a learning experience..

I didn't want to have to make the Kiddo another cake. Call me lazy but one (make that two, since it takes two pineapple upside down cakes to feed 12 people) is enough every couple of months.

Because I didn't want to do the work of making one myself I went to the bakery near my mother in laws house and ordered a dozen cupcakes. I figured little extra I'd pay (they charge 5 and change for 9 on the 'pre-made' rack) would be comparable and I could get what I wanted written on them.

My words to the lady (when placing the order Saturday afternoon) were that I'd like 12 cupcakes, half of them chocolate and half vanilla. I wanted thinner icing (one reason I didn't want pre-made was the inch of frosting on the top). I wanted half of the cupcakes to have the number 4 on top, and the other half to have "old" written on them. She wrote all that down and assured me that the decorators they have there are all "very very good at making things cute and will add some fun decoration too".

I left thinking we'd get exactly what I wanted with maybe a little extra cuteness and was, naively, very excited to pick them up on Sunday.

6 bucks and some change later this is what we picked up. I'll give them credit, half of the cupcakes were chocolate and half were vanilla. The rest though... yeah I was cranky. That's a good inch of icing, and sprinkles (oh yeah they know how to decorate cute alright). The word old apparently wouldn't fit on each cupcake so she spread it out over three and left it. That meant she better do a four over two cupcakes or gosh it might be unbalanced.

I take sollace in three facts. First I didn't have to bake the things. Second if 9 cupcakes cost 5 and a half, then I am going to tell myself I paid the extra dollar for the extra three cupcakes and NOT the bakeries steller decorating skills. Bonus fact is that my lesson is learned at a time and event where spiffy cool cupcakes weren't really required.