Cupcakes

There seems to be an obsession around the country with cupcakes, and I think I am totally getting on the bandwagon. I see postings online all the time showing people trying out different cupcake recipes, eating cupcakes on vacation, and just posting cute pictures. And now I am finding that this obsession is moving to tv and books.

I am totally in love with the show Cupcake Girls on WE Tv. It's on Saturday nights at 9 and 9:30 pm. It's about these 2 girls, who have been best friends for 20 years, and live in Canada, who have opened up a successful cupcake franchise. It follows their lives as they open up new stores, deal with how the economy is affecting their business, and so much more! Their business is called Cupcakes and they have a website as well if you want to find out more about their business.

Their stores are so cute and it totally makes me want to open my own cupcake store (or at the very least, eat a bunch of yummy cupcakes!)

A few weeks ago I also came across this book at Target.

Not only is it a cute chick lit story about a girl who opens a cupcake store after her fiancé calls off her wedding, but it also has a cupcake recipe after each chapter. Of course I had to buy it! I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but will be sure to share my review once I have. For now, this is the description from the back of the book:

In Ansley Waller’s world of Southern belles and gentlemen, getting a diamond ring isn’t just important—it’s the ultimate goal. So when her fiancé, Parish, unceremoniously kicks her to the curb and cancels their upcoming wedding, Ansley is so ashamed that she decides to leave Dallas and make a fresh start. In a surprise move, she heads to New York City to live with her recently widowed grandmother, Vivian, whom she’s never met. In turn, Vivian gives Ansley a no-nonsense ultimatum: Rather than wallow in misery, either get a job or go home.

The Waller women have a tradition of baking their way out of sorrow. So Ansley mixes batch after batch of creative cupcakes—Black Bottom Heartache, Moving Blues Banana Caramel, Tres Leches Made Small. Before long, she’s opening up her own cupcake shop and even trying her hand at dating. But the ways of Manhattan’s eligible bachelors are altogether different from their Southern counterparts, and Ansley’s nearly fail-safe tactics fall flat. And worse, someone’s got a half-baked scheme to sabotage Ansley’s new life. It’ll take a cup of courage and a dash of Southern charm, plus a few secret ingredients, if Ansley hopes to pull off her recipe for success."

New Season of Bravo & Mingle Monday

First off, this week I am joing Life of Meg's Mingle Monday, so head on over there and check out the other participants.

Second, there are a few new shows starting this week on Bravo, and I am very excited about them.

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The Rachel Zoe Project

The Rachel Zoe Project starts on Tuesday (8/3) at 10 pm. I think this is possibly the 3rd season and I have really enjoyed the first 2 seasons. I would say this is probably one of my favorite shows on Bravo and I am glad they are bringing it back.

It's so much fun to see what all goes into getting celebrities ready for award shows and appearances, throw in some fabulous fashion, a crisis or 2, and of course Rachel's fun Zoe-isms ("I die" and "that's bananas").

Of course Rachel is my favorite, but I also love Brad (one of Rachel’s assistants). I think he is so funny and quirky. I also think Roger (Rachel’s husband) is a great fit for Rachel. He keeps her grounded in her crazy life. It’s funny to see them shopping together because Rachel will try and buy the whole store, and Roger is like, do you really need another vintage dress/top/jewelry/shoes/etc. Sometimes she even hides stuff from him. I am sure she has enough clothes he can’t keep track of everything.

I am curious because the previews show that Taylor (Rachel’s other assistant) is no longer with the company. Last season she threatened to quit a couple of times, so I am curious if she quit this time, or was fired. I guess we will find out. My favorite episodes so far are when they went to Paris for fashion week.

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The Real Housewives of Washington DC

The Real Housewives of Washington DC starts this Thurs (8/5) at 9 pm, right before the season finale of Bethenny Getting Married. I am excited to see this show, but am not sure if I will like these ladies. They seem a little stuck up and snooty, but we will see.

I thought it was interesting that the White House crashers are on the show. My boyfriend is boycotting this show because of that, and feels that they were only doing it to get a reality show, which I thought was the case also, but it looks liked they crashed the White House as part of the show. Hmmm…and how did Bravo pull that off, we will see. I keep telling him this is just entertainment, and to get over it.

Does anyone else have boyfriends/husbands/significant others who complain about the shows you watch??

