Cupcakes! Part 2

At Sweet we did frosting shots and shared a lemon raspberry cupcake and a mini organic karat cupcake. The lemon raspberry had lemon frosting and was filled with raspberry jam. Light and summery, it was scrumptious. The organic karat was carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and topped with little gold flakes. It felt like quite a party with seating and all the various things we ate at Sweet.



From there we walked down the Charles River to the North End. We stopped for a pizza for some "real" food before Lulu's. At Lulu's we shared a Boston creme cupcake. It was good but not WOWing.



We walked along the Rose Kennedy greenway over the Big Dig to the Fort Point area to Flour. They do one kind of cupcake and they do it WELL! We shared their signature giant chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting. The cake is moist and rich while remaining light and airy. The frosting is not to thick but not too light. It really is a perfect cupcake. It is so big, one might just call it a small cake.



The last stop on the tour was the South End Buttery. In honor of gay pride weekend we shared a chocolate cupcake with rainbow flag icing. It was good but not WOWing. The location is fun. I love the brownstones and the vibe of the South End neighborhood. The ambience was great too, a fun little cafe with plenty of seating indoor and out. I'd definitely go their again for lunch or an afternoon break from walking in the City.



In the end, Sweet won the favorite vote by a landslide. It came down to Flour and Sweet for having quality, delicious, cupcakes. The variety at Sweet took one up on Flour and wins in our minds for cupcakes. However, Flour provides a variety of other pastries and sandwiches which are delicious. As a cupcake vendor, Sweet takes the cake!



Our first annual cupcakery tour was a success! And, thanks to splitting cupcakes all along the way, A and I are feeling good. We're off to a BBQ.

Cupcakes!

We have begun our cupcake adventure! One down at Party Favors. A and I split a chocolate cupcake withe three truffles on top.

The sun is out and it's a beautiful day for cupcaking!

WEEKEND!

Today, Boston is happy, despite the rain. The Red Sox just swept the Yankees in a three game series. That always makes Boston-ites happy.

 

Tomorrow we are headed on a Cupcake Tour organized by Sam. Check this out: 

http://www.allsamsidea.com/2009/06/cupcakes-cupcakes-cupcakes.html

I've been pricked!

After two finger pricks I was allowed to give blood last night. I guess my right hand has more iron in it than my left. Perhaps my left hand is using all of its iron to heal the finger I burned the other night. (see separate story below) After work, A and I walked pretty far into the industrial parts of South Boston to get to the Red Cross blood drive at the Boston Athletic Club. We thought we'd never get there...but we eventually did. I had to break into the juice bottles prior to giving blood. We answered all the questions and got our fingers pricked. Once up on the bed, the lady did a great job putting in the needle, but then she did some adjustments! She wiggled it around until it was in the right place. YIKES!  I made it through the whole donation, ate my oreos, and filled out my entry to win Red Sox tix. Phew, we were done.

 

I was in desperate need of a cheeseburger. We headed over to Atlantic Grill (a new place that opened up on the water). The place is FULL of flat screen TVs. Everywhere we turned our head we could see the Red Sox beating the Yankees. We enjoyed some great cheeseburgers, great baseball, and then headed home. HOORAY for Youkilis and Lowell's 10th home runs of the season! 

 

At home, when I took my jacket off, I found my gauze pads on my elbow were all red. I had been bleeding during the burger fest, I guess. I washed out my jacket sleeve, peeled the tape off my arm (OUCH!) and examined my needle hole. It's more like I've been sliced than poked. It doesn't hurt and it's not bleeding anymore, so I guess I'll be ok.  And, I'll probably donate again. 

 

 

my burned finger

I try to be a good wife by cooking dinner and doing the dishes, and what do I get? a burnt finger!  Dinner was successful. I went to the kitchen to make hot chocolate after dinner and decided to wash some dishes while the kettle warmed up. I was jammin' through dish duty and grabbed a pot lid from the stove. As I was washing it and spinning it in my hands, a hot part reached my finger. OUCH! It was hot. That lid was sitting next to the kettle...silly me.  It wasn't a bad burn, but I did go to bed with an ice cube.

My apologies. I left out a few things from my SWG. 1. My sis and I had one of our best conversations. We talked China (she loved the journal I kept for her), Twilight, weddings, and more. We had great fun.
2. I talked with my Pops. He's as perky as ever.
And....
3. I watched our garden grow.

