I have a not so secret crush.  His name is Johnny.  Johnny Cupcakes!

I’ve been a huge fan of the Johnny Cupcakes t-shirt brand since I was in college.

When I found out that Johnny was going to be giving a free lecture at the Microsoft New England Research and Development Center in Cambridge (aka the NERD Center), I knew I had to be there.

The lecture was sponsored by the STEP non-profit.  STEP – Inspiration in Action was founded to introduce students to career opportunities, to help inner city students identify the relevance of continuing their education, and to engage corporate partners in providing students access to real world work environments.

The Microsoft NERD Center lecture space was amazing.  Such a modern and fun layout.  It must be so cool for Microsoft employees to hang out during their lunch breaks and enjoy the space.

Johnny Cupcakes recently collaborated with Hello Kitty and created some awesome designs.  I sadly missed out on the cute t-shirt.  So I’ll settle for a copy of the brand newsletter The Cupcake Chronicle with this kitty cupcake photo.

JC’s mission is all about creating unique experiences for the customers.  At this lecture event, Johnny had a special t-shirt for sale, only available if you attend his lecture series.  Of course I had to take one home with me!

It was fun to wander around the Microsoft NERD Center and snack on cupcakes before the lecture began.

I’m so glad I had the opportunity to hear Johnny share his story about his career path and how the Johnny Cupcakes brand came to be.  As someone trying to start a business, I was so inspired to work hard and do something I love.  I want to dream big and come up with original and quirky ideas.  I want to have exciting life experiences.  Johnny recommended that people should “travel, travel, travel.”  

I may not follow the same steps as Johnny; he began by selling practical joke items while he was in high school, dropped out of college, and spent time touring with his band.  But I will definitely borrow Johnny’s passion, dedication, and commitment to make my dreams come true.

Johnny’s closing message: The real success is being happy doing what you love!

*Who or what inspires you to reach for your dreams?*

If my body wrote an e-mail to me, I imagine it would read as follows:

To: melissa@crunchesforcupcakes.com

From: body@mylife.healthsos.this is a made up e-mail address.com

Hey Mel,

What’s up? Thanks for the run yesterday. Lungs and Heart told me that they appreciated it. Keep up the good work!  And good job wearing your Night Guard retainer to bed last night. Did you appreciate the good night sleep? Cuz your Teeth told me it was nice to go an entire night without grinding.  Probably a good thing for your Jaw too, I didn’t get a chance to ask. And Teeth asked that I remind you to clean that thing. Drop an Efferdent tablet in a cup of water, add your night guard, and a few hours later, it will be good to go.

So you know how you’re always worried about getting old? Wrinkles and all that scary stuff? Well no worries. I’ve decided to bless you with adolescent skin, worse than when you were in your teens! We both know you’ve never met a zit you wouldn’t try to pop.

You might as well cancel any remaining chiropractor appointments. That balance disk was the best purchase you’ve made recently. (That fuzzy sweater was not.) Glutes and Hamstrings are all smiles right now. Just treat them right and keep stretching after every workout.

It’s really snowy outside. Remember to dress warm and wear your snow boots. Get outside and take that dog of yours for a walk. You both could use the exercise!

~Body~

*Has your body been sending you any messages lately?*

We didn’t do many tourist activities during my NYC trip.  But one thing was a must-see: Rockefeller Center, the skating rink, and the Christmas tree!

Obligatory self-portrait.

I had really hoped to see the Rockefeller tree before Christmas, but I never made it.  Seeing the tree post-holidays may have been less festive, but it was still impressive.

No time for ice skating on this vacation though.  We had a list of errands to run.

Of course there’s always time for photos before completing the List of Things to Do.

I love New York!

Our errands included finding coffee for Natalie and me.  We happily settled on Le Pain Quotidien.

And stopping at a store where Natalie proceeded to get her giant purse stuck in the revolving door.  Oops, it could happen to anyone.  Haha!

It should come as no surprise that one of the things to do was to stop at Magnolia Bakery so that I could buy some cupcakes.

Jesse and Natalie were such good sports, accompanying me to my 2nd cupcake stop of the trip.  But they decided to split a blondie dessert instead of ordering a cupcake with me.

Vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting from Magnolia are my absolute favorite things in the world!

I brought 4 cupcakes back home to Boston so I could share them with Jared.

Umm, looks like someone messed with my frosting in the middle of the Cupcake Photo Shoot.  Thanks Jesse!

While out and about in New York City, I walked by Crumbs Bake Shop.  I LOVE cupcakes.  I couldn’t pass by the bake shop without stopping to try one.

Natalie and Jesse were good sports.  They browsed the huge display case at Crumbs.

Ahhh, so many cupcakes to choose from!

I couldn’t believe all of the flavor options.  I’ve never seen so many different types of cupcakes in one place.  It was heaven!

We debated getting a giant cupcake to share.  But then we decided to just purchase 2 smaller cupcakes.

After my first time at crumbs, I was all smiles.

Natalie and I shared a Cookie Dough cupcake.  When I cut it in half, the cupcake was filled with chocolate frosting.  My half was so rich and sugary.  I liked it and had fun trying a new cupcake flavor, but I’m glad I shared this.  Sweetness overload!  From now on I’ll stick to my usual vanilla cupcake with vanilla frosting order.

