Oprah Winfrey Show

United Airlines Creates Oprah-Themed Plane To Celebrate Her Final Season

Filed under: Wings

It bears her signature but the plane shown above isn't Oprah's personal plane, it's a special Boeing 757 from United Airlines. The company had the plane painted to honor Oprah Winfrey and the final season of her popular talk show.

The aircraft is newly painted with Oprah logos on the nose, tail and the body of the plane (a time-lapse video of the painting is after the jump). Inside, the plane has a specially decorated interior and passengers will be greeted by a video welcome from Winfrey. The plane had its inaugural flight from Chicago where Oprah films her show. During the first flight from Chicago to Los Angeles one lucky passenger was was given enough United Mileage Plus miles for a trip around the world and other passengers received a monogrammed "Oprah 25" fleece blanket. United has also created the United Million Mile Giveaway -- a sweepstakes that will give one million United Mileage Plus miles to one lucky winner each month through May and offers Oprah Store e-cards as additional prizes. The special Oprah paint job will last until Oprah's show winds up next May.

Tags: oprah, oprah winfrey, Oprah Winfrey Show, the farewell season, united airlines cancellations

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Oprah's Angel Network Closing Down

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Charity, Big Givers

With her show set to finish up in 2011 Oprah Winfrey is making some big changes. Her Oprah's Angel Network, a charitable organization that has raised and given away more than $80 million in over a decade, will shut down. As of this week the charity has stopped accepting donations. It will distribute all remaining funds and then close.

Oprah began the charity in 1998 and encouraged both her celebrity friends and her legion of fans to donate money to the charity. She paid the administrative costs so that all funds raised went directly toward the appropriate causes. Nearly 150,000 donors have given money to the network and according to the Angel Network website the charity has awarded funds to hundreds of organizations in the United States and in more than 30 countries around the world.

Oprah's new cable network, OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, will continue to highlight charitable organizations in the years ahead. Oprah's two private philanthropies, the Oprah Winfrey Foundation and the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation will both remain active. The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that Oprah Winfrey donated more than $41 million last year and was ranked No. 25 on The Chronicle's most-recent annual Philanthropy 50, which compiles the total annual giving by America's biggest philanthropists.

Tags: oprah, oprah winfrey, Oprah Winfrey Network, Oprah Winfrey Show, oprahs angel network, OprahWinfreyShow

Sprinkles: The Original Cupcake Bakery

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

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.

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