Word of the Month: Cupcakes

Posted in My New York, Plateful by

I’m not generally a TV watcher, I catch my shows on Netflix or Hulu, but there are days when I like to watch TV for hours – particularly TLC or the Food Network. My favourites are the marathons.

During one such binge I ended up watching a D.C. Cupcake marathon. There was something so appealing about the cupcake shop that I found myself waiting in line for an hour when I visited D.C. to try their cupcake. The wait was worth it.

Now, Georgetown Cupcakes has a SoHo location, and not just ANY location, but a location that is practically in my backyard. It’s was almost like they did their research and knew I worked close by and decided to open a cupcake store there so I can get cupcakes as much as I want*!

I promise I’m not obsessed, but I noticed that I was going to GTC at least once a week – sometimes more! I mean, how could you stay away from the pretty delicious cupcakes? They have a number of flavours and they change them from time to time, so I have to keep going back to try the different flavours*.

Also, they have this cute, pink, bedazzled KitchenAid Mixer, I almost can’t resist going to admire it … and getting a cupcake while I view*.

I have found a solution (though there isn’t a problem), it’s called a cupcake tasting! Grab a couple of friends and order half a dozen cupcakes, all different flavours. Cut each cupcake into the appropriate pieces. Delicious**! I have to admit, since their opening in February, I have had three cupcake tastings and it was good.

Look at those cute little pink boxes … move over Tiffany’s there’s a new box in town*.

* That’s my story and I’m sticking to it
** Wait, is that a solution?

My shoes are trying to kill me!

Posted in Fashionista by

Has this ever happened to you? You go to the shoe store, purchase a brand new pair of shoes and take it home, only to find that it doesn’t fit like it did in the store?

How about, you go to the shoe store, try on a pair of shoes, walk around a bit, take it home, walk around a bit, wear it the next day, walk around a bit and then half way through the day find that it doesn’t fit and your toes are about to fall off and your heels are raw?

The latter always seems to happen to me.

I’m not entirely sure how this could happen, but I recently bought a pair of shoes – “walking shoes” – I looked at all the reviews online and they all say the same thing, “These shoes run large, buy a size or a size and a half smaller”. I went to the store, tried a half a size smaller and felt it was too snug, so I tried it in my size and it fit, like a glove for my feet*! Excited, I paid for the shoes and took them home.

I wore those shoes for a full day with no problems, but the next day it was like a whole different pair! They were tighter and my heels were rubbed raw.

Now, I’m very confused, I read the reviews and everyone claims that the shoes are an entire size larger than regular shoes, this means they should be falling off my feet, not trying to strangle them. I feel like I landed in the middle of a shoe conspiracy. Were all the reviewers playing a joke on unsuspecting shoe purchasers? Did someone switch my shoes** during lunch? Did I upset the shoe fairy*** and this is her revenge?

But, I’m stubborn, so I’m willing to put up a fight. One of us will win, this war, Shoe, and I’m not going down without a fight!

* I guess those are called toe socks.
** Practical jokers, take note.
*** They do exist. Trust me. *nods*

Random Art of the Month

Posted in Cultured, Gallery, My New York by

Have you seen the art in the 14th Street ACE subway station*? I was so inspired by the wonder that I stepped off the train one stop early to admire their beauty.

No, I wasn’t reading a book and thought I had to exit the train because I reached my stop. Nor did I almost walk up the stairs from the platform before realising I was at the wrong station. None of that happened. I just wanted to take a look at the art.

And no, I did not stand there, taking photos of subway art while waiting on the next train – even though I had time to rush back into the car – so people on the platform and in the car won’t think I’m strange.

Oddly enough, this isn’t the first time I wanted to check out the art.

* The installation is called Life Underground and it’s by Tom Otterness

Mondays are made of this …

Posted in The Observer, Thoughts by

I was minding my own business, sipping on my very caffeinated drink, contemplating important life decisions – should I take the train that stops 8 blocks away from the office, or one? – and generally minding my own Monday Morning business when a voice calls out, “EXCUSE ME!” and a woman tries – unsuccessfully – to push me out of the way, rushing in front of me to get down the stairs.

I stopped to allow her to go, I figured someone in such a hurry must either be running away from something, or running to something. Since it didn’t look like she was running away from anything, it might just be best to let her run to whatever she was in a hurry to get to and save myself some coffee stains.

I think she realised how rude she was being so she said I should go ahead, except, she didn’t say this politely, it was more along the lines of “No, no, go, go, go, go, go!” with each go getting louder and more urgent.

Figuring she really needed to go I indicated again that she should go ahead of me.

“Just go, I’m going to be late for work!” she said.

So, I went, taking the stairs one at a time, making a point to take my time and savor each of the 12 stairs. I familiarized myself with them, possibly naming a few of them along the way, as opposed to my usual morning stair-skipping trot.

As I smiled to myself the thought came to me, this is why I don’t like interacting with people. Now, I’m a story in this woman’s life. She’s going to go into work, grumpy and complaining about the girl in the yellow skirt who took her time down the stairs. She’ll tell her friends how I refused to go, even though she told me to go ahead in front of her and they will all shake their heads at my delinquency.

Of course, this is all in my head and by the time she gets to her destination she’d have forgotten all about me. But, just in case, here’s to all the ladies-in-a-hurry. Next time you want to push someone aside, just go ahead of them, or they might write a blog post about you.

Why Give?

Posted in Thoughts by

There is a topic that I rarely talk about, but it’s one that I care deeply about and that is giving. It’s not that I don’t want to spread the word, or that I don’t want to make people aware, it’s just that I feel that giving – how much and to whom – should be something between myself and the person/organization I am giving to. However, there is something I feel I need to share, because it was a public endeavor, and it really brought me joy when I read the email at the beginning of the month and I hope that inspires you somehow.

In 2009, I decided to do a campaign for charity:water called Charity for Christmas, instead of presents I asked friends and family to donate to the organization to raise money to help build a well. I felt that the organization was very transparent and I always felt satisfied when I interacted with them, so, since I liked them I thought it would be a fun thing to do. 

Two years later (the campaign ended in January of 2010) I received an email that the money raised was used towards a well in Kota Village, Ethiopia. To see the picture above of people using the actual well that the money went towards building brings me great joy. I am truly thankful for all the people who were a part of this campaign with me. We might not have financed the entire thing, we might not have dug the well, but the little you did helped bring water to a community that needs it.