and reels me in when my flights of fancy get a little over the top, which I provide the above picture as proof since he was not with me when I purchased Miss Kitty Meow-Meow for Halloween. I have been wanting a simple, delicate wedding band for some time to wear in the cupcake shoppe, so we stopped into a lovely jewelry store over the weekend. The older gentleman helping us was very sweet and as we waited for my 'cupcake band' to be prepared I asked if he would mind cleaning my much loved original wedding bands. He was happy to do so as we perused their beautiful, shiny baubles. We were getting ready to leave, so the gentile jewelry man removed my wedding day bands from the cleaning boxes and as he did so, he broke out his monocle magnifying glass to see if they were complete. As he was walking toward us, this was his finding:

Lovely jewelry store owner peering at my adored bands through his monopoly guy monocle, "Well, they do look rather clean, but it would appear that you have some chocolate chip cookie dough lodged in the prongs of your engagement ring. If you leave them with me for another 2 hours, I can make them look brand new."

Me, laughing at this wonderful discovery, "That's okay; I'm not sure they would be the same without a little cookie dough added in."

That pretty much made my afternoon, discovering that my love for my shoppe just melded completely with my one and only true love. You never know what you will find with the help of a sweet, monocle wearing, jewelry store owner.

Peace & Love,
T

Little Tikes

Today was 'bring your adorable children' to the shoppe day (unofficially). Our day started with super-cute, adorable Claire (a.k.a ladybug). We did Miss Claire's birthday cupcakes in May, which were completely pinkalicious. So she brought her lovely mom, Camille, into our shoppe today for a re-visit. We adore Claire so very much and I hope that her mom doesn't mind me using her photo for our blog; I just couldn't resist. Claire was wearing her very stylish ladybug top, pigtails and an adorable flower in her hair when she arrived. Miss Claire is always very sweet, polite and thanks us for her lovely cupcakes. So, we have fallen madly in love with Claire and everything she says we giggle and aawww over. I am sure that she thinks we might be a little crazy.

Later in the day, we had a new family visit our shoppe courtesy of Third Street Stuff (a shoppe we adore). A lovely mom brought her two young sons in and they enjoyed our cupcakes outside on our rock wall. The boys were very polite; saying thank you for sprinkles which I greatly appreciate. So, they left our shoppe and I continued baking when a few minutes later, my door opens via one of the adorable young boys. I smile and he says "Thank you for the very delicious cupcakes". Of course my heart melted and I thanked him for thanking me. Then a few seconds later, the door opens again and it is the younger-younger boy who says, "The cupcakes were yummy, thank you!". Oh my gosh! My heart literally turned into goo right on the spot. They were so polite and appreciative; they actually came back into the shoppe on their own just to thank me. Warm fuzzies everywhere! I really wanted to chase their mom down, give her a ginormous hug and thank her for bringing such amazing future men into the world. So, this post is dedicated to all the moms out there. You are doing a phenomenal job and I am soo excited to watch all your babies grown into beautiful, soulful adults with their tummies full of cupcakes!

Peace & Love,
T

Apologies

Today was a crazy, insane day at the cupcake shoppe and I really want to apologize to all who came by on this lovely Saturday of the 22nd August. We had a HUGE wedding to complete, so in order to do that in time, I had to shut our store down a little early except for orders that were being picked up. I sincerely apologize and please know this was not a regular occurrence for us. We try to accommodate everyone, but we realized by noon that we could not complete our wedding obligation and still keep the shoppe up. Please know that we will be open next Saturday and all Saturdays after this during normal operating hours (10:00 a.m. till 4:00 p.m.).

Thank you guys so much for your support. We hate turning anyone away and please know this was a very rare situation.

Peace & Love,
T

What Our Cupcakes Did on Summer Vacation

Our cupcakes have had a wonderful summer so far. They have traveled to New York, Canada, Virginia, North Carolina, France, an island that I can't remember the name of, South Carolina and Florida. They have visited the beach, pool, multiple family reunions, snuck into movies (take that overpriced popcorn and soda) and numerous lakes. They have entertained Irish horsemen, been devoured on Canada Day by their countrymen/women, won over a young French boy (France doesn't have cupcakes or so I am told) who spoke to me in French but all I could say was 'We' and introduced to lovely people from Bosnia who had never had cupcakes. They have celebrated at weddings and wineries. How freaking cool is my job?!

