Entries Tagged 'Cupcakes' ↓

Hi everybody! I’m back from LA. This morning I got to go to Vanilla Bake Shop in Santa Monica to sample their great cupcakes. I loved the cute little shop they have! Nicely decorated with a few tables if you can’t wait to dig in. I got a box of six of their “Cupcake Babies” so I wouldn’t feel too guilty. Lucky for me they were out of their “jar of Dirt Cake” but they did have a small “shot glass” size I got to try, it was delicious. I was also glad to see they had Mint Chocolate cupcakes babies, my favorite!

Up top there’s a picture of one of their beautiful Cupcake Towers! The owners, Amy and Jeremy, decided to take a break from their catering business while they got their new shop going but they said they will start catering again sometime in August! So if you want one of those great wedding cupcake towers or want them to make a wedding cake for you check with them to see if they are available.

Anyway, their cupcakes are great. I especially loved the Mint Chocolate, Mocha Chocolate (picture below, notice the espresso bean), and Bittersweet Dark Chocolate! Compared to Sprinkles Cupcakes over in Beverly Hills, I find these a little lighter, and their icing is more whipped and creamy (and I didn’t have to stand in line for 20 minutes to get in the door!). I also like the option of getting a smaller version to reduce my guilt factor. But, I will definitely have to go check out Sprinkles again to confirm , I definitely don’t want to give you any bad information!

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Rhonda

Our Wedding Plus

There’s a new cupcake shop in town! If you are in the LA area and you are a cupcake nut like me then today is your lucky day! Vanilla Bake Shop is having its grand opening! You can find Vanilla Bake Shop at 512 Wilshire Blvd over in the 3rd Street Promenade area of Santa Monica.

I had the pleasure of meeting the owners of Vanilla Bake Shop, Amy and Jeremy Berman, at “A Soolip Wedding” bridal show in West Hollywood back in March. They had the most amazing wedding cupcake tower I’ve seen and were handing out a lot of great samples of their specialty “cupcake babies” or bite-size cupcakes. They were outstanding! Amy and Jeremy have been running their own dessert catering service for a while and offer much more than just cupcakes! In addition to cupcakes (they rotate their flavors daily) they offer stuffed cupcakes, cakes, and assorted confections made from scratch each morning including seasonal French macaroons and stylishly striped, torte-like brownies called “cosmopolitans.” Checkout their website for details.

The best part of all is the fact that they have a cute shop that actually has seats and tables so you can sit, relax and enjoy then when you are done stuffing yourself you can walk up the road to the beach and walk it off! So, if you are looking for a great source for Wedding Cupcakes or a Wedding Cake checkout Vanilla Bake Shop!

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Rhonda

Our Wedding Plus

If you have been reading my blog you know I’m a cupcake freak! Well over at yumsugar they ran a post about wedding cupcakes that I wanted to share with you, check out “Wedding Cake Trends – The Cupcake.”You may have seen my post a couple of months back “Cupcakes – They’re Not Just for Kids Anymore” where I talked about Sprinkles Cupcakes in located in Beverly Hills, and how you can integrate Cupcakes into your wedding. Well this amazing wedding cupcake tower is from The Vanilla Bake Shop, soon to be opening in Santa Monica, California. When Vanilla Bake Shop opens I will make sure I let you know!

If you are looking for resources to make your own wedding cupcakes check out this post (scroll to the bottom): Cupcakes: They’re not Just For Kids Anymore!

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Are your crazy about cupcakes? Looking for some great cupcake ideas for your wedding…

Some disturbing news today…if you’ve been reading through my blog posts you know that I’m an absolute chocolate fanatic! I’m sure many of you can sympathize. Well, life as we know it may change forever…if some people in the chocolate industry get their way.

Oh, the great rich taste of chocolate, the smooth taste of the cocoa butter, the creaminess of milk chocolate………………………
……………………….wow, I think I lost consciousness for a second!

Unfortunately, in the future when you go to buy that wonderful chocolate to soothe your craving, you might be disappointed.

