I was in Chicago last weekend for the Home and Housewares Show. It was incredible and so fun to come back to the city. I’ve only been one other time and it was very cooold. But thankfully this weekend was filled with unusually warmer weather.
This is a picture I snapped with my phone.
Pretty, huh!
It has a couple of filters applied to it with a photo app I use called Camera+ to post on instagram.
I enjoy taking pics with my phone – it makes snapping quick photos much easier than pulling out my main camera sometimes and you can do so much with them using photo apps. There’s a few iphone photos mixed in this post if you’re wondering why they look a little different.
Here’s the original city shot to see how much you can do with filters right on your phone. Big difference, huh.
I just wish I could use these filters in photoshop with the photos on my computer. That would be cool … and addictive to play with.
The Home and Housewares Show was huge and full of so many exciting products, but it’s only open to the trade. I know. Bummer. Companies display their latest products for buyers and retailers from all over. But I’m not either of those.
I was there for a signing with Chronicle Books who had a booth with some of their cookbooks on display. When they asked me if I wanted to come, I said, heck ya!
I had some unexpected encounters while I was there, too. Michael Ruhlman. Cool! He is really tall. I was on my tip toes. Dede Wilson – She has 13 books under her belt with Karen Tack and Alan Richardson from Hello, Cupcake! Yay! And I got to see Maggy again – and her mom, Pam from Three Many Cooks. Maggy, hope we get to talk longer next time.
This is Judit from Spain. She carves amazing creations … out of fruit and vegetables. She stopped by the booth to say hi and we talked cake pops and she was just so sweet and thankful for her Cake Pops Book that she stopped back by the booth later with fruit and carved these apples in like a minute right in front of us. It was incredible to watch. But that’s just a sample. Check out her work here and be amazed. Yeah, the Alice in Wonderland is one of her creations.
Walking around the show was pretty overwhelming. So many companies and even more products. I wanted to see as much as I could. I had a photographer’s badge, but still, many companies didn’t want pictures taken because their products have not launched yet. So most of the time, I didn’t bother. Here are a few pics that I did take and that were ok to show.
Like these Cuisipro Mini Ice Cream Sandwich Makers. You press down on a cookie or brownie, then use the mold to scoop in the ice cream, and then press down on another cookie or brownie to sandwich it. Easy and super cute. And they’re tiny too which automatically makes them awesome.
Check out these Fat Daddio cake pans. These are already in the marketplace. I’ve talked about these cake pans before. This is a great visual of why I like them so much. So many sizes. And they probably have just as many shapes, too. Plus you can get them in different depths.
Molds. These were at the New York Cake Booth and would be a lot of fun to play with using chocolate. She had a ton of different ones on display.
Chicago Metallic Booth had these baking molds to make brownie bowls. Umm, brownie bowls? Yes. please. I think these will be available soon.
Look at this toaster from Dualit. I need.
I need these, too. Would it be weird to have three?
Check out this new color coming out sometime soon from Kitchenaid. Crystal Blue. Love, love, love it!
They had a couple of mixers on display.
Like just a few.
I wish I could show you everything I saw at the show.
Each booth was like it’s own little store full of stuff. You’d really like it. A lot. But I might go missing if I did that.
Since I wasn’t home to bake, I made sure to get my sweets fix while I was in the city. Here’s a few things I picked up.
Vosges Chocolates. I haven’t broken in to these yet. I’ve been working on a couple of candy bars I bought from there first.
Bacon Caramel Toffee anyone? I should have bought some of this stuff. Dangit.
I didn’t know Magnolia had a bakery in Chicago, but I was excited to find it since I haven’t made it to the one in New York yet.
Their cupcakes are just so pretty.
I want to go to swirl school so I can do that frosting.
Peter and Mike from Chronicle split these with me as a pre-dinner snack. I think the vanilla vanilla was my favorite. Super sweet frosting. Just like I like it.
Chicago also has Sprinkles Cupcakes. Yay! I love Sprinkles because each time I’ve been to one, their cupcakes have been so good.
This time I wanted to try more than just a couple to see if I could find one that wasn’t good. So I took these to the booth to share with the guys and we had a smackdown.
Well, it wasn’t really a smackdown. Turns out there were a lot of winners. Actually, each one of the cupcakes were really good, but a few of them were great.
