Happy New Year!! I hope you guys had a wonderful holiday. Kev and I’ve got one more quiet day at home together before he has to go back to work tomorrow. It has been a truly wonderful Christmas, I absolutely love this time of year.
I took these photos last month when Kev and I were in New York for my birthday. We stopped by Butter Lane Cupcakes in the East Village. I don’t know about you guys, but the diet starts today!! But for now, we can just look, right? :)
Oh my, here are a few of the beauties we sampled. Heaven help me.
I absolutely LOVED this about Butter Lane: You can create your own cupcake! Choose from three different cupcake bases and a plethora of frostings and pair them up any way you like. They’ll build you a custom cupcake right on the spot.
They have tons of delicious frostings from which to choose. So hard to pick! I am really wishing we had gotten a cinnamon honey one right now!
For my custom cupcake, I had to go with the vanilla cupcake with french vanilla buttercream. Loved, of course.
I couldn’t resist these two. Here we have a chocolate cupcake with maple pecan frosting and a vanilla cupcake with chocolate and caramel sea salt frosting. So good. I loved all of their decadent combos.
How fun is this cupcake?? This is a chocolate cupcake with a vanilla bean caramel corn frosting. Such a perfect union.
So soft and chocolaty.
And finally, here’s our banana cupcake with peanut butter frosting and a mini marshmallow garnish.
I die. I am seriously in the mood for one of these bad boys right now.
By the way, what did you get for Christmas?? I always love hearing about presents! :) Talk soon, sweet friends!
These cupcakes are so delicious! My son lives in the east village so we go there all the time. Just love them.
Oh em gee. I’m so craving a chocolate cupcake right now! — For Christmas, I got a beautiful engagement ring from my sweetie of 5 years. :)
I went to Butter Lane last year. Um, yum!
I was very excited to get a new mix master this year, would have loved a Kitchen Aid but the family budget at the moment won’t allow that, but I am still so in love with the one I got. I now have a list longer than my arm of things that I want to bake thanks to you and Picky Palate.
I would love to visit this cupcake store! yikes! yum yum yum:) I got a Kindle from my sweet hubby…now I don’t know what to read first!!
My husband bought me my first Louis Vuitton purse! Love it!
Amanda, I don’t know how you manage to eat all these sweets and not get sick. ;) They are super yummy, but I can only handle so much sugar. Ha! Oh, and about Christmas, I don’t ask for anything because I want my kiddos to enjoy it while they are little. It’s ALL about them. I figured once they are grown, there will be plenty of time for gift-giving, right? ;)
Amanda
I bought myself a Christmas present this year – an Accuquilt GO!, and I can’t wait to use it.
I often just admire your photos in your posts. They are amazing.
Can you give any advice on indoor photos. I am rarely happy with how mine turn out?
I love my outdoor shots but indoors are a just not cutting it. I have a Nikon D3000 with a speedflash. I know some people love flash and some don’t but there are times when you have to use it, right?.
Hi Carrie! I always try to use a low aperture and shoot right next to a big bright window with lots of sun. I turn off all the other lights in the area and just use natural light. If I do have to use a flash, I point it at the ceiling. Hope this helps! :)
Wow, that banana one could almost be healthy ;-)
That banana cupcake looks so good! Happy New Year!
DH got me a really pretty Vera Bradley purse, and some gift certificates to the scrapbooking store, and slippers, some Pandora charms for my bracelet….very nice!
Amanda:
Happy New Year to you and Kevin!
I recieved a savings account so that I can go to London and Paris!…I am already half way there!
Yay! What an awesome present! :)
Wow, those cupcakes look delish and the shop is so cute. But, I have to stand with Christine and say, “Pass the oatmeal and veggies, ” though not at the same meal.
I got the gift of time for Christmas! My husband had my grandmother’s mantel clock repaired for me. I’ve loved that clock since childhood, but it hasn’t worked for over 25 years. Now, it is happily (well, I think it sounds happy) ticking away in my living room and I am thrilled to pieces. I feel like a little kid every time it chimes.
Happy New Year, Amanda.
Amanda, these cupcakes look so good- you are not helping with the New Year’s resolution, haha!
We had a toned-down Christmas, but my hubs got me an iPhone 4S as a college graduation/Christmas gift. I also got a sweet Vera Bradley purse, some scottie dog pajamas, and a gift card to Charming Charlie, which I used right away! Not too shabby :) Hope your holidays have been awesome!
