Can You Feel It? Can You Feel It? Can You Feel It?

What I am feeling right now is a mix of...
Anticipation. We leave in less than a week for 2 glorious weeks at the beach. Just me and the kiddies! We'll be hitting the road in just a few days - literally as I am driving there. Don't know what I had in mind when I suggested this. As a native NYer, when I am in a car, it is usually behind that plexiglass screen that divides the front seat from the back in a yellow cab. I've never been a regular driver and 5 hours in the car alone with 2 kids might be biting off more than I can chew. But God willing, we will get there! :)

Sadness. My husband will be staying behind in Paris because someone has to pay the bills. 2 weeks without him has me blue and I'm sure the kids will be asking for him constantly.

Anxiety. Since last Fall, I've quietly been building a small business. I've nurtured it and lovingly cared for it as you would a plant or a child or an entrepreneurial adventure....And now I am closing up shop for about 6 weeks. Will people really remember Little Miss Cupcake come this September? Luckily, I'll be back in Paris towards the end of July and already have some orders booked but as they say out of sight, out of mind.

Relief. We just came in from the park where it was about 85 degrees in the shade! Thank goodness, I won't be baking in my hot kitchen all summer!

Frustrated. I'm going to go almost 6 weeks without baking cupcakes! The last time we left for a week I was really wishing I had brought a cupcake tin along. I may have to sneak one of those silicone jobbies I never use to the beach in case a bout of creativity hits me. Which has been known to happen after spying a basket of fresh blueberries at the market or during a Thai dinner out with friends. I guess I'll need to check the oven there since I've never used it for more than reheating a quiche.

Ancient. I'll be celebrating my 30+ birthday towards the end of July and am having a hard time grappling with how quickly life seems to be moving these days. It feels like just yesterday we were walking in a snowstorm at 2AM to the hospital in Manhattan where my son was born. Tomorrow, he graduates from kindergarten. Not to mention my daughter who was just a baby scooting along the floor a minute ago and now has about 100 words to her vocabulary including "jump" which she is constantly doing.
Elated. I'll be visiting NYC this summer after a 3 year absence and catching up with lots of old friends. I'll finally see my best girlfriend married and sample some of the cupcakes I have been reading about all these years at various cupcakeries in and around Manhattan.

Nostalgic. Two of my childhood idols passed away this week. You know who they are. I can still remember running on the beach and playing with friends in our backyard as a little girl pretending to be Charlie's Angels. We would always fight over who got to be Farrah. She was so beautiful with that dazzling white smile, perfect body, and immaculately coiffed blond mane. You ever see that classic Whoopi Goldberg skit where she has the pillowcase on her head and pretends she is the princess with the long flowing blond hair? Well, that about sums up my resemblance to Farrah - me being the brown-haired, brown-eyed child who carried about 10 lbs. of "baby fat" well into my 20's. But a girl can dream right? Not to mention Michael, who thrilled ed us with the moonwalk and his other moves, and turned MTV on its ear in my HS years. They played Thriller every hour on the hour the weekend it premiered. All 13.5 minutes of it. I even owned a pair of black penny loafers which I am sure were influenced by him. The white glove, the red leather jacket...there were kids in my school who proudly donned both. They must be having one helluva party up in that great celebrity clubhouse in the sky!
Stressed. There is so much to do before we leave. The dry cleaner. The bank. The supermarket so that my husband has food while we are away. Does he even remember how to cook for himself? The pet store for the fish food. The cupcake orders that I have to finish this week. Which reminds me...what am I doing here on the blog when I should be getting this other stuff done? :) So, I'll see y'all later....

Hope you enjoyed the cupcakes in this post which are a mix of an order I did this weekend for Emma (who is in the US but wanted to send something nice to her friend here in Paris who recently gave birth) and my Summer Berries Iron Cupcake cupcakes, Le Murier, Strawberry Swing & Raspberry Berry Berry Good, which you have seen before but this is just a reminder that VOTING IS NOW OPEN!!!!