McManness Illustration: First Atlanta Adventure & The Life-Changing Cupcake

Actually, I woke up this morning feeling downright awful. I am my own sauna, a balmy 103 degrees.

But did I let that stop me from having a lovely Saturday in ATL? ...Nope!

One of my professors had suggested we check out YoungBlood Gallery & Boutique, so amidst my sneezes and sniffles, I scribbled my directions and left my coat behind (because it was 70 and sunny!)

Long story short, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the gallery sat on what is affectionately named, "Highland Row": a little stretch of road with galleries, antique stores, and - little did I know the change of destiny I would encounter - Atlanta's best cupcake shop.

YoungBlood was super cool, with a boutique featuring a ton of indie artists in the front, and an open gallery space in the back. A lot of the works featured where line-driven, pop art-y, totally hipster; and I fell in love. After I spent a good, long time drooling, I popped next door to the Antique shop.

I probably spent at least an hour in the antique shop alone. Downstairs were five huge rooms filled with vintage threads, kitchen things, books, and a lot of cowboy boots that had me really, really envious. I spotted a pair of turquoise cowboy boots, but put them (sadly) back on the shelf to the mournful tune of $85. I also discovered an amazing sequin butterfly top, but had to put that back too. I ended up leaving, though, with the perfect trinket: a tea tin in china blue with white flowers. It matches my bathroom perfectly, and I have been needing a toothbrush holder! Destiny!

{ left photo (c) YoungBlood gallery // right photo by me }

I stopped into a few more boutiques before I had a shop owner clue me in to the magical store at the end of the row: the Atlanta Cupcake Factory. "They will change your life", he said. And they did. Oh my goodness. I strolled up to the mint-bluegreen storefront and into a tiny little shop with a single pastry case. It was nearing the end of the day, so there weren't as many cupcakes left, but I chose well.

Vanilla Pumpkin Cake, Eggnog Buttercream Icing,

Sprinkled with Nutmeg.

Just let your mind take that in for a second.

I wish there were words to describe just HOW GOOD this cupcake was. The icing literally melted in my mouth, and the cake was all pumpkin-y, but not too overpowering. I was eating as slowly as I possibly could, pausing to (literally out loud) say, "Oh my GOSH". That's how good it was.

I got halfway through when I realized that it would go perfectly with morning coffee. Since it was already past dinner, I packed up the last half of my life-changing cupcake, tucked it safely in the fridge, and now cannot sleep because I'm thinking about how good it will be.

Also, I stumbled across the Cupcake Factory's adorable video: enjoy!