Peace & Love,
T

Love is the Common Denominator

We lost a very dear friend this week. As I have said before, normally I am the very spirited, emotional one in mine and husband's little family, but this week the roles reversed. I know that I usually blog about very happy things; occasionally comical, but this week has been very hard for our clan. People always say, cherish the moment, love completely, have no regrets, but I don't think that the meaning truly hit me until today. To see someone you love have their heartbroken is devastating, more so, when you know you can't fix it. So tonight, I ask that you look at your husband, partner, mom, dad, sister, daughter, son, aunt, uncle, grandparent...whoever plays a key role in your emotional, spiritual well-being and tell them that you love them. I love each of you. Every person that walks into our doors at BabyCakes Cupcakes holds a place in my heart. That may sound like gibberish or foul-hearty, but it is true. You brighten my day and I thank each of you for it. If you have some time tonight, send some good vibes our way; especially to husband. Love is truly the common denominator and I could use all the help that I can get.

Peace & Love,
T

Momma Cupcake

I grew up in a very small town....'How small was it?' It was soo small that about 4 years ago, my husband and I were driving there for Christmas and we ran a stop light. The reason we ran the stoplight is that it had never been there before. I am in my thirties and the town that I grew up in had just installed their first (and only) stoplight. My family was not poor, but we were not rich either. We were true middle class and my parents worked extremely hard to maintain that station. I can remember falling asleep in my grandfather's lap on a tractor while my mom, dad, aunts and uncles farmed tobacco. As soon as my sister, my cousins and I grew to a respectable height, we helped as well. My family worked hard, but we worked together. We celebrated our hard work with fishing trips, cookouts and campfires. My parents always took my sister and I on a yearly vacation. It was nothing extravagant like skiing in the Rockies or traveling to Europe, but it meant the world to us and we always looked forward to it. The vacation was usually to the Smokey Mountains, but we did make it to Florida once to see the beach and Mickey Mouse. I remember laying in the back window of our old station wagon half way to Florida; this was before the great seat belt craze, which I greatly appreciate. Momma Cupcake did grow up poor and Daddy Cupcake was a little better off because my grandfather worked for the postal service. So Momma Cupcake has always dreamed of going out west, specifically Colorado and Montana. She has been saying this for so many years and she always knew she would get there. Husband and I have been out west and we kept telling Momma and Daddy Cupcake that they would adore it and quite possibly would not return. So, Momma Cupcake finally got her wish; my parents left for the great wide west this week. She called me on Tuesday night, sounding like a teenage girl going to her first prom. This was the conversation:

Momma Cupcake: "Oh Tricia, we made it. We are finally here!"

Me: "That is so wonderful mom! How was the drive?"

Momma Cupcake: still sounding like a teenage girl, "It was absolutely beautiful. We drove through Kansas and Tricia, it was just like the Wizard of Oz. That's exactly what I thought of as we drove through, Dorothy and Toto'.

Me: trying not to giggle because she sounds so child-like and adorable. I am also thinking that Daddy Cupcake must have been cringing since I forced him to watch the Wizard of Oz every year since I was 4, "That sounds wonderful mom. I have never been to Kansas but you are making me want to visit'.

Momma Cupcake: 'Oh Tricia you should! You know how I have always wanted to travel out west and I kept telling your father that if it ever happened I would probably cry when we arrived. Well, we crossed over the border to Colorado and I just started weeping. I absolutely could not control it. I cried all the way to Colorado Springs. It is all so perfect.'

Daddy Cupcake: spying on the conversation, also sounding like a boy with a new toy truck, 'She won't stop crying Bug'.

Me: trying not to weep myself, because I have never heard anyone so thankful and full of joy in my life, 'I am so glad you are there mom; I knew you would love it. Dad, just hand her some tissues.'

Momma Cupcake: 'Me too honey; I feel very blessed. It was worth the wait.'

