Hi! I'm off on a vacation next week and therefore I am also taking a blog break. Hopefully you'll come back, I will share my photos from Costa Rica! See you soon.

It's a new year and the resolutions are in full force. I am going to guess many of you have committed yourself to eating better, getting in shape, cutting out bad foods. This is excellent. However if you have a sweet tooth like myself it's difficult to cut out dessert. That's where portion control comes in. You can have a slice, just don't eat half a cake. Check out this neat "Wheel of Portion" cake platter at Fred Flare. It's on sale too. $19.

*I am sure this product was designed for fun and is not a tool for portion control, but it inspired me to write this post and it is too cute not to share with you.

ps. Have you written any resolutions for 2012? You should, it helps you to stay on track, accomplish things you want to, and be the person you want to be. Sometimes life gets too busy to set these goals at a random time within the year... the start of a new one really is a good excuse to think about what those goals are. Then subconsciously you have them stored, and you will end up accomplishing them. Winning the lottery is not a resolution or a goal. Tried that.

Have a 2012 resolution you like to share? These are good ones.

cupcakedesign will be joining some very talented local artists in displaying hand crafted gifts for this holiday season. If you live in or around Toronto we would love to see you drop by!
*cupcakedesign will be there Dec 17 & 18 with holiday cupcakes, and sugar cookies*

WHERE: The Tranzac
292 Brunswick Ave. Toronto, Ontario
December 3, 4, 10, 11, 17 and 18 - 2011
FREE ADMISSION!!
Show time: 12:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Click here for more info.

I hear it is thanksgiving soon for those in the US. Why not try a carrot loaf cake with the pumpkin cream cheese icing?

PUMPKIN CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
~ 250g cream cheese (1 brick)
~ ¼ cup butter, room temperature
~ 1/4 cup of pumpkin puree
~ 1 tsp vanilla
~ 500g icing sugar
~ dash of cinnamon and chopped pecans for garnish (optional)

1. In the bowl of your mixer combine the cream cheese and butter. Mix on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin puree and vanilla, mix on low for 30 seconds.
   
2. Sift the icing sugar and add to the cream cheese mixture in small batches. Mix until well combined.

Or try some savory cupcakes from fetetteblog.com:

PS. Very exciting news, my wedding was featured on...

I work for a large publishing company with many magazines under their belt. Some  that have been around for ages. You wouldn't believe some of the stuff in our photo archives. I have sketches from illustrators when computers were not around, and recently came across these photos of old candy shops I thought were interesting enough to share with you:

39 cents a pound for these swiss chocolates...

Check out Neilson's rosebuds! Are those still around?...

Home made butter squares sound delicious...

LOVE this packaging for Kleenex. They should bring them back. The design would still be relevant. They look art deco...

And old packaging of candy bars they should bring back too...

Proof that bags of candies WERE only 10 cents...

It's halloween prep time this weekend and many of you will be busy carving your pumpkins, maybe baking some treats, figuring out a cleaver costume or hiding in the corner stuffing chocolates in your mouth while tossing the wrappers in a trash can and hiding the evidence with tissue paper.

If you are the person who is baking, here are some great ideas...
Caramel Apples via save the date for cupcakes

Candy corn cheesecake mousse via glorioustreats:

If you are trying to think of a clever costume to wear, here is inspiration from a pinata with a black eye:

If you are carving a pumpkin, here is a cool idea from Martha:

And some clever wish-I-thought-of-that treat bags for your candy also from Martha:

Whatever your up to, enjoy yourself, be safe, and remember to eat your candy when no one's looking.

Today I had the opportunity to bake for a cause. I created a recipe and shared a story that is close to my heart, click here to read my guest post on Frosting for the Cause. The recipe is plantain cinnamon fudge cake with cream cheese icing! Check out the site and I encourage you to participate...

This week flew by, and I am so excited for this weekend. I am off to the Bahamas!
And I'm taking you all with me! What do you say?

Next week I'm planning a series of posts to keep summer going: refreshing lemonade recipe, ice cream sandwiches from heaven and gelato.

For now, I leave you with a whole lot of contests to enter...
Should take you the whole weekend.