Sugar and spice, and everything nice...

That's what little girls are made of. And if that's true, then they ought to be treated to one or more of the following:

• A horse (not a pony -- why have a pony when you can have a horse?)
• A cash register complete with functioning barcode scanner
• The Crayola Big Box of 96 crayons
• Legos, and lots of them
• Stickers (preference given to the puffy, sparkly, and scratch-and-sniff varieties)
• Anything from Sanrio (with the exception of Spottie Dottie)

At least my assistant seemed to think so when she was a little girl. These were the most coveted items of her girlhood, consistently making their way onto her holiday and birthday wish lists from ages 5-10. While she had procured quite the sticker collection by the time she reached the second grade (through good behavior and lunch-time trades) and eventually did receive the toy cash register of her dreams, she never did get that horse or big box of crayons with such delicious-sounding colors as Electric Lime and Macaroni and Cheese.

This post is dedicated to anyone who is currently, formerly, or soon-to-be a little girl.

After these bad boys caught her eye, Heather requested a box of vanilla cupcakes for her coworkers' baby shower. Congratulations, Lea and Chris! What better way to welcome a bouncing baby girl into the world than with fluffy vanilla cupcakes topped with pink vanilla cream cheese frosting, a cute little Teddy Graham, and some sparkly pink sanding sugar? All signs point to cute.

Moving from high chair to heels, my assistant whipped up a similar batch of chocolate cupcakes with pink cream cheese frosting (this time flavored with Bailey's Irish cream) for her friend and coworker's twenty-something-eth birthday (oh, the details of that aren't important, and a true lady never reveals her age). Happy birthday, Stef! Why bunnies, you ask? Well, why not?

I can't help but think of all the amazing women and girls in my assistant's life who have helped shaped her into the young lady she is today. Family members, friends, coworkers, and inspiring strangers -- rock on, ladies. Rock on.