So cheers to you Momma Cupcake; I know why you were weeping and it makes my heart sing. I will remember that conversation for the rest of my life because I know that their trip meant something entirely different to Momma Cupcake than just seeing mountains and prairies. To her it meant that she had beaten the odds and had been blessed with a beautiful view on the other side.

Peace & Love,
T

Cupcake Fairies

Sometimes, late at night, while I am being trampled underneath Jack the dog, my mind wanders to the cupcake shoppe. I wonder.....'Is she lonely?', 'Does she miss the sound of the mixer and my horrible singing?', 'Is she scared of the dark?'. Lo-and-behold, last night a picture arrived on my phone; this is said picture:
It would seem that late at night the shoppe is visited by cupcake fairies. I can only assume that the one on the left (with the magical foil helmet) is the stupendous magical fairy of fairydome and the white crowned fairy on the right is the most regal fairy princess.

Thank you cupcake fairies for watching over our little shoppe. I can sleep better at night knowing you are out there. If you could magically mop the floor that would be super awesome too.

Peace & Love,
T

Cupcake Throwdown

So, this morning I am up-and-at'em relatively early; early enough that I get to see the elusive postman who chooses to ignore me. My goal over the past few months is to have this person acknowledge my presence and today he finally said 'hi' to me, but still did not make eye contact. I will wear him down and I feel that in 6 months he will look me in the eye, say hi and possibly ask me how I am doing. The elusive postman laid a large manila envelope on my counter and quickly split this morning. The envelope was from the folks at Kentucky Proud (hooray), so I open said envelope and see that they are having an "Incredible Food Show", which sounds uber fun in October. As I am purusing the paperwork, I accidently drop the manilla envelope and a small post card falls out on the floor. I pick the card up and what do I see displayed on said card???? Bobby 'freakin' Flay's picture was on the 'save the date' card and my heart fluttered. He will be the celebrity chef at the event. I even said his name outloud to the shoppe and giggled a little. I love Bobby Flay, but not in the ga-ga romantic way; I love him because he seems a little smartaleckey (I realize that is not a word) and I relish his grilling/cocktail making skills. I feel that he and I would be instant best friends. Here is how our meeting at 'The Incredible Food Show' will go:

Bobby Flay arrives at the Incredible Food Show and instantly he is drawn to the wonderful auroma of glorious cupcakes. He heads blindly, only using his nose, to our adorably decorated food booth run by the unique and highly talented owner of BabyCakes Cupcakes.

Bobby 'freakin' Flay: "Your amazing cupcakes led me straight to your booth. Paula Dean has told me how remarkable your confections are and you are the main reason that I decided to be the celebrity chef at this great party sponsored by Kentucky Proud"

*please note dear readers that Paula Dean has never tried my cupcakes, but this is my fantasy so I can do as I please

Me: 'Hello Chef Flay, I am honored that you would grace our humble table with your presence. My name is Tricia and I own BabyCakes Cupcakes'.

Bobby 'freakin' Flay: 'Please Tricia, call me Bobby, the honor is mine. I have followed your glorious cupcakes since inception and I would love it if you would travel the world with me, baking your amazing creations. We also should be best friends.'

Me: 'Oh Bobby, you have made me the happiest cupcake baker in the world. I would love to travel the world with you, baking cupcakes and guest-staring on your Food Network shows. I can also do a kick-ass Law and Order 'du-du' that your wife will appreciate.'

Bobby 'freaking Flay: 'Then consider this a verbal contract, but first would you like to have a cupcake throwdown?!"

Me: throwing down my pink apron, 'You read my mind Bobby 'freakin' Flay'.

The fantasy ends with me humiliating Bobby 'freakin' Flay in the cupcake throwdown, thus earning his undying love and admiration. We ride off into the sunset, singing songs and holding hands. I can only hope that you will not miss me horribly dear readers, but rest assured that you can see me every night on the Food Network channel, standing beside Bobby after one of the blonde girls 'mysteriously' disappears on Throwdown.

XO
T

Take the High Road

So, I have been sitting here staring at a blank new posting page debating whether to blog about a blog that said some not-so-nice blog things about our little shoppe. The words were not terrible, but just enough to sting. I have decided to take the high road because if I blog about these things then I would be no better than the people who originally blogged them (did I say 'blog' enough?!) I will say this, when you say or write things with ulterior motives the universe pays you back ten fold and not in the happy-rainbow kind of way. Sooooo....on to fun, yummy cupcake news.

