This morning, I tweeted that I felt like giving away cupcakes. Got a variety of responses. “Give me free cupcakes!” “I’ll take ‘em!” “Drop them off to my house!”

But this DM from Rick Murray was hands down a win-win:

D foiledcupcakes: I’ll buy a dozen cupcakes for the next five people to donate $100 to Haitian relief via the Red Cross. (email proof req’d)

My response:

D rickmurray: wow! i’ll throw in an additional dozen. so 2 dozen cupcakes to the next 5 people who donate $100 to haitian relief via red cross?

So there you have it. Donate $100 to the Haitian relief effort through the Red Cross. You’ll get 2 dozen cupcakes. Simple. Easy. Fun.

Forward your confirmation to info@foiledcupcakes.com. We’ll touch base with you to work out all the details. You’ll get two free ”Dozen of our Favorites” (an assortment that we pick, but you’ll love!) delivered anytime, anywhere within our delivery region, in the next two weeks.

Use them for office meetings, parties at home, gifts, whatever. Just donate!

Don’t forget, you can also text “Haiti” to 90999 and donate that way if you’re not into cupcakes.

By the way, #rickrocks. Thank you, thank you, Rick Murray!

- Mari

Way back in May, Jeff (one of our Twitter friends in Springfield, MO) tipped his wife off about this new cupcake company in Chicago that was just starting up. And two days later, I got an email from The Food Channel asking for an interview.

Of course, we said, “For sure!” And even though we barely had a functioning website and were just figuring out what we were doing operationally, somehow they managed to make us look good. (Thanks, Nicole!)

So here are the videos from the storage vault (or from YouTube) - with the disclaimer that our Executive Pastry Chef was 2,000 miles away, I got no sleep the night before, still forgot to pack my hair straightener (and concealer, obviously) in my bag, AND it was crazy raining that spring day. CRAZY raining.

Other than those above things, feel free to judge all you want.

Here I am talking about Twitter:

And then talking about Foiled Cupcakes’ flavors:

And discussing the cupcake trend:

P.S. I still love my mom.

… in our Baby Carrot Cake! Effective now.

And that is all.

(Thanks for your feedback in our Facebook and Twitter polls!)

-Mari

Here’s my recap of IDEA Conference 2009 from a non-UX perspective:

1. I met a lot of great people. UX people are shockingly fun. I say that with all the love in the world. I thought they’d all be uber nerdy. Lucky for me, I was TOTALLY wrong.

->1a. Everybody should hire a UX professional to review their website for usability, function, and beauty.

2. I discovered that there are lots of things about Toronto I haven’t experienced. But walking around for miles kilometers in 4″ heels? Yes, I’ve done that. (See photo of my feet wincing in pain, courtesy of @russu.)

3. The dollar store across the street from the nail place we went to on Yonge Street sells flip flops with the word “babe” (not “bebe”) embossed in rhinestones. They’re $1.49, so not an actual dollar, but worth every penny over the $1.00. (See #2.)

4. Apparently, bribing people with cupcakes from Miss Cora’s Kitchen (69 Kensington Avenue, Toronto, ON, CANADA) is enough for them to create their own cult Social Media Fan Club for Patrick Swayze.

Thanks for hosting us, Toronto, and thanks for inviting me, IDEA09! You’re a bunch of beavers.

-Mari

P.S. If you’re interested in a fo’ rizzle recap of #IDEA09, check out blogs by Whitney or Luke.

I know there’s an explanation needed, but I don’t have much time, and I wanted to get it out there before I forget:

A mani/pedi experience with a bunch of usability experts. Male : female ratio: 4:4. That’s right. Nails for males.

I’ll do a recap on the IDEA conference (from a novice’s point of view) in a few days. Once I’ve had a chance to recover.

- Mari

Hi, DailyCandy Kids Readers:

Lots of fun things in Celebration Sensations today, huh? We think so, but we’re a little biased.

