Mickey Cupcakes

Remember my coworker Debbie, who was having a baby last year? I made her the mini button cupcakes for her baby shower last year, and had the privilege of making baby D's 1st birthday cupcakes this year! My, how time flies... I can't believe he's already 1!

Mommy Debbie asked me to whip up some baby Mickey-themed cupcakes for this year's birthday party! Debbie gave me a picture of the baby Mickey plates that she bought for the party, and I used it as inspiration for the color scheme.

How adorable are these little Mickeys??? The nice thing about making these Mickey ears was that all you need are circle cutters. I found 3 different-sized circle cutters that were in proportion to Mickey and started cutting up green, blue, and black fondant. I attached Mickey to the pastel discs using gum glue adhesive (which is a tiny piece of gum paste dissolved in a about a tablespoon of water). 

I have a crazy amount of cupcake liners in a variety of colors and patterns. While rummaging through my stash, I found these cuties! I had green and blue polka dot mini muffin liners that were PERFECT for this project. These really couldn't have come out any cuter... in my humble opinion... :)

 Happy 1st Birthday, D!

Vegas, Baby!

Did you get that? from Friends... anyone?

Anyhow, my coworkers and I threw a surprise bridal shower for a coworker. Where was she getting married, you ask? Where do you think? VEGAS! I was in charge of baking mini cupcakes for this special event. I wanted to jazz them up a bit to match the excitement of Vegas, so I decided to make some festive fondant toppers for my little sweets.

Using red and black fondant, I made some hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades. I bought these little cookie cutters at Williams-Sonoma a couple of years ago. You can find them here. Using white fondant, I cut out circles and created poker chips. With an edible marker, I drew on the details.

Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. !

California Adventure Part 4: Bottega Louie

This is my last and final post about my trip to California... I know, I know. Four whole posts about this trip, but as you can see, it would have just been one reallllllllly long post! Naturally, I saved the best for last!

Bottega Louie: 700 S. Grand Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90017
The second our car pulled up to this store, it was love at first sight... Even before stepping through the doors, I was in love! My nose was pressed up against the window in awe of the tall, pastel macaron towers. As I finally stepped under the golden letters spelling LOUIE, I came face to face with a a whole counter of macarons. There was row after row of macarons in every color imaginable! I was so tempted to buy the biggest box of macarons they offered, but exerted some self-control and bought 13... (yes, 13 all for me!).

 aren't these just gorgeous??

The rest of the store is equally as beautiful, with shelves full of sweets in pastel packages. Even their homemade marshmallows are pastel-tinted! The detail they put into their brand was not overlooked by me. I was just as much in love with their packaging as I was with their products.

macaron boxes

pastel-tinted marshmallows

other sweets in sweet packaging

Their bakery case showcases edible works of art that I have never seen, including huge macarons, pies, and eclairs.

Super tempted to quit the East Coast and move out to LA just to work at Bottega Louie. I mean, who wouldn't?

California Adventure Part 3: Food!

Remember how I said I gained 5 pounds? This one post will show you all just how much food was consumed in one week...

Here's Part 3:
A-Won Japanese Restaurant, 913 S. Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90006
This place is known for their big bowls of rice topped with colorful fish roe or chunks of fresh sashimi. the bowl was humongous; like it could have been a comfortable hat for a bear... Is this not a work of art???

Beer Belly, 532 S. Western Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90020

My friend and I stopped by here for happy hour before heading to dinner. Apparently their duck fat fries are too delicious to miss! As a lover of french fries and all things fried, I had to try them! You can definitely taste the duck fat flavor in the fries, and the duck skin cracklins on top are a nice fatty crunch on top. 

Tahoe Galbi, 3986 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90010

Whenever I visit my friend in Los Angeles, I make her take me to All You Can Eat Korean BBQ. I mean, they have places like this in the East as well, but it's just not as good and just not as CHEAP! What they say about happy cows living in California must be true. The meat just tastes better and fresher here. There are so many options to choose from and each place has their own little pluses, but this place is my favorite thus far!

Mastro's Steakhouse, 246 N. Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

We went to this famous chain steakhouse for a goodbye dinner for a friend, and it was delicious! Everything from the steak, to the sides, to the dessert, was so good! OMG that butter cake... It had a bit of a crust, but the inside was moist and it was all topped with vanilla ice cream and a raspberry sauce. I found some pinterest recipes, so I will be trying to recreate this really soon! 

The Yellow House Cafe, 234 S. Oxford Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90004

JJ took me to the most adorable little cafe I have ever been to. It is literally a yellow house, complete with a courtyard and multiple rooms and floors. Every space in this house is filled with tables, chairs, and sofas for customers to lounge in. I have never seen a place like this around me, so it was pretty cool to see. I hear these kind of cafes are all over Korea, but considering I haven't been there in probably 10 years, I wouldn't know!

There is one more California post left... Yup! Just when you thought, DAMN this girl ate a lot in a week, there's one last place that I went to and absolutely fell in love with. I would move out to California just to eat and work there! Stay tuned...

California Adventure Part 2: Donuts

Donuts... Fried dough topped with sugary sweetness... I don't do a lot of deep frying at home. Honestly, if I were to witness the process of my favorite foods being fried, I probably wouldn't eat them as much. HAHA! Who am I kidding!? I encountered many different kinds of donuts on my trip to LA; from the simple glazed donuts you see at your local bakeshop to the not-so-common bacon-topped one.

Here's Part 2:
Cafe Dulce, 134 Japanese Village Plaza, Bldg. E Los Angeles, CA 90012
While my friend, JJ, was hard at work treating patients and saving lives, I took her car and drove to Little Tokyo in Downtown Los Angeles. In search for a sweet snack, I stumbled upon Cafe Dulce. What really intrigued me about this little cafe, was the assortment of donuts they had on display. As a lover of sugary kid's cereal, the Fruity Pebbles-topped donut caught my eye. Sitting right next to it was a similar donut topped with bacon pieces. Yup, bacon pieces. I'm the type that dips my bacon into my maple syrup, so this was right up my alley. Moving down the line, I saw a green tea donut rolled in sugar. And next to that one was a pillow-looking bun with chestnuts on top. Naturally, I purchased all 4... The dough was pillow-y and soft. The white glaze on the first two wasn't too sweet, which was great because the Fruity Pebbles would have sent it over the edge.

- Bacon and Fruity Pebbles -

- Green Tea -

- Chestnut Bun -

Part 2 Continued: Krispy Kreme, 1231 Wilshire Blvd. Santa Monica, California 90403
My last meal in California was at Krispy Kreme. The closest one to me at home is kinda of a pain to get to, and also happens to be underground (Penn Station, NYC). There's something about having Krispy Kremes from the actual store... So, I had 2 before I went to the airport, overlooking the Pacific Ocean one last time.

- Breakfast of Champions! -