BarbraStreisand

Sprinkles: The Original Cupcake Bakery

Filed under: Dining

Los Angeles, Ca.-based Sprinkles has been nominated for a Readers' Choice Award for Best Cupcake.

Sprinkles is a favorite of Hollywood stars from Tyra Banks, Russell Crowe and Paris Hilton to Katie Holmes, Oprah Winfrey and Teri Hatcher, all of who proclaim love for the sumptuous treats. "I love Sprinkles Cupcakes," says Banks. "I am addicted to them." Ryan Seacrest is a fan, too. "These are not just cupcakes, they're a lifestyle," he says. Barbra Streisand once sent a box of Sprinkle's cupcakes to Oprah Winfrey. Oprah enjoyed them so much she ordered enough to share with her entire studio audience. Sprinkles is also known for its star topped variety served at Oscar parties.

Luxist readers describe the cupcakes this way:

"Amazingly delicious and beautiful with a variety of flavors."
"The best cupcakes anywhere! Long lines, but worth the wait. Their butter with vanilla frosting will change your life."
"The original luxury cupcake store."
"Their entire range of flavors is executed masterfully, from classics like Red Velvet to more exotic editions like chai latte. The cake is light and not too sweet with rich frostings that balance each other perfectly."

Company founders Candace and Charles Nelson opened the first Sprinkles in Beverly Hills in April 2005. People thought the couple were crazy to open a cupcakes-only bakery in the middle of "thin city" at a time with low carb mania was at its peak. Despite naysayers, they sold out within hours of opening, and sales haven't slowed since. Today, Sprinkles is known as much for its long lines and devoted fans as for its delicious cupcakes. Sprinkles is credited with inspiring a national cupcake craze as reported by the New York Times, USA Today, the Today Show and Nightline.

Gallery: More from Sprinkles

Sprinkles evokes the memory of European bakeries flooded with the smell of baked goods and awash in natural light, with a modern touch. Its cupcakes are baked in small batches throughout the day, so that they will be as fresh as possible for Sprinkles' devoted customers. The cupcakes are handcrafted from the finest ingredients, including sweet cream butter, bittersweet Belgian chocolate, pure Madagascar Bourbon vanilla, fresh bananas and carrots, real strawberries and natural citrus zests.

Sprinkles offers more than 20 tantalizing flavors (15 or so of which are on sale on any given day), from simple vanilla to creative chai latte. Topped with Sprinkles' trademark modern dots, rich chocolate sprinkles from France or seasonal sugar decorations, Sprinkles Cupcakes are perfect for occasions of any kind.

Sprinkles' famous gift box is a sleek rectangular box that holds one dozen freshly baked cupcakes. The bakery also offers a tray, produced by Heller in a variety of colors, that fits right into the gift box and can be kept to display the cupcakes.

Sprinkles also offers signature cupcake mixes in red velvet, vanilla, dark chocolate and lemon. The mixes are made from the same high quality ingredients used in Sprinkles bakeries and are complete with Sprinkle's trademark modern dots. In addition to Sprinkles shops, the mixes are sold at Williams-Sonoma's 250 stores nationwide and in Canada.

Its original store is two blocks west of Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, but today, Sprinkles has six additional locations in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Newport Beach, Scottsdale and Palo Alto. More locations will be opening soon in Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Denver, Kansas City, London, Las Vegas, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, San Diego, Seattle, Tokyo and Washington, D.C.

Vote for the company you believe makes the best cupcakes. Readers' Choice Winners will be announced on March 1st.

Tags: awards-main, Barbra Streisand, BarbraStreisand, best cupcake, BestCupcake, beverly hills, BeverlyHills, candace nelson, CandaceNelson, charles nelson, CharlesNelson, katie holmes, KatieHolmes, luxist-awards, oprah winfrey, Oprah Winfrey Show, OprahWinfrey, OprahWinfreyShow, oscars, paris hilton, ParisHilton, russell crowe, RussellCrowe, ryan seacrest, RyanSeacrest, sprinkles, sweets-main, teri hatcher, TeriHatcher, tyra banks, TyraBanks

Barbra Streisand To Auction Off Personal Belongings

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Celebrity Shopping

Julien's Auctions specializes in celebrity auctions and their latest, while not as out-and-out dazzling as the canceled Michael Jackson auction, will still attract a bit of attention- a massive sale of the belongings of Barbra Streisand. The legendary diva's goods will be sold at a live and online auction at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California on October 17th and 18th. All proceeds n will benefit the Streisand Foundation, which aids humanitarian causes worldwide.

The sale of over 400 lots will offer personal belongings, costumes, memorabilia from her career and items from her various collections that include Oriental rugs, Arts and Crafts period furniture, Native American baskets, paintings and photographs. The sale A preview of the collection will travel to England on Cunard Line's Queen Mary 2 in August and highlights will then be exhibited at The Museum of Style Icons in Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland September 1st – 13th. The collection will wind up in Beverly HIlls for a full public exhibition at The Beverly Hilton from October 10th – 16th prior to the auction. The hardbound catalog which features photographs of items as they appeared in Barbra Streisand's various homes in New York City, Beverly Hills, and Malibu.sells for $100.

[Thanks, Lana]

Source

Tags: auction, barbra streisand, BarbraStreisand

Sandy Gallin Lists Bel-Air Mansion for $32 Million

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

L.A. talent manager Sandy Gallin, who has represented divas like Dolly Parton, Barbra Streisand and Michael Jackson, has listed his mansion in Bel-Air (above) for $32 million. Gallin, a serial property flipper, intended for this, his 42nd house project, to be "a place to wind up and stay," but found the estate "too big and too lavish for me," he tells the Wall St. Journal. The mansion was built in 1936 by architect Paul Williams, and Gallin purchased from the estate of award-winning actress Jane Wyatt two years ago for $8 million.

He planned to tear it down and build a modern monstrosity but the city refused to grant permission. Instead Gallin restored and enlarged the existing house boosting the square footage to 12,000 with seven bedrooms and 12 baths. The Real Estalker adds that there's an entire wing devoted to a master suite with dual baths, and the living room opens onto a "living lounge" with a covered porch, cobblestone floor and fireplace. Also inside are a billiards pub, a glass-encased wine room, a media room, a gym, a yoga studio, steam room and a swimming pool.

Tags: Barbra Streisand, BarbraStreisand, Bel-Air, celebrity, Los Angeles, LosAngeles, mansion, Sandy Gallin, SandyGallin