Butch Meets Bakery

What is it about a cupcake that makes a woman's heart go pitter-patter? Is it the miniature size that makes us think we are eating less? Or perhaps it's the gob of sweet, sugary delight neatly swirled on top? No matter the reason, cupcakes are a woman's pure delight. But, why don't men seem to respond in the same way when offered a little perfectly packaged treat? What is it about a cupcake that somehow makes it just a little bit girly?

Well, for all those men out there that believe cupcakes are for women, we have a revolutionary culinary treat for you. From a New York bakery called Butch Bakery, comes a new wave of masculinity in the form of a tasty sweet treat.

Choose from six styles of cupcakes: Woodland Camo, Wood Grain, Houndstooth, Plaid, Checkerboard or Marble. You can also choose from 12 flavors including: Rum & Coke (the pause that refreshes - this rum-soaked madagascar vanilla cake with cola bavarian cream filling is a knockout), B-52 (this one is the bomb: kahlua-soaked madagascar vanilla cake with Bailey's bavarian filling), Campout (you'll be begging for s'more of this graham cracker cake with marshmallow filling and milk-chocolate ganache), and Beer Run (butch meets buttercream in our chocolate beer cake with beer-infused buttercream topped with crushed pretzels).

The ladies are officially jealous.

If you don't live in the New York area, don't fret. Butch Bakery is expanding their delivery options this year and should be able to ship to your neck of the woods in no time.

A Technological Personal Assistant

Everyone can use a personal assistant right? All of us at B&E certainly know we could. That's why we are so intrigued with the new techno-personal assistant tool from Siri. Siri can help you find and plan things to do. You can ask Siri to find a romantic place for dinner, tell you what’s playing at a local jazz club or get tickets to a movie for Saturday night. But, since its a new tool, there are a few hiccups and kinks that need to be worked out. The current version of Siri is built for the iPhone 3GS and the iPod Touch and works only in the US. Soon, Siri will run on iPhone 3G and additional mobile platforms, as well.

Learn more about Siri by watching the video below.

Hot Holiday Gift Ideas

Everyone is designing the metro watches, and these are available from TKOwatches.com. Next are the sensation of the season, the Gurgle Pot (take a listen). They are available at Mort's Cabin - best price on it. The color range is wide and this decantor fits your hand perfectly. For the softer side - hot holiday gift are these versatile cashmere 2-in-1 gloves. And a great final offering are these compact highly versatile lunch boxes by Oots - for all of us who take lunch to work! Hope this helps with some possible new ideas.

Sit back, relax and enjoy shopping guys!

Most men hate to shop. It takes way too much time, they feel out of their element, and they end up getting really dorky clothes because they feel like not buying something is an admission of failure. As good as online shopping is - it is still not quite the answer. Enter the web camera, web phones and then enter the Trunk Club, a new way to shop online for guys. This is the answer to a lot of mens needs to avoid those stores.

Vancouver - Our Neighbor To The North

It's right around the corner, and there is a good chance very few of us have had the realistic option of actually going to the Olympic Games. Well times they are a changing because we are in an exceptional situation via our location to go to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C. The Olymic Games start on Friday, February 12th - opening ceremonies at 6:00pm and run through the 28th, on Sunday with closing ceremonies at 5:30pm. Some of the statistics of these games: 5,500 Olympic Games athletes and officials, 80+ countires paricipating, 10,000 media representatives, 3 billion worldwide television vieweres and 75 million visits worldwide going to Vancouver! This would be a good time to get your reservations confirmed in case you haven't. . . the world is coming!
2010 Winter Olympic Event Schedule attached:
competition.pdf

Living the "High" Life in Downtown Seattle

You might hear about commerical occupancy rates being almost as low as they were in the 1970's in Seattle, but this is not your Mother's Seattle! Welcome to Seattle 2009-10. Populated by the up and coming youth based executives literally perched on the precipice, occupancy in Metropolitan Seattle is more residential driven, than at any time in it's history. This is a city with a view if you are lucky enough to find one similar to any of those above. Wait - we're not done! More great news? At no other time, have there been more options for you to live this life, than you can right now. With it being a buyers market - what are you waiting for? Always wanted to step up to the high life with a view?

Cultural options in Downtown Seattle are as diverse and available as any major city of it's type. Seattle boasts an opera, a ballet, as well as a symphony orchestra and concert hall. Add to that a plethora of top end restaurants, theaters and museums - all easy to walk to if you live in the metropolitan area. Not enough? Then there is probably no need to also mention that this network of neighborhoods linked together from First Hill to Capital Hill to Queen Anne - provide you with some of the most charming shops to be found anywhere. Welcome to Metropolitan Seattle, your oyster . . and what type of oyster can we serve you?

Stay For Awhile in Style . . .

We thought we would bring you some distinctive looks and ideas for how to really live well with your favorite pets. More and more - people are bringing their pets into all aspects of their day to day living, such as taking them to work, to the store, out to eat - they are all newer options in more and more cities. In Seattle our pets are living plush, so for all of you who want to spend more time with them, it just doesn't have to "look" like a pet store. DenHaus is a great site for finding some real furniture styling for your pet - at any size. Another source for some of the cat fanciers is The Refined Feline. One of the favorites for the ultimate high for cats is the Hollywood Tower . If you are the metropolitan life style you might want to take a look at Modern Cat Designs. The list is endless, so stop, consider and enjoy, we know your pets will.

A Little Tight on Space? Squeeze In - Everyone!

