Summer Nights

What's on repeat on my iTunes right now? One song to get me in the summer mood...

Surprise at Treats!

SURPRISE!? No one has ever been able to pull off a surprise party for me ever... I guess you could say I am slightly... what's the word I'm looking for, investigative? On my birthday my boyfriend put together a cupcake party for me and my friends at Treat Cupcake Bar in Needham. I had always planned on going to the make your own cupcake shop, but never took the drive over so this was a first time for me.

Treat is a cupcake store that has the innovative idea of letting the customers create their own cupcakes. Although I did not go through the typical experience, from what I observed this is the process. When you arrive after you pick your cake flavor, you select a frosting, that they then add toppings of your choice rolled into the frosting and garnished on top. This is such a great idea because how can a customer go unhappy! The cupcakes are personalized to the client. Talk about customer intimacy. I apologize for all the buzz words, this is what studying for business classes does to me.

This may be the normal routine for a Treats customer, but the experience is slightly different with a birthday party. We got the opportunity to learn about and experiment with fondants, not my favorite but it was fun to play with. There was a large selection of brightly colored frostings  as well as toppings to choose from. In the end, all 10 of us got to walk away with six of our own cupcakes. Here are my creations!

 If you are in the area and haven't been to Treat yet, get in the car and go, go, go!

http://www.treatcupcakebar.com

1450 Highland Avenue

Needham, MA

A Royal Birthday

Today is THE day! The Royal Wedding AND my birthday in one? I guess this is just a foreshadow I truly am meant to be a princess. In spirit of birthdays, I am doing today's post on birthday cake. Not only am I obsessed with every cake decorating show, competition, whatever on TLC, food network and the like, for a while I wanted to get into this business. Although many things have changed, I still am fascinated by the intricate and thorough art work these bakers put in to make cakes extra special. Cakes no longer implies rectangular sheet cake with some frosting. Like everything else in the 21st century, go big or go home. In the spirit of my fashion-beauty blog, I have provided some stylish cakes to google at. Whether you are 13 or 65, every true fashionista loves a big cake with a shoe. Enjoy! And go find yourself a tiara to wear all day if you haven't already.

This one is my favorite

Olive Green

Olive green, the hot new color of spring! You wouldn't believe it, but olive green is popping up everywhere, particularly in outwear and blazers. I was never one to like this color, but the safari shade has grown on me. It can be used as a neutral as opposed to other typical tones grey, white, black, or tan. You may not have noticed, but now you certainly will. There is a chance the olive green may carry through the summer, but I foresee a huge pick up for the fall. I'm dying to invest into a trendy olive blazer that still maintains a classy, preptastic vibe. What I love about this new trend is that although this color normally is associated with military jackets, the tint is able to channel a feminine vintage look that is compelling. 

Get your green now to be the trendsetter on your block. Featured above is Ralph Lauren Rugby on the left and Plastic Island (Shop Bop) on the right.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone! Wishing everyone a very happy holiday with their family and friends! I hope the Easter Bunny was good to you!

Cake Pop Craze

Have you had a cake pop yet? At the beginning of this year I received a book on Cake Pops as a gift. Never would I imagine would this actually become a popular trend! Many stores, including Starbucks, are starting to pick up cake pops, essentially taking the place of cupcakes. Although I haven't tried a cake pop quite yet, I would assume it tastes just a great. I love cupcakes in all shapes and sizes. With that said, Easter is coming up this weekend! If you like to celebrate and get in to the holiday spirit, I'm sure you are planning on dying Easter eggs at some point before Sunday. Here is a new treat to challenge yourself to try making instead of your typical creations.

Cake pops are so cute, you can use so much creativity and go in any direction you want. Anything is possible for decoration!

 They are made with the same ingredients as a cupcake, but prepared slightly different to maintain its ball shape. To get the full directions of how to prepare cake pops, you can purchase the book for a step by step guide and many other ideas! I can't wait to make the panda cake pops sometime this summer!

Some other ideas for an Easter project. 

You also don't have to do every cake pop the exact same! Do a few chicks, bunnies, flowers, sheep for a full assortment! I can't wait to get home this weekend to give this a try. I'll report back with my results!

Boston Lulu-a-thon

Happy Marathon Monday Bloggers!

Although Marathon Monday is almost over, its never too late to blog into the day! Today I had a great time visiting one of my good friends at BU to watch the runners race down Beacon Street. One thing I did notice in particular was the amount of Lululemon gear many of the runners were sporting. The omega-horseshoe like logo is easy to spot because of its big red circle usually located on the tail bone of the pants.

Lululemon, originally started in Canada, is an essential for you work out gear wardrobe.They sell tops, shorts, water bottles, pants, yoga mats etc. but they have two very particular features that make them stand out against competitors. The first being the culture that Lululemon creates with their manifesto.These inspiring words and phrases to live by are all over the store, packaging and advertisements. The culture they have created makes wearing the lululemon gear a special experience. I know it may sound ridiculous, but the fabric and fit of these pants actually encourages me to want to do yoga or work out! They are truly life altering. 

Now to the second factor, the luon fabric. Lululemon's copyrighted fabric luon is moisture wicking and pre-shrunk. Prior to buying my first pair of lululemon pants, I had been wearing the cotton Victoria Secret yoga pants. The problem was that after one wear they look dirty and stretched out. Lulu gear can be worn multiple times while still maintaining its tight fit and looking clean. Although luon is the signature fabric, in the women's run line, they use another fabric luxextreme. This is even more moisture resistant and can absorb water very quickly.

These price of these products may be a little steep but they are worth every penny. Every product they sell also has a 5 year life guarantee. Do you honestly own a pair of work out gear now that you see yourself still having in 5 years? In addition they expect you to want to machine wash the clothing you sweat hard in. For this reason they created these pants to withstand hard washing.

If anyone sees me on a normal basis, they will attest I can be seen rocking the colorful Lululemon groove pants at least twice a week. The added touch to these pants is that they have a wide array of colorful bands you can choose to customize them more than just black yoga pants. These pants may be perfect to work out in, but they are also an absolute favorite for lounging around. 

I may wear my "lulus" rain or shine, but I am looking in to new possibilities with the hot weather approaching. Going for a run in the summer in these pants is only a recipe for dehydration. I have recently discovered the summer substitute, "boogie shorts".

 These spandex shorts also have the same waist band versatility as all of the other bottoms Lulus offers.