It's Official!! Starbucks Has Brought Back Their Christiemas Cups!!!!

OMG!!! Today just keeps getting better and better!!! I started off the morning all ready and excited to head over to my local Crumbs bakery to pick up some cupcakes for some new members joining my work team (you know, the usual corporate America welcome, welcome, welcome!!... Christie-style, at least).

However, my plans took a slight detour. I hopped off my bus this morning, and was wandering to the corner of the block when... I literally stopped dead in my tracks. You would think that I had just witnessed a car accident or a murder or something. Because not only did I stop short, but my jaw pretty much dropped to the ground.

What in heaven's name would spark such a reaction? Welllll... it's November 1st. How could I forget? Now that Halloween is over, we are in FULL-BLOWN holiday MODE!!!!! And no holiday would be complete without... the return of the Starbucks Christiemas cups!!!!!!! To me, it really does kind of symbolize the start to the grandest season of alllll (aside from Falllll!).

So, that's right. I totally saw someone standing at the corner of that block... HOLDING A CHRISTIEMAS CUP!!!!!!

Well, SCREW getting coffee from Crumbs Bakery, itself! I HAD to pay tribute and honor where such tribute and honor is very well DUE!! Starbucks, here I COME!!! You know it!!!!!

OMG, I was literally BEAMING in excitement as I waited on the third street corner block and could just see my little Starbucks, ready and waiting for me!!!! The closer I got to the Starbucks, the more and more people I could see with their Christiemas cups!!! I wanted to seriously just go up and hug them. Each and every one.

No worries. I have social boundaries. So I just kept the merriment to myself (minus the beam, but WHATEVER) as I headed in and... TOTALLY SCORED MY FIRST CHRISTIEMAS CUP OF THE SEASONlkfdjasldkfjoIJ! Let's take a moment, please.

Don't worry! After all the internal chaos of those ten minutes, I didn't forget about the cupcakes! Duh. I have my priorities aligned. You better believe I just headed right into Crumbs after the magical Starbucks Christiemas cup experience and bought... well, $40 worth of cupcakes. So I get a little carried away- so sue me.


Sigh. Christiemas cups and cupcakes... can this day GET any BETTER?!?!?!?

In a Funk? Have a Cupcake

I woke up in a funk this morning after one rather ridiculous phone call last evening. I figured I'd just dwell in my funk for a few hours in the morning and then move along my merry way, being the glass half full kinda gal that I am.

For some reason, the funk still remains (and it's currently 2:53 PM CST).

I didn't go outside for lunch today, despite the ridiculous sunshiney goodness (that's right, folks- summertime Chi has FINALLY arrived!) taunting me through these office windows. As such, come 2:30 PM, I figured a break was much needed. A break from the office, a break from the funk, you get the idea.

I headed out with no real plan in mind- just intending to take a few moments to enjoy some delicious sunshiney goodness.

But then... well, somehow I just HAPPENED to stumble upon...

If a cupcake can't cheer a person up, I just don't know what CAN. Without a MOMENT's hesitation, I made myself right at home. I mean, this place's selection is Ridiculous (with a capital R and everything).

In the end, my practicality got the better of me- I knew I would feel absolutely SICK for the rest of the afternoon if I ingested one of those ginormous specialty cupcakes. So, instead, I opted for a plain Jane vanilla-vanilla cupcake. Aaand added a couple more specialty cupcakes for some fellow coworkers of mine... gotta deflect any and all guilt I was feeling for indulging in such a rich treat on a regular old Tuesday afternoon, after all.

In the end, I must say, cupcakes really do solve all the world's problems. The delicious sunshiney goodness was only an added bonus. :)

Cupcakes for Courage

Today was such a warm and fuzzy feeling kinda day. Instead of going to work, I ended up volunteering with some of my coworkers... and by volunteering, I mean we ended up going bowling, eating pizza and seeing The Green Lantern with about 15 teens.

All good and fine, really. BUT... it was only when I was walking back from the event, just chitchatting away with one of my coworkers when we stumbled across...

Umm! If you don't think I literally came to a FULL STOP and halted any and all forms of conversation... well, you clearly don't know me all that well. Hello! There were cupcakes involved here, people!

Needless to say, my coworker and I parted ways right about there. I guess some people won't just drop EVERYthing at the word cupcake... I am clearly NOT one of those people. Quite the opposite, in fact.

To be honest, I had been craving something sweet all afternoon, so it really was the word cupcake that drew me to the little cupcake-mobile. And their CHOICES for today CERTAINLY didn't disappoint this sweet-toothed gal.

