Cupcakes, One Day at a Time...

[Maybe This One Should Be Titled] Color Me Bad...

andreajade — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 23:15:00 GMT

Today I met with the countertop guy and the guy that's doing the paint. It seems so exciting because once these things are done...we'll be one step away from opening! So I met with both guys and they were really great, pointing things out that I hadn't entirely thought out and reasoning with my visions of grandeur...ie.,helping keep my champagne standards within my beer budget.

So I was handed these books of the color choices I had to choose from. All the colors you can imagine and more than you would ever want to look at.

I digress for a moment. A few weeks ago when we were trying to decide on names, my Dad pointed out to me that I needed to get better and quicker with my decision making abilities, that I needed to believe in my own decisions and just go with them. Since I happen to be one of those people who wait until the waiter has taken the order from all 15 other people at my table, I happen to agree, I'd like to be one of those "quick decision makers". So there it is, I've made the decision to make decisions.

So after that, I easily chose my colors for the walls and a really fun green countertop! We all left happy and the work should start next week.

But then the counter guy called and said the counter I picked was out of stock. So he gave me back the color wheel to decide upon another counter color. And after thinking a little bit more about it, I decided that maybe the paint I chose was too bright for the walls.

Color Me Bad

andreajade — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 22:52:00 GMT

Opening a business is kind of like planning a wedding. For instance, you have to pick a color scheme and stick with it. And I'm only using this as a reference because I just planned my own wedding. And it was all about colors. Choosing colors for the wedding didn't seem so hard compared to deciding on the colors that the cupcake shop will represent. It goes in the paint, on the logo, in the packaging, on the sign, website, menus, all the advertising, even the chandeliers! For the most part, it's the colors that represent what feeling you're trying to evoke. Fun, Shabby Chic, French, Modern...these are usually themes that are established with colors! That is a lot for one little color choice (or 3, or 4) to represent.

The Bay Areahhhh

andreajade — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 07:17:00 GMT

Ahhhh...it's so nice to be home. Since I've moved away, the only time I come home is for quick weekend trips where we are reliant on friends and family to take us here and there and we usually have a pretty tight schedule. So now I'm home and I'm free to roam around the Bay Area all by myself (only because my husband is away on business)!

One thing that I did this past weekend was take a trip to the city. I didn't do anything super special...just roamed around like I used to on a Sunday.

I used to live in San Francisco for many years, I was born there and I have to say that my heart is still there. I love the city. Yes, I know the fog rolls in and it's really hard to park and the one-ways are annoying, but after all of that...

I miss MUNI (I know, weird).

I miss driving down 19th Ave and smiling as I say the alphabetical names the whole way.

I miss the best chow mein from Eliza's. Oh, and those peanut butter crispy things.

I miss walking the dogs at Alta Plaza park - the wedding cake park.

I miss Seniore's Pizza (and I'm sure they miss me).

I (really) miss the subs from West Portal and Union Street (no, I've never known the name for these sandwich shops...this is just what I call them).

I haven't decided yet if I miss the Presidio...only because I always got lost. But I do love it...

There are so, so many that I can mention. I'm just happy to be home.

Don't worry, I'll post about my love affairs with other cities as we go along...

Thank You For Your Order...

andreajade — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 20:11:00 GMT

So I have just made our largest purchase yet! Well, technically the shop was the largest purchase...but anyway.

I have been doing diligent research on the type of ovens we need to make the most perfect cupcakes. And I think I've found them! We ordered the Moffat 32 ovens today and I got two of those bad boys! Stacked right on top of each other. I can bake 200 cupcakes at a time...that is some good cupcake lovin' right there!

So I ordered them from this restaurant supply in Georgia and I placed my order with the rep just this morning. He was really nice and answered all the questions I asked him...a good salesman. Until he asked me, "Just cupcakes? Good luck with that." Huh? Ok, DUDE...you are so lucky you already charged my credit card and even more lucky you happen to be in Georgia, I should come through this phone and wring your neck! Nevertheless, I hung up the phone rather quick after that.

I just received my invoice through my email. Guess what the subject was?

"Thank you for your order CYST Cupcakery"

Just Cupcakes?

andreajade — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 19:28:00 GMT

So apparently I'm the only person who's ever even heard of a cupcake shop...according to some people. They look at me with this pained look on their face and ask, "Just cupcakes?"

So I got three of these the other day (in one day!) and I'm about ready to pull my hair out. Yes, just cupcakes.

They start out saying, "It's so great that your starting your own business", "Congratulations on taking such a big risk", "I heard you were starting a business making cupcakes...?".