I’ll tell you my favorites after we sampled all 12 in one sitting.
Fourth place – Banana (top row, second from left)
Third place – Strawberry (second row, second from left)
Second place – this is really tough to say because it’s one of my favorites that they make and I get it every time. But I’m going with Red Velvet. (top row, first from left)
And first place – drumroll, please … The black and white (top row, far right) I’ve had this one a couple of times now and it is fantastic. Fantastic enough to edge out their red velvet.
All the rest were really yummy, too. The Irish Cream, marshmallow, the chocolate cupcakes and the cinnamon sugar cupcake. My teeth hurt thinking about them all.
Anyway, try one sometime. I think you’ll love them.
That’s all of the randomness I have. Hope you enjoyed seeing a little bit of it from last weekend.
I purchased a set of the brownie bowls. Once I got them home I can’t figure out
how to use them. No instructions came with them. Are you suppose to form tight brownie bowls then take them out and then bake them?
Thanks ahead for any help.
Marcia
That’s beautiful :)
to make a “Magniolia swirl”, you can check on Youtube! http://youtu.be/FNtw6uDo3Zw
Wow,,,I am just like gaining calories looking at all these amazing products…what a wonderful website…keep it up!
HI,
i have been making your cakepops for work, and they are a big hit
Hi,
I have been making your cakepops for work and they are a big hit.
someone asked me to make the Sesame St ones for a 1 yr olds
birthday party, i am having trouble using the Wilton edible markers
they will not write for me can you help with this? I can’t find
Americolor anywhere in stores.
someone asked me to make the Sesame Street ones for a 1 yr old’s
birthday. i am having trouble with using the edible makers from Wilton\
they don’t seem to write for me can you help?
WOW! It looks like you had such a fantastic time.
I would have to take a bite out of everyone o f those cupcakes..then it would be too hard to decide which
one was the best. My favorite dessert? Creme Brulee..
crunchy caramel on the top & great souffle on the bottom!
Thanks for sharing your wonderful trip
Hi! If i could only eat one dessert/sweet fr the rest of my life it would be my favorite crepes! I learned how to make them a few years back and I love, love, love how easy, quick and fun they are to cook and eat. I love to fill them with nutella, pb, cream cheese, berries and sprinkles of powdered sugar. I think what i love most is that theyre great for entertaining and when the kitchen is full of happiness there is nothing that can beat that.
I could live on pineapple upside down cake.
wow…the only dessert/sweet treat i would ever want to eat if i had the choice to eat only 1 type would DEFINITELY be my mom’s BAKLAVA – homemade and learned from my yia yia (greek grandmother)…when i was little i remember yia yia making the phyllo and she would roll and roll it out until it was so thin you could see our green plastic tablecloth and any of it’s indentations thru it like it was glass…she and now my mom make the best baklava you have ever had…it truly is an artform…and as i write this i am truly DROOLING to have a taste and since Greek Easter is right around the corner it won’t be long!
AND yes, i sure would love to win that beautiful kitchen aid mixer :) for my mom :)
Sorry I missed you in Chicago. My favorite cookie is my Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.
Did you try the Vosges Chocolates yet, aren’t they just amazing?!?!? My favorite!
Oh my stars!! those mixers!! =) I really want a glass bowl mixer one day… =) and that hot pink toaster…. WOW! I would almost redo my kitchen for that! ha!! =)
How amazing all these pics are. You always make your trips look so fun, warm and caring. You truly are an inspiration to me! Regarding what I’d want for a sweet the rest of my life,
Hummm….Something Chocolate with peanut butter because I could focus on either the sweet, salty or BOTH!
Keep up the amazing work as we love your creativity.
If you make it up to Boston I will have to take you to Sweet (a cupcake place) and Crumbs (another cupcake place). While there are other places, those two are the best that I’ve been to.
Or I’ll just make you cupcakes. Yum!
O my ! amazing!!
Bakerella, so beautiful photoes you have taken, cute cakes, wonderful weekend, I am almost little jealousy on you! jaja
One of each please!
love the pic. Hope I can go next year to one of the shows!