God, I am so darn happy that I'm unhealthily addicted to all things cupcake, because I got to learn about an interesting cause in the process of satiating my addiction.

Cupcakes for Courage (http://www.cupcakesforcourage.com/) is an organization run by two sisters, with a portion of its proceeds going to the Ride Janie Ride foundation (http://www.ridejanieride.org/) and to cancer research (specifically, lymphoma and other blood cancers). The idea came about when Kathryn was diagnosed with cancer in May, 2010 and Laura baked cupcakes for a bake sale held in her honor to curb her medical care costs.

You can likely guess the rest... these cupcakes were such a hit that Cupcakes for Courage is the ultimate product!

It really doesn't get any better than this! Not only do these cupcakes' proceeds support a fine cause, they are also good FOR you (well, as good for you as cupcakes can be) as these sisters only use natural ingredients and products for their concoctions.

Sigh. Told you it doesn't get any better.

It certainly doesn't hurt that they don't bother cluttering their menu...

Weeee! Just seeing "Cupcakes! Cupcakes! Cupcakes!" ... I can't fully describe the jubilee aside from... well... lksjfalksj! But they totally have it RIGHT! Stick with what you know, love and are obviously already good at.

Soo... final verdict?

I ended up going with the Taffy Apple cupcake and, I have to say, it was pretty darn SPOT. ON. I totally felt healthy eating it and everything! What? All-natural ingredients... hello, people!

All kidding aside, I really did think this was such a unique idea for such a great cause- it certainly is one step in the right direction... one step closer to bringing the world together one cupcake at a time, if you will...

The Official Cupcake-Off Checklist

Happy Cupcake-Off Eve!! Happy Cupcake-Off Eve!!

My friend, Neha, had the grandest idea in all the land a few weeks ago when, out of the clear blue, she just decided to have a cupcake-off. Have you guys ever heard of this? Because I sure hadn't. And yet, I think it should become the next best trend. After the trend of cupcakes, that is.

Anyway, so basically, each guest is to bring two cupcakes to the Cupcake-Off - one "basic" (ie: vanilla cake/chocolate frosting, chocolate cake/chocolate frosting, etc.) cupcake and one "specialty" cupcake (ie: a cupcake with some sort of filling in the middle). I'm assuming each cupcake will be cut into quarters and all can sample whichever ones at will.

If there's judging involved, well... I'll bring scorecards!

Dude, I don't think you understand how EXCITED I AM ABOUT THIS! Weeee!!! Much of my young adult life has been defined by cupcakes (pathetic, but true- I'm ob-SESSED) and umm... Chicago only has some of the BEST cupcake shops in the U.S. I never thought any cupcake would top Magnolia's cupcakes in New York but... man, I'm sorry. Molly's Cupcakes in Chicago supercedes Magnolia's by tenfold (or greater).

And that's just the beginning. Sweet Mandy B's, Crumbs, Sprinkles, Phoebe's, More... this city is LADEN with cupcake shops (and yes, I know some of them are in other cities outside of Chicago).

So much to prepare for! So little time! As with any big occasion which requires extensive planning, I've created...

Christie's Cupcake-Off Checklist!!

1. Verify dress code - well, I don't know! The hostess is from the South! Don't you get dressed up for monumental evening events in the South? If a Cupcake-Off doesn't count as a monumental evening event, I simply just don't know what does.

2. Go SHOPPING! - this is dependent on #1 above. I mean, if I need to buy a fancy schmancy summer dress for this extravaganza... well, twist my arm, really.

3. Print Groupon out - even though Molly's is my favorite cupcake shop in all the land, I signed up to bring Sweet Mandy B's because... well, I had a Groupon that I needed to use! So kill me.

4. Go to Molly's Cupcakes and pick up 2 cupcakes - it's pretty dangerous to live just a few blocks down from Molly's. It's also pretty AWE-some. My friend, Urmi, signed up to bring Molly's so I'm going to stop by and pick up her choice of cupcakes for her. Again, twist my arm, really.

5. Go to Sweet Mandy B's and pick up two cupcakes - sigh. SUCH an adorable bake shop in the heart of Lincoln Park. It's actually been aWHILE since I've been here so I'm more than a little excited to reacquaint myself with its coziness.

