Pink Cupcake Press Party!!!

The story is really sweet--about how the sisters learned to bake from their Greek grandmother.

Well, there are press events and then there are press events. The one tonight in SoHo was completely awesome, a spun-sugar fairy tale with Moët champagne, chic pink dresses and a full house. The email invite said:

you are invited to a

champagne & cupcake dessert reception

celebrating the grand opening of

GEORGETOWN CUPCAKE

soho

111 mercer street

(between spring & prince)

thursday, feb. 9th

6 pm - 9 pm 

As a food & lifestyle writer, trend watcher and blogger, I RSVPed yes, yes! to the PR firm, New York-based TLCommunications. They kindly let me bring Figgy, too. [Turns out there were also other younger daughters there--in pretty little dresses and hairbands.]

Here's what I loved about this press event:

• A cupcake follower, I've read about Georgetown Cupcake for years, studied the website, wished they were closer. And now they are.
• The event, and the sweet shop, are in SoHo! Which means we passed hip boutiques like Marni, Marc Jacobs and Agent Provocateur on our short walk from the car to the shop--free spot after  6 P.M. right on Mercer! Fig and I love drinking in style, even if at this hour, it was only window-shopping. [After a long wait at Fig's doctor's office, we didn't arrive until 7:45.]
• The famous sisters, Katherine Kallinis and Sophie Kallinis LaMontagne [stars of TLC series "DC Cupcakes"], were there--even their Mom was! Each sister came up to me and Figgy and was warm and charming. Best of all, both were dressed in gorgeous hot pink frothy dresses [one with blocks of beige, one all pink] that were beyond the beyond, so right for this night. Somehow, Figgy too had chosen something cupcake-like--a floor-grazing pink chiffon skirt with rose-strewn sweater, black leather jacket and sparkly pink infinity scarf. On the drive home, we marveled at how much we loved those dresses, and agreed that the sisters were really nice. Katherine had on candy-colored pink pumps; Sophie had beige ones. Both sisters sported beautiful diamonds on their ring fingers. Everything was just so party-pink and happy. Can't lie, very welcome antidote to some dark times for our family [and VERY bad hair day for me].
• The cupcakes! Not just the opulent tiered platters [for looking/drooling] but also the baby cupcakes passed by waiters: Peanut Butter Fudge, Red Velvet, Cookies & Crème and Salted Caramel. They were lovely fairy-sized treats.
• The parting gift. Over the last 29 years, I've been to press events and openings of every stripe,  from a Stephen Sprouse fashion party at Area in the 1980s to a guided tour [for fragrance lovers] of Estée Lauder's beautiful office by her stylish granddaughter and company exec, Aerin Lauder. I've lunched at the Four Seasons and toured Ralph Lauren's showroom to see the new home furnishings collection, leaving with a petite cream velvet pillow. A parting gift is a memory you never forget, but tonight's was so generous. Figgy and I each received a beribboned pink box of six cupcakes, a special NY collection decked with toppers like a green 6 subway logo and a tiny red apple shape. I also received a bag brimming with the sisters' pink cookbook, The Cupcake Diaries, a travel coffee mug, a regular mug with an adorable cupcake theme, a pink gift card for a dozen cupcakes and a pink daily cupcake menu. It doesn't get any sweeter than this. And I mention all this not to gloat but also to illustrate, from a marketing perspective, how every pink detail dovetailed into the overall branding message.
• The excuse to drive into glittery NYC with my Figgy. On the way home, we saw Downing Street in the Village, where Dad's parents, Italian immigrants, had their three sons. I turned left and drove slowly down the narrow, quiet street until we saw the horse's head Dad never forgot, mounted up high on the building that was a stable when he, Aldo and Anthony were boys. There it is, I said to Figgy. Look at it. Your grandfather loved animals, and he grew up seeing that. He always talked about it and remembered it.

Drifting to sleep on a pillow of sweet dreams. Good night.

TCOY

1. Lunch and heart-to-heart talk with friend Elly.
2. Walked Sug around block once.