I’m starting to build a routine for my Saturdays – Pilates with Chase and volunteering at the SPCA [hopefully taking photos of cats and dogs!]. This weekend, however, only one of those was scheduled in because there was a cupcake crawl in the East Bay to attend! Seeing as how this would involve sweets, I opted to pair the cupcake crawl with a workout beforehand. Well, it was more like Chase would be attending, so it just seemed easier to stick to one side of the bay for the day.

We caught up with everyone at the second stop of the crawl, La Farine. Kirsten and Stephen came too! Here [pictured right.] she is with the chocolate cupcake from La Farine. It was a little on the sweeter side, and the vanilla cupcake from the same place was much preferred. While the cake was a bit more flaky, the BLUE frosting [pictured left] was tastier.

Our second stop was at Sweet Adeline Bakeshop. They weren’t quite ready when we first arrived, but when they delivered, they really DELIVERED. I think of all the stops, they had the most variety of flavors. At Sweet Adeline, we tried the Guinness Chocolate, Red Velvet, and Banana. There were quite a few others, but I was a little late in line and missed some of the other goodies. I snoozed, therefore, I lost.

After the sweetness overload of the two stops, we took a savory break with fried chicken sandwiches at Bakesale Betty. Crispy, spicy, and tasty! There was a ridiculous line that went down half the relatively long block, but it moved quickly. With the sandwich in our bellies, there wasn’t much room for anything else. Still, we pushed on.

The second to last stop for the crawl was Cupkates, but it was our last stop. Cupkates is a cupcakery on wheels, so you have to follow their Twitter account for their locations! They planned out the cupcake crawl where the mobile cupcakes would meet us close by. We tried the Smores, Lemon Raspberry, Pumpkin Spice, and Double Vanilla [pictured below in order].

Yum, but too many cupcakes for the day! Luckily, I learned from my previous experiences with Cupcake Camp, so we shared a lot of the cupcakes. We know better than to stuff our faces with entire cupcakes at once when we need to really conserve as much space as possible.

More photos from the cupcake crawl: here.

An update on the 101 in 1001 list:

041 – Learn to bake edible cupcakes.
I don’t know when I will tackle this one. Amanda says she’ll help me out, so it’s just a matter of finding time. I think that most of my list just requires time and energy. In an effort to broadening my cupcake horizons, I dragged RV with me to Cupcake Camp v2.0. They picked a bigger venue this time, and I think there was more of everything – bakers, cupcakes, and attendees sampling the cupcakes.

It was a madhouse. We didn’t stay for very long, but it was enough. Growing up, I did not eat a whole lot of cupcakes or sweets, so my tastes in cupcakes has been relatively boring. I like ‘em fluffy, not too dry, and the frosting not too sweet.

Perhaps I will submit my cupcakes next time!

More Cupcake Camp photos: here

• getting ready to leave the house for a few hours. soma, then potrero hill, good NIGHT! #
• heading to laughing squid #
• somehow ended up on a party cable car. haha. #
• sleepytime. #
• last night was a blast from the past. wow. #
• thai temple brunch – who’s in? #
• disappointed that i can’t eat a lot anymore. so much good food today. #

• Oh no! LOST is blurry in my room. #
• just got rid of a giant scary ass spider that has been in this room for a few weeks now… the crunchy kind. #
• was first in line for something! http://tinyurl.com/6jnfkh:40f9XsqeHrk3ZBH3LvQqCQ #
• could go for some grease… mmm. curly fries. where can i get those!? #
• will be eating way too many cupcakes this weekend – http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/613266/ – on behalf of others. :p #

• This looks delicious – http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/613266/ #
• 30 additional hangers doesn’t appear to be sufficient. boooo. #

Traveling in a large group AND on one of the busier weekends of the year can lead to a spectacular or craptacular experience. I think it was on the brink of the latter, saved by the appearance of some dear old friends of mine.

Our flight was delayed. We were planning on eating dinner once we landed [which was supposed to be at 7:30]. We landed at around 10:30. By the time we were all set with the rental cars [power went out briefly, and they had to reboot all their computers.], it was already past 11. Needless to say, there were some grumpy folks on board, so we called it a night once checked in at around 1 in the morning. We had dinner at a mediocre Korean place in K-town, and during that brief period of time, my rental had been smashed by tomatoes and gunk. Yea, thanks for the welcome, LOS ANGELES!

Waited until the next morning when we were in Anaheim to clean it off [Thanks L!]. Disneyland was a blast, as expected. How can it not be when you’re in the “Happiest Place on Earth,” right? Some drama ensued over the course of the evening, which resulted in a bit of disappointment and frustration on my end. Luckily, Jeshii and Yayoi were there. Plus, fried chicken soaked in gravy?! YUM.

Sunday was a day to relax. We woke up, grabbed breakfast, and then went for our massages and facials. Met up with Jen there. Lunch was in Thai Town, although the restaurant I had wanted to stop by was closed. We ended up at another, where you would have to make the request for NO MSG. I felt a bit sick after lunch, so I didn’t get to fully enjoy gelato at Scoops. After Scoops, we checked out the Museum of Jurassic Technology – weird, but interesting. I might have been the only one in the group who actually liked the place.

After we stopped by Beverly Hills to load up on cupcakes [which were then subsequently left on BART once we returned to SF - SAD!], we were on our way home. Instead of waiting for our delayed flight to SF, we switched our tickets and went via Oakland. Had some cupcakes on the plane trip back, so at least we got to try them.

It was nice to get away from the city, but perhaps next time, I won’t be traveling with all these people. I don’t need other people’s drama!