July 2010 Archives

I had to go babysit my cupcakes on the set of The View today for an upcoming segment featuring cupcakes. Look who I bumped into back stage! My new adopted family, Snoop Dog and the Snoops. I'm definitely sending him brownies...

Here's a photo of me and some of my bros and sisters (there's 12 of us) back in the 80's. The first person to guess which one is me gets a $25 gift certificate!

As much as David Chang and Anthony Bourdain hate them, cupcakes shops around NY are opening at a ferocious rate--this article proves it.. Inc Magazine took this as a opportunity to explore what is really needed to create a strong business plan for the hopeful bakery entrepreneurs out there. You might find it helpful if you or someone you love is thinking about taking that plunge... I give a few things of advice here.

Just a heads up before you post your questions, ok? As much as I'd love to give more advice I can't answer any business questions on the blog--you'll have to wait for my "How to Make a BabyCakes" book!

Over dinner on Sunday my fiance had me take a look at something David Karp posted on his Tumblr that blew us both away. If you don't know who David Karp is, he founded Tumblr when he was 19-- you can read about him here. This is a very busy, highly ambitious guy who is all of 23-ish and here's list of changes he has made in his life this year that I find incredibly inspiring.

Life Improvements

Things I've changed this year:

1. I added a bunch of mail filters.
2. I don't use a computer at home. I keep an eye on my Inbox (and occasionally browse the web) with my iPad.
3. We don't turn our TV on unless we're watching something with undivided attention.
4. We replaced all of our big squishy furniture with smaller, more designed, mid-century inspired pieces. After returning from Japan, all of our old furniture looked and felt ridiculous.
5. I carry less. I replaced my wallet with a money/card clip that's small enough for my front pocket. I reduced my keychain to two keys (home and office) zip tied together. I don't carry headphones anymore, because...
6. I listen to much less music. Music (and film) can have a noticeable emotional effect on me. I decided my music was encouraging emotions I didn't care for, namely anticipation, aggression, and self-admiration.
7. I've been trying to cook more. Even though cooking is impossible.
8. I've been eating much better. I had already given up coffee and soda a couple years ago, but Rachel's made some improvements. :)
9. I've been going to bed before midnight. And usually waking up before 10AM on weekends.
10. I unsubscribed from Google Alerts. Way too much noise to be useful.
11. I've been much more disciplined in avoiding and ignoring pointlessly negative voices. I'm lucky that it doesn't happen often, but when I catch someone being particularly nasty to me, I use it as a cue to do something nice for someone I love.
12. I've thrown out almost everything. My media cabinet is finally in order, with a modem, AirPort, Mac Mini, Xbox, and a few remotes. My closet now contains about 20 AA t-shirts, socks, boxer briefs, 12 collared shirts, 4 Marc by Marc Jacobs jeans, 3 suits, a tie rack, some bags, and some shoes. I have 9 books on my shelf, 3 cameras, and a small box of miscellanea. I live with a chef, so I have no idea what the f**k is in my kitchen -- except for my Ove Glove. Having stuff blows. Liquidity is the new luxury!

Sometimes I just need a little detour from the stress of my day with with some good old-fashioned food news/gossip. At times like these, I always turn to Grubstreet to get my mind off the pile of to-dos on my desk (for the record, my "desk" is a box of apples balanced on a small filing cabinet).

So today was one of those days. I skimmed over the latest in the NY food world and my eyes locked onto this article! For those of you too lazy, I mean, busy to click on that link, it's a dating site that this salad place uptown called Just Salads launched. Apparently there was already a big dating scene going on in this lunch spot (really?!?!) and the owners decided to organize an official dating program through their eatery. I don't know about you but I totally love this and think it's brilliant.

Share this with your New York singles! It's so absurdly cool.

We see Agyness here a lot but had no idea that she and her team at Naag call BabyCakes their office--yes that is awesome. Read all about it here and browse around her new site while you are at it. It's just perfect.

Everyone is saying that Usher's song, "OMG" is this summer's anthem, but I think my niece's OMG song (above) is way better. I swear, that girl can make a billion balloons look gorgeous.

Randomly found this gem yesterday while trying to convince my fiance that we should have our first dance to this song. It makes me excited to grow old.

If you're celiac then you've certainly heard of Kim and Kelly from Celiac Chicks, the coolest and most informative celiac site I know. Well, today is a very big day because they have launched their first episode of Gluten Free TV. I'm particularly excited about this because I'm often in a rut when it comes to dining out and I stick to the same few restaurants I know I can eat at safely. Thank you Kim and Kelly! Please, oh please keep making these!