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Flipping Out

My other very favorite Bravo show comes on next Tues (8/10) at 9 pm and that is Flipping Out. I think this is season 4 of this show. Jeff Lewis is crazy funny. He can be a jerk, but he knows it, accepts it, and doesn’t apologize for it.

My two favorite characters are Zoila, his housekeeper, and Jenny his assistant. The fact that these two women can put up with him and his crazy OCD’ness, is amazing. And I love how they tell him how it is.

There are too many episodes that I loved, but I think a few of my favorites were when he installs cameras to spy on his employees, when he has Jenny’s alter ego “Deb” call on his contractors to get things done, and when he has to go over to a potential client’s house for a “pajama party” dinner. Oh and who can forget the painting of Zoila. We all know he loves her like family.

I highly recommend you check these shows out, and let me know what you think.

RHNJ & Bethenny Getting Married

Two of my favorite shows right now are the Real Housewives of New Jersey and Bethenny Getting Married (both on Bravo). As they are both coming to a close (BGM season finale is this week, and I am assuming RHNJ should be soon as well), there are many questions that keep me glued to my TV each week waiting to get answered:

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RHNJ
1. Is Danielle going to have any friends by the time the show ends, and does she really think she is doing Ashley "a favor" by sending her to jail as a wake up call to get her life together?? I mean come on lady, you are not doing this to "help" the girl. And what is with her wearing her engagement ring right in front of her ex-husband and his wife? I would be completly embarrased if my ex saw me wearing my engagement ring. I mean LOSER...get on with your life!! And of course, could she hug him anymore in front of his wife.

2. Will Ashley go to jail? Part of me thinks she does need a wake up call, but part of me is like come on, she is 19, and it's not like she really hurt her. I think she hurt Danielle's ego more than anything.

3. Will Teresa and Joe lose everything on the show? Obviously there are rumors in the press about filing for bankruptcy, and foreclosing on their house. And you can see little hints in the show where they might be having money troubles, but the woman just keeps spending money. A few weeks ago when the fight broke out between her and Danielle and Teresa went home and told her husband what Danielle said about their house foreclosing, it looked like Joe was a deer in the headlights like...how did they know!! And his comment to Chris (Jacqueline's wife) about the money trickling in...is this a hint to what's to come? I just hope Teresa doesn't find out about her money problems on the show like Lynn did in the RHOC when someone came to their door with an eviction notice on the show and she had no idea they were having money problems. I keep waiting on someone to show up and take away their cars or her jewelry or something.

4. Will Albie get into law school? I sure hope so! I think it is so great that he is taking this time to go through the Police Academy in order to continue to gain experience to become a lawyer someday. You can tell he is really passionate about his future career. And it's great that Caroline is his biggest cheerleader. You can tell she is so proud of her children (and they all seem to have their heads on straight, which is great considering the state of some of the other kids on the show).

5. I am so excited Dina will be on next week's episode. I really liked her, and felt that both she and Caroline are very geniune. The first season you thougth they were the trouble makers, but this season they are trying to stay out of trouble, and I respect them for that. Caroline just sits back and watches Teresa and Jacqueline deal with all the craziness. I think she finds humor in it all.

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BGM
And of course on Bethenny Getting Married, I am so excited for all the success and everything that has come her way. In the beginning of the RHNY, I liked her for her witty comments. But after learning her background, seeing how she has built her success from nothing and how she had to wait until her late 30's to get everything she wanted, it makes you realize that this girl is real and she really appreciates everything she has in life.

I follow her on Twitter (@Bethenny) and it is amazing how many fans she responds to and how grateful she is her for her fans. On RHNY Jill and Kelly painted her as this fame whore, but I think she is pretty down to earth, and is just enjoying her business and her success. I mean come on, she allowed the paparazzi to photograph her in curlers on her wedding day (see above pic)

I loved watching BGM, and I think the wedding episode was my favorite. I am excited to see her baby and am curious if there will be another season. Maybe "Bethenny Married??" or something like that. If you haven't already seen BGM, the season finale is on tomorrow (Thurs) night @ 10 pm on Bravo.