The U.S. Chocolate Industry, through its Chocolate Manufacturers of America (CMA), and in collaboration with the Grocery Manufacturers Association, have petitioned the Food and Drug Association (FDA) to change the current requirements for chocolate.
They are trying to get the FDA to allow the use of vegetable fat substitute in place of cocoa butter and milk substitutes in place of real milk.

Why would any American with chocolate running through his/her veins want this? Da’nged if I know, probably because it’s cheaper, so they can make more money.

What am I going to do?!?!?! I’m breaking out in a cold sweat! Is this a panic attack?!?!

Luckly, there is something we can do…if you want to make sure your voice is heard go to DontMessWithOurChocolate.com to find out how to contact the FDA. Please, for the sake of this chocolate addicted blogger, let the government know that you don’t want to be buying a Hershey’s Milk Substitute Vegetable Fat Bar in the future!

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Rhonda
Our Wedding Plus

Thanks to Skolastika Lianna for the picture of the chocolate cake!

At this point you may be thinking, is the staff (me) at Our Wedding Plus Blog crazy? One day she’s talking about cupcakes, then next she’s talking about natural disasters! Well, I’m not done yet! Stay tuned, you’ll never know what you’ll find here! So is everyone ready for more green wedding ideas? Here we go…

Do you want to have the perfect wedding? One that everyone will remember as their favorite wedding for years to come? You can do this and still make a big contribution to saving our environment. To find out how, read on. This is part two (to see part one, click here) in my series on how you can have a “green” wedding or eco-friendly wedding while also keeping it an elegant affair everyone will remember! No one is saying you must go 100% green. But, with a little effort you can incorporate some of these ideas in your planning and no one will be the wiser.

Today, I’m going to give you some specific examples of how to find wedding vendors that will help you add classy eco-friendly aspects to your wedding. I found most of these ideas and examples while at A Soolip Wedding, an exclusive bridal show held at Social Hollywood.

Choosing a photographer: You can choose a photographer that utilizes only digital photography. This not only saves paper by allowing you to view wedding images via an online photo lab as opposed to a traditional proof book or proof prints, but also eliminates the use of excess chemicals used during the development process. If you are getting married in the LA area check out Jasmine Star Photography. She is an eco-friendly photographer, digital only, but of course you will get your final photos on paper or in a beautiful album. If you’re not in the LA area, at least check out her website. Her photos are amazing and her website is beautiful!

Choosing a gift registry: Try to choose items that are eco-friendly such as high efficiency appliances, items made of organic fabrics, etc. Checkout ZahZoom Wedding & Parties’ for an article on how to “Create a Sustainable Gift Registry”

Now the really fun part…the last week before your wedding is going to be stressful so take time some time to unwind with your friends at a spa. Yes, even this can be done eco-friendly. There are spas out there that use only organically grown or certified products. I had the pleasure of getting a hand massage from GreenBliss Eco Spa at A Soolip Wedding. GreenBliss Eco Spa is a mobile service traveling all over LA County, and is dedicated to providing eco-friendly complete spa services. GreenBliss Eco Spa has provided spa services for 2006 Emmy Week and 2007 Oscar Week. Checkout their site for information on their spa parties and wedding packages and enjoy the ultimate in luxury! Here is a sample of one of their pampering packages that was created just for the bride, or a weary blog author…The Monsoon Wedding Preparation Ritual…This is a two-hour treatment for $250, based upon the phases of rising and diminishing energy of Yin and Yang. It begins with an exfoliating scrub of the Bamboo and Lemongrass Hawaiian Body Polish, and is followed by a luxurious Green Tea Milk Bath soak for the hands and feet, and an Anti-oxidant hydrating face mask of Seaweed and Honey. The journey is concluded with a full body massage with Hot Herbal Poultices (steam heated cotton pouches of traditional Thai herbs and flowers). The 6 phases of Yin and Yang incorporate acupressure, moist heat, and the healing properties of the plants, which nurture balance and harmony in the individual. This is an excellent way for the bride to obtain peace and calm before her big day, especially because GB Eco Spa comes directly to your doorstep, completely eliminating stressful driving and parking issues.

