This is my daily mindset. I’m always thinking about New York. Every time I hear a train whistle in the silence of night, I imagine running away to my happy place. It doesn’t take much for me to scheme a trip. Earlier this month, I visited Long Island for the first time, preceded by a… Continue reading To ‘Frenagel’ a New York state of mind

Only a slight exaggeration to say I ate every Virginia cupcake on a spontaneous north-south cupcake crawl last week. The following report shall constitute my National Dessert Day celebration. The southern Virginia crawl brought me back to Richmond, where the Cupcakes and Blue Sky tour launched in January. This time, I actually got a picture… Continue reading Leave no Virginia cupcake uneaten

Dear Phoenix, thank you for feeding me so many cupcakes when I was in town for the recent Association of Food Journalists conference. At the first day’s lunch, dessert was this pair of boozy cupcakes. When there were a few good hours of free time, I scurried away for Cupcakes and Blue Sky field research… Continue reading Dear Phoenix

Something is happening. Cupcakes are resurging. The knee-jerk perception is that cupcakes are old news. Economic data and Main Street reality paint another picture. It’s not just the heartland that’s seeing cupcake activity. Right now in New York City, bakeries that were the cupcake darlings of the 2000s are opening new stores in 2018. Consumer… Continue reading Cupcakes arising

Here are some cupcake incarnations for today’s National Sugar Cookie Day. During my Texas Cupcakes and Blue Sky trip, I bought a cupcake-shaped cookie cutter. Conceptually charming, if not perfectly practical. Alas, the cookies lose some of their shape when baked. At the Fancy Food Show, I learned about a newly released cupcake-flavored almond butter… Continue reading Sugar cookie as cupcake canvas

I admit, unicorns are fantastically photogenic. Even so, there has been quite a bit of earthly cupcake news in the past six months. The most dramatic was the May 5 news of Magnolia Bakery’s stunning expansion, a seismic shift in the cupcake world order. Preceding events contextualize this pivotal news, telling a story of ongoing… Continue reading May there be cupcakes

So interesting to see places off the coasts ... for the first time ever. Broadening one’s horizons is so inspiring. Until this year, my airplane trips were infrequent and my destination was always the other coast. I was a wide-eyed tourist in the Twin Cities and Texas Gulf Coast this month, a refreshing change of… Continue reading Change of perspective

For today’s National Zucchini Bread Day, I was thrilled to find this research specimen on my Texas Gulf Coast Cupcakes and Blue Sky tour stop. I couldn’t resist opening my cookbooks, where I found other temptations to try in the future.

I’m still processing how amazingly cool it was to take my first trip to the Twin Cities. I ate cupcakes, interviewed people, spent time at an independent bookstore, and heard an inspirational speaker who systematically changes lives like it’s no big deal. Despite the mid-April snow on the ground, the spirit of Cupcakes and Blue… Continue reading Twin Cities = too cool

These are the most illustrative pictures from the Cupcakes and Blue Sky tour stop in Houston. There were cupcakes and interviews at a neighborhood bakery -- textbook fieldwork. Next stop: ❄ ☔ in Minnesota.

  Rockets engaged. Destination: Houston. Cupcakes and Blue Sky is touching down this afternoon.

https://twitter.com/GTownCupcake/status/973198941322924032 The spring Cupcakes and Blue Sky tour begins tomorrow. I’m as inquisitive as Kermit the Frog to see what lies at rainbow’s end. https://youtu.be/awhyiBv-oQc

The Cupcakes and Blue Sky national tour comes to Minneapolis/St. Paul on April 18 to spend quality time with Twin Cities cupcake lovers. The tour is a celebration of cupcakes and the people who appreciate them. We come together to share cupcakes and conversation and the joy they bring. The meetups are casual events modeled after… Continue reading On tour in Minnesota

The Cupcakes and Blue Sky national tour comes to the Texas Gulf Coast April 12-14 for three cupcake-filled days around Houston and Galveston. The tour is a celebration of cupcakes and the people who appreciate them. We come together to share cupcakes and conversation and the joy they bring. The meetups are casual events modeled… Continue reading On tour in Texas

Love ’em, even if I rarely eat them. Happy to celebrate today’s National Oreo Day with fellow patriots from coast to coast. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bf_K4t4Fbhk/ Here’s the second Oreo cupcake picture that’s hidden from the post. And here’s what is most meaningful to me about this day: a chance to study Bravetart to learn about the history… Continue reading Amen to Oreos

I made a rare trip to the suburbs yesterday to interview olive oil producers. (I’m obsessed with this Sprinkles olive oil cupcake, but that’s another story). Of course, I diverted to bakeries for #cupcakesandbluesky field research. I intended to buy one or two cupcakes anonymously and leave. My plan was sweetly thwarted when Victoria Wu… Continue reading What just happened?

Carrot cake is my favorite. In my book, there are many carrot cake days, but today is the capitalized National Carrot Cake Day.

I’m celebrating today's National Peanut Butter Day in the Bay Area with two variations on the theme. Nancy Silverton exhibited her gelato at the Winter Fancy Food Show. Here she illustrates lusty affection for her salted peanut butter gelato. And a cupcake straight outta Berkeley.  

It’s National Gourmet Coffee Day. I’m celebrating in the Bay Area, birthplace of gourmet coffee at Peet’s. This is the predecessor to Starbucks and premium coffee as we know it. Now, back to cupcakes. I’ve previously observed National Coffee Day with a Sprinkles tribute. Adding two coffee cupcakes here to make it a triple shot.