Cupcakes, Cupcakes and more Cupcakes!

Everyone loves cupcakes! That guilty little pleasure. Cupcakes seem to be everywhere these days, but only the smart ones stand out. I had the pleasure of spending time in NYC a few times this past year in between my contracts on the ship. I could not resist having my try at a few cupcake places in town, Burger & Cupcakes, Sprinkles Cupcakes, and Georgetown Cupcakes.

My friend, Zack, brought me to this restaurant called Burgers & Cupcakes. (Yes there is a place called Burger & Cupcakes.) You don't have to guess what they serve there because it's in the name. Zack brought me here as we had some catching up to do and he knows my guilty little pleasures of dessert. Surprise, surprise we had a burger and a cupcake. I think this place is the best of both worlds. Don't even think about stepping foot into this place if you're going to walk out guilty. I thoroughly enjoyed every last bite of my meal. The cheeseburger I had was simply good and the cupcake was just the same. I love the idea of this place. It's simple and straight to the point. If you want a cheeseburger and a cupcake, there is a place to go.

Sprinkle's Chocolate Banana Cupcake

Another place for cupcakes is Sprinkles. I had previously visited this places in LA. This cupcake chain seems to be popping up all around and for good reason. This place not only has a Cupcake ATM, but it also has cookies and ice cream. The cupcake I had was the Chocolate Banana Cupcake. It was moist and delicious. The cupcake was smothered in frosting as some cupcake places love to do. It had the perfect amount of frosting that wasn't too sweet. The flavors meshed well together and I got to get it from their Cupcake ATM.

Are you curious about this Cupcake ATM? Sound crazy? This is pure genius! For all those late night snackers, night owls, and night shift workers, you can still enjoy a perfectly good cupcake late at night. They may not have every flavor they have during the day but it's still a good cupcake. The cupcakes at the ATM are replenished each day, so you aren't buying a day old cupcake. It's not only a genius idea, but it's cute and fun! You have to stop by at least once! They have Cupcake ATMs in multiple locations. Check out the Sprinkles website for more information and to submit your own Cupcake ATM photo for their website.

Coffee Cookies and Cream Cupcake

The last cupcake place I visited is called Georgetown Cupcakes located in SoHo. I was searching for a place to get cupcakes for our 4th of the July BBQ celebration, and I was in charge of bringing dessert. I came across this place on Yelp. What I liked about it was that it did seasonal and holiday cupcakes. I'm sure all the cupcake places do seasonal and holiday cupcakes, but I was intrigued by this place because from the pictures, their cupcakes looked unique. When I looked at their list of flavors, I was sold. I had to go. There were so many different unique flavors as well as Gluten free flavored cupcakes. I got a dozen cupcakes: Red Velvet 4th of July, Key Lim Cheesecake, Chocolate Sunday, Coffee Cookies and Cream, Salted Caramel, Lemon Blossom, Peanut Butter Fudge, Lava Fudge, Chocolate and Vanilla, Chocolate Ganache, Vanilla and Chocolate and Apple Cinnamon. I tried the Coffee Cookies and Cream cupcake. I was in heaven! I'm not big on frosting, but the frosting melted in my mouth. The cookies and cream frosting mixed perfectly with the coffee cupcake. It wasn't a strong coffee flavor, which was perfect. Just thinking about it makes me want to have another cupcake from Georgetown Cupcakes. I have to go back the next time I'm in town.

Weddings and Bridal Shower

A few posts ago, I mentioned I went to a couple of weddings in August. I love being a part of wedding celebrations! I can’t help but smile when I think of white dresses, dancing, flowers, family, food, drinks, and dessert.

Lindsey & Oliver
August 11, 2012

My Aunt Lindsey got married to the lovely Oliver this year on August 11th. The ceremony was very touching with beautiful vows. I loved catching up with family and having the whole Wong family in one place. After pictures, everyone headed to the reception. My family and I sat at table twenty-one (the cool table). In between the kissing, dancing and diving for the flower bouquet, I got to eat the yummy cupcakes they served as their “wedding cake”. Before I said my good-byes and congratulations, everyone got to bring their little sacks and fill them with trail-mix. Yummy!

