Cupcake truths

(I would love a dedicated shoe or handbag closet, but sometimes I dream of having a cupcake closet just like at Prairie Girl Bakery)

I share this information since I can never enjoy a Prairie Girl Bakery cupcake in the same way ever again — and misery loves company and all:

In an article in the Toronto Star yesterday, they revealed that a chocolate cupcake from this bakery (it’s one of of my favourite cupcake shops) contains nearly 700 CALORIES and 30 GRAMS OF FAT.

YIKES.

I obviously didn’t think they were nutritious or low-cal, but those ginormous numbers were astounding to me.

If you haven’t been scared off by this info, and want to try them (they are indeed delicious), here’s what I think this shop does right (I’m very picky when it comes to cupcakes):

1. They offer tons of different frosting and cake combinations and the options are clearly marked on the wall making it easy to decide and order. (I’m partial to the chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting.)
2. Their cupcakes are  large (although I guess this adds to the calorie and fat numbers…but hey, go big or go home).
3. Their sliding shelves of cupcakes are mesmerizing. The very first time I walked into check out the bakery for sweetspot.ca (sigh, a site that is no longer, but if I talk about that I’ll need 10 cupcakes to drown my sorrows) the vision of rows upon rows of cupcakes stopped me in my tracks.
4. They have proper cupcake boxes (with a base that holds each cupcake place so they don’t get all tossed around in the box) for however many cupcakes you buy.

Will I stop eating them? Hellz no. I only have one every three months at most. And I’ll just make sure I run an extra hour or two the week that I do

Prairie Girl Bakery; two locations, 18 King St. East and First Canadian Place.

3 Comments May 11, 2012

The power of books

I’m thinking I need to find novels about a woman who become super rich and successful, or an average runner who somehow becomes a crazy good runner, or a girl who meets her dream boy-band member and lives happily ever after…

Why?

A new study from Ohio State University found that when you lose yourself in a book, you start to identify with the fictional character, so much so it can affect your real life. You start to think and feel like the character as if it’s actually you, and it can translate into changes in behaviour in real life. In one experiment, when reading about a character who had to overcome obstacles to vote, those readers were more likely to vote in real life in an election a few days afterwards.

Hence my new reading list.

6 Comments May 9, 2012

Enjoy your past, present and future equally to be happiest

If you reminesce over fond memories, take time to enjoy the moment and also look forward to what the future holds in equal measure, this is a recipe for happiness, says new research published in the Journal of Happiness Studies. Focus more on one period over another, though, and this throws things off — a balanced perspective is best, the findings show.

For example, I fondly remember the NKOTBSB concert last year, am currently enjoying listening to their music as I type this (I think I need to rewatch this performance in fact), and I’m looking forward to the potential future tour the two groups are in talks for (with Kevin — he’s rejoined Backstreet Boys, Oh. Em. Gee!) — OK, so maybe I’m looking forward to the potential upcoming concert more than the other two — I’ll try to rein that in!

(Art, Catherine Dudley)

1 Comment April 30, 2012