SGW

This post is documenting my Super Great Weekend! I went on many dates with my husband, who I don't get to see much since we've gotten back from vacation. He goes to work and I go to work, and we only hang out in the evenings now. (sad face). BUT, this weekend, we had lots of fun. On Saturday morning, A hopped up and went for a run. Go A! I worked on the china pics (some are posted to our picasa website now). When he came back we made breakfast burritos and watched the movie Twilight. Such a great way to start the weekend! (I'm reading the fourth book of the Twilight series now, so it was great fun to bring A into the vampire world that I have been enjoying). Saturday afternoon was filled with dishes, laundry, vacuuming, an oil change, etc. Somewhere around 4:30pm we looked at each other and said, "oh, I have to get ready for a date with my honey!"

 

I showered and put on my Red Sox shirt and cap and joined my honey in the hallway for departure. We strolled in the beautiful sunny afternoon air to the T. We disembarked at St. Mary's and enjoyed a fabulous dinner at the Beacon Street Tavern (the name of the place is something like that). My lamb kabobs and cous cous were delicious and A's oyster po'boy was the fanciest most fun po'boy I'd ever seen. We dined on the patio and watched the Red Sox fans walk by heading to the game. With full tummies we joined them and walked over to Fenway. A bought me a program so I could practice my baseball scoring skills (we had to run into 7-eleven to buy pencils).

 

Our seats were near the Pesky pole for the second game in a three game series with the Texas Rangers. It was a GREAT game and we had a blast. We also managed to eat peanuts, fenway franks, and drink lemonade before the game was over. Our eating fenway franks, I'm convinced, gave Big Papi the luck he needed to hit a home run. It bounced off the Pesky pole... It was his second HR of the season and we were there. The crowd was so proud of him. Lester pitched the entire game. Ellsbury (my fave) made several outs in center field. The Red Sox won 8 - 1.  Waaaa Whoooo! A great game for us to be at.  (I love dates with my honey)

 

We walked all the way home in the beautiful warm night.  Sunday morning, A took a spin on his motorcycle, I went to Costco, and we met A's cousin Ashley for brunch at 11 (well, I was a little late).  We hit the S&S in Inman Square. It had been a long time since I'd been there. My eggs benedict with smoked salmon were great. A enjoyed the corned beef hash and Ashley loved her quiche lorraine. We chatted about her upcoming graduate school adventures, told stories about China, etc.

 

In the afternoon, A and I went on another date! We are so spoiled. We went to the Star Trek movie at the Boston Common theater. LOVED IT! My upbringing in a family of trekkies was very beneficial to my appreciation of the movie. I laughed and very much enjoyed the adventure. My favorite line in the movie goes something like this: "Since my traditional farewell seems somewhat self-serving I will just say 'Good Luck'."

 

After the movie we strolled through the Boston Common (because I always love to walk through the park) and ran into Koolaid and Chris! We're invited to a swap party at their place next weekend. We took some time to catch up and chat in the park before parting ways. A and I continued through the public garden. The palm trees and summer plantings are very tropical! We went to the Beacon Hill Hotel and Bistro for a divine dinner. (so spoiled). We used a restaurant.com coupon...and enjoyed duck (me) and pork shoulder (him) followed by beautiful lemon tart (us).  Then, as an extra special bonus, we walked through the public garden again!  (I love dates with my honey).

 

Sunday night we relaxed (sort of) with a scary movie while I put wedding pics (picked up at Costco) into an album. We watched The Happening. I don't recommend watching it before bed. Luckily, I didn't have any nightmares.  We went to bed very happy with our weekend and reminiscing on the fun we had. 

America the Beautiful

Welcome Back you say? Why Thanks!!! (There were more postings from China...but they didn't get emailed to the blog...so if you didn't get the emails, I guess you were left hanging after the Yangtze River cruise. Let me know if you need to be filled in...the pics are still a work in progress but will be shared on our Picasa site soon.)

We arrived happily back in the U.S. in mid May. Our five week adventure was fabulous and grand, but we were ready to come home and enjoy the conveniences of this country. We spend a full day at home recuperating before going to "the office". I went for a run around the Charles River and had an experience which I felt was a message from the world that it was my Lucky Day. As I was running along, some bird doo doo landed splat right next to me. NOT on me! What a Lucky Day!

A few days later, I had an even Luckier Day. I was lucky enough to go to Newport, RI on two of the most beautiful weather days for a conference and found a $5 bill in the parking lot. What a Luckier Day!

This country is made for me. We are having fun reminiscing the trip and enjoying the routine of summer life in Boston.

We've planted some flowers and vegetables on the porch. We go to A's softball games twice a week and enjoy the beautiful evening air.... Life is great.