We recently did Taste of the Bluegrass which was an absolute blast! I was a little intimated at first. Here I was, surrounded by all the big name restaurants in town with their amazing graphics and tables set-up beautifully. I walk in with a pink polka-doted table cloth, some roses and a nervous/excited smile. I was alone at our station for awhile, but I felt very 'responsible', which isn't a feeling that I have very often. EVERYONE was so amazing; the vendors that surrounded us were beyond sweet and very helpful considering they had attended this event before. BabyCakes Cupcakes' table was right beside Acres of Land Winery (heaven) and I must say that their Cabernet Sauvignon was the best that I have had in a very long time. They also have a blackberry wine which I am seriously considering for a new cocktail cake; it sounds divine to me. I met so many amazing people; some had heard of us and some had not. My lovely friend Sarah Pratt (master stylist extraordinaire at the Coloroom) joined me looking fabulously adorable and we began handing cupcakes to the masses. We ran out of cupcakes, which I whole-heartedly apologize, at around 9:00 allowing Sarah and I to weave our way through the vendors. Let me tell you friends, Lexington has some wonderful local food and drinks available. I have no clue why you would ever visit a big chain restaurant in this town, when there are so many great, talented, hard working people bustin' their butts. Saul Good was particularly kind and gracious to us that night and I thanked them by giving their staff chocolate bourbon cupcakes. Me and Mrs. Pratt ended our night by dancing like it was 1999, very happy with our first showing at Taste of the Bluegrass. I have lots of great ideas for next year and hopefully our adorable spokesmodel will join me for that round as well.

I was also contacted by a lovely lady from Prep Magazine. I had no clue what Prep Magazine was before she called, but it is a food service quarterly magazine and she is the writer that gets to cover all the wonderful going-on's around Kentucky's food scene. So, she is doing a little story about BabyCakes Cupcakes and I feel very blessed that she contacted us. I feel a little weepy thinking that my 'baby' is growing up but I am extremely proud of what we have accomplished in two months. I can't wait to see our shoppe a year from now; hopefully very grown up and expanded with actual tables to eat cupcakes upon and a lovely tea/coffee service surrounded by comfy couches and access to the courtyard out back. Ohhhh to dream...

Peace & Love,
T

Wheat Free is Alright By Me

So, Jack the dog has (thankfully)calmed down the past few days, but we have discovered a horrible thing in regards to the dog Jack. He is allergic to wheat. Now this doesn't seem like a horrible thing until you realize that the Doggie Cake that is named after said Jack (Jack Snacks) is in fact, made of whole wheat flour. Ohhh the irony. We took him to the vet after a horrible ear infection and one of our lovely vets, Dr. Jude, at Sheabel said that this could be a possibility and that I shouldn't 'allow' Jack to eat his own dog treats. I must say I was a little heartbroken and a little skeptical; it could really be anything like cheese, his best friend Ben the cat or just a freak ear thingy. So we went through the whole steroid thing, antibiotics, hair shaving and hundreds of dollars later he was much better. Although the steroids brought out a whole new side of the dog Jack that I don't wish to repeat EVER again. So last week, I happened to bring some Jack Snacks home from the bakeshoppe and the dog Jack just happened to sneak two off the table while my back was turned. Honest Dr. Jude if you happen to be reading this, I did not give them freely. The dog Jack is uber-sneaky for 100 lbs. Literally, the very next day bad things started to happen and we are back to an 'almost' hot spot. Dr. Jude was right and I now have a ginormous golden bear with allergies who can no longer eat the dog treat that is named after him. So, I am creating new treats that will be available this weekend for us doggy parents with sensitive pooches. There will be no wheat anywhere. The wonderful people at Sheabel tell me Golden Retrievers are prone to every known disease. Which works out perfectly since I am absolutely addicted to the breed?!! I remember when I was young, we always had animals everywhere; dogs, cats, turtles, hamsters and even a baby deer once who locked my grandmother in her wood shed, but she doesn't like that to be discussed. Those animals lived outside and we fed them whatever; they lived forever and never had any issues. Now I have a pooch who can't ingest wheat without swelling up like a balloon, but I digress. The morale of this story is that BabyCakes Cupcakes will now offer wheat-free and wheat-full treats at the shoppe in an attempt to stave off large vet bills for myself and others.

