Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Carlos Bake Shop’

Wordless Wednesday: CAKE!!

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , on February 29, 2012| 1 Comment »

Today I am dedicating my Wordless Wednesday post to my high school friend Colleen and her two daughters. All three are BIG foodies and are especially fond of dessert. Also, Colleen has been tempting me to buy cake all week with little nudges on twitter and Facebook. So, Colleen (and A & P), here are a few pics from our most recent trip to Carlos Bakery in Hoboken, home of Buddy Valastro, the Cake Boss. We ventured to Carlos Bakery last week during winter break and sampled a few of the goodies. Too bad the Lobster Tails would not survive the trip to Saskatchewan 😉 Enjoy the pics, better viewed with a cup of cappuccino. Buon Appetito!

Waiting to go in!

Cakes...

Cakes...

Cakes...

Cakes...

And more cakes!!!

Or a cupcake?

Pastries?

The Valastro Familia

Happy Customers =)

The Manhattan Skyline from Hoboken

Beautiful day for a visit.

Read Full Post »

Staycation- NYC Style!

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 21, 2012| 4 Comments »

It is that time of year again- Winter Break. Although, I feel funny even saying that because I really don’t feel like we have even had winter here in NYC. The kids have worn their snow boots twice!! It has definitely been a crazy year for weather! Anyhoo, enough about that. This is the February school break week for the girls. Even though it really hasn’t been that long since the Holiday break, I really feel like everyone needed a little bit of change of pace and scenery. Case in point, on Sunday both girls stayed in their p.j.’s until mid afternoon and were totally content to hang in the apartment watching movies, reading and playing with their toys. They didn’t ask to go out once. They just needed some well deserved down time. I know how they feel.

Ron and the girls snuggling on the couch =)

There is something about February the shortest month, that seems to drag, wear on our patience and generally pull people into a funk. If the crap is going to hit the fan it usually happens in February 😉 So, on that note, it really is nice to have a bit of a breather right smack in the middle. While most New Yorker’s jet off to far away destinations or at least escape the Island, we have decided to enjoy a little staycation in one of the best cities in the world!! Ron is super busy at work right now and I have to admit, I am just enjoying NOT having a schedule to adhere to. I am sure by the end of the week I will be going a bit stir crazy, I am already missing my running group, but right now I am loving the flexibility. I also love exploring this incredible city and finding cool places to take the girls to.

NYC as our playground!!

Yesterday we decided to play tourist. The girls begged me to take them to the Times Square area because they really wanted to go to ToysRUs and American Girl Place. I was a little hesitant since it was a holiday and I did not want to get stuck in crowds and crowds of people. But, I gave in and we had a great day. We started off at the Empire 25 movie theatre on 42nd St. Over a healthy lunch of popcorn we watched the movie “The Secret World of Arrietty”. It was a wonderful movie and I highly recommend it. An enchanting, magical and thoughtful story. Each of us gave it two thumbs up!! After the movie we headed to ToysRUs. The girls had a specific “Barbie” that they were looking for and moved through the crowds like pros. I swear you would think those two had lived here since birth. I am often in awe of their confidence and resilience.

Striking a pose in Times Square

From ToysRUs we headed over to American Girl Place where they were eager to finally spend their gift card that Chantal had given them at Christmas. Again, they manoeuvred through crowds with comfort and ease. Not really sure what I was worried about, maybe MY sanity 😉 We topped the day off with a Magnolia cupcake. Yep, totally touristy and we loved it. Especially the part where it was just a short walk home through Central Park to crash in our warm and cozy apartment.

Today, we enjoyed a leisurely morning, followed by a manicure for the girls (another gift certificate from Christmas) and then a shopping trip to Trader Joe’s. We are getting ready for a friend sleeping over tonight where we will be making chocolate chip pancakes for dinner in celebration of Fat Tuesday.

A little pampering 😉

The finished product

And what does the rest of the week have in store for us? Who knows? I have a few ideas in the back of my head. My good friend Rebecca of Beccarama told me about The Museum of The Moving Image for the Muppet Exhibit, I know the girls would LOVE that. And then when they get home they can review it on the incredible Kidzvuz site (if you have kids/tweens and they haven’t visited this site yet, what are you waiting for??!!) There is also The Bronx Zoo, The Brooklyn Museum and of course, there is a Carlos Cake Boss mug that I have to replace… Really, a NYC staycation has endless possibilities!! We are looking forward to our next adventure. Oh, and February isn’t ALL bad, there is Ron’s birthday and on Friday we will dine in style to celebrate his 40th. By then, I will definitely need a drink or two 😉

