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Good morning! Today, 12/12/12 is my 33rd birthday! Since 2010 I’ve asked my friends to donate to Grind for Life in lieu of a gift and each year I’m happy to say I’ve raised well over $1,000 for this great organization. This year I’ve already raised over $1,500 but this morning I got the BEST GIFT IN THE WORLD – my wonderful, amazing friend CM Punk is going to match my total at the end of the day!

http://wishes.causes.com/wishes/488688

You can watch my video above to find out why Grind for Life is so near and dear to my heart, and even if you can’t personally donate, help me spread the word by sharing my donation link, this post, the video, however you want to do it.

I have until 11:59pm CST tonight to raise as much as possible! Thank you all so much for your generosity, and thank you CM Punk for being a totally loveable jerk. BEST IN THE WORLD!

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I posted a pretty cryptic update last week about my upcoming trip to NYC, but I just got the go-ahead from The Cooking Channel to share the real story with you so here goes: I’m going to be on The Perfect 3!

My Vegan Banana Bread French Toast Cupcake was chosen in the cupcake category so I’m headed to New York in a few days to shoot my segment for season 2 of the show, which kicks off in May.

I don’t have that green and black checkered dress from Cupcake Wars anymore – so things might get crazy! I was thinking about setting up a Hangout on Google+ so you guys can chat with Mike Edison, Melisser and myself while I’m there.

I’m super stoked to get back to New York and eat all the bagels and, of course, to have this opportunity.

And hey – while I have your attention, have you voted for my Vegan Chai Koala Cupcake yet? If I win the $2,500 travel voucher I’m going to donate it to Grind for Life so you should probably GO VOTE NOW and every day until Feb. 12th!

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I don’t normally post begging you guys to help me win contests, but I’m doing just that today because I’m hoping to win, and donate the grand prize to my favorite charity.

I recently entered my Vegan Chai Koala Cupcake in the Celebrations.com Cupcake Crown contest. The grand prize is a $2,500 travel voucher furnished by Wyndham Vacation Rentals and I want to win it for Grind for Life.

Grind for Life is a non-profit organization that provides financial assistance to people with cancer (and to their families!) As much as I would love to win a $2,500 travel voucher for myself, I want to win one for them even more. They can use it however they choose – to send a deserving family on vacation, or as a fundraiser to help even more people with cancer.

So please CLICK HERE and vote for my entry every day! You can also use the share buttons and remind everyone you to know to vote! The contest ends February 12th. Thank you guys so much!

PS If I win one of the other prizes I will find a way to donate it, even if it means auctioning it off!

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Photo by Courtney Ivo

I have some news & updates to share and I figured I’d stick them all in once place so you can ignore them all at the same time rather than having to ignore several tweets and Facebook updates.

First of all, I’ll be in New York City and Miami next month and hoping to see some of you guys while I’m in both places. the New York trip is kind of whirlwind (I really can’t wait until I’m allowed to say what it’s all about – follow me on Twitter to find out!) but the Miami trip is 6 days so that should leave me with some hang out time. Check out the Facebook events – I’ll be posting updates to where I am in each city on those pages: New York & Miami

Also, tomorrow (Jan, 28th) is my mom’s birthday! I’m taking her to get her first tattoo (Morrissey lyrics – jealous?) and we’re having dinner at Mana Food Bar because in addition to being a Morrissey fan, she also recently went vegetarian! Yay mom!  If you’re on Twitter you can wish her a happy birthday tomorrow – she’s @bossylynne

Did you happen to see my business partner Katya and I in Crain’s Chicago Business earlier this week? Well, you can check it out on the Greyslater blog. Also, there is apparently a picture of me in Inked Magazine this month – who knew? Check out my Press Page for more unattractive bragging.

Finally, I would like to cordially invite you all to Mat Arluck’s Birthday/Arluck Time DVD Release Show! Back in 2010 we all got together to celebrate the life of our friend Mat, which was cut short by his battle with cancer. We raised a bunch of money that night for Grind for Life, and the whole thing was documented in this DVD! If you’ll be in the Chicago area on February 4th get your tickets and come on by. Just like in 2010 I’ll be heading up a 100% non-profit bake sale featuring vegan and conventional treats, not to mention exclusive Bake and Destroy accessories made by Lucky Cupcake Hairclips. And of course, like last time, ticket sales, raffles and other stuff will all benefit Grind for Life.

Thanks for reading my update! (Oh and a special thank you to everyone who has written me such sweet, supportive emails over the past year since my dad’s passing. I write back to each one of you, but I just wanted to say again how much it means to me that you take the time to do that.)

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I’m very excited to tell you guys that I’ve teamed up with Lucky Cupcake Hairclips to create these limited edition Bake and Destroy hair clips benefitting Grind for Life! Lucky Cupcake is the only shop aside from my own where you’ll find official Bake and Destroy items and Joy is donating $2 from every bow sold to my favorite non-profit in honor of my birthday wish to raise $1000 for Grind for Life.

As cute as these are clipped in your hair, I also use Lucky Cupcake Hairclips to cute up my purses and headbands – I even clip them onto the straps of my tank tops. For more inspiration, check out the Lucky Cupcake Facebook fan page.

For more about Grind for Life and my birthday wish, check out my video:

I hope you all have a relaxing Thanksgiving week end! Still looking for recipes? I pulled together some of my favorites here. And don’t forget to enter my whoopie pie giveaway! XOXO

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No, I am not pregnant. Don’t even think about it. But my friend Jessica’s co-worker is, and all she’s been wanting is yellow cake with chocolate frosting. 3rd grade birthday party style. When Jess tasked me with the job of making a pregnant lady happy I went straight for Billy’s Vanilla Vanilla cake – my current favorite “yellow” cake recipe.

A while back, Candace Nelson from Sprinkles Cupcakes gave me some Callebaut dark chocolate nibs – and having just had another baby herself, she was on my mind while I baked – so those became my dark chocolate butter cream. The preggo had also mentioned wanting something “crunchy” so I thought back to my pregnancy cravings and rolled the frosted cupcakes in crushed potato chips. From what I read between Jess and her friend on Twitter the cupcakes were a success. And I think I have a new favorite chocolate frosting, Sprinkles’ dark chocolate frosting.

For the frosting you’ll need:

(Makes enough to frost 2 dozen cupcakes)

• 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate , chopped
• 1 pound unsalted butter , at room temperature
• 1 pound plus 8 ounces powdered sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Then you:

Melt and cool chocolate (I rig up a double boiler with a glass bowl and large pot.) Beat butter until light and fluffy. With mixer on low speed, gradually add powdered sugar. Add salt, vanilla and sour cream and mix until very smooth. Add melted, cooled chocolate and mix until just incorporated.

In other news, it’s almost my birthday (ok it’s December 12th, but that’s close right?) and I’ve started fundraising for Grind for Life again. Last year I was able to raise over $1000. I’ve already raised $425 to date and as of today I have 22 days left to try and beat last year’s goal. You can donate as little as $10 and it all goes to Grind for Life – a non-profit that provide financial assistance to cancer patients and their families when traveling long distances to doctors and hospitals. Please consider donating if you can, and if you can’t give money, you can help by spreading the word about my birthday wish on Twitter and Facebook!