6. Map out Cupcake-Off strategy - well, I don't want to overload on sugar TOO quickly! I want to savor and appreciate every. last. bite.
6a. Cupcake-Off strategy
I. I'll likely avoid anything with chocolate, because why waste calories and richness on something that I don't really enjoy in the first place?
II. I plan to TRULY eat a quarter of each cupcake I choose and NOT get carried away with the ones I already love (and subsequently, eat the whole thing. Obvi).
III. Try out the cupcakes from those bakeries I haven't yet tried, so I can be as fair and impartial as possible (HA. I already KNOW that's not going to happen).
IV. Fourth, drink a fair amount of water between cupcakes. Cleanse that palate and all that.

7. Get those Spanx ready- you KNOW they'll be a necessity. Hey, at least I'm HONEST! (to fully understand my love of the Spanx, please reference my blog entry: Spanx and Fried Chicken http://bit.ly/jWOzwE)

8. Get to bed EARLY tonight! - I want to make sure I'm in tip-top shape for tomorrow's big day! (Well, that and I'm exhausted. Getting two hours of sleep two nights ago has OFFICIALLY caught up to me.)

Sooo... without further ado... good night! Happy Cupcake-Off Eve!!!!!

the corner bakery guy and i, a love story

ah. corner bakery. have you guys ever been here before? id never heard of it until i moved to chicago, but i quickly fell in love with it. it's so COZY (and, weird as this may be, i LOVE the font that they use for their restaurant title. have i shared my love/natural attraction to fonts? anyway. this would be a standard case in point). the food isnt like the most amazing thing EVER, but it's certainly delicious enough for a regular day's lunch out. i never tire of it, at least.

my initial discovery of this place was because of the lunches i would eat here. however, after a couple of months, i realized that, if im going to be drinking coffee in the morning, i might as well come HERE instead of starbucks since it is just that much darn cheaper (and tastier!). i highly recommend their hazelnut coffee. delicious, even to me, and i am not a huge fan of the actual taste of coffee (which is exactly why starbucks coffee makes me want to gag each and everytime i choke that stuff down). granted, who knows if it's the actual taste of the corner bakery hazelnut coffee that i am advertising here... or the two packets of splenda that are drowning out the taste of everything with the deliciousness that can only be fake sugar... or the heaping mounds of cinnamon that i dump on top of the coffee to, well, drown out the taste of everything else in that cup. but i digress.

i began frequenting corner bakery even MORE regularly after i discovered the beauty of their "buy six cups of coffee, get the seventh free" cards. it's amazing how quickly you accumulate free coffees if you go here every morning before work and are religious about getting your cards stamped and all. talk about the deal of all deals, really.

of course, becoming a "regular" at this place was only inevitable. i mean, this place is like right across the street from my work. and the DEALS to be had (especially compared to starbucks...)... im a sucker what can i say. who knew that it would only get BETTER from here. i mean, dont get me wrong, i was totally content enough with my "buy six, get the seventh free" deals. what can be better than that?

try... free coffee... every. single. day.

see, this is the beauty of being an openly friendly person, i guess. so there's this one corner bakery guy that is always working the counter when i come in (because i obvi come in around the same time every morning since i have a regular daily routine). anyway, when i first started coming in, he would charge me for the coffee and then stamp stamp stamp my glorified card with gusto (sigh. he's so adorable and friendly and. well. pitter patter goes the heart for adorable, friendly people. you know. the usual. haha).

but then one morning (no different than any other morning), i come in and he's just like "medium coffee, right?" because, duh, im a regular and my order is NOT difficult. so i confirm this and he hands me my cup for coffee and i have my wallet all out ready to pay away, and he's just like "nah, dont worry about it." sigh. i was a little affronted because, if you know me, im all about fairness and paying my way through life and all that. but whatever. i was just like "aww! thank you SO MUCH!" (because who DOESN'T love a friendly thank you, really). so i was all about ready to traipse off with my totally free cup of coffee when i realized... this was the corner bakery guy's lucky DAY. today was the day that i had just happened to have baked cupcakes for my coworkers. so what do i do? i'm just like, "oh wait a second! here, because you gave ME coffee, im going to give YOU some cupcakes. do you have a plate?" hahaha. and that's right. i totally gave this guy cupcakes in exchange for coffee. talk about the BARTER SYSTEM COMING RIGHT BACK INTO CAPITALIST AMERICA!