I got a food dehydrator for Christmas and I love it! I’ve been having a blast making fruit and veggie chips, jerky, granola and fruit rollups. I wish I would have gotten one a long time a go!
Ooo. cupcakes. Don’t you know I am trying to rid of this sugary deliciousness now that the holidays are over?!?! Its onto oatmeal and veggies. ;)
The cupcakes look delicious – so tempting. I also loved your post about the tea room. I want to go there! Santa was very good to me this year – I got a new camera – a Canon 5D! It helped that my birthday is two days before Christmas!
looking at all those delicious goodies actually made my mouth salivate! I blew my diet already. I have to start over…lol Good to hear you had a wonderful Holiday. Mine wasn’t to bad either.
XOXO,
MamaSaidPlease
Oh my goodness those cupcakes look amazing & sound delicious! I’m always jealous of your cupcake adventures…ha!! I blogged about our Christmas (complete with pictures) here: http://grettajohns.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-2011-pictures.html
Hope 2012 is wonderful for you & Kevin and I look forward to reading more of your adventures, advice & inspiration in this new year as well. :)
I love your blog! It’s always so beautiful and interesting! Thanks for sharing about those amazing looking cupcakes! Makes me want to make a trip over to CRAVE here in Houston which makes the BEST cupcakes I’ve ever had! :-) Happy New Year to you and God bless you and all your family!
Ah you just made we want a cupcake so badly! I got some Pampered Chef gear that I really needed!
Beautiful Pics… I am from Guatemala, Central America, I love your blog!! I’ve been married for two years now and for this Christmas I got the best gift ever, my husband gave me a Kitchen Aid!!!!
Beautiful Pics… I am from Guatemala, Central America, I love your blog!! I’ve been married for two years now and for this Christmas I got the best gift ever, my husband gave my a Kitchen Aid!!!!
Wow, I’m definitely adding this to my list of destinations when we go to NYC in February!
I love your blog and have been reading it and getting tips from you for a couple of years. (BTW, you look great! Your weight loss is awesome!) For Christmas, I got a Kitchen Aid stand mixer. I am so excited! But, of course, this means I will have to develop some kind of self-control not to eat everything I make!!!
Happy New Year,
Katie
I love your blog and have been reading it and getting tips from you for a couple of years. (BTW, you look great! Your weight loss is awesome!) For Christmas, I got a Kitchen Aid stand mixer. I am so excited! But, of course, this means I will have to develop some kind of self-control not to eat everything I make!!!
Happy New Year,
Katie
Everyone who asked me for gift ideas laughed at me this year-but I was so happy with what I got! My boyfriend got me a cast iron skillet (which I wanted SO BAD and he kept lamenting how he felt like an awful boyfriend for getting me it. I don’t know why he thinks so.), his mom got me reeeeally cute aprons, kitchen towels, and potholders, my brother got me an OXO fine mesh sieve (he said “I don’t know what this is, but I hope it’s good), and my mom got me a bunch of movies and a Pampered Chef hand grater. Ahhhh Christmas, how I’ll miss thee :)
i’m dying…i need these cupcakes in my life!
Happy New Year! Cupcakes are a weakness of mine and these look delicious. Well the BIG surprise gift was a brand new LG washer and dryer, I had shown my husband a picture of your beautiful laundry room and told him that thats the kind of washing machine that I would want and what do you know the Friday before Christmas while I was out last minute shopping he had them delivered and installed!!! I love it!!! I have never been so excited to do the laundry : )
Aww! How fun! What a sweet hubby :)
Yes, the diet starts today and your website is a bit torturous! It won’t stop me from reading though! For X-mas I got an iPad 2 which I wasn’t expecting, which made it that much more exciting! I’m loving it! My best present was that my fiancé drove 8hours from Ohio to Illinois to spent Christmas with me….you can’t top that! Happy New Year!
Oh My…those cupcakes look so wonderful especially now that I’m dieting. I love this time of year too. I got a sewing machine which I have to figure out how to use and dogger house shoes as well as so many other gifts. Your home absolutely looked stunning for Christmas. I love your red sofa! Now I must get busy putting my home back to normal again.
Happy 2012!