The cool table

Time to catch the bouquet

Trail mix it up!

Dessert! Cupcakes!

The next wedding I went to was my best friend’s, Susie’s, wedding. Susie married Eddie on August 18^th, 2012. I was the maid of honor, so I set up the Bridal Shower with help from Naomi, Christine and my good friend Aya.

Susie & Eddie
August 18, 2012

I was all sorts of worried about how the Bridal Shower would turn out, but it was a successful. The decorations and favors turned out amazing. Plus the games were great and everyone loved the prizes. Don’t forget dessert! You know me, I had to have a dessert table.

From Left: Marissa (Me), Susie and Aya

Dessert Table at the Bridal Shower

Drink Station

Party favors, Firefly Christmas Lights and paper flowers made by Aya

Aya and I did a ton of hunting online when it came to decoration ideas. We both love cutesy things. Since we were planning things in different places, we collaborated on Pinterest. (Link to our board.) I think we used just one of those ideas. Go figure, right?! We did the “Firefly Christmas Lights” in the colors of the Bridal Shower. It looked amazing!

Time to dance!

Congratulations again to the lovely newlyweds: Lindsey & Oliver and Susie & Eddie.

Cupcake ATM!

Cupcake ATM. Sounds strange right? I heard of this from a friend. She sent me the video and I was amazed. I was on my way to LA for a wedding and I had to stop by. It looked very practical in the instructional video, but in person it was quite magical.

Maybe it seemed magical during my visit because we arrived by limo after my friends and I danced the night away at the Playboy Bunny Mansion for the bachelorette party.

Another magical moment during our visit to the Cupcake ATM was when the Cupcake ATM started to sing. We struck a pose for a picture and it started to sing “I love sprinkles yes I do. You love sprinkles…” It was cute and a bit creepy at the same time. It seemed like it knew we were taking a picture.

After snapping some shots, we finally chose our cupcakes. I’m sure if you come earlier in the day there would be a bigger selection, but at 3am in the morning there was only about 7 to 8 choices. I chose a basic Dark Chocolate cupcake with Vanilla Frosting!

I didn’t get to eat it until I got to the airport on my way back home. I had kept it in the fridge to keep it fresh. It looked like a lot of frosting when I opened it. I’m not big fan of frosting, but that cupcake was delicious!! Frosting and all! The magical singing Cupcake ATM! I wonder when my next visit will be. I can still hear it sing, “I love sprinkles yes I do…” 

Cupcake Cheers!

When planning a trip, what do you usually do after booking a hotel and a way to get there? I usually find myself looking at touristy sites and Yelp. Yelp has helped me find so many awesome places to explore and to eat at. It has also helped me satisfy my cravings. The craving of the day was cupcakes!

Black Velvet Cupcake

It was a long bus ride to Washington, D.C. After walking around for a while and hitting many museums, my friends and I were in search of coffee and cupcakes. We found our way to a Chinatown Dunken Donuts after asking for directions at a gym. A few blocks down, we hit Red Velvet Cupcakery. I was thrilled out of my mind. To myself I was cheering, “Cupcakes! Cupcakes! Cupcakes!” As soon as we walked in I said, “Smells like YUM!” I can't resist the lovely smell of baked goods!

My friends and I each ordered one cupcake. In our cupcake cheers we had a Black Velvet cupcake, which was a light, vegan/gluten-free chocolate cupcake topped with chocolate butter cream; Cookies in Cream cupcake, which was a marvelous chocolate, oreo cookie mixed cupcake topped with American buttercream; a Southern Belle cupcake, which was their famous red velvet cupcake topped with whipped cream cheese; and a Hazelnut cupcake with coffee buttercream frosting. What better way to enjoy baked goods than with friends? The buttercream was to die for! It was so rich and creamy that it melted in your mouth. Although it wasn’t the best cupcake I’ve ever had, it certainly hit the spot for the day.

Cheers to Cupcakes! Black Velvet, Cookies in Cream, Southern Belle, and Hazelnut

Can’t wait for the next time to feast on some delightful baked goods accompanied by friends!