I am in love. I have just discovered the most fabulous cupcakery! My Little Cupcake (with locations in Essex and Burlington) specializes in mini cupcakes and big flavor. I was so impressed, and can’t wait to visit again. The cupcake menu included vegan and gluten-free options, as well as “Black Forest,” “Salted Caramel,” “Vanilla Heath Bar,” “Chocolate Sundae,” “Dirt,” “Neapolitan,” “Chocolate Mint,” “Apple Pecan Streusel,” “Red Velvet,” “Blueberry Lemon,” and “Chocolate Orange.”

My son was quite happy with the “Dirt Cupcake,” a chocolate cupcake topped with chocolate buttercream frosting, crushed oreos, and a gummy worm. And though the red velvet cupcake was as good as any I’ve ever had, with more frosting than cupcake, the first place ribbon has to go to the “Salted Caramel Cupcake,” a surprisingly decadent chocolate cupcake topped with vanilla buttercream frosting, caramel drizzle, and Mediterranean sea salt. With a welcoming dining area and t-shirts to take home, My Little Cupcake offers cupcake diners with the ultimate hangout. You can also visit My Little Cupcake on Facebook and Twitter.

Can someone please explain this to me?

I mean, I get it on one level. No, a cupcake is not a hat. But why is this tidbit of wisdom on a t-shirt? And why is it on a pony’s head? I don’t understand. Can anyone help? I don’t want to be in the cupcake dark. (T-shirt available from Hot Topic for $22.50.)

So, I was recently shopping for yummy vegetables at Healthy Living in Burlington, Vermont, and of course, I was magnetically attracted to the cupcakes. The “Hummingbird Cupcake,” a heavenly combination of cream cheese frosting, chocolate, banana, and pecans, was AMAZING! You might not think of Healthy Living as a cupcake destination, but it is! While you are exploring Healthy Living, check out their recipe for Gluten-Free Chocolate Zuccini Cupcakes. Maybe a little bit healthy and a lot delicious? I’ll let you know!

Check out these girls’ t-shirts from Old Navy. They are scratch & sniff! I didn’t want to scratch a shirt I wasn’t going to buy, so I can’t testify as to their scent, but they sure are cute to look at! These shirts are $12 each at Old Navy.

My daughter and I just made our first trip to The Cupcake Place, a new cupcakery in Winslow, Maine. My daughter chose the peppermint mocha cupcake (pictured), and I tried the chocolate strawberry shortcake cupcake. I was sooo pleased to learn, upon biting into my cupcake, that it was filled with actual strawberries. I quickly wished that I had purchased the rest of them to take home!

My daughter, after munching on her cupcake for a minute, announced, “Wow Mom, this frosting is way better than yours!” You can also visit The Cupcake Place on Facebook!

Looking for a quick and easy decorating idea? Check out these inexpensive cupcake picks from Walmart. I found them in the holiday section, right beside the garland and tinsel! Take your pick of the picks! The ones in the center read, “Homemade for the Holidays.” I’m partial to the snowflakes.

I just spotted these cupcake holiday tree ornaments at my local Walmart!

At only $0.97 each, I was able to spring for one of each color!

What’s a conifer without cupcakes?

Happy decorating!

It’s difficult to stuff a holiday stocking with a trip to only one store, but if you have a cupcake lover on your gift list, then I believe it can be done at Kohls. Check out the awesome little cupcake gifts they’re offering this season!

Check out these comfy cupcake slipper socks for girls! I found the pair above at JCPenney on sale for only $4.99! What a steal! The three-pack below is available from Kohls, also on sale for $8.40! Stockings make great stocking stuffers!

Having trouble deciding between cupcakes and cookies? Don’t! With cupcake cookies, you can have the best of both worlds. These darling creations are courtesy of The Sweet Cupcake Company of Dublin, Ireland. You can visit them and view more tasty treats on Facebook!

ATC recently reviewed the new Martha Stewart 2012 cupcake calendar, and in case you want one for every room in the house, here are some more choices, available from Barnes and Noble and Amazon!

