out story. cupcake and i by lyndsey
We met when I was a just a child. Every now and then we would see each other at birthday parties or pass by each other in the grocery store bakery. It wasn’t until my teen years that Cupcake started to really intrigue and impress me. I must say that if it weren’t for my bonus (step) mom we wouldn’t be where we are today. She is the one who introduced me to baking after all. Around my senior year of high school she started a catering business out of our home. And of course one her specialties was cupcakes. Often times when I was home we would dream together about Cupcake and its limitless possibilities. I would also help her out and just watch her as she worked.
Soon it was time to graduate from high school and I had to come up with a theme for my party. By this time, Cupcake and I had been seeing each other for a while. Nothing serious, but from time to time. I decided to not only invite it to my party, but to center my party around it. So that’s exactly what we did. My bonus mom and I made up about a dozen different kinds for the day of my party. From that point on I was hooked for life. Sadly, soon after my dinky dorm room oven wedged its way between Cupcake and I. But I knew that one day we would be together again. In the mean time I joined an Acting on Aids committee on my college campus. One day we hosted an event where we served one tiny cup of porridge, the equivalent of a child’s daily food intake in a tribe in Africa. The portions we served were so minute that we over estimated the amount required for the demonstration; needless to say we had an ample amount of porridge left afterwards. Because I didn’t want all of this porridge to go to waste, I decided to try to make something tasty out of something so awful. Why not a cupcake? In my attempt I added basic baking ingredients and prayed for the best. To my surprise, they turned out. In my eyes at the time, this was a miracle. I had never “free-styled” a cupcake before. I had always just followed recipes. I guess you could say this was our turning point and a very inspirational moment.
That summer I moved and transferred to a different college. Different college without dorms equaled a big house with lots of roommates and most importantly, a big oven. (: I still didn’t have a lot of time for Cupcake. But I was eager to experiment after my experience with the porridge cakes. Whenever I had a little time and lots of creative energy I would do just as I had done in the past, throw a couple ingredients together and then hope for the best. And sure enough, Cupcake and I pulled it off time and time again.
At this point I started introducing Cupcake to many of my friends. It just had so much to offer and I didn’t want to keep it to myself. It brought, and still brings, joy to my heart to share Cupcake with people. It was just a gift I could make with my own hands and wrap up with lots of love to place into the hands of others. Whether it was to celebrate their birthday, or to encourage them on a bad day. It was a way to let them know that I cared and that I was thinking of them. Also, around the same time I started to barter Cupcake for a random assortment of things such as haircuts, house maintenance, computer repair, and for help moving from house to house. Cupcake was just so good to me, faithful to help me out when I was in need.
I guess you could even say Cupcake helped me find my soul mate. Because I had experience baking, I got a job baking in a commercial kitchen while I was going to school. And whom did I meet in that kitchen but my future husband! And yes, Cupcake did grace us with its presence at our wedding. Soon after we got married we moved here to Vermont. Again Cupcake helped me get a job working at New Moon baking and creating. I had always dreamed of being a part of a cupcake & coffee café, but never did I think it would happen so soon. Now not only do I get to share Cupcake with my friends, but with everyone who walks in looking for a simple and sweet treat.
