December will be...

Kate Bush

It's December again! This month brings so much to mind but one of the first things that sneaks into my head is Kate Bush! If you are not familiar with this English singer-songwriter and all around interesting entertainer, than here is a little introduction.

Many of you may know that Juaquin and I began our marriage in, of all places, England. Our first three years together were an adventure that I hope to never forget! With his meager wages as an airman basic in the US Air Force and a trickling of income from me substitute teaching that first year, we learned to embrace the British television experience and loved it! We were wild about East Enders, Top of the Pops, One Man and His Dog, Antiques Roadshow and a host of BBC sitcoms and shows. There were three channels way on back in 1984, and they still 'signed off' before midnight with an instrumental of "God Save The Queen" sneaking a message to you, that "it's late and you need to get to bed now." Loved it!

So, SO much more I could go on about that experience, but I'll force myself back to December and Kate Bush. I first heard December Will Be Magic Again on the Edge of Christmas CD. A wonderful mix of great stuff...go get it...or download it...or whatever it is you kids are doing these days to gather music. =)

It's a fun song and the range of her voice is amazing. More amazing, and slightly curious, is her interpretation of the song in her video. I use to be able to find it on YouTube, but it's been banned, so I went another route. Check it out and embrace December...again!

See Kate Bush perform (as only she can) December Will Be...

Poppy Wreaths

Today is Veteran's Day and with that comes an immediate memory of all the poppy wreaths that will be placed at headstones and memorial structures throughout the UK.

When Juaquin and I married in 1984 he had enlisted in the U.S. Air Force 6 months prior. We looked forward to starting our lives together and hoped to be stationed somewhere in Texas. That was not to be the case. We began our marriage in England, UK.

Memories abound from the years we lived there, but on this day, November 11th, the thought of red paper poppies gathered together to make wreaths is symbolic of this day of remembrance and not easily forgotten.

Just like we see the Salvation Army bell ringers settle outside stores as we inch into the holiday season, men and women in English villages will start offering individual paper poppies to people passing by in exchange for bit of change as early as October. There is quite an interesting history behind the remembrance poppy that is traced back to World War I.

Remembering may not always be a pleasant experience, but (I believe) it is something worth doing.

Harvest Moon!

I can't seem to stop thinking about 'harvest moons'. There is certainly a proper definition for harvest moon, but I just seem to immediately conjure up an image of a big fat, orange, yellow or white moon hanging in the sky during the early evening or morning. Leave it to my thoughtful husband to find just the right song to accompany my mood or thought. He's done this ever since we met in 1983 and with harvest moons on my mind Juaquin brought Neil Young's Harvest Moon to my attention!

I have seen my share of fabulous full moons on my way in to bake here at the shop, but it's those 'harvest moons' that make me wish I had an equipped camera ready to capture it. Maybe one day.

I think things like full moons, shooting stars, and even loud, flashy thunderstorms have a calming and peaceful effect on me because they are timeless and amazing experiences that are bigger than me. Such things are little reminders that there is something greater and bigger than me and I love believing, dare I say, knowing that. Oh there's a lot of 'in-between-the-lines-of-faith' details I'm not posting here, but you're always welcome to ask.

The wonder and acceptance of something greater and bigger than yourself is another timeless event you either get or don't get. It's something you may eventually get or perhaps never embrace. Regardless, here's wishing you sprinkles of harvest moons!

Dora the Explorer!

Here at The Cupcake Cottage we never, ever compromise our 'baking from scatch' practice. That means that each and every cupcake is baked fresh that morning. We also mix our buttercream fresh each day. This practice is, most likely, what keeps so many satisfied customers coming back for more!

When customers 'pre' order cupcakes for a special event, like this Dora the Explorer birthday party, we are happy to top your cupcakes with colors that compliment your decorating ideas.

In this case, we mixed purple, pink, blue, green & yellow that was then piped onto the cupcakes, making them a festive treat that blended nicely with the Dora decor!

Thank you, Preeti, for sharing these festive photos with us! =)

The Pioneer Woman

image from http://thepioneerwoman.com/

I am so impressed with the bloggers of our day. Not just those that blog but those that follow and keep up with their favorite blog sites. I really should seek a site titled "confessions of a bad blogger" since my ability to keep up is a D+ at best, and I need to know that there are others like me out there. I have lots of sites that I have bookmarked with great plans to visit them as soon as I finish other tasks at hand. Unfortunately, those tasks get in the way of returning to those sites, but I keep them bookmarked just in case.