I just spotted this cupcake crafts kit in the kids’ section of Barnes and Noble. For $11.95, your young cupcake artist can create fairies, flowers, and even a princess crown! The kit includes 53 liners, 172 stickers, a glue stick, and instructions, which of course, your child will probably pay no heed to. I must admit, it looked fun!

Yesterday, The Seattle Times published this delicious photo along with a recipe for Red Velvet Cupcakes with Eggnog Cream Cheese Frosting! Yum! Don’t put too much rum in the frosting, now!

I was treated to a local production of Red Velvet Cake War this past weekend, and they did a very cool thing! A local bakery (renowned Hilman’s Bakery of Fairfield, Maine) donated a giant red velvet cake, along with many, many mini red velvet cupcakes. During intermission, actors in costume came out into the audience with trays of the mini cupcakes, handing them out. Then, as we were all contentedly munching away, they announced that one of the cupcakes had an X on the bottom. The person who got the X’d cupcake got to take home the giant cake! What a great idea! (And the play was great too!)

This is what I had for lunch: a Peanut Butter Cup Cupcake from The Bankery in Skowhegan, Maine.

It’s difficult to beat a peanut butter cupcake topped with light and creamy chocolate frosting and crumbled peanut butter cups! What a treat! The Bankery is a full service bakery located in an 1856 bank in downtown Skowhegan, Maine.

I just spotted these fleece Christmas cupcake pants at Walmart yesterday sporting a price tag of $7.96. Christmas trees and candy canes–is it that time already?

I admit: I don’t have much patience for fondant. I’m just not that artistic. But I finally got around to trying out these fondant flower cut-outs from Wilton, and guess what? It wasn’t so hard!

The cupcakes were ganache-filled chocolate cupcakes with dark chocolate frosting. Yep, I was pretty popular, for a day.

I think they came out pretty cute! Not bad for an amateur!

Move over “Life is good.” Make way for “Life is sweet.” I’m seeing this motto everywhere, and here it is again on this stamped cross stitch cupcake apron. This apron is available from Dimensions Crafts for $12.99.

The package contains a finished polyester/cotton apron printed in washaway ink, a shopping list for thread, and complete instructions. (Needle and thread not included.) 

Might make a great holidays gift for the cupcake lover in your life (which may very well be you!)?

Both my husband and my best friend are obsessed with Mountain Dew, so I figured it was time to whip up some Mountain Dew cupcakes. I used this Mountain Dew Cupcakes Recipe. I can’t say that the cupcakes tasted exactly like Mountain Dew (I couldn’t figure out a way to carbonate them), but they did taste like a citrus explosion in my mouth. And my taste testers told me that this was one “cheerful cupcake.” For the frosting, I just used a pastry brush to paint stripes of coloring gel on my decorating bag, and voila! Super easy cheerful frosting!

I just bought this spiral bound gift book for a friend. I found it at a small, local bookstore, but it’s also available on Amazon. Each of the 80 pages features an inspirational quote or verse, and many of the pages feature whimsical cupcake images. At $7.99, it makes a great gift for someone who needs a pick-me-up.

How would you like your home (or office) to smell like a freshly baked cupcake? Then you might consider burning a cupcake candle! Check out this oversized wax cupcake from Dylan’s Candy Bar. The candle measures -1/2″ x 2-3/4″  and costs $8.95. And it comes in pink and purple!

Check out these cute little girls’ tee’s from JCPenney! They were only $10 each. And the best part? There were even more cupcake tee’s than are pictured here, but the kind folks working at JCPenney were starting to look at me with more suspicion with each photo I snapped, so I quit while I was ahead!

Looking for a cupcake you can sneak into the movie theatre? Check out these Birthday Cupcake Candy Bites from Dylan’s Candy Bar. A box full of cake morsels covered in a frosting coating. A 4 oz. box is $4. You can order them online, and I also spotted them at J.C. Penney.

When the autumn chill sets in, we don’t hesitate to change everybody in the house over to flannel sheets. And check out what I just found at Kohls to make the transition a little sweeter. These cupcake sheets come in all sizes: twin, full, queen, and king. We snagged the twin set for only $29.99. Sweet dreams!

I’m not sure who the mysterious “Pippindipity” is, but here are some delightful treats from her Flickr stream! I recommend a visit, as there’s more where these came from!

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