Peace & Love,
T

Dog Days of May

Good Morning Dolls! I would like to introduce you to Jack (pictured above), my fuzzy love. Jack was brought into our family close to 5 years ago as a friend to our sweet, precious Bella Rose. Jack was by all accounts her 'puppy' and was supposed to be my husband's dog, but Jack and I fell madly in love. He has always been an incredibly sweet, fun-loving, snuggle bunny, calm and extremely well behaved dog. When Bella was in her last stages of lymphoma and blind, Jack was very gentle with her and guided her sightless self throughout her daily grind. He is just a great, mindful doggy...until now.
The husband has been away from the house for work for close to a week now and this is the first time that Jack has been without daddy. Husband always tells me that I should be sterner (is that a word?!) with Jack and I always say, 'Jack totally listens to me and knows when I mean business'. Oh dear friends, my statement was totally untrue, but when spoken, I truly believed that Jack knew the difference between my lovey voice and my 'I mean business fuzzy buddy and I will take no excuses'. The dog Jack is pushing every button that I have; I can only assume it is because he is the only dominant male in the house now. There are bags that have been in our extra bedroom since Christmas that he has never touched and suddenly he has decided to pull every bit of tissue paper from said bags and rip them all throughout the house. There was a plastic bottle of black icing that had been sitting on the table for at least 3 weeks that he never took a second glance at that he decided to demolish and deposit said black icing down the hall carpet. Jack has taken all the yard clippings and kindly deposited them on our back deck. As I am typing, he has thoughtfully pulled up my lavender plant (the entire lavender plant) and placed it at the sliding glass doors for me to see. All of his precious stuffed animals, that he lovingly adores, are taking a serious beating in some innocent and non-innocent ways. He is even drinking out of the toilet dolls!!! He has NEVER drunk from the toilet.....EVER! I can only hope that this phase will pass considering that said husband will be away from the house a lot. If not, me and the 100 pound Jack will be attending some obedience classes. Considering all of this has gone down in less than a week, please pray for my remaining plants, his stuffed babies (tiny, blue, mr. baa baa, oscar, bob and chuck)and my shoes because I fear they are next. My problem, as you can see from the above picture, is that he is freaking adorable; like a gigantic golden teddy bear. I must remain strong, I must use my stern I-mean-business-voice, I must not fold to his sad puppy eyes. Dear friends...who am I kidding.

Peace & Love,
T

Remaining Calm

All went well on Good Morning Kentucky 36 today. I did not pass out, or throw up, or stutter, or say non appropriate words or fall down. It was a very fun time and the people at WTVQ were wicked awesome and very sweet. I can't say that I would be that nice at 5:50 a.m. everyday, but they were amazing. My 'free spirited spazziness' remained in check and I think that the cupcakes spoke for themselves.

Here is the link if you would like to check us out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT-j0dwikGQ

Have a beautiful Monday dolls!

Peace & Love,
T

Nervous Anticipation

Happy Sunday loves!! I am trying to remain calm this beautiful Sunday afternoon because Monday morning BabyCakes Cupcakes has been invited to Good Morning Kentucky. It is an amazing opportunity and we feel very blessed, but I am extremely nervous about it. Husband is not able to appear with me and him being there would have made me feel less nervous. I am the spaz and he is the grounded one in our little family. Plus, I don't really do the make-up thing; not well anyway. Nor the hair thing, so I am in for a double whammy. I am determined to pull up my big girl panties and try to represent our little cupcake shoppe as well as possible. All while not throwing up on the host of Good Morning Kentucky because while that makes for gossip-worthy TV, it is not the image I would like to convey for our cupcakes. So, if you are watching tomorrow morning, please send me some good, calming vibes and if possible, push some Valium through your TV set.

