28 Red Balloons

I met up with four...woops, I mean five (sorry baby Charlotte!)...very special ladies this evening to celebrate a very special birthday. 

The one and only Red h'editor took one more step on that plank towards 30 this evening at hibachi mall. I mean Okinawa Hibachi Steakhouse in Ossining, NY.

And of course no birthday is complete without personalized balloons, an orange chocolate shoe, AND CUPPIES!!!!

Cuppies made with all the love in the world from a soon to be new-mommy and amazing baker and cake artist in her own right, Miss Samantha Mittler-Eichenberg. She brought chocolate-raspberry and classic chocolate with vanilla buttercream frosting. Did I get the flavors right Sam?

Anyway, Nicole and I have no problem giving credit where credit is due. See her work on her Facebook page.

And I can tell you from personal experience (particularly with this cat and this penguin) that it's visually stunning and absolutely D-LISH! Hmmm....(can anyone say recruit?).

Happy Birthday Becky! Love you lots.

~aMaRAno

A year and a half!!!???

Just read this under the "About Us" tab on the Sugar Sweet Sunshine Web site:


"Debbie had a dusty old Betty Crocker cookbook that her parents had given her and decided it was a good a place to start. So, every Sunday for the next 1-1/2 years in Deb’s kitchen the two experimented. Some of the things they baked were great triumphs and others…well, it was back to the baking board." 

Is it really going to take that long??? :(

~AnnMarie

Trials Come to Ossining, NY

So I must admit, I thought I'd just start up this blog, light a little fire under my sister's ass and POOF!--we'd have a bakery. Things haven't exactly worked out that way.

Unfortunately, we still have day jobs (Nicole will in fact be starting a new one next week! Round of applause...) And I still have a mouth to feed besides my own:

So alas, we cannot fully commit ourselves to our cuppie goals completely just yet. But we're workin' on it.

This week, trials actually came to Ossining, NY! Which I was particularly excited about because it meant I didn't have to cross any bridges for one day. So despite a disgruntled clean-freak of a boyfriend who was having heart palpitations at the thought of my sister and I taking over the kitchen, we took over my tiny attic apartment to continue working on carrot and chocolate. Here he is below in the living room trying to sleep his way through it:

Even with the angled ceilings, and our stealth maneuvering, we were able to get through one more round of each (carrot and chocolate). And they only keep getting tastier and tastier! It's been reported that Sebby and Barbara (dad and mom) thought this was the best round yet after taste-testing when Nicole returned to New Jersey later that night (after some Ossining Pizza AND The Hangover).

Who let the dogs out!!???

Nicole trekked all the way here with her bags of supplies which ended up spread out all over our tiny kitchen. We both felt like we definitely worked much faster yesterday than we had in the past for some reason.

She looks like she's singing in this one.

 

This one's just funny.

 

Now she's dancin'.

One problem we had that I'd like to throw out to you all is that for some reason our tops are flattening out and not fluffing and puffing out. Any suggestions? See our Frank Lloyd Wright chocolate cuppie below to see what I mean.

Waiting for brother-in-law Jimmy to give us a Godaddy lesson so we can set up our Website and apply for our trademark! And I will be taking the first ICE class on May 15. Can't wait!

~AnnMarie

Godaddy?

On it now, aaaaaaaaand...confused. Well, maybe not confused, just hesitant.

Have to consult with sissie on this one.

~AnnMarie

Congrats!

To Coley Stromboli.

Better late than never.

Love,
Am

HOLY CRAP!

OOooookk....guess I got my answer! Line wrapped around the freakin' block!

Cupcake Camp NYC 2010 from Nichelle Stephens on Vimeo.

I do, however, do not see anyone carrying cuppies and they specifically said if you bring your own you'll get to the head of the line...

~AnnMarie

Cupcake Camp NYC

The cuppie blogosphere was all abuzz about Cupcake Camp NYC last week. Did anyone attend on Friday? Let us know how it was. It was a bit early for us to make a debut there, but hopefully we'll be up and running for 2011.