Omg Sprinkles cupckes are the BEST you’ll eat!! My three top flavors are red velvet, coconut, and the black an white!! I need that pink toaster!! Your blogs are inspiring! I’m buying your cookbook tonight :) thank goodness so many people referred u on the amazon site! Xoxo!
Angie,
Plz tell me how you manage to eat so many sweet things and still stay in shape?You look great,i love sweet stuff but struggle with weight.
hurry up and make another post
Bakerella! These pictures are amazing!
Especially the Kitchenaid mixers (:
Looks like great fun! I haven’t been to Sprinkles yet – will have to make that a priority next time I catch myself near one.
This is great! An associate shared this with me this morning on Facebook. Impressive.
are you coming to boston?? if it’s not on your schedule yet.. i think it should be ;)
Michael is my hero! I used to attend that show when I was in licensing! Heck, if I knew you were coming Ida baked a cake! Congrats on all of your successes! Oh, and that Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer wall … O_o
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Now I am sad. I was at the housewares show as a buyer on the storage and organization side and had no idea you were on site and I could have maybe met you. I’ve never been able to arrange to make it to a book signing. I should have ditched my colleagues and spent more time in the kitchenwares side. I did see and drool over the wall of Kitchenaid mixers too, all the pretty colors!
After re-reading this post, I realized I’m the biggest dork! I’m guilty of “reading” posts by just looking at the photos (I’m a visual gal) and totally missed your tip about the Camera+ the first time. So… when I mentioned Camera+ to you last weekend at Disney, I probably sounded like the biggest doofus. lol! Ben (my hubs) just told me about the app and I was pretty excited about it! haha!
So glad to hang out with you this weekend. You’re such a sweet chicka! :)
Vosges is soooo good! but make sure you eat that toffee quick! It goes bad after a little while, a lesson we learned the hard way :)
I wish we had such amazing events in my country as well! I absolutely love your blog! :
XoXo
Plami
http://www.fashionthrill.com/
This is truly inspiring and all those colourful kitchen robots are so cute for sure can inspired you for cooking. Greets http://www.londoninventorycompany.co.uk/Check-out-report/
Brownie bowls? I have to say that again out loud to myself. So many wonderful things you saw but brownie bowls? I’m in love.
Oh, those cupcakes look so pretty!
I’d just like to know, Bakerella, if you’d heard of these: https://www.bakepopspanoffer.com/ They’re called Bake Pops, quite similar to your own cake pops, and I wasn’t sure if these were already on the market before you had created cake pops, or if they were someone else’s invention…
No way! Strawberry is the best Sprinkles cupcake, hands down! I love the Cinnamon Sugar after being heated in the microwave for a few seconds. Yum!
And hello, fuschia Kitchenaid- I’m coming for you. Excellent.
Cute post! Just curious, which Camera+ filters did you use on that photo of the city?
Obsessed with those new colors of KitchenAids, I can’t decide which one I like best!
..can.not.live.without.mini.ice.cream.sandwich.maker…….i need one pronto…there goes my “im gona loose all this baby weight in the next 3 months” plan. thanks alot!
whoa! the cupcakes looks so good hihi! i want to taste it!
perfect for my cupcakes craving hahas!!!
Love the pictures Bakerella! I like the ice cream sandwich makers. They sound like a lot of fun. Funny you mentioned Sprinkles cupcakes, I saw on the news that when ever a Sprinkles store is closed they will have cupcake ATM’s! Isn’t that so funny. I love all of your post and I think you are amazing!
I’ve been living in Chicago for four going on five years and you just introduced me to two places I must go to!!! How did I not know we were the home of Vosges boutiques and a magnolia?!! Thanks for sharing your adventures!
That looks like heaven on Earth! Whoa…I want one of everything….even the things you weren’t able to photograph. ;)
I’ve been eyeing Fat Daddio pans for a while now…it looks like it’s time to break down and buy a few!
Angie – they do have PS Actions that mimic the Instagram filters. They work great and give an almost identical result. http://dbox.tumblr.com/post/5426249009/instagram-filters-as-photoshop-actions
LOVE the pics. I think I know what my vacation destination for 2013 will be!
Lovely pics. I would like the pink toaster ;)
KitchenAid Heaven surrounded by sweets… I don’t think I could ever leave!
That is a great photo that you took of Chicago with your phone.
