sweet inspiration & fun baking ideas

I didn’t bake this weekend. I was in Los Angeles for something super fun. It was a whirlwind weekend that centered around the Emmys. The actual Emmys. Yes, the ones that were on TV Sunday night.

I know. You must be wondering what in the heck was I doing out there –  because I’m still trying to wrap my head around it all, too.

You see Duncan Hines just so happened to be the official dessert sponsor for the Emmy Performer Nominee Reception that Friday before the big event. They set up a glam cupcake lounge for all the nominees and guests and flew a few bloggers to L.A. to cover the festivities for the weekend. And I was lucky enough to be one of them.

It was a red carpet entrance for the stars.

Once inside the party, they had their choice of several fantastic cupcakes, including the Duncan Hines Red Carpet Challenge Winner’s Cupcake as the star attraction. It was a raspberry red velvet cupcake with chocolate ganache filling and my favorite of the evening. The Culinary Institute of America prepared them all for the event.

Caramel Apple Cupcake
Pineapple Passion Cupcake

Elisabeth Moss from Mad Men gazed at them.

Here are the Culinary Institute of America dudes.

And me.

And here’s Aly Walansky and Jennifer James – the other bloggers with me for the event. Aly writes entertainment and beauty and Jennifer has a vast mom bloggers network.

The atmosphere was very casual. Guests mingled and enjoyed great food and desserts. There was also an intimate ceremony for the nominees. They all came on stage to receive their official nominee certificate.

Glenn Close.

Need I say more.

Bryan Cranston from Breaking Bad.

Seth Green.

Julia Ormond who is just stunning, by the way.

And many more.

It was cute … when they were all on stage they broke into song and sang Happy Birthday. Unfortunately I didn’t catch who it was for. But it was really sweet.

Eric Stonestreet from Modern Family jamming on the drums. It really was a great night.

Here’s Dexter’s dad, James Remar and Kathyrn Joosten, Karen McCluskey from Desperate Housewives enjoying the cupcake lounge.

And here’s me with Seth. He took time for a few photos and was a doll.

I debated putting this up, but who knows if I’ll ever get on another red carpet. This is my signature dork pose. If I pose too long to have a photo taken I feel awkward and do this hand in the air, side smile to diffuse the situation. Deeyoork.

Okay, so that was Friday night.

But Duncan Hines was also the sponsor for the Fans in the Stands for the Red Carpet event on Sunday. So we were able to attend that, too.

I was so excited, but didn’t really know what to expect or have an idea how close we would be.

And about here I started to get the bigness of the situation.

Wow. Things were about to get crazy.

Fans.

In the Stands.

We were right on the red carpet in two small, sets of bleachers. Crazy close to the excitement.

Here are the Duncan Hines girls with the Turtle brownies they handed out to everyone in the stands. Yum.

And here’s Katie Rousonelos and her husband, Mike. She won the Red Carpet Cupcake Challenge and won a trip to L.A. for the festivities, too. Yay Katie!!!

By the way, her cupcake was the first time she’s ever entered a contest. Pretty awesome.

They were a sweet couple and so excited to be there.

But it would be hard not to be excited. This was truly something to witness. The fashion. The faces. The energy. It was intense.

Jimmy Fallon was a complete cutie.

And Sally, Kiernan Shipka from Mad Men was just adorable. I think she quite possibly had the best pose of the night. Just perfect.

Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester) from Glee. I can’t believe I caught this split-second shot.

Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester) from duh, Glee – was a crowd pleaser for sure. Love, love, love her.

And Kate. Wow… she should definitely smile more.

David Charvet formerly of Baywatch and now married to Brooke Burke. Hot. Sizzling. Scorching. You’re welcome.

And my man, John Hamm from Mad Men. He has the movie star look down pat.

I thought this was a cute shot. The Glee Cheerleaders when they ran into each other on the carpet.

Betty White. Fabulous.

Toni Collette. Glamorous.

Elisabeth Moss. Glowing.

Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter from Dexter and a great looking couple.

Joel McHale with the kids from Modern Family. Too cute.

Newlyweds and True Blood co-stars Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer were the nicest red carpet couple and let me take extra shots of them.

Eva Longoria working it.

Conan. Love Conan.

The dress. I mean January Jones. She IS beautiful.

Christina Hendricks. Hi Joan! Stunning!

Neil Patrick Harris. What a smile.

And the man. Al freaking Pacino. Booyah.

If you want to see more Red Carpet photos.

Like a ton more photos… Big photos…  then play the slideshow.

After the Fans in the Stands, I returned to my room to watch the rest of the Emmys while I snacked on these. The stars all received these beautiful boxes at the Governor’s Ball after the Emmys.

Thank you Duncan Hines. Thanks for sending me to the Emmy events. The sweet treats. And an experience of a lifetime.

Play the entire 62nd Primetime Emmys Red Carpet Slideshow

There’s a lot. Like 100+.

Enjoy!