I got the Susan Komen Kitchenaid Mixer!! Raspberry Ice is the color and it is HEAVEN!! I about flipped when I opened it :)
I love those pink mixers! So fun! :)
I got a 35mm f/1.8 lens for my DSLR and a tabletop lighting studio for small product shots. I’ve been having so much fun using them and I keep coming back to your blog for inspiration! Happy New Year to you, as well!
I got a wooden cutting board from Crate & Barrel that I had been wanting forever. Hope you had a nice holiday and these cupcakes look amazing!
Hi Amanda,
Lovely pictures of the cupcakes from Butter Lane. What did I get for Christmas? Well, to name a few – new leather couch & club chair and new black & white toile bedding with red accessories – plus a lot of other wonderful gifts. We got to visit with my brother (TX) and sister (LA) “at my house” (FL) for the first time in many years so that was a real blessing.
Happy New Year!
Mary Anne
We are definitely going here next time we are in the city!!!! Yum!
Happy New Year Amanda .. wishing you and Kevin all the best this year! Have followed your blog for a couple of years now. Love coming home from work, and taking a calgon break on blogs that take you elswhere for a while! ;-) For Christmas, my wonderful hubby gave me a gift card for a personal trainer. Wasn’t sure how to take it .. but I know it is time to get moving. ;-) In the end, I love it. Already made my first appt. It will be a healthy new year.
Cheers to a great 2012!
They all look tasty! We need to go back to NYC in 2012:)
Those look yummy! So do your captures of them! Next time you stop through Houston go to Crave… best cupcakes ever! I did a similar blog as this a year ago about Crave Cupcakes. Check it out. http://www.thewayiseeitthroughmylens.blogspot.com/2011_05_01_archive.html
Thanks again for sharing your beautiful shots & your blog!
I am in Houston too, and i love crave cupcakes. In fact, my husband got me a $50 gift card to crave for christmas. That is a lot of cupcakes.
Those look amazing! I love talking presents, too! I got a Kindle Fire from my parents, a Keurig from my sister, and a Canon T2i from my husband, which is why I now stalk yout site all.the.time. :)
I fell in love with your website after stumbling upon it about a year ago. Your pictures are fabulous, and through your easy writing style and I can really feel your energy and love of what you do. I enjoy seeing the places that you visit and always wonder how you find the time to do all of this!
For Christmas, I got a KOBO (Canadian version of a Kindle), a great smaller-than-a- DSLR camera i can tuck into my purse (the Canon g12), and a few great books and CDs. It was another great year…
Thanks for your wonderful blogs. Your photographs are so stunning! It makes me want to buy a portraits lens so I can get the blurred background that look amazing. But I still trying to decide which is the best investment. I really enjoy your photography & your tips. I also really enjoy your fun fonts. For Christmas, normally we have small Christmas. But this year, I got a iphone 4S. Due to finances & cell phone company, I have patiently waited for 4 years to get one. It was worth it. I hope you have a wonderful 2012!
Oh those sound soooo wonderful. I want one right now!!
Christmas was terrific this year (as always) for us too. My husband is so funny. I had electric rollers on my list so he bought them for me … extra large/jumbo … my hair is short … ha ha ha … gotta love him… Must go exchange them for the smaller ones today. Happy New Year to you and yours!!!
Amanda, I’ve enjoyed your blog on so many levels. I particularly love your photography and free fonts. I’m using pea keylor on my site now – and my daughter has downloaded a dozen of them to have fun with. Thanks so much for everything- and for Christmas, I got a new DSLR, so I’ll be using your photo tutorials to take better pictures.
Hope you have a happy, happy new year!
Even the name of that bakery has me drooling, it looks so yummy. All I can think of are cupcakes now! We didn’t do much for Christmas at my house because we were kind of forced into buying a new car earlier in December, which is a huge expense! But we had fun stuffing each other stockings with candy and other little do dads (sp?).
chocolate & butter sounds awww… looks like the yummiest cupcake :) Pics looks fab.
http://sreebindu.blogspot.com/
xoxo
That last cupcake with that marshmallow frosting layer…lovely!
And the vanilla bean caramel corn frosting…oh I want to try that, too!
Oh My these look so yummy! I usually have a small Christmas, but this year I got a Kindle Fire-love it! And a Silhouette Cameo…WOW! A great holiday with family and friends! My best to you for 2012!
Woohoo! A Kindle Fire and a Cameo, those are fabulous!! I know you are going to love them :)