Peace & Love,
T

Chocolate and Ceiling Tiles

Things at the cupcakery can get rather crazy at times. Really, it is mainly me that gets rather crazy at times; the shoppe holds its own. During the morning hours, I am like a little tornado breaking eggs, stirring batter, rushing through clouds of powdered sugar and trying very hard not to slip on all the water that I always tend to splash about. Somehow this morning, I managed to lean so far into our three compartment sink (while the water was running)that a large quantity of water poured like a river down the front of my clothes. Unfortunately, my Palm Centro took the brunt of this flash flood and now a replacement is on the way. So, husband came by to take my drowned phone to the Sprint store and as we were in the kitchen chatting, he happened to look up at the ceiling....

Love of my Life: "What is that on the ceiling?!"

Me: me looking up innocently, "I think that it is chocolate"

Love of my Life: "How in the hell did you get chocolate on the ceiling?!"

Me: "I don't really remember how. I just remember that when it happened I thought that it was extremely cool. I honestly believe you could spackle an entire house with chocolate and things would be fine."

Love of my Life: "I would really like a chocolate room; not the color, actual chocolate"

Me: "This conversation is getting a tad weird"

Love of my Life: "Don't blog about this"

Me: smiling foxily, "I can't make that promise"

So today it was chocolate on the ceiling and a small flood down the front of my clothes; tomorrow who knows. I am having an absolute blast though!

Peace & Love,
T

Two of My Favorite Things

Cupcakes and Chucks are two of my very favorite things in life. Now, through the miracle of modern technology we have...Cupcake Chucks!!!! Today is a good day my friends because these babies are mine, all mine!

Life is Sweet.

Peace & Love,
T

Even Bald Men Wear Hair Restraints

Today was our follow-up inspection with the health department. We did really well and the young woman was very sweet. We only had one infraction which resulted in the following conversation.

Health Department Guru: "You did really well. I only found one problem and that was you aren't wearing a hair restraint."

Me: looking a little shocked, "My hair is super short and I didn't think you had to wear anything if that was the case. I am very afraid of hair-nets."

Health Department Guru: "Short hair doesn't really matter. Even bald men have to wear hair restraints".

Me: ........

You can't argue with that statement. My battle was lost, but I still refuse the hair net under any and all circumstances. A nice head scarf will do just fine.

XO
T

Fozzie Bear

I am blessed to have an amazing best friend who just happens to be my husband. He is a wonderful, respectful, hard working, supportive, beautiful man, but he does have one addiction. My husband is addicted to Call of Duty on his X-Box. He has the head-set and plays with other random peeps along with his good friends; also my nephew who I must say kicks major butt on that game. I don't understand the game and I don't pretend to; I actually like video games, but army games are not my forte. The players also have funny nicknames on the game as well; I saw 'CupcakeKilla' one night and really wanted to chat with them, but husband wasn't keen since they were on the opposite team. Maybe he thought I would give away military secrets. You will randomly hear odd nicknames called out during these times of war in our living room. Usually in anger or frustration, occasionally with war cries of victory.

After a long fun day at the bakeshop, I came home to him hooked up to the X-Box, fully engaged in saving the world. We mimed 'I love yous' and I started handling some business. Now during these war trials, you will often hear husband make various sounds, i.e. 'Oh My Gosh', 'How many times do I have to kill him?!', 'ARGGGH (which is preceded by a long blowing out of breath); you get the general idea. I am used to hearing these noises, knowing that I am not a part of the conversation; sort of like when someone you are around has their bluetooth in and you have no clue if they are really on the phone or actually talking to you. So, I tuck into the kitchen table to eat some eggs that I fixed after my workout (BLAH!) and I am kind of listening to the war saga, but my brain is kind of thinking of all the things that I need to do tomorrow. Husband is chatting with his friends via his X-Box telemarketer-esque head-set and I just happen to tune in long enough to hear him say "I just killed Fozzie Bear".

Friends, can I just tell you that I completely lost it. I was laughing so hard and it was an instantaneous laugh without control. Husband said this like I would say "Did you happen to get the mail?" No emotion, just simple fact. He had killed Fozzie Bear. Kermit is going to be terribly upset.