There is one blog, The Pioneer Woman, that I try to peek at least once every couple of weeks. A friend, Cheryl, told me about this 'mom in Oklahoma' a couple of years ago. I am sure many of you are familiar with this blog and the amazing lady behind it. Ree Drummond is our modern day pioneer woman. I won't go into details about who she is, or what all she does, but I will tell you that she really knows how to entertain this reader!

A few weeks ago I stumbled onto a TPW post from October 2006. That date stood out to me because that was 1 month after opening the door to our shop, The Cupcake Cottage. This short post is sweet, sad, honest, and FUNNY! I now click the audio portion almost daily just to have my heart tugged by this fabulous mom/woman/daughter/wife/modern day Pioneer Woman! Here's the post for you to read: They Absolutely Hate Goodbyes Be sure to click on the audio clip. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

(and) What about you? Do you follow The Pioneer Woman, or other amazing and inspiring blog sites? Let us know!!

Read more about Ree Drummond here: Forbes Woman Q&A

Wedding Shower!

Recently, we baked cupcakes for a wedding shower with a request of white cupcakes, various designs, with certain sprinkles and sugary pearls on some. The hostess set our cupcakes in silver-foiled liners and Voila: A sweet display for a soon-to-be-bride!

Wedding Cupcakes!

Here's a wonderful little series of pictures sent to us following a wedding that took place in 2010.

When special colors are requested in our buttercream, and if we can 'hit' that color without compromising the yummy taste of our frosting, then we are happy to do so. Such was the case with the lovely couple that requested this sage green and our natural buttercream white.

We really enjoyed seeing this lovely display!

Celebrate With Cupcakes!

The Cupcake Cottage has lots of visitors each and every day! This little sweetie, Olivia, ventured in with 'camera-ready' mom who took this adorable shot. Thanks for sharing Widad! =)

Win Cupcakes!

Sweeten your Spring Break with FREE Cupcake Cottage cupcakes!

For those of you staying in or around Fort Worth next week here's a chance to break up the week with cupcakes! You can share them with family, friends and, in case your working, co-workers!! To enter your name to win either 1 dozen Standard size cupcakes OR 2 dozen babycakes read the details below:

This drawing is for Wednesday 16 March 2011 ONLY, and the lucky winner must be able to pick up their sweet prize (or designate someone to pick up for you) between 10:00 a.m. & 4:00 p.m. on that day.

Simply post a comment under our "Win Cupcake for Spring Break 2011" Facebook post stating the size cupcakes you hope to win (standard or babycake) along with your favorite Cupcake Cottage flavor. (example: babycakes / confetti)

Contest ends this Sunday, 13 March 2011, at midnight and we will message the winner on Monday and post the winning name on Tuesday!

Good Luck!! =)

Coupon Palooza!!

Last month a customer asked if we ever plan on participating in Groupon. Here's the answer to that question.

About a year ago I started getting calls from sells reps wanting to tell us about a new avenue to 'get more customers to our store'. The first company to contact us was Groupon. Since then we have had many other such Groupon-like businesses contact us hoping we will join this new internet coupon craze.

The 'groupon' concept with daily deals is very impressive and offers great savings for customers looking to spend their money as carefully as possible. We are all about personal financial planning and think these are great ways to save more!

So why hasn't The Cupcake Cottage jumped on board this popular savings practice?

When one of these coupon salespeople ask , "tens of thousands of people will view your daily deal....don't you want that kind of exposure"?, we simply answer "gosh, no"!! As it is, we often sell out of hundreds of cupcakes each day we are open. We are pretty sure that we sell out because of the care and effort that goes into making each and every cupcake from scratch, each and every day! At least that's what repeat customers tell us.

As it is, we strive to price our cupcakes as low as possible while still making the profit needed to pay all the expenses of running a successful business. For this reason we do not participate in this popular coupon trend. Should that ever change, we'll let you know! =)

Celebrate!

Celebrating is always in fashion, don't ya think? It's always a treat when our cupcakes are a part of a special event. When mom, Amber, came in to order cupcakes for her Maysn's 2nd birthday she requested the frosting be a variety of colors. We were happy to offer just that!

Looks like this birthday boy knows how to take care of cupcakes! :)

Welcome 2011!

A couple of years ago I blogged about a the Boar's Head and Yule Log Festival that will take place again this weekend. This year will mark the 35th anniversary for the event. Perhaps time will allow you and your family and friends to attend. You can read my original post about the event here: http://somesweetmentions.blogspot.com/2008/12/wonderful-way-to-begin-2009.html

Happy New Year to each of you!