Everybody's Working for the Weekend

Just two more clients to welcome and I am officially done for the weekend! The past few weeks have been so hectic, I have barely had a chance to see the time pass. In addition to the usual family and cupcake duties, I have had a whole slew of things to work on as I get ready to open up a shop. It's very slow-going and time-intensive; I find in France you have to work twice as hard to get things done.



I can't help but think of the US and my experience apartment-shopping where you better be sure to carry your checkbook on you lest the property be gone before you even get through the door. Or the real estate agents who work so dang hard for their commissions, they will call you about any and every property they think might interest you...or your dog. I have been working with one agent here for a few weeks who for whatever reason cannot schedule more than 1 property viewing per week. It's frustrating to say the least.



On a more positive note, I have a feeling things are going to start getting easier here for cake bakers with this week's opening of the new Cake & Bake shop near Republique. My friend, Lindsey, and I were lucky enough to get a sneak peek of the new space when I stopped by for a fondant fix and chat with the owner, Paul. (Did I mention he happens to be 19 years old! Man, I only wish I had myself as together when I was that age).



You can read more about Paul and his boutique in an interview written by Bryan, my Cupcake Camp partner-in-crime. All this to say I am very much looking forward to having pots of edible glitter, cookie cutters, fondant, food gels, etc. at my disposal rather than lugging them back from the US or UK every time I go on vacation. Wishing Paul a fantastic opening and a bright, successful future!



If you haven't yet contacted me for a Valentine's Day cupcake assortment and want to order, please do get in touch. There are literally only a handful left, though you can tempt your chances to win a box on my new Facebook page.



Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Baby Love, My Baby Love

About 5 years ago when my mom and close friend were planning a baby shower for my second, I remember inviting some French friends and relatives who had no clue what a baby shower was. A translation of the phrase doesn't exist in the French language, and neither does the concept apparently. My mother-in-law, who has a long-standing practice of teaching me flowery-sounding French idioms - we often will use an expression in our native language and then ask the other, "but does this exist in your language? What would you say to express that?" was particularly puzzled by the fact that a shower translates to "douche" in French. I postulated that we get the expression because it entails "showering" the mother-to-be with gifts. If anyone has a better explanation, please feel free to let me know.

In recent years, just like the cupcake, it seems the tradition of a baby shower (or bridal shower) has caught on here in France. I have prepared cakes and cupcakes for many of these occasions and this weekend was bombarded with requests from 3 different baby showers! I have to count back to see what was going on about 9 months ago but apparently there was A LOT of love in the air! :P

Pictured here are mini cupcakes from two different boy baby showers. My last client, who is having a girl, and I came up with the COOLEST idea - which was to print pictures from a 3D ultrasound of her baby in the womb on to rice paper and I used those to decorate her cupcakes. Due to the personal nature though of that order, I don't have any pictures to share. But I LOVED doing this to celebrate her soon to be born baby. Best of luck to all the parents-to-be.

Blue seemed to be the theme of the week as I also worked on these I Want (Cotton) Candy cupcakes for a film shoot.

Oh, and let's not forget Nils' blue polka dot 3rd birthday cake and cupcakes!

Lastly, to round all this blue, I worked on a Disney princess themed party this weekend and just loved the results. What do you think?

It's Getting Hot in Here

The Sugar Daze Valentine's Day gift box is back and better than ever for its 3rd year!

This year, you'll get an assortment of 6 cupcakes dressed up for the most romantic day of the year. The gift box is 24 euros -- find out how you can enter to win a gift box at the very bottom of this post.






Inside the 2012 gift box, you'll find one each of the following:
- La Vie en Rose (pistachio cupcake, rose buttercream)
- Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (the classic Red Velvet with its traditional vanilla bean frosting)
- Lovefool (strawberry-champagne cupcake and buttercream)
- Go All the Way (yup, it's back! raspberry swirled cupcake with chocolate buttercream)
- Vanilla Lovers (the name says it all!)
- Mademoiselle Orangette (orange cupcake, chocolate ganache frosting)

You can order yours now:
info@sugardazecupcakes.com (please be sure to indicate the number of boxes you want as well as your preferred pick-up date and time).

For the moment, gift-boxes are pick-up only in the 17th(Courcelles/Wagram) on the 13 or 14 February at the following times:
Monday, 13 February 13H30-16H or 17H-19H
Tuesday, 14 February 13H30-16H or 18H-20H

Note: I'm only making 50 gift boxes this year so hurry up and reserve yours now! Orders will be taken on a first come, first serve basis.

CLICK HERE TO ENTER TO WIN A VALENTINE'S DAY CUPCAKE GIFT BOX FROM SUGAR DAZE.

Every Morning

When I was in elementary school, we used to go to a skating rink about twice a month and it was my favorite way to spend a weekend afternoon. There was the requisite mirror ball, lots of strobe lights and they played every disco song imaginable. Skating around the rink is one of my most vivid and happy memories memories of this time period; I literally wanted to spend my life there. As I got older, I spent a lot of time at the ice rink - I think my mom had visions of me competing in the Olympics or something cause I took figure-skating lessons several times a week after school. I always loved scooting around - whether on ice or roller skates - and often dreamed of joining a roller derby team, or opening up an old-time diner with waitresses on wheels.

I made this cake for a lucky 9 year-old who was having an old-fashioned skate party today. How cool is that? I hope she and her friends had a blast (and enjoyed their baked goods). I'm just bummed I didn't get an invitation to cruise around the rink with them!

Speaking of skates, and the title of this post, this song has been on my iPod playlist for about as long as I can remember -- I bet you can guess my favorite parts of the video!

It's a New Day

Happy 2012 to you all! I hope your New Year is off to a good start. I was super grateful to get the chance to spend a week away with my family in London over the holidays. Not so grateful for the stomach bug my daughter, and then my husband, picked up. It was gruesome and I wish there was some way to apologize again to the poor woman that went home with my daughter's undigested lunch thrown up all over her at the Science Museum. I told you it wasn't pretty! We spent a lot of time indoors, and in front of the TV - the kids were hooked on the Disney Channel; I was happy to catch up on some old episodes of Cupcake Wars and find a new obsession: LA Ink.

So, now I'm back in Paris and ready to kick off the New Year with a bang. I have many fun projects coming up this month, including making some cupcakes for a film shoot. I'm trying to make some progress on the store front but it's slow-going. I have yet to hear anything tangible from the owner of the store I made an offer to in early December. It was a solid offer and I am frustrated there hasn't been any real feedback. Last I checked, we were in the midst of a financial crisis but hey, if it's not meant to be, I hope that means there is a better space out there just waiting for me. I'm continuing to pursue the matter - chalk it up to things working differently in France than what I have come to expect back home.

In the meantime, I have created a new Sugar Daze page on Facebook. I really appreciate the fan interaction there and so it's with a heavy heart that I'm moving away from the Little Miss Cupcake page, and the 3200 fans I have amassed there. But I figure if I am going to do this store, I can't risk any more confusion between myself, my business and the CopyCat baker. Time to once and for all, put the past in the past and get on with it. I have a vanity URL that is real easy to remember: www.facebook.com/enviedecupcakes So please do me a favor, and go like me there. And spread the buttercream love by telling all your friends! :P