You really look good in the photo with your hand on your hip. You look like a movie star! You should make that your pose for cameras always, kind of like Angelina with her leg out from the Oscars! HA!
NOOOOOOOOO!!!! I WAS WORKING AT THE DEMARLE BOOTH AT THE HOUSEWARES SHOW ON SATURDAY!!! I CAN’T BELIEVE I MISSED YOU!!! ):
What a fun post – I felt like I was there. Love Chicago, from there and now live just two hours away. Thanks for this post!
The cupcakes look amazing and oh so yummy. What a fun show to be at. Would love to have that Crystal Blue Kitchenaid and a few more other colors:) Glad you had a great time.
Oh how would be it to just pick a mixer based on the mood you’re in?! Or to complement the colors of the foods you were mixing. Oh I’m Jonesing for lots of mixer colors!
I O
Yummy cheery cuteness!!! :D
Brow-nie bowls! Brow-nie bowls!
what a yummy weekend……
Part of me wishes I could have been at that show… But then part of me knows I would have been ejected after having an absolute fit over all those KitchenAid stand mixers. I get excited enough looking at the fancy ones at Kitchen Stuff Plus!
And, oh, do those cupcakes look good. One of these days I’m going to hit a cupcake shop and just go bananas!
Thanks for sharing <3
Very nice pics and enjoyed reading the post!!
1. Great to know about the filter in phone & how it brings a dull photo to life!
2. Holy moly, didn’t know KitchenAid was available in SOOOOOOO many colors!
3. Loveedddd the cake-pan-tower; wish I had a cake looking the tower for my wedding, ha ha.
4. With all these sweets & bakes & desserts that you eat, how do you stay fit??
I love Sprinkles’ KeyLime cupcakes!! I had my first one last summer, I’m even scheduling my next Chicago trip around the time that they’re out, lol.
Awesome post Bakerella! I MUST have the mini ice cream sandwich maker..AND the pink toaster..AND the beautiful blue mixer!! Thanks for all the lovely pictures! :o)
Would love go there someday! But the Brownie Mold love it. I will be looking to buy that little goodie. Thanks for sharing with us all.
I love sprinkles cupcakes the one in Beverly hills has there own sprinkles machine you put $4 in the machine choose your cupcake and out it comes!!
amazing lucky :-)
Thank you so much for the Camera+ recommendation. It really is a great app!
Oh, and I think Michael Ruhlman is completely dreamy!!
Gorgeousness overall! I am drooling at all the cupcakes. Sigh :D
Can’t wait to meet you at FBF ORL :)
Oh Em Gee! I NEED a brownie bowl mold! How have I lived this long without one?!?!
I was in Chicago the same time you were and it killed me to know I could have had the chance to meet you and didn’t get to :(! I also did a cupcake tour and while I have loved Magnolia for quite awhile now, I was unimpressed with Sprinkles, but fell in love with Crumbs Bake Shop! Have you tried their cupcakes?
OMG! I <3 the brownie bowls!!!!!
You taste tested all twelve sprinkles cupcakes in one sitting? I bow down to you! :) I love sprinkles. I think they are way better than magnolias. Magnolias (which I’ve had a few times, being in NYC) are just too sweet, but at least they’re pretty!
Hey girl, you rock!!! thanks for sharing this
Looks like you had a great time & you deserve to. Glad you’re feeling so well
not only can you bake and photograph but you can blog awesome too! Your posts are so interesting!
I just love your whole success story! Thanks for sharing it all with us. It’s exciting to experience some of the fun things you get to do. Keep up the great work! :o)
OMG! My favorite Sprinkles’ cupcake is BLACKandWHITE too!! <3 great tastebuds favor alike!
Thanks so much for the photos! It was was almost as good as being there. :) Let me loose at those mixers!!!
Why can’t i live in America :'( or why can’t sprinkles and everything else cool about America come to the UK?
Dear Bakerella, thank you! When it’s time to leave the office and I want to look at something beautiful just to relax before going back home I check your website and the whole world smiles to me…
I love your pics, I love your texts and you inspire me so much!
Thank you again…
Luisa
I have a Dualit toaster in aqua! It totally completes my kitchen counter look ;o)
Oh I love Sprinkles! And I so want that blue KitchenAid
You saved Molly’s for your next visit, I am sure! Come back to Chicago soon!