Anyhow, onto the good stuff.

Place your order for a minimum of 2 dozen cupcakes by Saturday, 9/19 for delivery anytime between Monday, 9/21 and Wednesday, 9/30. (You know you have something to celebrate between now and then, don’t you?) We’ll throw in a free 4-pack of our upcoming fall seasonal flavors - so new and so fresh, we haven’t even named them yet. But ohmygoodness - Jocelyn did an amazing job with these recipes (as always):

Spiced Pumpkin

Pecan Pie

Chocolate Pomegranate Ginger

Apple Streusel

When Amy (our super savvy and super rockin’ Order Coordinator) calls you to confirm your order, she’ll ask how you heard about us. Say “DCK” and you’ll be among the first to try our seasonal flavors.

Yum.

Remember, we deliver anywhere in Chicago city, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, and Will Counties. Minimum order is just one dozen cupcakes. You can order online. And feel free to mix and match between our 20 flavors which are available every single day. Oh, and we deliver to residences, office buildings (think: work party!), hotels, beaches, wherever.

Just click, relax, and wait. Our cupcakes will be personally delivered to you just the way you want them.

Thanks for checkin’ us out. Hopefully we’ll get a chance to check you out sometime soon, too.

Happy almost-fall, happy DailyCandy Kids day, happy Monday!

xo - Mari

Not gonna lie. I’m having a tiny panic attack over the next few days. Well really, the next 12 hours.

Today’s the day we officially hire 4 more people.

Today’s also the day that I head to Toronto to meet up with the folks at the IDEA Conference.

And finally, today’s the day Foiled Cupcakes is featured in DailyCandy Kids. (They say we should expect only about 7,000 site hits over the course of the day. Let’s hope they’re right.)

When it rains, it pours. Wish us luck. (And on a side note - Cutler: four interceptions. REALLY?)

-Mari

P.S. - Thanks, kid of Facebook Fan Marla, whose face appears in this blog post.

We’re hiring at least three (that’s right - count ‘em - THREE!) more delivery people in Chicago city.

About you:

We:

Interested in working with us? Send your cover letter AND resume by Wednesday (that’s TOMORROW!) to Iris:

Email: info@foiledcupcakes.com
Subject: I won’t eat the cupcakes while I’m driving them around. I SWEAR.

If we’d like to meet with you, we’ll call you in the next 36 hours. We’re going to be interviewing on Thursday morning between 9-12 noon in Chicago. (That’s in TWO DAYS). We’ll need you to be ready to start this weekend. Yeah, that’s soon. But if you want it, well… that’s how it works.

No phone calls, please! We want to make sure we continue to service our phone customers exactly the way they deserve.

Thanks, everyone, for your continued support of our growing business. WE APPRECIATE YOU!

xo - Mari

So our most FAQ is, “What in the world is a Quippie?”

The concept/execution came to us AFTER our initial photo shoot. So that’s why they’re not included in the pictures you see online. (D’Oh!) But most of the people we talked to like the idea, so we implemented it.

Well, it’s a fortune of sorts. A tagline of cupcake humor. A little “haha” before you bite in. (Our copywriter wrote them. They’re funny.) Every cupcake comes with our standard line of Quippies.

“See? Carrots CAN taste good.”
“Any frosting on your nose is just leftovers for later.”
“We’ve been eyeing you too.”

But sometimes, people want something a little more personal.

We got our first custom Quippie order back in May for a 30th birthday party. It was for a nurse who’s originally from Texas. She’s also a mom to Ethan and an eternal sorority sister. So here are some of the Quippies we put into these specially made, individually boxed cupcakes for this Designer Event Chicago soiree:

“Save some for Baby E.”
“Nurse! I need a cupcake STAT!”
“You know you’re from Texas when . . .”
“LML. It’s a sorority thing.”
“Happy 30th to the Hostess with the Mostess!”

So that’s what a Quippie is. Fun, huh?