Finally, for overall great green wedding planning information checkout Green Weddings & Events. Another good resource is Portovert, an online magazine for eco-friendly brides and gooms.

See! Having an eco-friendly wedding can be elegant and fun! Please try to include some of these ideas in your wedding. If everyone does just a little, it will add up to a whole lot and hopefully save our environment for future generations.

See you tomorrow with some Wedding Do’s and Don’ts that I picked up from the Editor of Los Angeles Weddings Magazine, Kathy Nenneker. I took five pages of notes during her 20-minute talk! It was some really great, practical tips that can save you some stress on your big day!

See you tomorrow!

Rhonda
http://www.ourweddingplus.com/

I’d like to thank Grant Matthews for the beautiful photo of the waterfall.
Portovert and ZahZoom Wedding and Parties were not at A Soolip Wedding they are just a couple of my favorite sites.

I’m back from LA!! What a great “business trip.” Getting involved in the wedding industry is exciting. It’s great being involved with people at such a joyous time in their lives! It’s very uplifting just being surrounded by it. I definitely felt that uplifting feeling when we attended A Soolip Wedding, (our weekends main mission) which by the way was spectacular, more about that later. But, like I said the other day in my posting “Cupcakes – They’re not just for kids anymore!”, I was going to sacrifice myself and try the famous Sprinkles Cupcakes and report back to all of you. Well, I went above and beyond the call of duty and tried five flavors! I’ll have you know this sacrifice is going to cause me to skip my Weight Watchers meeting this week to avoid embarrassment!

As you can see in the picture (it’s the brown building), I wasn’t the only one who wanted to have some Sprinkles Cupcakes! We waited about 25 minutes to get in the door but the wait was worth it. My husband and I tried several flavors. Here they are…

Black and White
Dark Chocolate
Peanut Butter Chocolate
Milk Chocolate
St Patrick’s Day Special – Baileys Irish Cream frosting on chocolate cake.

First let me say, they were all magnificent. The icing is beyond description and not for the faint of heart! But the results are in…my favorite was the black and white and my husbands favorite was the peanut butter chocolate (he loved the chocolate chips in the peanut butter flavored cake). Oprah really does know what she’s talking about! Try them if you get the chance.

As for A Soolip Wedding, I have a lot to write about this week! This show was packed with a lot of good, unique information that I’m going to try to pass on to you. Topics will include, eco-friendly wedding ideas, unique gift registry ideas, some wedding do’s and don’ts from LA Wedding Magazine’s editor, I’ll give you a peak into A Soolip Wedding’s very exclusive bridal fashion show, plus a lot more!

Stay tuned!

Okay, after reading the chocolate wedding advice I’ve been giving over the past few days covering cupcakes and wedding cakes, you may be thinking…is this girl trying to kill me? Put me in a sugar coma? Make me move up a couple of dress sizes? And, if you weren’t convinced that dark chocolate cupcakes are health food due to the high amount of anti-oxidants, hang in there one more day, today I’m going to try to give you a good excuse to eat more chocolate!

I have found some of the healthiest (we’ll maybe not) chocolate treats that you can offer on a chocolate “bar” (a table with a wide assortment of chocolate goodies) or present to your guests as party favors…

At a company called Chocolate Covered Company located in California’s San Fernando Valley you can find pretty much anything dipped in chocolate…they have various “healthy” fruits and berries, including blackberries, gooseberries, and grapes. If you want a more traditional chocolate covered treat they have these very cute and unique “Wedding Berries,” chocolate covered strawberries that look like a bride and groom.

Need more? A company called Stuffed Chocolate also has chocolate covered pretzels, nuts, coffee beans, and more! But there was one thing they had that I thought was a unique gift idea for the groomsmen…these Belgian Chocolate Golf balls!

