Final Cupcakes from Main Street Cupcakes Rocky River

Today was the last day for Main Street Cupcakes in Rocky River.   Their other locations are in Hudson and Chagrin Falls.   I'm really going to miss them being just around the corner.  There is always online delivery though.

Our friend Ellie joined us today.   Her order is below:

Left to right:

Top row: Chip Overload, Birthday Cake, Red Velvet

Bottom row: Classic Chocolate, Caramel Apple, Wedding Day White

We started off planning to order four, but went with a half dozen instead.   

Top row: Caramel Apple, Coconut Cream

Bottom row: Strawberry Cookies and Cream, Hot Cocoa

The left one is MSC Fluff and right one is Chip Overload.

A Cookie & A Cupcake

It was such a pretty, sunny day today that we stopped by A Cookie & A Cupcake.

Top row: Strawberry and Apple

Bottom row: Salted Caramel and Nutella

The apple one was basically covered in apple pie filling and the core had cinnamon.  The strawberry one was filled with vanilla custard with strawberry pieces.

The salted caramel had salt sprinkles on top.  It wasn't overly salty.   The nutella was today's special flavor.

The frosting is very light and more similar to whipped cream than buttercream.  It is a nice little shop and definitely worth a visit.  Next time we're going to order their sampler tray of all their flavors.

Mary Poppins

We just got back from seeing Mary Poppins at the Beck Center.  Now that is how a musical is supposed to be!  It was dozens of times better than White Christmas!

The plot has changed from the movie version, but all changes are an improvement.  You get a little more background on Mr. Banks, and Mrs. Banks has an internal struggle as she adapts from being an actress to a wife.  The children are naughtier in this version, but Mary Poppins sets them straight.  She's not all sugar and roses, but perplexing and enigmatic which makes her an intriguing character.  
This is a very strong production from the Beck Center and is not to be missed.

White Christmas the Musical

We saw White Christmas the Musical yesterday.  From the season's announcement, I really doubted that I would enjoy it.   White Christmas was exactly what I expected.   It brilliantly shows off the music of Irving Berlin, but as Joe Garry said in the pre-show talk, the plot is cellophane thin.

I am not a fan of classic Broadway musical style.   The plot exists only as a vehicle to bring up more songs.  The costumes are nice, as are the sets and choreography.  However, I cannot relate to any of the one dimensional characters.   There is no major development and they are essentially cardboard cutouts.   The character with the most growth and change is the barn keeper, and he's a running gag character.

If you are a fan of the holiday movie, you will probably enjoy this.  If you're a fan of Broadway shows, you may find this disappointing.   It's optimistic, sweet, and ultimately fluffy.   Every single song is written in a major key.  You will not be burdened by major thinking or heavy plot analysis.  

December Holiday Cupcakes

I stopped by Main Street Cupcakes today and got a couple of flavors.   The red one on the left is December's Flavor of the Month, Ruby Slipper.   It's red velvet cake with champagne buttercream frosting.  The yellow one is Lemon with a Twist, a lemon one with a generous dollop of raspberry filling in the center.   Both were extremely yummy.

They also gave me a mini hot chocolate cupcake for free!   See the tiny marshmallows?

Normally, Main Street has 16 to 20 flavors on a daily basis.  Today, I counted 25, 26 if you count the mini hot chocolate ones.