Function - now here is a word that is often overused. We intend to stop that and bring you real function in a few pieces of furniture. The day has come to consider many things and one of those is that famous "down-sizing" statement. Have you looked around at how many new Pop-Up Condos are being built in larger cities? If you want to live right in the heart of the city and be close-in, one way to maximize your space is to maximize your furniture "function"....

The first red bulb" is actually for kids. It's a four piece table and chairs that folds away so it is out of the way when not in use - which is the key to all of this furniture.

Next is a kitchenette designed for urban living. It is compact, fun and easy to maintain. This is not for kids - it's actually a full size eating solution and was actually conceptualized pre-IKEA.

Now we approach the "scoop" circular sofa/bed from Italian manfacturer Saba. I forsee a sheet fitting issue, however a king size will tuck nicely into this..... or if you sew - well add some elastic to a queen sheet all the way around it.

And our final option is from bonbon Trading. This is an integrated / patented mechanism that transforms the sofa into a bunk bed..... guests coming? Now this is one useful setup - for just about anyone

What's UP?

What's UP?

Enveloping the room is the specialty of those infamous event decor companies we see at shows like the Northwest Event Show, so thought we would inspire you with a glimpse of some of their handy work.

Just about the time you think you have thought of everything to set the atmosphere, step back and think "Up". Right now that's even easier with the release of the movie UP, by Disney. Do you ever walk into a room that has been set and feel surrounded by some special mood? All of us have and there is a good chance it has everything to do with including the ceiling.

Recently on our wedding blog, "Lucky In Love" we shared the inspiration of a venue reset by Jolene Jang and husband Vinh. That amazing room transformation was completed by Prop Gallery West.

Depending on what type of room you are visualizing, or if you just plan want their inspiration, we strongly suggest contacting PJ Hummel and Co, Robinson Designs, Rented Elegance or Balloon Masters. If you can think it - let them do it!

Ideas Worth a Second Look. . . .

Conceived in 1998, by Lisa Craig Gautier and her husband, Patrice Olivier Gautier (Senior Director, iTunes Music Store, Apple, Inc.) this nonprofit concentrates on manmade surplus, natural surplus and eco-educational programs. The results are worthwhile, common sensical and often enchanting. Matter of Trust is collaborating with thousands of salons throughout the US and abroad, that donate their hair clippings to soak up oil spills. Last year over 2,600 oil spills occurred in the world. They weren't all are high profile, but most had an impact on the environment.

LavishGiving.com is an online gift retailer that donates 20% of all purchases of USD 100 or more to a charity of the buyer's choice. Which allows them to be generous twice: once when giving the gifts they purchased, and a second time when donating 20% of their value to a favourite charity.

Lacoste joins “Save Your Logo” campaign to protect crocodiles. Brooks Brothers has the golden fleece sheep, Ralph Lauren has a polo pony, and Penguin’s got, well, a penguin–but the most recognized animal logo in fashion may very well be Lacoste’s crocodile. The company has just joined the “Save Your Logo” campaign, started by the Global Environmental Facility, the World Bank, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which allows private companies to contribute to the preservation of animal life by protecting the animal that represents their logo.

Environmental Graffiti

Since 1983, colourful giant animals have been spotted around the world. Some seem to emerge right out of the water, while others hang in the balance like some kind of animal laundry between close-knit buildings. Still others stand guard atop historic landmarks and downtown balconies while top predators revert to their basest instincts in a bid for survival. Created using recycled plastic bottles by Cracking Art Group, these animals represent the art collective’s strong social and environmental ethic while bringing accessible contemporary art to the masses. The art group, which consists of six members from Italy, France and Belgium, derived their name from the term used to describe the transformation of petroleum to plastic, called ‘catalytic cracking’. All six artists use the medium of plastic to give rise to their own interpretation of “our contemporary problems and tensions.”

So Take A Seat . . . . . .

Choices - afterall isn't that what it is all about? This is one of those areas where there are more choices than uses possibly. Looking for something for the office, the deck. the conference room, the lobby or anyplace else for that matter . . . then you are in luck. Prices are better than they have been in a very long time and your options are endless. Between the addition of new woods and fibers, framing and recycled metals it is almost an ideal alignment for your needs. To temp you with reaching outside of your comfort zone, so to speak we picked some fun and useful and comfortable pieces. We will send you off to a couple of websites such as IMM Living or Artsytime and Neoterichome and Architonic.

Branding Issues On A Large Scale

Fiat considering Opel designs for Chrysler as purchase date draws near
From Motor Authority by Alex Kaufmann 5/14/2009

The future of General Motors’ European division Opel will soon be a lot clearer as a buyer for the brand will be announced by the end of this month. That information comes from GM CEO Fritz Henderson, who confirmed that there were multiple bidders interested in Opel and that the final decision on the new owner would be made by GM and not the German government. Now German government officials are confirming that initial plans on financing the buyout will be heard by May 20.

Henderson also wasn’t willing to mention any names of the potential buyers either but already Fiat has confirmed that it is seeking a three-way merger with Chrysler and GM’s European operations, namely Opel and Saab.

Reports emerged last week claiming Magna, together with Russia's GAZ Group, was considering taking a 50% share in Opel. Under the alleged plan, Magna would purchase about 20% of Opel and GAZ would possibly combine with Russian banks to pick up another 30%. Fiat, meanwhile, wants a three-way merger with Chrysler and GM's European operations.

May 14 (Bloomberg) -- The combination of Fiat SpA and Chrysler LLC, two of the world’s largest car companies, presents no antitrust issues and will get early clearance from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, an agency official said today.

Confused? We are! Aren't there talks with Fiat and Chrysler too? Stay tuned!