Anticipation...Is Making Me Late

Cupcakes for Heinz, a photo by Sugar Daze on Flickr.

Do you remember this Heinz ad from the '70's? Carly Simon singing Anticipation as the ketchup oh so slowly poured from the bottle? Personally I can never think of Heinz ketchup without hearing Carly singing in my ear!

I made these cupcakes for the Heinz Group here in France to celebrate their reaching 80,000 fans on their facebook page. Quite an accomplishment! Congratulations!

And while I would have liked to try one of those cupcake recipes that calls for ketchup or tomatoes in the batter, these are just a simple assortment of my White Wedding, Pretty in Pink, I Love You Honey Bunny, Storm and Raspberry Beret cupcakes with pink and red buttercream (as requested by the client).

Open Your Heart to Me

It's rare that I find myself at a loss for words. The past few days, every person I meet has asked something akin to the following..."Sooooo? How's it going?" while talking about my shop finally being open. I'm finding it really hard to articulate my feelings in concise sentences. It may be the lack of sleep. So what I have to say in response has been a hodge podge of sentiments with the following being some of the key words:

Crazy, great, fun, interesting, hectic, a headache, tiring, exciting, my dream come true, stressful, an adventure, a work in progress, lovely to meet so many people I've only known virtually, trying, fantastic, really good, I am exhausted, I've done it!, it's just the beginning, amazing first day, hoping to find our rhythm, my back is killing me, I love my kitchen, the customers are so sweet!, time to bake again, blah, blah, blah (I really do say this a lot - my husband has pointed out to me my over-use of the expression "blah, blah, blah.").



I think a rough translation of our first week would be we had a rocking first day (we gave away 100 free cupcakes and sold out of what we had baked to sell about 2 hours in advance!) and it's been up and down ever since. I know from being in this business the past few years, there are a lot of ups and downs and trying to figure out a pattern is almost impossible. I think the same may be true for a brick and mortar. Last Tuesday, it was pretty dead in the shop and today (again Tuesday), I have barely had a second to breath. It's frustrating to figure out so I won't bother!

Many of you have asked where the shop is located. We are at 20 rue Henry Monnier in the 9th. This is a few blocks down from the sex shops of Pigalle and in the other direction, you find your way down to the department stores, Printemps and Galeries Lafayette in just a few minutes. It's a real crossover neighborhood but oh so charming and the locals have welcomed us warmly. There are some adorable, kitschy shops on our street, and so far the restaurants sampled have not disappointed. Several of my friends who have stopped by have mentioned that Henry Monnier is one of their favorite streets in Paris. I can't disagree. Very happy to have settled on this location.

So if you are in the neighborhood, stop on by. And if you're not, why not take a walk on the wild side and come check it out. I'm here most days; otherwise, I leave the shop in the very capable hands of Chris. PS thanks to my bank, we are without a functioning credit card machine for the time being...working on that but don't say you haven't been warned. :P