Cupcakes are better than men, and here’s why. They’ve never woken me up from a dead sleep in the middle of the night to have unfulfilling sex. They’ve never lied to me about where they’ve been or what they were doing. They’ve never called me fat when I’ve gained a few pounds from indulging in their deliciously sugar laden goodness. They’ve never cheated on me and then left me for someone nine years my junior. In fact, my relationship with cupcakes has been the only one that’s stood the test of time.
From childhood to adulthood, they’ve been there for some of the most significant moments of my life. Honor Rolls. Birthdays. Slumber Parties. Getting my first car. My High School Graduation. Bachelorette Parties. They even covertly snuck into the hospital to celebrate the birth of my son. But it’s not just the good times, they’ve been there through the not-so-good ones too. Break-ups. Losses. Bad hair days. That time of the month where chocolate buttercream saves lives. And then there have been those lonely nights when I just need some cheering up.
Cupcakes have been there for me in ways that most men never have. They’ll always hold a special place in my heart. Due to their ginormous popularity these days, it’s obvious that people across the world feel the same.
This week Sex Lies and Bacon went on an adventure of the cupcake kind, thanks to my very special friends at Crumbs Bake Shop. I was lucky enough to work with them during my Kiss Our Sass Party at BlogHer and had hopes that our relationship wouldn’t end there, so when I received an email from their Social Media Coordinator Aaron inviting me to the Crumbs Bake Shop NASDAQ Opening Bell Ringing Celebration I was extremely excited. Perhaps even literally. Sex, Lies, and Cupcakes? Oh my!
Besides the excuse to molest cupcakes, being given the opportunity to thank the Crumbs Bake Shop team in person for their generosity meant the world to me. Especially Aaron. I owed him a huge hug for hooking The Kiss Our Sass Party up with 240 of Crumbs’ amazing miniature cupcakes (which were shipped from NYC and arrived in San Diego looking flawless despite their lengthy cross-country adventure) as well as two $50 Crumbs Gift Cards.
I had no idea what I was in store for that day as I stepped off my bus in Port Authority and started walking to Times Square. I’d never been to the NASDAQ Marketsite before and knew limited details about it. I knew even less about stocks. I did, however, know that men in suits, as well as cupcakes, turn me on. That alone was well worth the $27.50 round-trip NJ Transit bus fare.
My friend, and fellow blogger, Ofelia and I arrived an hour early. As we stood outside the NASDAQ building deciding where to go before the event started, Ofelia suggested we go inside and check out the NASDAQ Marketsite. Neither one of us had a clue as to what was waiting for us behind its large glass doors, but we’d hoped there was some sort of touristy attraction to kill some time.
We were met by two very friendly security guards that pinned us as bloggers for the event right away and announced that we’d almost missed the opening bell. Only they must’ve missed the memo that bloggers weren’t allowed into the actual bell ringing portion of the event, as they quickly shoved us (after thoroughly checking us for weapons of mass destruction) through a set of doors into a sea of people dressed in business attire.
As I looked around the room I was pretty sure we weren’t supposed to be in there, but seeing as we really couldn’t exit at that point and I’d never stepped inside the NASDAQ or witnessed an opening bell ringing, I decided to relish in the fact that I was getting to experience something most people never will. I also decided I’d blame it all on Ofelia if we got in trouble.
Five minutes later I was greeted by Aaron, who I overzealously hugged, mostly because I was so excited to finally meet him after emailing with him for almost four months, partly because I was trying to distract him from calling security to usher Ofelia and I out of the restricted area. He was super sweet though and didn’t and because of that I made sure I stayed on my best behavior toward the back of the room.
For the next forty-five minutes we got a behind the scenes look at what goes into putting together an opening bell ceremony as Crumbs Bake Shop founders Mia and Jason Bauer celebrated their company being publicly listed with NASDAQ as well as the opening of their newest Crumbs Bake Shop location in Times Square. Let me tell you, the NASDAQ Marketsite is one well oiled machine where EVERYTHING is timed down to the mili-second. I wouldn’t be surprised if they made Jason and Mia wear Depends during the festivities to avoid any unexpected bathroom breaks.
Here is a blogger’s eye view of the Crumbs Bake Shop NASDAQ Opening Bell Ceremony:
After the bell ringing we were taken upstairs for an AMAZING brunch whose spread not only consisted of every type of Crumbs Bake Shop goodie you could imagine, but also had BACON. I’d like to think they had that on hand just for me.
As the rest of the bloggers and I NOM-NOM-NOM-ed, we were able to sit with Crumbs Bake Shop founders Mia and Jason Bauer for an intimate blogger Q & A, where we learned that Crumbs was born when Mia quit her job as an attorney to pursue her dream of owning a bakery. Luckily she had Jason by her side, who’d already spent his entire career building businesses such as Fast Fixins, which manufactures celebrity licensed products. As an aside, I decided Mia and I could totally be friends the moment she suggested she may or may not have eaten leftover Famous Fixins NSYNC lip balm that was laying around their apartment, because it smelled THAT good.
The very first Crumbs Bake Shop opened in March of 2003 on Manhattan’s Upper West Side and has since become the largest retailer of cupcakes nationwide. In 2011, Crumbs now has over 36 locations in New York, California, Connecticut, New Jersey, Washington D.C. and Chicago, and ambitiously plans to have 200 locations opened by 2014. Plus they’re always open for delivery online at CrumbsBakeShop.com.
It’s no surprise to those that know me that I’ve recently started my own business in Kiss Our Sass Media. Words can’t express how inspired I was by Mia and Jason’s story over that breakfast. They are two real people who made a multi-million dollar business happen because they had a dream and they didn’t just follow it, they chased it. Listening to them only solidified my decision to also chase mine.
After the Q & A, Crumbs Quality Assurance Manager Sean Couture treated us to an exclusive Sneak peek and tasting of three of Crumbs Bake Shop’s newest cupcake flavors that have yet to hit stores: Cake Batter, Mudslide, and Monkey Business.
My favorite of the three? While I LOVED them all, I’d have to go with Monkey Business if forced to choose. I never would’ve imagined chocolate, peanut butter, and banana flavors melding together so perfectly, neither one overshadowing the other in a desperate cry for attention.
Find out more about Crumbs Bake Shop’s new fall flavors in the SexLiesandBacon.com Sneak Peek Video below:
I still can’t thank Crumbs Bake Shop enough for inviting me to their event. I’m sure Aaron had much to do with it so extra hugs and humps to him. Once I realized I was the only non-food blogger invited, or at least in attendance, I felt especially proud. Just goes to show you don’t always have to fit a mold to be respected and appreciated by brands.
Chase your dreams, bitches. Mia and Jason Bauer did, and so can you.
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1 comment
Robin says:
August 27, 2011 at 7:55 AM (UTC -4 )
Crumbs is AMAZING! I just found the one on Long Island and I am going there today to get some Hurricane food. I am so happy for you that you experienced NASDAQ!