They ask a little about what it is that I'm doing and I tell them it's cupcakes. Then they ask those two words, "Just cupcakes?" and my voice gets all monotone...like it does when I'm pissed and I say, "yes, just cupcakes".

Sometimes I feel myself having to defend it by telling them that, "I'll have coffee as well" and sometimes I decide to be a little bitchy right back and say, "It's the trendy thing in all the big cities, I can't believe you haven't heard about it...it's huge" That's the good comeback because it's like I'm really saying, "Wow, you're so behind the times, get with it!" I should really be asking them if they've ever heard of myspace, just to filter out the people who really have their head up their a**.

But in all actuality, I can't be too mad...the people that are asking this question just don't get it. And it is a hard concept to understand if you've never been in a cupcake shop, haven't had a cupcake since you were 5, or thought that a place that just sold coffee and called themselves Starbucks would never make it.

JUST CUPCAKES.

I love Lucy!

andreajade — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 21:24:00 GMT

So I've got the spirit...the entrepreneurial spirit, the taking chances spirit, embracing change spirit. And apparently I've got the Lucy spirit as well. My MIL (mother-in-law) has just realized that I'm like Lucy...always coming up with crazy, hair-brained schemes and ideas. It's likely she hit the nail on the head. I used to watch that show every day when I was a girl. Everyday.

Hello Friends, I'm your Vitameatavegimin Girl!

What's in a Name?

andreajade — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:06:00 GMT

I didn't really think to come up with a name for the business right away. I thought I would think about it later when I really need one...at this point I didn't really need one yet, right? It's a cupcake shop, it's cute...how hard can it be?

Oh man, I can't even tell you how hard it can be. Yes, there were tons of names, cute, adorable names. That were all taken. Once we thought of a name the research began...searching the web, searching the national trademark database, yellow pages...ugh! And one after another, they were taken. I even thought at one point it couldn't hurt to use a name that's already in use if it's in a different state, right? wrong. I really liked the name delicious and all sorts of versions of that name like Delish, etc. But I saw that tons of people had it trademarked! I called one of the coffee shops that had it trademarked (which happened to be in Vegas!) and I asked her if she had any problems using their name since other companies had it trademarked. She said she was in a lawsuit right now with some company that was suing everyone on that list! Ok, so I'm not going there. What do I do? The search continues...

Whisk was a name that we thought of...we actually started using it and I bought the url's and everything. Until I hated it. It was too hard to say (I know, crazy...but you try and say Whisk Cupcakery), the words run together and everyone thinks your saying Wis Cupcakery. What the hell is Wis?

So then we gathered all of our friends one night and had a brainstorming, name/slogan game. This was hilarious...after a few cocktails and tons of cupcakes, ideas were flying around. How about: "C-Cups", "Eat My Cupcake", "Cupcakes So Good, They Make You Want To Slap Your Mama!" Ok, enough...

So we finally, finally came up with Sift: a Cupcakery. I'm happy, you're happy and we'll just get on with our lives.

If you leave a comment telling me you don't like the name, I'll come through this computer.

Who would've thunk it...I'm a blogger now.

andreajade — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 16:35:00 GMT

So I've decided to chronicle this absolutely crazy time in my life right now using the powers of the internet and this new idea of blogging (well, new for me anyway). I wanted to give my family and friends an idea of what's going on day to day and give other fellow inspired cupcake lovers an idea of what I'm up against on a daily basis.

So here's a little background on me:

Around Christmas my (new) husband and I were talking about how much we miss being back home near family and such. We decided that when we got back home after Xmas vacation, that we'd start looking at moving back to California. So I started looking at what was available job-wise in NorCal. I was trapped in a complex love/hate relationship from there on after because I really loved my job (working for San Pellegrino), it took some hard work getting the job in the first place, and how could I know if I would love any of these other job offerings just as much? Chances are, I wouldn't. So there I was, I loved my job, but I was sick and tired of the city I lived in (Vegas...yes, I know). I wanted to move back home, but I didn't want to leave my job...tick-tock, tick-tock.

So what would any rational, sane-minded person do? Not decide to open their own cupcake shop...that's for sure! Yet, that is exactly what I decided to do. Ahhh...the love of cupcakes went to my head.

So Cupcakes, eh?

andreajade — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 08:20:00 GMT

Yes, actually...cupcakes. I'm embarking on a massive mission to open my very own cupcake shop...and I'm here to tell the story. And boy, let me tell you, it ain't easy being me right now.

It's actually 1:22am and I'm so freaking tired, my eyelids burn, my neck is sore...I've been trying to discover this whole blogging world for the last 4 hours...and now that I've written my 4 sentences, I'm going to f-ing bed.