Thanks for the pictures :-)
What flavor was the black and white sprinkles?
Yay, another post! I’ve been checking almost every day to see what’s new. I’m becoming a bloggie (blog junkie) of yours. Can’t wait for more recipes – thanks Bakerella!
great to meet you! (you’re taller than you think!)
Just wanted to share a funny story … i was in Target the other day with my daughter and saw your Cakepop book for the first time. I ran over to it with this huge smile on my face and said, “Oh wow – this is the book one of my friends published!” Wait, did I just say on of my friends!? Isn’t it amazing how mush you feel like you “know” someone when you read their blog! Hee hee …
Anyway, it was exciting for me to see your book! Congrats on everything you have accomplished. You are an inspiration!
Did you have the banana bread pudding at Magnolia? That’s the best thing they have!
Wow…… I want everything!
I am from Chicagoland am I am glad you had some good weather while you were in town! It is high 70’s this week – the warmest weather we’ve seen this time of year since the mid-90’s, so it is quite a treat!
I wish so much that I could go to the Home & Housewares Show…looks amazing. Was anything for sale or just looking allowed?
Oh, I need to get my hands on that Brownie Bowl for my Mother-in-Law! I would be Daugher-in-law of the century! The toasters are awesome and all those Kitchenaids!
I would have been in Heaven walking around that place!!! I am a sucker for new stuff!!! Also, all those Kitchen Aide mixers…AWWWWW (cue the music and lights!!)
So cool…I live in Chicago and its great to see you had a nice time. It has been rather warm…a great time to visit!
I loved this post! I would’ve been lost in this show for hours and hours if I’d had the good fortune to attend. Thanks for showing the chocolates and cupcakes – just what a treat! And best of all, it’s great to see you looking so happy and healthy. Yay!
Thanks for sharing! This was a great post with lots of neat pictures! I just love the new mixer color, it is gorgeous. I can’t believe I have lived in Illinois my whole life and never been to Chicago!
It looks and sounds like you had a wonderful time! Little known fact: my first visit to Magnolia bakery in NYC sparked my dream of owning my own bakery. I guess I have them to blame now, huh? :)
It was so nice meeting you at the show and I’m so glad you took photos. Your’s turned out so much better than mine. Glad you enjoyed your time in Chicago!
I just had my first black and white from Sprinkles in Dallas this weekend and it was tasty! I’m on the hunt for the best cupcake and so far it’s between Sprinkles and Cupcakes a la Mode in Kansas City.
Thanks for the peek into the show. It looks like a place I “need” to go!
Ah, how fun! Thanks for sharing with us. I’ve had a brownie bowl mold for some time, and I really need to break it in!
I can’t wait to get my hands on that brownie mold. Better start working out a little longer so I can be ready for it!
Brownie Bowls?!? Holy wow!!
And that toffee is ridiculous in the best way!
i love sprinkles! did you know that that was the first cupcake bakery made?
om my word that looks like heaven, and all those mixers I would be sobbing about not being able to take one home!
Looks like a fantastic time… what a fun adventure to be able to see all the new products coming out! I’m thinking that brownie bowl is on my wish list, the toaster (oh my!) and don’t even get me started on the mixers… seriously, it was a KitchenAid beauty pageant! I’ve never even seen the copper-colored one on the end. Beauty!
Off to check out the instagram App Camera+.
Thanks for sharing and for a fun post!
I want ALL the colors, all the molds, ALL the cupcakes! :D
I cannot believe how amazing that app makes your image of the city! Also how cute are those apples!! Looks like you had a ton of fun :)
http://lilylovelock.blogspot.com/
x
I have to say OMG, despite it being internet chat slang AND despite the fact I do not like it. But… OMG….everyhting looks so very good and cool and all that. I think it’s because of the effects the phones give on the pictures. Looks like you had so much fun, wish I were there! :D
I <3 my Fat Daddio's pans, too!!! :o)
Your posts always make me hungry!!! Everything looks so yummy!! And they also make me want to bake more!!