Alright, you got me! Fruit stuffed in chocolate may not be health food, but why not splurge, it’s your wedding, enjoy yourself!

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Rhonda
Our Wedding Plus

P.S. I’ll be off this weekend to LA to try those great Sprinkles Cupcakes and attend A Soolip Wedding. Tune in next week for great information about what I learn this weekend!

Not ready to break away from the traditional Wedding Cake? Well, we have some other chocolate options for you! Today I chose to feature some mouth-watering wedding cakes from a Morristown, New Jersey bakery called Pink Cake Box (http://www.pinkcakebox.com/). Their wedding cakes have been featured in New Jersey Bride magazine several times and they also make cookies and cupcakes, check out there works on their website! Here’s a few examples…

This wedding cake, fashioned after a wedding dress, is made of a rich chocolate cake filled with oreos and buttercream in the first tier, moist white cake with raspberry chambord filling in the next two tiers, and chocolate with peanut butter filling in the top tier.

Here’s a unique offshoot of the cupcake! These delectable little gift boxes are actually chocolate cakes filled with vanilla buttercream! They’d make a good “parting favor” like I talked about yesterday.

And we can’t forget the groom. One of the latest trends is to have a groom’s cake. Pink Cake Box has many chocolaty options that would fit the bill. This groom’s poker cake is a chocolate cake with cannoli filling!What was the best wedding cake you’ve seen? Share it with us!

See you tomorrow with our final posting of irresistible ways to include chocolate in your wedding!

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Rhonda

Our Wedding Plus

Don’t forget to check out my post on cupcakes and ideas how to incorporate cupcakes in your wedding!

Cupcakes - They’re just for kids anymore

Here’s the latest on A Soolip Wedding:

Found out on Wedding Bee that you can save $30 on tickets for A Soolip Wedding. Check out the link!

Rhonda
Our Wedding Plus

(Note: for wedding cupcake resources go to the bottom of this post!)

Cupcakes, the treat you loved as a kid is all grown up! In fact cupcakes are taking center stage as the latest delectable trend in weddings and are first up in our series on how to incorporate chocolate into your wedding.

So, if I’m going to write about wedding cupcakes, why not write about the best? Maybe the ones Oprah said are her favorites, or maybe the ones that are Katie Holmes’ favorite? No, I think I’ll write about the cupcakes that Courtney Cox, Lucy Lu, and Arnold Schwarzenegger are hooked on.

Lucky for me they are all from the same place! Sprinkles, Beverly Hills. (http://www.sprinklescupcakes.com/) Their cupcakes have been talked about on countless TV shows and they consistently have a line out the door! Are they really that good? Well, I’m going to find out this Saturday when I go to Beverly Hills, and I’ll give you all the gory details next week.

But for now I’m going to give you a couple of ideas how you can have cupcakes at your wedding!

First, the unfortunate news, currently you can only get Sprinkles’ cupcakes at their locations in Beverly Hills and Newport Beach, California and they only deliver them to the local area by car. Now the good news! Sprinkles has plans to open in several major cities around the country and world. Check out their website to see if you will be lucky enough to be near one.

Now the ideas…

The Wedding Cupcake Tower – The ultimate in chocolate decadence! In many cases they are taking the place of the traditional wedding cake. If you aren’t ready to go quite that far, one would definitely be a hit at the engagement party, bridal shower, or rehearsal dinner.

Parting Favors – The party is over, it’s late and the guests have to leave for their long drive home…then you surprise them on there way out the door with a moist dark chocolate cupcake they can take home for breakfast! (why not have two? they are full of antioxidants!) Package them in a unique custom stamped box with a “thank you” from the bride and groom and your guests will sure to be impressed!

Any other wedding cupcake ideas out there? Share them with us…

Something I forgot to mention: If you can’t get to a Sprinkles, they do ship their cupcake mix everywhere, check out their website for details.

Check back in tomorrow for more scrumptious ways to include chocolate in your wedding!

Cupcake Resources:

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Rhonda

Our Wedding Plus