well. i thought it would end there. i mean, i may drink coffee like it's water, but at the end of the day, it's NOT water and does cost money. but no. ever since that fine day... i have NEVER had to pay for a cup of coffee! GOD, i feel special. hahaha. i mean, it was a gradual progression, let's be honest. it started out with me being genuinely surprised when corner bakery guy would say i didnt have to pay for my coffee the first few times... then, this progressed to me taking my wallet out, but definitely just more for formality's sake because i mean, who are we kidding here (but i didnt want to seem GREEDY hello)... to, well, the point im at now, where he just hands me a cup as im walking in and i dont even bother taking my wallet out. in fact, i would be slightly offended if i DID have to take my wallet out, thank you very much.

hmm. is that weird? illegal, maybe? who knows.

even just last week, i went to corner bakery for the first time this new year to buy a coffee cake for my friend and tacked on a coffee to the order. i knew he was going to charge me for the coffee cake (i mean, HELLO, even I'M not that special), so i figured he'd just tack on the coffee on top of it, since a bill was already being generated (and since i hadnt been there in SO LONG). but no... free coffee it was AGAIN! okay. maybe it had something to do with the fact that i greeted him with, "WOW, i havent been here in so LONG, how ARE YOU?" hahahah but whatever. midwestern charm and all that.

sigh. how i love going to corner bakery now. it's all very scientific, really. because if i walk into corner bakery and DON'T see him working, i immediately start reevaluating my order. i mean, should i splurge and get a specialty beverage that morning (since i already KNOW i will have to be paying for coffee since this whole under-the-table is limited to him working the counter) or just stick with paying for a cup of coffee and actually USING those buy six, get the seventh free cards that are still sitting in my purse (since, OBVI, i haven't been using them as of late since i cant have HIM stamp these cards if he's ALREADY straight up GIVING me coffee. )? anyway. at least it gets my mind churning that early in the morning.

man, i hope he's working tomorrow morning. i dont want him to think im taking him for GRANTED, heaven forbid. and since im toting some baked goods to the office ANYWAY, im totally going to barter it up with him (just like in that initial free offering of the coffee) so that he realizes that i truly do appreciate his totally illegal shenanigans and am certainly NOT taking it for granted (well, kind of).

anyway, dont think i dont give credit where it's totally due. i was TOTALLY going to take a picture of corner bakery guy and post it in my blog to actively advertise him to my blog audience and subsequently, give him the link to my blog (it's not my fault if i HAPPEN to grab another blog follower in this whole love story of a process), but i figured that he may not actually WANT to be advertised for totally doing something illegal on a regular basis. hence the discreetness of this entry (note how i dont mention his name NOR the corner bakery location which i frequent... ahhh always a THINKER, that i am. haha).

sigh. the corner bakery guy and i. a love story if ever i heard one. HA.

i won! i won!

so i decided to take the liberty of actually interacting with coworkers outside of work by going to happy hour with a couple of people on my team a couple of fridays ago... i know, right? anyone who knows me knows there are so many things wrong with that sentence. now, dont get me wrong. i love my coworkers- i mean, they're just so FUNNY. haha - i find people funny? shocking. but anyone who remotely knows me knows that i actively embrace the finer details of staying in and sitting around on fridays. i mean, arent people just TIRED after a week at work? but whatever. when in rome and all that. one drink never hurt anyone...

well. definitely more than one drink and a dueling piano bar later... this woman comes around to take pictures of random people at the bar... okay. so i know i should always be wary of random people taking my picture because who KNOWS where those pictures can end up (thanks for the paranoia, mares) but, quite frankly, you just never know! maybe that picture could've been my ticket to being on tv or something! that was my thought process at this point in the evening despite the fact that i dont think the camerawoman remotely referenced a potential stint on television... but no need to further delve into THAT thought process. so eagerly, i beam away for the camera and then, more than a little readily, write down my email address for her to keep me posted on when i should show up for my grand tv debut...

ha. right. instead, three days later, i randomly get some email from howl at the moon (to which i grimaced because i certainly didnt remember giving my email address out that night in the aforementioned story until i received this follow up email from the bar- whoops)... congratulating me on winning a free happy hour for me and 100 of my closest friends.

i know, i know. wtf and all that, right? of all the people for this to happen to?? i mean, the irony of the situation! you can't make this stuff up! the girl who hates (absolutely hates) having attention drawn to her (well. except, apparently, if it has to do with being on television in which case i am shameless in self-promotion... a study of contrasts, i know)... the girl who actively promotes staying in on the weekends and can readily detail the finer points of cozy time on any given night... the girl who used to be so anti-hanging out with coworkers at her last job (haha i bet any triagers reading this are just like who is this girl? what the f HAPPENED? but whatever. side note.) decides to venture out for one innocent night...