Peace & Love,
T

Skateboarding Blondes

For about 2 1/2 weeks a young boy, I would guess around 9 or 10, has been skateboarding outside of the shoppe. He makes a few passes and stares into the door maybe 4 or 5 times a day. I have absolutely no problem with this; I love skateboards actually. I keep wondering when, if ever, he will pull the nerve up to come inside and see what all the pink is about. Well, today was the day; it goes a little something like this:

Me: "Hey, how's it goin?"

Skateboarding Blonde: "Good" he replies as he stares wide-eyed at the cupcakes on display

Me: "I like your skateboard"

Skateboarding Blonde: "Thanks, it's actually a razor board" he states as he is shuffling his feet, still not making eye contact with me

Me: "I have no clue what that is, I only understand skateboards. Do you like cupcakes?"

Skateboarding Blonde: "Oh Yes!" - his eyes have grown even wider if that was possible

Me: "What is your favorite flavor of cupcake?"

Skateboarding Blonde: "Chocolate with Chocolate icing"

Me: "Well, you are very lucky my friend because I have been dying to give away a chocolate cupcake with chocolate icing all day. Would you happen to want it?"

Skateboarding Blonde: As the impossibly wide eyes, widen even more "Yes please!"

Me: "Sprinkles?" I ask as I am piling them on to his lovely cupcake and he is nodding feverishly, "Just tell me when to stop."

Skateboarding Blonde: after 5 or 6 spoonfuls, "When".

So, we have finally made contact and I have a strange feeling that this won't be our last encounter. As long as he keeps saying please with wide eyes, I will keep supplying the sprinkles.

Peace & Love,
T

New Adventures

I did something today that I have never done before. I went to a movie by myself. It seems odd that I have never done this before considering my ripe young age of 33, but it was a new adventure for me. I went to see Coraline, which I realize is a little late, but I think we were working on the shoppe when this movie came out. At that time, work was all that I could focus on. So, on my day off I went to the dollar theater, bought my popcorn (which they use eco-friendly bags much to my delighted surprise) and soda for my movie adventure. I was actually the only person in the entire theater to see Coraline, which was very wicked. It was like Neil Gaiman had arranged my own personal screening which I relished. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie; it was beautiful and unique. Two things that I value in a movie, plus I truly adore Neil Gaiman. I think that he is one of the few writers whose words are so individualistic that you know instantly it is him when you hear them spoken. But I digress, the real story here is going to the movies alone. It was very nice actually; I was allowed to fully lose myself in the story and I think that it is extremely important to be able to spend time with yourself and just yourself. If you can't be alone with yourself and enjoy it, then why would anyone else enjoy your company. Plus my very best friend will be traveling a lot in the future, so I need to become comfortable with these types of outings. All in all, it was a delightful day and I do recommend the movie. I also recommend new adventures with the person closest to you. Yourself.

Peace & Love,
T

A Little Vain

Okay dolls, I am not sure how I did it, but I am now following my own blog. I find this to be rather vain on my part and I am honestly not sure how this egocentric mistake occurred. I have a tendency to click rather quickly on things without fully reading the instructions and I fear that this has caused me to narcissistically (is that even a word?!) follow myself. This feels rather shallow, so could someone instruct me on how to remove myself from following myself? My head hurts a little from that sentence.

Any pointers would be greatly appreciated. Sweet dreams dear friends!

Peace & Love,
T

Funny Story

So, I had a lovely mature lady visit my shoppe today. She was an absolute delight and I must share a story with you all that she was gracious enough to share with me. As I was completing her transaction, I noticed that her first name was the same as my full name. I made a comment to her about this and that I rarely saw 'Patricia's' anymore. She asked if I went by Pat and I told her no, everyone calls me Tricia. Well her nickname was Pat and she said that during the Great War, she and her friends would go to dances and typically, soldiers would be at the dances as well. She noticed that one soldier's name-tag read "Pat" so she approached him and told the gentleman that was her nickname. The solider quickly replied "So, what is your full name?" to which our lovely lady replied "Cleopatra". She said to me "If you don't have some sort of humor in life than what is the point?!" Needless to say that I instantly fell in love with this lovely woman and I hope that she graces me with her presence regularly.

I just had to share that with you all!