~AnnMarie

Closing in on Carrot and Chocolate

Sorry for the lack of pictures here, but it was a bit of a crazed day yesterday. We were able to make significant gains on both our carrot and chocolate recipes though. Especially chocolate, thanks to a great tip from a future SMBS employee and second mother to Nicole and I: none other than JennyFace. Here she is to the left with Nicole earlier this year.

I'll be working on the Web site this week!

~AnnMarie

We have a winner!

Aaaalright ladies and germs, Nicole and I have chosen a logo for our first Web site.

The esteemed honor goes to: Sarah Mapes!

Amie, Sarah, we loved both of your work and I am here to say how talented BOTH of these ladies are. See previous posts for their contact information.

We'll be working on the Web site in the coming days and hope to have something available by next weekend.

In other news, Nicole and I have signed up for 3 classes each at the Institute of Culinary Education in NYC and can't wait for them!

Me:
Everybody Loves Cupcakes
Cupcake Workshop 1
Basically Baking

Nicole:
Cupcake Workshop 2
Cupcakes Unlimited
Low-Fat Baking

I thought it best if we divide and conquered. Barbara (Mom) will of course be coming for one class each.

Trials tomorrow. Better get some rest. I think I'm going to stop at the Briarcliff Manor, NY Winter Farmer's Market to pick up a few supplies from Feather Ridge Farm. Thanks for the tip Phyllis!

~AnnMarie

Logos, Round 2

Alright guys, here is our second logo option, provided by a Miss Sarah Mapes! Sarah doesn't have a Website yet, but she's workin' on it, and she's pushing for a May launch. You can contact her at semapes@gmail.com.

Let me know what everyone thinks...

~AnnMarie

Cupcake CRAZE

Saw Friendly's ice cream cuppies in the supermarket earlier. It really is taking over everything.

Got more logos today. We'll be finalizing in the next couple days and posting for everyone to take a look at.

~AnnMarie

Pouting

Oh my GOD, I'm so upset!!!!!!!!!!!!! I guess I can kiss my reality TV dreams goodbye!: http://www.nysocialdiary.com/node/1799842

Logos! Round 1...

OK! Here is one set of possible logos from a Miss Amie Fedora. Check out her Website to view the rest of her work: http://www.amiefedoradesign.com/


Alright everyone, let me know what you think of these. Please leave comments...someone else BESIDES my mother!!!!

And remember, there is another set coming in next week from graphic designer #2!

~AnnMarie

Hippety-HOP

You'd think this would be the perfect weekend for us to test out more of our concoctions and see how they fare. The best of the best come out to play on Easter, a holiday probably only second in line to Valentine's Day in the emphasis it places on chocolates and sweets.

But alas, those darn day jobs -- and life in general for that matter -- are getting in the way.

It was a week of long hours, so I'm a bit stalled on How to Open a Financially Successful Bakery, and we can't get together for more trials this weekend because Nicole decided to just jaunt off to Mohegan Sun for the weekend!

Just kidding, I hope you guys have fun and win lots of money to put towards SMBS...

I'm also at fault because I'll be spending the holiday with my boyfriend's family rather than my own.

So I guess the point of this rant is a promise to get back on that saddle next week. We're trying to commit to one weeknight of trials and of course one weekend day. I also think we're going to have to head back to Chef Central and Whole Foods so I can buy my own supplies. This way we can do trials separately when necessary. Everything from the first big supply trip is now residing in a pantry in my parent's basement.

I DO however have a first set of logos from graphic designer #1. Whom shall remain nameless until she gives me the go-ahead to reveal her identity. But I loved her work! I'm sure it will be a very close competition between she and graphic designer #2 as they are both very talented young ladies. Remember, these are for our soon to be launched Website. #2 should be delivering a first round of her work on Monday.

I hope this is causing #1 and #2 to giggle :)

In other news, those clowns downstairs have finally moved out! So I'm going to my parents tomorrow to see them for the holiday and I plan on picking up a few gardening tools to bring back and get started with. Some seeds would be good too...

Here's an idea of how much space I have:

It's a pretty decent size, so I'm excited! And those daffodils are going to see an untimely death. I know you serious gardeners out there are cringing, maybe even shedding a tear. But I don't care.

I hope the Easter bunny is good to everyone. We'll be back on track soon.

~AnnMarie