*Some other great resources for kids in NYC are: NYCity Mama, Mommy Poppins, Time Out NYC Kids

Read Full Post »

Delicious!! A Trip to Carlos (The Cake Boss) Bake Shop

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on March 21, 2011| 5 Comments »

I am not a big fan of reality t.v. I have never watched a full season of American Idol and shows like The Bachelor/Bachelorette make me run and open a good book. Don’t even get me started on my thoughts about Jersey Shore… So, it is a bit strange that the latest program that I am hooked on is The Cake Boss on TLC. I seem to have developed a bit of a crush on Buddy and his whole passionate Italian family and co-workers. Unlike other reality t.v., there is something incredibly genuine about this show and the people in it. I love the real relationships, emotions and I have to admit, I am fascinated by the amazing artistic masterpieces (cakes) that they create each week.

So, I decided that my latest adventure would be to Hoboken, New Jersey to visit the very bakery itself. Why? Well, why not is the better question. I figured that we lived so close that it would be a perfect opportunity to make a little day trip out of it and go and see what all of those incredible pastries, cookies and cakes would look like in real life 😉 I persuaded two of my friends Meilan and Cass to go with me and so this past Friday we embarked on our little journey to Carlos City Hall Bake Shop.

After a little bit of confusion in the Madison Square Garden/Penn Station area we eventually found the PATH train to New Jersey and hopped on for the quick 15 minute commute to Hoboken, NJ.

The PATH train to New Jersey leaving 33rd St.

Once we arrived in Hoboken, we made our way to the main street in town, Washington Street. It was pretty easy to figure out where Carlo’s Bake Shop was as there was already a nice little line forming in front of the bakery. It was a glorious morning and the afternoon temps promised to be in the 70’s!! A perfect day to stand on line and people watch. There seemed to be people from all over the US and various parts of the world (even Canada!) waiting to get in. The locals were used to the crowds and largely ignored the ever increasing line. Although, one cute young gentlemen did offer to help us jump the queue by going in with him. Apparently if you have a driver’s license that shows you are local you get to go to the head of the line. Nice perk! We politely declined as we wanted to get the “full” experience.

Cass, Me and Meilan waiting patiently =)

Carlos City Hall Bake Shop

Window Display

Wow, every little girl's fantasy cake!

We are almost in!!!

After waiting on line for about 50 minutes, we entered the bakery where you are immediately overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle as well as all of the delicious smells and sights to behold. We were a little worried that we would not have time to figure out what we wanted but soon realized that it would be a bit of a wait before our number was actually called. It was quite the experience just watching the women and men behind the counter package pastries, cakes and cookies. To say that they are efficient is a huge understatement. The only down side is that it is still very crowded in the shop making it difficult to see all of the amazing displays. We quickly assessed the situation, figured out our order and then like true New Yorker’s (!) found a spot to wait for our number to be called and watched the organized chaos and insanity unfold. Living in Manhattan and dealing with deli lines at Zabar’s and Fairway helps to prepare you for situations like these. We were a lot calmer than most!

Beautiful Cakes

On display in the bakery

Lots to look at while you are waiting

My favorite!

Working their magic

Decisions, decisions...

20 minutes later it was time to place our order. Together we purchased 6 cupcakes, 5 brownies, 24 cookies, 1 lobster tail, a cannoli and a mug. Truly, a successful visit. The lobster tail (thanks for the tip, Whit!) made all of the standing in line worth it, it was OMG good! Overall, it was a great experience, we even had a couple of brushes with fame or reality t.v. as they came in to shoot a small segment while we were waiting and I was able to get a photo op with Buddy’s gracious sisters.

TLC filming Mauro in the bake shop

Me, Maddalena and Grace

After our bake shop experience we continued down Washington Street to find a place for lunch. We enjoyed a lovely Italian meal and excellent conversation. As we headed back to the train in the early afternoon sunlight we passed the bake shop again. The line had tripled in size! By my estimation people would be waiting for approximately three hours, just to get in!! I am not sure if I would be that dedicated. Although, that lobster tail was pretty delicious…

The day was a wonderful mini escape from the city with some fabulous friends, I am already planning our next adventure 😉 Also, we were definitely the most popular moms on the playground with our batch of cookies to share. Will I be going back soon? Well, the thing is, my oldest daughter has started to watch “The Cake Boss” with me and has decided that she would like a Carlos Bake Shop cake for her next birthday. Uh oh. I can only imagine the cake that she is dreaming up. I think we had better go back to watching “Phineaus and Ferb”!!

Read Full Post »