Friends: The family you choose

You don't get to choose the family that you are born into. Sometimes that's good, and sometimes that's bad. At any rate, being up here in Seattle, I'm completely devoid of family except for my sister, who lives with her boyfriend up in Everett. However, I'm glad that I don't live closer to my parents. I don't have the best relationship with my mom, and the greater the distance, the better.

There's a saying that "friends are the family that you choose." I've chosen a surrogate family that I've become extremely fond of and attached to. And convenient for me, they live in the apartment below me!

I first met the Blakelys when I was moving into my apartment. I noticed that they were a super cute couple with an adorable little boy and girl. Kids! I was so excited to live near kids because I love to play with them.

As time evolved, I have gotten to know Janna and Chris really well. I have babysat for them, had dinner with them, and gone on fro yo adventures with them.

Janna is like the older sister I always wanted but never had. I can talk to her about anything, and we like to bond over Skinnygirl drinks and playdough. Her laugh is infections, and she has the same sense of humor as I do (dorky and silly!). She's also a woman of faith, so it's good to have someone close to my age to talk to about what can sometimes seem like an archaic tradition.

Chris is like the brother-in-law that I've always envisioned I'd have. He can match my quick wit, and hilarious. Oh, and as you can see in the photo above, he's got some wicked dance moves. He provides for his family, and he is an excellent father and husband.

Hayden just turned 6. He is so incredibly creative, and he has a belly laugh that is so infectious. We love to play legos, go to the park, and make up games together. He really loves his little sister, and I've seen him be incredibly sweet with her.

Hannah is the cutest little girl in the history of the world. She turned 3 this summer, and is as fun as ever. We love to play with playdough, color, and go to the park. She makes some pretty impressive animal noises, and always insists on giving me a kiss and a hug when we say goodbye. So cute, I could eat her up.

This is my sister, my brother, my niece, and my nephew. I wasn't forced into their family (although I certainly made it clear that I loved playing with their kids!), but I'm even luckier: I got to choose them to be my family! They're stuck with me now...Maybe I can be an honorary Blakely. ;)

Stephanie and Jenne's great Seattle cupcake adventure

I like cupcakes. (Understatement of the century.) You might say that I'm a cupcake connoisseur. Someone else I know loves cupcakes. Her name is Jenne. Jenne kicks ass. She's a breast cancer survivor, and was the national spokeswoman for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure.

As the national spokeswoman, Jenne spoke at every 3-Day event around the country. At one of the Washington D.C. events, she made a cameo on an episode of TLC's hit show DC Cupcakes!

Ever since, I've been thinking about a way to woo Jenne into coming to Seattle and hanging out with me. After all, seeing and hearing her speak at the 3-Day was always one of the highlights of the event! And learning that she loves cupcakes like I do has helped me to figure out how to get her here.

Alright Jenne, check out a sampling of the cupcake offerings here in the great city of Seattle...

Trophy Cupcakes

Flavors include: 
-Red Velvet (above): Traditional southern buttermilk cake with a hint of cocoa topped with cream cheese frosting
-Snowball: Valrhona chocolate cake with coconut buttercream and pink shaved coconut
-Snickerdoodle: Cinnamon and sugar swirled butter cake with cinnamon buttercream
-Samoa: Valrhona chocolate cupcake filled with caramel cream then topped with coconut buttercream, toasted coconut and a drizzle of house-made caramel

Cupcake Royale

Flavors include:
-Salted Caramel (above): Chocolate Cake Royale topped with house-made caramel buttercream, Fleur de Sel and dark chocolate curls
-Triple Threat: A chocolate cake frosted with chocolate buttercream and then we add dark chocolate curls
-Peppermint Party: A swirl of our sweetly refreshing mint buttercream piled high atop our moist chocolate cake Royale, sprinkled with dark chocolate curls
-Lavender: We stir real lavender buds into our sweet vanilla butter cream and then swirl it onto our deliciously vanilla buttercake

New York Cupcakes

Flavors include:
-Central Park Cookies & Cream: Classic chocolate or white cake paired with delicious Oreo butter cream frosting and finished off with a dollop of cream and a mini Oreo on top
-Coffee Shop Cupcake: Classic chocolate or vanilla cake are paired with our creamy coffee buttercream, topped with a dollop of whipped buttercream and finished off with a chocolate covered espresso bean
-Cookie Dough Delight: Classic chocolate cake filled with a moist cookie dough center, frosted with fluffy white buttercream and finished off with freshly baked chocolate chip cookie bits
-Grand Central Smores: Yummy chocolate cake stuffed with marshmallow fluff topped with golden graham cracker crumbs, frosted with sweet marshmallow buttercream and finished off with a mini Hershey Bar
-Ole Miss Mud Pie: Dark chocolate cake is baked on top of an Oreo cookie crust, filled with a creamy caramel center, frosted with Oreo mocha buttercream, topped with a dollop of fresh whipped buttercream, and a chocolate covered mocha bean

PinkaBella Cupcakes

Flavors include:
-Banana Split (above): Banana cupcake with chocolate and strawberry swirl buttercream frosting, topped with whip cream and a cherry
-Cherry Coke: Chocolate-Coke flavored cupcake with cherry buttercream frosting
-Chocolate Malt Shake: Chocolate cupcake with chocolate malt buttercream frosting, topped with a malt ball
-French Toast: White cupcake dipped in French toast batter and fried with maple buttercream frosting and a sprinkle of cinnamon
-Pina Colada: Rum pineapple cupcake with pineapple coconut buttercream frosting


I could go on....But really. Are you drooling yet? You might as well book your flight now so we can eat our way through Seattle.