About this time last year…

I was in Seattle and I had just begun my book tour.

Seattle had so many fun places to visit for cupcakes ^[1].

And not just the kind you eat.

While I was there, I was so excited to stop in and see my friend CakeSpy’s shop ^[2].

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It’s in Capitol Hill and it’s pretty darn cute.

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Jessie, aka CakeSpy, gave me and my friend Julie a warm welcome.

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Her shop is as charming as she is.

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It’s filled with her adorable watercolor illustrations of L’il Cuppie.

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And illustrated magnets, too.

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Plus, there’s lots of other fun cupcake items, shirts and even a cozy gallery space where she features local artists.

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There’s even a Pug named Porkchop.

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They are both as cute as can be.

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Porkchop keeps watch over things from his ice cream throne.

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If you pass by the shop sometime, you might even get to see Jessie at work through the storefront window. See if she still has that cute two-headed deer. Eeek!

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Stop in and say hi if you do. She’ll greet you with a welcoming smile.

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Here she is creating one of her more requested Zombie and L’il Cuppie illustrations. I love how tiny she works. It was so fun watching her do her thing.

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If you’ve been following my site for a while, you may remember CakeSpy from some of my earlier posts.

I first “met” CakeSpy ^[16] on flickr, when I stumbled upon her adorable cupcake drawings and had to have some of my very own.

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These are the first ones she did for me. Yeah, I have several more.

And she’s the one I made this little video ^[18] for. (Check out our other sweet exchanges here ^[19].)

And I’ve been following her with each new adventure.

When she sold her drawings on etsy.

When she went part-time at her day job.

When she quit her job to pursue her passion full-time.

When she opened her adorable shop ^[2] in Capitol Hill.

It’s so great to watch friends fullfill their dreams.

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And now she’s just about to begin her own book tour and celebrate the launch of her new book, CakeSpy Presents Sweet Treats for a Sugar-Filled Life ^[21]. Yay!

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The book has lots of fun little recipes like this one for Red Velvet Cake Shakes.

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And of course the book is sprinkled with her signature illustrations.

Here’s her tour info with a launch party ^[24] at the shop this Thursday.

She’ll be signing books at bakeries, too. Awesomeness!

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Jessie, I’m so proud for you. You deserve all the sweet success that comes your way.

Hugs!