and a free happy hour and 100 friends later...

awesome.

quite frankly, even though i am probably the person least likely to deserve to win some random free happy hour (HELLO! where are the contests for free cupcake tours or coffee shop hours when you need them, people??), you KNOW im so all ABOUT innocent friday night happy hours NOW because, quite frankly, what else will i get to win?? laksdjflaksjdlfkj! i cant wait wait wait to find out!!! lkajsfdlkjsd!

cupcakes... in more detail than you ever imagined possible...

so one of my absolute favorite people in LIFE came to visit me in my new hometown (is it too early to start calling chicago home? oh well.) this weekend! drumroll please... id like to introduce you to the one and only archie p! while arch and i have traveled quite a few places together... travel is a slightly relative term... somehow, i think very few individuals would travel the way we do, complete with self-guided "the notebook" tours in charleston sc (i mean HELLO! southern CHARM at its FINEST!), pathetically weak attempts to bike ride around charleston in sweltering heat (i just cringed), ridiculous cooking/baking adventures in archie's DC kitchen (trust me... if you ever want to make vegan cupcakes, you can just give archie p a ringeroo), blueberry picking by the mountains in seattle (rather than watching some big OSU vs. UW football game... please- priorities here, people), gorging on magnolias cupcakes in new york...

oh magnolias. where the cupcake sprung to life- from a mere birthday dessert to an absolute ART FORM, in my eyes. i could eat magnolias for breakfast, lunch and dinner (and trust me, i have before, so dont put it past me- vanilla vanilla, you canNOT go wrong). sad to say, any other cupcake place i sampled in new york and SF just paled in comparison to magnolias.

but then i came to chicago. and... oh what the heck. i was going to just type out the ins and outs of the cupcake scene here but it would basically be a copy/paste of my email to arch in preparation for her visit to chicago (please keep in mind that the poor girl was not even in the US at the time this email was written... she was in cambodia saving the world... and im emailing her about cupcakes. fab.)

"arch you have to come home soon. and by come home, i mean, sure fly into dc but then immediately come down and visit me in chicago :) i just discovered yet ANOTHER amazing cupcake shop today! i stumbled upon it while i was walking to barnes and noble. it's on the cutest little street and the name of it is: sweet mandy b's. how cute is THAT?? i dont know which i like better... mollys or mandys! mollys is amazing and i go there at least once a weekend (this weekend i went three times- it was kind of disgusting but whatever) but it's kind of pricey... however, the cupcakes are SO DIVINE. mandys is definitely cheaper and much simpler (ie: the frostings are all kinds, the cakes portion are as well, but they arent filled with like cookie dough or peanut butter like mollys does). anyway. it was pathetic- i stumbled upon mandys and you KNOW i helped myself (i cant stop myself from trying a cupcake shop!!)- i had a lemon cupcake with vanilla buttercream divinity frosting. it was great. but then i felt guilty because i felt like i was cheating on mollys so i just stopped by mollys just now and helped myself to a mixed berry cupcake which was just mediocre. however, i must admit that mollys has been solid on most of the others ive tried... i had a chocolate one with peanut butter filling yesterday (it reminded me of our buckeye cupcakes!!) and then there's this choc chip cookie dough one, that is a choc chip cupcake with vanilla buttercream frosting and cookie dough filling in the cake part and topped with the cutest little choc chip cookie... OMG AND ARCHIE on friday i got a mini pumpkin caramel cheesecake. i mean, seriously, it's getting outta control. im cutting myself off starting tomorrow i have told myself. well. until you come and then we embark on a self guided cupcake tour around chicago. i mean, honestly, im quite surprised with the high quality cupcakes ive come across here. because in new york, the only ones i truly enjoyed were magnolias- all else paled in comparison. sigh. anyway. i todl you this was going to be all about cupcakes. its rather sickening but also maddeningly delightful."

for your reference: 'mollys' refers to "Molly's Cupcakes" while 'mandys' refers to "Sweet Mandy B's"... amazing deliciousness captured in every bite... in case that wasnt remarkably clear from the above...

ive also heard of quite a few other cupcake places in chicago but i havent yet tried them... you KNOW that youll be hearing about those places (in unnecessary levels of detail... kind of like here) as i visit them as i continue on my neverending quest for the cupcake that could even DARE try to beat out my magnolias... ha. right.

good luck, chicago cupcake shops/bakeries... maliyacks is on the way... yikesers!