Jesse had a chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting.  No complaints from him.  He loved it!

Even though I won’t order a Cookie Dough cupcake again, I definitely want to go back to Crumbs.  There are so many more cupcake flavors that I need to try!

I want to tell you all about my visit to NYC.

I want to tell you about the fun blog/website that Natalie and I are working hard to launch… and I want to tell you about my thoughts for the future of Crunches for Cupcakes!  (It was really motivating to spend so much time with friends who are self-employed.)

But right now I’m too busy eating my Magnolia Bakery cupcakes and catching up with Jared and my corgi.

So good night.  I hope you have sweet dreams…especially if you’re enjoying a cupcake as a late night snack!

Here’s what happened: I ate the traditional bowl of chicken soup… Santa visited… There were presents hanging from the ceiling… The Yankee Swap was wild… Jared wore cowboy boots… My brother’s car got stuck in the snow!

And those are just a few of the crazy details! 

Rather than try to further explain, I’m just going to share some of my favorite photos from the party.

Me in 1990 on the “big screen” and in 2009 on the digital screen

Nothing beats silly times with my family.  Love them a lot!

With Thanksgiving just over 3 weeks away, lots of people begin to reflect on things that they are thankful for.

Today I’m feeling fun and carefree.  I’m thankful for cupcakes. Well… cupcakes or any item closely related to cupcakes!

(And I’m also thankful for presents from thoughtful friends!  Thank you very much for the cupcake chapstick!)

It’s no secret that I love cupcakes.  I shout it from the rooftops.  I like to eat cupcakes.  Wear items that feature cupcakes.  Smell like cupcakes.

But did you know that my all time favorite cupcake location is Magnolia Bakery?  I have been to the original Bleeker Street location multiple times while visiting NYC.

Since Magnolia’s popularity has gone went through the roof thanks to Sex and the City, they have expanded and have 3 additional New York locations and a shop in LA.

While wandering around after BlogHer, Natalie and I happened to stumble upon Magnolia’s midtown location.

It was packed with tourists and everyone was waiting in line for a cupcake.  Screw cookies, forget about cakes and pies.  Cupcakes are #1. 

Pre-sugar high, I was bouncing off the walls with excitement and anticipation of cupcake heaven.

Good thing the line moved quickly! 

Cupcake success!  A tasty treat and a t-shirt that reads “I [cupcake] NY” !!!

Mmm!  I savored the Magnolia cupcake flavor.

And I tried not to make a mess in the process. 

Congratulations Jenna!  She’s going to be a beautiful bride!

Jenna and Jared’s brother Bryan are getting married at the end of July.  Yesterday family and friends gathered to celebrate their upcoming wedding and shower Jenna with presents.

Happy Bridal Shower!

Bridal Shower lunch buffet.  So much delicious food!

Jenna had lots of help opening presents.  Her amazing bridal party was on hand to lend a hand taking notes and creating the ribbon bouquet.

After most of the guests went home, Miles was released.  Then I made him dress up for the special occasion. 

Bryan and Jenna hosted a Bridal Party BBQ at their apartment.  It was a great way to meet the guys and girls who will be at the wedding.  I enjoyed a cheeseburger and some very tasty pasta salad.

It started to rain just as we finished eating so we moved the party inside.  We played an exciting game of Taboo (girls won!) and laughed the night away. 

On Thursday night, I attended Meghan and Michelle‘s wine tasting event at Boston Wine Exchange.

Complete with cupcakes, Cabot cheese, wine, and bloggers, I think the event was a definite success!

We sampled 8 wines, 4 whites and 4 reds.  I liked everything that I tried, but had some definite favorites that needed to come home with me.

We learned a lot about Bell Wine Cellars and Clone 6, a successful clone from the Cabernet Sauvingnon Clone Trials in the 80s.

Boston Wine Exchange has a great selection of wine.  I love browsing: looking at the fun labels and reading the wine descriptions.

Jared and I spent some time chatting with BWX’s owner Eamon Keating.  He even told us what champagne rappers are drinking now that Cristal doesn’t want to be associated with them.

I enjoyed so many sips of delicious wine.

Rachel, a representative from Cabot Cheese, was on hand with a huge tray of cheese and crackers for us to enjoy in between glasses of wine.  She also gave everyone a goodie bag with a sample of Cabot Cheese, a magnet, seeds, a corkscrew, and a few other cute Cabot-themed goodies.

Wine snob!  Plus I was excited to be able to take a photo of my outfit.  For the past few weeks, I’ve been living in black yoga pants and a Healthworks t-shirt.  I was excited to wear jeans!  And to wear my new Bensimon slip on sneakers.

Meghan predicted I would flip out when the wine tasting ended and it was time to sample cupcakes from Mix Bakery.

She was right!

Rhubard cupcakes!  (My favorite sample of the evening)

Chocolate cupcake with heavenly peanut butter frosting.

Of course wine was still the focus of the evening.

I enjoyed a few pours from the wine machine.  I tried Cupcake’s Chardonnay (thumbs up) and a Malbec (also good).

I had a great time at the event.  It was nice to meet some new bloggers and try some delicious wine and cupcakes.  Thank you Meghan and Michlle!