A taste of the past

Today was my first day back at work for 2009. It certainly wasn't easy after a 2 1/2 week break! I have three weeks left until my contract expires and have no idea what the future holds for me after that. One of the (many) advantages of working from home that I will miss is the flexibility it offers; if I need to pop out for an appointment, I can easily do so and work earlier or later to make up for it. Today I made use of this advantage by refinancing my mortgages; heavy stuff for the start of a year. (All was fine - whew!) As for the (many) disadvantages ... that's another story.

Having my meeting in a part of town that I rarely get to these days meant that I could stop for a quick coffee in one of the most quaint settings. Smith the Grocer is gorgeous, and decorated to resemble and old-fashioned grocer's store. Everything at Smith the Grocer is about presentation; from the exceptional coffee with 'Smith' frosted on my cappuccino in chocolate, to old newspapers pasted on the walls, to the surrounding display cabinets. It's a wonderful place to 'step back in time' right in the middle of the city.

Nestled into a corner of Smith the Grocer is tempt, a tiny piece of cupcake paradise and another little step back in time. Having become recently fascinated by cupcakes, and having an initial try at baking and decorating cupcakes myself, I was keen to explore the goodies tempt offer. A friend tells me she visits tempt for inspiration and good ideas before having a go at recreating some of their designs for herself - and she succeeds!

I guess I imagined it to be a small shop filled with delights; of course I should have realised that it's not practical to having hundreds of fresh, exquisitely hand-decorated cupcakes at the ready 'just in case'. Instead, tempt have a display case and cashier who sells a few cupcakes from the display but also takes orders for future purchases. Here is the display that greeted us today:

I was given a cupcake kit for Christmas, complete with all the little frosting attachments I'll need. However, I think it will take a bit of practice before my creations end up looking like these.