Category Archives: me

me, television

Darkest Before The Dawn

Last night’s episode of "Mad Men" showcased two new employees. Dawn is the new secretary for Don who is basically an affirmative action hire that happened because of a want ad that "blackfired". It is funny that her name is Dawn since it would make watercooler chatter interesting for people besides Harry Crane. While I don’t expect "Three’s Company" hijinks to ensue; I have a feeling Don and Dawn’s names might get mistaken for each other in a subtle way. Roger Sterling’s joke, "darkest before the Dawn" went over like a lead balloon and Peggy ignored it as they were talking about the new copy writer.

The other new hire is Michael Ginsburg who came off as so stereotypically Jewish that even my friend David rolled his eyes. He was anxious and weird during his interview with Peggy. Hopefully his character will be more developed as the season goes and he gets a better wardrobe.

I feel for Roger Sterling when he asks, "When will things get back to normal?".

Michele Norris of NPR was prescient when she said in an interview that the country today is most racial, not "post racial".

I don’t know about this "new normal". Talking about race requires nuance that can’t be easily storyboarded and slapped on an ad.

Judge lest you not be judged.

Sent from my Android,
Nichelle Stephens

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Does Having A Dog Signify You Are Relationship Ready?

When I notice a trend, I often wonder if it is significant or just a convergence of coincidences. BTW, is there any research being done on cultural trends through the prism of particle dynamics?! I failed physics in college but I think I would have aced it if was taught using pop cultural analogies.

Anyway, I have noticed more of my single lady-friends and/or women getting dogs. The dogs are not little ones that you carry in a designer purse. (Paris Hilton, no one likes you.)

No matter how low maintenance these dogs are, they still more attention and care than a cat. Their owners are busy NYC women who go to work and attend events. I think about something Erica Reitman said to me once when leaving a bar to walk her dog, "Having a dog makes you a better person".

That may be true but does having a dog mean you are relationship ready? The nightly partying has to curbed if you have a dog because you have to walk your dog. It also means you actually walk which is good for your health. If you frequently go to a dog park, then you socialize with other dog owners. Some of them you may want sniff and date. Woof!

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Nichelle’s Year In Review

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First, I want to say that subsequent “year in reviews” will be easier thanks to Facebook Timeline, Photojo’s Time Capsule and Timehop.

GPOYM

January, I froze my ass off. There was lots of snow. I spoke at Long Island Social Media Club, and was featured in a NewsDay article about social media and business.

Blogging While Brown February Meetup
In February, I organized a Blogging While Brown Meetup at Bier International in Harlem.

Pictures from SXSW
In March, I went to SXSW with a press pass. I also was quoted in an Entrepreneur article about cupcakes.

me at tea Ritz Carlton
I went home to Atlanta for Easter, and my sister and I had tea at the Ritz Carlton in Buckhead.

Cupcake Craft Night At Etsy Labs

I organized our fourth annual Cupcake Craft Night at Etsy Labs in May. We made polymer clay jewelry and we had a big crowd. Also Rachel and I went up to Gardiner, New York to judge the Gardiner Cupcake Festival.

TECHmunch NYC photos
In June, I co-produced TECHmunch NYC with Babette Pepaj. Also, Cupcakes Take The Cake hosted our annual picnic in Central Park.

2011 Philly Vendy Awards

In July, I traveled down to Philadelphia for the Philly Vendy Awards. I had a blast! I also went to Montreal in mid-July. It was my first trip to Canada and first time using AirBnB.

@raquelita and me on a ship!
Rachel and I went on a tour of Celebrity Cruise ship, The Summit, as we doing a Cupcake Cruise in August 2012.

Thursday!
Just a photo of myself wearing blue eyeshadow in August. I also spoke at Berkeley College in downtown in late August about blogging and social media.

Bracelet Styling
I love this trio of bracelets. I also try to take more photos in natural light.

Nicole and Nichelle
I volunteered all year long doing social media for the Vendy Awards and the event was in September. Here’s a photo of me with Nicole Taylor. I also spoke at Rochester Institute of Technology at a social media conference.

Jesse Jackson Birthday Event in #Detroit
In October, I met Jesse Jackson while in Detroit visiting a cupcake bakery business, Just Baked.  I also won the Casserole Crazy Cookoff with Patrice with a winning casserole of a cheeseburger casserole.

Smuckers Socks
In November, I went to Orrville, Ohio for the Smucker’s Blogger Conference. I had so much fun, and learned a lot.
I was also in Upscale Magazine in an article about cupcakes.Me in Upscale Magazine
I was also in the November of Upscale Magazine in an article about cupcakes.

Me at the #CTTC7 Raffle
Cupcakes Take The Cake celebrated our 7th anniversary of cupcakes blogging.

This year has been challenging with two moves and two deaths of loved ones. Also, money has been tighter as I keep hustling to make ends meet. I would like a full-time job doing what I love. I would love to lose about 50 lbs. I would love to connect with a man who can I share my life with. I’m ready for 2012! It may not be better, but it will be different and new. Happy New Year!