Peace & Love,
T

3 Weeks....REALLY?!

Well my friends, we have officially been open for three weeks. It doesn't feel that long at all; which in the grand scheme of things isn't really that long, but for my purposes this all feels like a dream. The first two days that we were open, it was very slow and I started whining just a tad; I guess second guessing my big decision. So on the third day of whining, I pulled up my big girl panties and made a very rudamentary sign out of our glorious pink boxes, which I then affixed to two pieces of wood, wrote our name in blue sharpie and proceeded to beat this thing into the ground at the end of Patchen Drive with a rock. My adorable husband laughed at my efforts a little but he did agree to do the rock beating part. So thirty minutes after this little exercise, people started coming in the door. I am not saying it was due to our poor little box sign, but the timing was rather odd. So, needless to say I stopped whining about no one visiting our little shoppe. We also had an ad come out in Skirt Magazine, which I love dearly. That could have a part in this saga as well, but the little pink box deserves some credit I think. The funny thing is that it's still at the end of the road. I can't bring myself to take the thing down! So fast forward to today and we are still here baking cupcakes. I even have time to come up with some new cool flavors like white chocolate raspberry and chocolate chip cookie dough. We even have the opportunity to create special cupcakes like eggless and milkless for people with allergies. I think that is very important because I couldn't imagine the stress of dealing with a food allergy; let alone having a child with a food allergy. I feel the need to at least try to create special cupcakes because everyone deserves a happy; especially people that have had to cut these from their diets due to the curse of allergies. I want to thank everyone that has supported us during this venture and all of the wonderful people that we have met since the shoppe opened. Thank you all for bringing your adorable children to visit us. That is truly one of the highlights of my day; especially when they see the free sprinkle jar and become picassos of the cupcake world sprinkling their happy cupcakes in beautiful colors.

So cheers to 3 weeks!

Peace & Love,
T

Hooray!!!!

Well friends, the day has finally come. BabyCakes Cupcakes is opening our doors Saturday, March 28th. Words cannot describe how ecstatic I am; a little scared, but mainly, unbelievably excited. Please come out and visit us; we are located at 153 Patchen Drive (Patchen Village) off Richmond Road in Lexington, KY.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your support and patience. Can't wait to meet you all.

Peace & Love,
T

I - HEART- Hedghogs

The animal postings continue my friends. I had to post these little guys too; how adorable. I found out that hedgehogs are the new pet craze. They are actually very sweet babies and quite spunky. I just think they are precious. Maybe will will have Hedgehog Cakes one day; ya never know!

~Peace & Love

I - HEART- penguins

Oh my gosh...I absolutely had to share these cupcakes with you guys. I ADORE them so much. They were for a lovely (and very entertaining) girl's birthday; Happy Birthday Jessica. I have fallen in love with them and was a little sad to part with the penguins, but knowing how much of a fan that Jessica is of the penguin species; I have made my peace with it.

XO
T

FINALLY!!!

Oh my goodness Friends! I am so excited...excited does not even cover it. I am UBER-EXCITED to report that the plumbing for the shoppe starts on Monday. This coming Monday!! The day has finally arrived and what this means my dear loves is that our store will be open in the very near future. The very near future meaning the last of February or first of March. I am absolutely breathless with anticipation for you all to see our cute, boutique-ey cupcake shoppe. We have worked very hard and I must say that I am completely in love with the place. So with this glorious news I have posted a cupcake heart for all of you who have stuck by us and told all your friends about our endevour. We love you all!!! The countdown has begun and I will post as soon as the door flings open. It will be a wonderful birthday present for me in March and trust that we will all be celebrating my birthday at the shoppe; you included. Until then....

Peace & Love!!!!
T

Count Down

Hi Everyone,

I am so excited to tell you that we are finally counting down to opening day. It has been quite a haul, but we are finally there. We are shooting for the week of Valentine's Day, but I secretly hope that it will happen a little before then. Our new canopy is up and it took my breath away the first time that I saw it. The inside of the store is adorable and it was a true family effort to pull everything together. I can't wait to meet you all and finally open our doors. This has been a dream of mine for so long that I feel like someone should pinch me soon!

Thank you all for your continued support and patience! We are on our way!

XO~ Peace & Love