RHNJ -- favorite moments

So right now I am obsessed with the Real Housewives of New Jersy (as I am sure many are!). I kind of got behind on my shows due to vacation, so I was catching up on my DVR and watched the first 3 episodes of RHNJ this week and thought I would share some of my favorite moments:

Ham Game (eps. 2) -- Carolyn's kids were making sandwhiches and started throwing ham at each other. I didn't think much other than, hey they are having a food fight, until Carolyn walks in and starts yelling at them for playing the "Ham Game." I guess this is a game they play and they told their mom to buy the good ham for sandwhiches and the cheap ham for the "Ham Game." Carolyn replied by saying "You know how I feel about the Ham Game....There is nothing funny about the Ham Game." I just about died laughing.

Dina's cats -- I remember the naked cat from the last season, Grandma Wrinkles, but I think she may have a new one. They are kind of creepy, but kind of cute. I just love Dina. She just seems so laid back and easy going, and just doesn't want to get into any drama.

Teresa's 180 jars of red sauce (eps 1 or 2, can't remember) -- Teresa's family (including her parents and her husband's parents) get together every year before the girls start school to make a ton of italian red sauce. They pull out big pots in the garage for the tomatoes for the red sauce. It looked like so much fun. She said they made 180 jars of it last year and it lasts all year long! Now that would be awesome!

Dina delivering Teresa's baby (eps. 3) -- On this week's episode, Teresa's oldest daughter is walking on a runway during fashion week, and she is concerned her water may break or she may go into labor and miss watching her daughter. Dina tells her she hopes she doesn't go into labor because she "doesn't want to deliver Teresa's baby" because "she doesn't want to see her chuckie." Once again, almost died laughing.

So far I love, love, love Carolyn, Teresa and Dina. Carolyn because of how loyal she is to her family and friends and her kids are hilarious. Teresa because she is just fun and crazy and so cute pregnant (see her cute baby bump above). And Dina because of her laid back, I just want to be nice and not stir the pot attitude. She is so into all that Zen stuff, so I hope she doesn't go crazy on us like Spencer from The Hills. But that is another topic, saved for another post at another time. =)

The Price of Beauty

Has anyone seen the new show Jessica Simpson's The Price of Beauty? I recorded it on Monday, and watched it last night. It was very interesting, and a lot better than I expected it to be.

In this show, Jessica Simpson travels around the globe with her best friend Casey and best friend and hair/makeup stylist Ken Paves to discover with different cultures believe is beautiful.

In this episode, they traveled to Thailand. While there, they shopped in this little market where all the girls shop (both middle and high incomes). In Thailand women are considered beautiful and wealthy if they have very pale skin. Most of them use these creams which lightens their skin. They showed this one woman who's skin had actually burned and she now actually has scars on her face and her arms and hands from using this product.

Women are also considered beautiful if they have long, elegant necks. The crew went to visit this village where the girls wear these gold rings around their necks, which can weigh up to 20 pounds, and the purpose is to help elongate their necks, by pushing down on their shoulders. This kind of disturbed me because these girls start wearing these rings around 5 or 6 years old and they wear them all their lives. Of course it’s not any worse than our girls going through plastic surgery or starving themselves to be skinny.

It’s amazing what women will do for beauty in any culture. I am excited to learn about other cultures and what they think is beautiful. Next week’s episode is in Paris! You should check it out! You can find out more here.

Whatever, Martha!

One of my favorite shows right now is Whatever, Martha! on the Fine Living channel. It is on Wed at 9 pm and is absolutely hilarious.

The premise of the show is that Alexis Stewart (Martha's daughter) and her friend Jennifer Koppelman Hutt watch clips from Martha's shows and make comments while watching them. During one of the segments, the girls typically try to follow along with what Martha is doing (crafting, cooking, etc.) and of course they always prove that no one is as good as Martha. The show also ends with a segment where they discuss a topic unrelated to Martha. Oh and by the way, the show is produced by Martha herself, so she is fully aware of what these two girls are doing.

Last night’s show started out with a segment of Martha sharing what tools she takes when going antiquing. The girls claimed that Martha was really going out and kidnapping people and cutting them up into tiny little pieces and using “antiquing” as an alibi. This was in part because Martha had an array of knives, ropes, plastic bags, etc. in her “antiquing” kit.

They then attempted to make Monte Cristo sandwiches with the “Count of Monte Cristo” who appeared in the episode with Martha and who was actually an employee of Martha’s. They didn’t do to bad, until Alexis flipped her sandwich and it flipped open and then fell apart.

They ended the show with a discussion on men dating younger women and women dating younger men.

Even if you don’t care for Martha, I think you will get a kick out of this show. Check it out!