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12 Tips for Better Networking

Digging through notes from my oldYahoo account, I found this.  It’s tips from a class I took nine years ago, and it is still relevant today.

  1. See Yourself as a resource for others.
  2. Seek common personal and professional interests.
  3. Balance the amount of time you talk and listen
  4. Introduce yourself to ‘people of influence’.
  5. Join other conversations already in progress.
  6. Introduce colleagues to help them increase their contacts.
  7. Offer and seek referral when you feel it is appropriate.
  8. Circulate and talk to as many people as possible.
  9. End your conversations on a positive note and ask for the person’s business card or way to stay in contact.
  10. Promptly call or send information to a contact after the event.
  11. Follow up periodically on all your networking contacts.
  12. Help others achieve their professional or personal goals and they will think of you when they or someone they know needs your skills or service.
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Hot Grease With Nicole Taylor

peppers at Roberta's garden

Today I had the pleasure of being on Nicole Taylor’s show on Heritage Radio Network, “Hot Grease“. We talked and laughed about the latest news in food and hot food topics. The radio studio is in a recycled shipping container in the back of Roberta’s Pizza in Bushwick. There’s a garden and I took a picture of the peppers growing in the backyard.

After the show I ordered the Speckenwolf pizza. I love Speck. It is the bacon of fancypants.

BTW, Nicole and I will be down in Atlanta in December for Lavish. I will be moderating a panel on food trends.

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Blog World Expo: Fun, Fun, Fun

Techmunch "Curating Content" Panel
I really enjoyed my first Blog World Expo. It was great to meet new people and learn tips on how to make my blogs and social media better. Thanks to Babette Pepaj founder of BakeSpace for producing TechMunch Food Track and for Jenn-Air for providing the demo kitchen.

Things I loved about Blog World:

  • Thanks to Babette of BakeSpace for inviting to come and speak. It was fun!
  • Meeting my fellow Techmunch panelists–LA Time’s Rene Lynch, LAist’s Lindsay Williams-Ross, and TechZulu’s Amanda Coolong. Our panel rocked!
  • Seeing old NYC friends who now live in LA– Jayme Waxman and Tara Settembre.
  • Eating lots of steak and shrimp at the Omaha Steaks event. Lovely talking to Todd Simon.
  • Getting a hop scotch (butterscotch) cupcake from Kari Haskell of Retro Bakery. She’s cupcake royalty in Las Vegas.
  • Meeting Manouschka Guerrier (Single Serving) of Food Network’s Private Chefs of Beverly Hills.  She’s a blogger and celebrity chef.
  • Seeing Scott Hanselman’s presentation, “32 Ways To Make Your Blog Suck Less“
  • Recognizing Brett Erlich at the Techmunch dinner as the host of Rotten Tomatoes on Current.
  • Lovely tasting of sashimi, short ribs, octopus at Yellowtail. Thanks Light Group.
  • Thanks Pop Chips for a basket of potato chips. I ate a lot of chips.
  • Meeting Edouard Lambelet of Paper.li.  I wonder if Geneva has a burgeoning tech scene.
  • Being interviewed by Sam Smith of Restaurant Business Magazine at the Pepsi booth.
  • Getting on stage to sing “Don’t Stop Believing” with a bunch of techies at the Palms. Thanks Mashable.
  • Hanging out with Erik Trinidad (Fancy Fast Food) and his buddy Terrence. Brooklyn Represent!
  • Tip from Aaron Aviles: when traveling, take a photo of your hotel room number with your phone, so you know where to sleep when you get back after a night of partying.
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I’m On The Samsung Homepage

Me On The Samsung Website

Last fall, some of the contents of my purse were stolen including my old Canon digicam. I later bought a pink Samsung camera. A few months ago, Jaeger Sloan asked me to bring my camera to a Spot Dessert Bar and take some pictures. It was so much fun and very meta to have Sloan take pictures of me taking pictures of cupcakes. The result of the photo shoot is that I am featured on the homepage of Samsung. Click on the fourth to the last dot and you will see me.

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Coney Island, Governor’s Island and Brooklyn Backyards

coneyisland 015

Saturday, the Brit and I went to Coney Island to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Wonder Wheel. We didn’t ride it. I craved funnel cake so I got it. It was a little windy so powdered sugar was flying all over me. I couldn’t finish it. Funnel cake smells way better than it tastes. Sunday, we went to Governor’s Island for Parked!, a food truck fest. It was poorly organized and most people spent more time “parked” on line than eating. Luckily, we escaped to Flatbush Farm and had a fantastic dinner. Afterward, we watched the best “Mad Men” episode. Monday, we had brunch with friends at Lupes and later went to Kara’s for a fun cook-out. I made pizza pitas on the grill using fresh mozzarella and Scarpetta marinara sauce. They were delicious!