Maybe I am just vainly influenced by Oprah propaganda, motivated to Buy and Go and Do so that I can "Live my best life!" But sometimes I just want to apologize to myself for not taking more time for cupcakes. I know that this is not the kind of regret that one harbors in their mid-forties when the only kind of jeans that seem appropriate are in an L.L. Bean catalogue, possibly with an elastic waist and tapered leg. No one ever says, "Oh, I wish I gluttonously ate more cupcakes in my twenties while I was sitting on my toochis, working at a desk all day!" I know that cupcakes are not good for the cholesterol level, and a moment on the lips equals a lifetime on the hips and, in my case, a lifetime of Cabbage Patch cheeks that will need surgical reduction to reduce the strain of bobbling my Cabagge Patch head on top of my neck.

I do adore cupcakes, though. Their aesthetic is so pleasing, so petitite and unique. Their taste is so satisfying, and their texture is such a nice marriage of fluff and smooth. I consider them one of the finer simple pleasures of life - not expensive nor too indulgent. They evoke sense memories of childhood birthday parties where one did not have to fear being handed the thin bastard child slice of the cake, wrought by the birthday girl's mother who was never very good at math (1 cake + uneven number of guests = even number of evenly split pieces + several bastard slices).

These days you can find cupcakes all over, spurred, I've heard, by the phenomenon of The Magnolia Bakery in 'da Village, where I've been once and promptly forgot my name and address with one lick of the Magnolicent icing. In Boston, the cupcakerias are cropping up here and there, but I have not opportuned to visit a single one, and I regret this very much. Henceforth, I will committ myself to a new pursuit as the conquistadoress of cupcakes. I shall report back accordingly. In the meantime, from my desk where I sit on my toochis all day, I will ogle Not Martha's treats which she evidently snapped up during her own conquests. Que lindas/deliciosas!

cupcakeria