SWEET

If you have been out in your city in the last year or two, you have probably noticed a new trend...Cupcake Boutiques! 

Twenty years ago people would have looked at you in bewilderment if you had said that it would become commen to go to coffee shop and spend $6 on a cup of coffee (well hello Starbucks and Dunken Donuts!)  I believe a new trend is here...couture cupcakes.  

No longer do I go to the local grocery store to pick up a dozen prepackaged cupcakes (blah).  I now go out of my way to get adorable, unique, beautfully packaged cupcakes (and by out of my way I mean I beg Paul to drive out of his way and wait in the car, as there is no parking, while I run in and get cupcakes on Newbury).  You may ask "now why in world would you do that?" - my answer is the same for why I must get my coffee from Starbucks...it's just too irresistable not to!

There are cupcakes shops all over Boston (I could literally keep this blog going by solely highlighting cupcakes boutiques that are popping up all over the city).  However, today I decided to make my way to SWEET on Newbury.  As you will see below...it has more to offer than just cupcakes, it offers a feeling with the purchase, an experience if you will.  Which leaves me asking the question, "what will be the next trend?"...first coffee...now cupcakes...next...??? Once I figure it out - I plan to jump on board at once!

  

{the boxes above hold a single cupcake, half a dozen, or a dozen+}

{everyone needs a pocket sized cupcake cookbook that they can carry around, right?}

{no corner or doorway is left unsweetened}

{yesterday Paul and I went to a friend's to watch the game - and we didn't show up empty handed}

{the store owner believes the proportion of icing to cake is crucial - looks like the got it right}

{caramel, vanilla, karat cake, blueberry pancake, red velvet, and dark chocolate - to name a few}

 

Have you ever seen anything sweeter?

Boston Common Coffee Co.

Well...it snowed again today - and a lot!!! I wasn't sure where they would put it all....literally half the parking in the NorthEnd is already gone due to mounds of snow...but luckily a friend (ahem Jon Klerowski) informed me that Boston dumps truck loads of snow into the harbor....makes sense!!  Hopefully they will spend a few hours getting truckloads from the NE - we already had plenty before today's snow!

I am working remotely today in a coffee shop a block away from my apartment - what a perfect Friday!!  The little local coffee shop is called Boston Common Coffee Co.  When I first moved in, I was so excited to see a local, cozy, coffee shop on my street.  The shop is typically filled with college students and the local Italian restaurant owners.  The crowd is warm and eclectic all at the same time.  When you walk in you are more than likely to see a group of friends crowded around a table, a student in the corner with laptop and headphones in use, or two local Italian men sitting at the window bar watching people on the street and waving to friends they know.

Today, I am couped up in the corner working, but I managed to get some pictures before it became too crowded.  I still got a few strange looks as I snapped away but I didn't bother to tell them it was just for BostonBelle!! 

{a warm, cozy furnace - which is flanked by two over-sized leather chairs}

{a comfortable couch, big enough to get lost in with a book}

{the coffee bar - sorry for the picture quality - I was getting a few too many looks at this point!}

{extra large pastry and a warm coffee - yes please!}

{the North End Blend - if you come visit me (southern friends) - maybe I will send you home with one}

{my corner - very productive while still getting to people watch}

{my breakfast - just enough - although my coffee is gone - time for a refill}

There is definitely something wonderful about being surrounded by people who are also working on their computers along with the randoms that are just happy to be in a coffee shop (today I'm both!).   Now if someone would just come join me.....Paul... :)  Let me know if you are in the neighborhood!