I am in awe of your pictures. I can’t imagine what a trip like that would be like…wait…yes I can. Tent, toothbrush, clean clothes packed in the backpack, I would not leave there until the very end of the exhibition. Too much to see, too much to see, too little time to do it all. Just fantastic, and your pictures are a testament to it! Thank you for the early morning trip.
I really enjoyed that, ‘seeing’ something I’d not normally see, thanks. :)
Looks like a great time – I love Chicago and hope to go there again. So many pretty things in these pics too! :-)
Oh Bakerella! I so wish that I could go around tasting cupcakes! Dr…ee…eeaa…hhhmmmyyyyy@
CameraBag is a great application you can download to your computer that lets you play with a bunch of custom and pre-made filters! It’s super easy to use and you just need to drag and drop photos onto the window to use!
There is a plug in for PS now that allows you to add Instagram and other iPhone app style filters. Yahoo!
The ones with all the Kitchen Aid colors are like Chef’s porn in my opinion! I could look at them and dream about them and drool over them all the live long day and I’m not ashamed to admit that I want one of EACH of them. Now to build a kitchen fit for a million mixers…hmmm. Thanks for the pics!
That looks like it was so fun!
By the way, I use this website to put filters and fun frames on my photos http://pixlr.com/o-matic/. It works similar to instagram and you can upload a picture to it from your computer or use your webcam!
I think I see a light purple mixer. I want, haha. And I think just for you I will try the Black and White Sprinkles soon. To celebrate getting done with finals :)
I think I see a light purple mixer. I want, haha. And I think just for you I will try the Black and White Sprinkles soon. To celebrate getting done with finals :)
Were you a Vosges virgin??? Because that stuff…woo boy. It’ll spoil ya.
OH MY GOD BROWNIE BOWLS?!! I NEED THAT!!!!
WHOA! I am just drooling over the pictures of all the new things coming out soon, I can’t imagine seeing them in person.
Yes, you do need that Dualit Toaster. It is just perfect for ya!
So glad you had a great time :)
That’s for sharing,
Wonder when all those products will be available in Australia.
I love the new kitchen aid colour.
I wan’t one so bad, but I am only 14 and mum say’s your wasting money.
Thanks for letting me visit the show vicariously!
Wow, the Home and Housewares show sounds amazing. So cool that you got to go! And now, of course, I am craving cupcakes…. darn. I think this is something that might have to wait until morning.
I just tried Sprinkles cupcakes for the first time today! My sister is visiting me in L.A. for Spring Break and we got four different cupcakes to split for dinner — red velvet was our number two choice as well!!
I want a Crystal Blue Kitchenaid mixer now!!!! I have a red one but now I want to switch!
One question: is the frosting on the Magnolia cupcakes purposely dipped in (concave like) to hold the sprinkles on? If so…genius!
here is a youtube video of how to get that magnolia bakery swirl! the key is in the frosting consistency, i think, because when i tried this with store bought frosting, it was too stiff and not as maliable or fluffy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtzYFcl6nHw
I’m so glad we have easy share options at our finger tips. Thanks for sharing your ventures and can’t wait to see what you come up with next. God bless you!!! ????
Handheld Technology is great and it’s so much easier to take yummy pics with our iPhones. I still need to get the hang of all the filters and fancy edit options instagram and camera+ has to offer. I’m so Glad to see you’re doing great. God Bless you!!! Keep sharing all your ventures and creations. ????
I looove Vosges chocolate. You should try their drinkable chocolate. The dark chocolate one is amaaazing! :P NOM
I love sprinkles! I live 90 miles from chicago and sometimes me and my sister drive all the way there just for sprinkles! I love all their flavors but smores is the best!
Looks like a fantastic time! I have yet to try Sprinkles cupcakes. I just haven’t made it to a location close by… yet Maybe an ATM will come my way soon?
Love seeing you feeling and LOOKING GREAT!! Also love being a part of your experiences through your blog~
Thanks for all your love and inspirations! <3
Wow,sounds like an awesome time!
Chicago! My hometown! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Can’t wait to see what you bake next.
That looks so fun! Is it crazy that I’d love to have about a dozen Kitchen Aid mixers in my kitchen in a whole rainbow of colors? Those cupcakes look delish too!
Bakerella, you’re such a talented photographer that even the pics of the mixer hardware makes me drool. Or maybe I just drool anyway. Beautiful photos!