In case you don't recall, I heart threadless tees. They're a great purveyor of "uniforms" for Jimmy - he works at a start-up so pretty much awesome tee-shirt & jeans is the standard dress code - and so I always like to check out what's fresh and new. Whenever I end up at the Threadless website I spend way too long checking everything out and well you know, I don't think I'm the only one. You see, the folks over at Loves Threadless love the tees so much that they have started a contest. And it's not just any contest, it's actually a pretty awesome baking contest. All you have to do is find a design you like and then bake/decorate a cake inspired by it. The winners will get a bunch of Threadless gear. Go crazy, but get crackin! You've got until April 27th to get your entries in.

This morning I was at Starbucks during my daily pit stop and I found myself staring at all the pastries in the glass case. As I looked at the large round sugar cookies I thought when was the last time I made classic sugar cookies? Sure I made them around the holidays, but those were different, those were the kind of sugar cookies that you cut out with a fun cookie cutter and festively decorate with colored frosting. The sugar cookie I'm craving are the buttery, soft, chewy big ones that are perfect after a deli sandwich or for an afternoon snack or for a totally unhealthy breakfast (FitSugar is going to kill me when she reads that). Ironically I can't believe we haven't featured a Sugar cookie recipe yet... this is after all, YumSugar. To see if you have to make a trip to the grocery store before you make these scrumptious cookies, read more

My girlfriend Kristen recently asked me if I could help her find a cool flask for her longtime boyfriend Chris. She has been going through some stressful times and he has been so supportive that she wants to surprise him with a small special gift. I asked you to head off to market in search of the coolest flasks around for Chris. The flask had to be functional and sleek, durable and modern to fit Chris' intelligent, super social great guy persona. You saved the flasks in TeamSugar with the keyword tag Cool Flask and here's what you found:

Katherine suggested this classic stainless steel flask that comes camouflaged inside a little book. From the outside the book resembles a Bible and from the inside it's a flask - so naughty I love it!

A few more so read more

Back in January, I told you guys all about how infused liqueurs were all the rage this year. Turns out that I may have actually been on to something. I just found out about a new liqueur called Lichido. It's produced in France from aged cognac, premium vodka, lychee & guava essences, and a "touch" of white peach juice. Personally I want to get my hands on a bottle and swig it down. Has anyone out there tried it? The folks at Liquor Snob say it's worth tracking down. I think it sounds heavenly on its own, but I also found a few recipes. To check them out, read more

Ladies and Gents, were you as disappointed in the Food Network Awards as I was? For having all those big personalities, it was pretty darn dull, don't you think? This picture of Paula pretty much says it all. I had it on in the background, otherwise I don't know if I could have sat through the whole thing. Although, I must say, as much as I was dulled-to-death by it, I was not nearly as irritated as our pal Anthony Bourdain.

The production itself--above and beyond the witless, ill-considered, just-plain stupid "concept" of an Awards show where most of the "awards" went to inanimate objects (accepting the award for Best Comfort Food is...Macaroni and Cheese!!), appliances or cities (Portland's mayor wisely did not bother to show),--the production values--were lower than whale shit. The food styling during the "Best New Appliance" looked like some kind of 1960's themed monkey effluence, dying, soggy, butt-ugly.

And yes, I know, Bourdain's "I totally hate on Food TV" schtick is a little off-putting and old-hat to some, however I still love every scathing word of it.

Did you watch it? What did you think? Tell me about it in the comments! Oh and did anyone else notice that they used the same music that Top Model uses??

And finally, if you want to know who won the metal cake statuettes (even though most of the recipients are inanimate objects), or see more red carpet images read more

While searching the web to find the best wedding planning ideas out there, I came across these personalized wine & champagne labels. You choose from a label template, personalize it with your information and images, and choose the bottle of wine you put it on. It would make for a great anytime gift (favors for your bridesmaids perhaps? housewarming? anniversary?) or as a superb wedding favor (assuming your wedding favor budget is larger, or your wedding is small, half bottles are $10+ each).

Alternatively, you can order the customized labels only from Stoney Creek Wine Press. The price is around 80 cents per label with an additional setup cost starting around $10.

If you went ahead and made yourself a tasty cheese fondue yesterday, you may find yourself with some leftover. If this is the case then you may end up eating fondue again tonight, or you can use it as the base of a casserole, or put it on top of a number of different dishes. However, in honor of National Eggs Benedict Day, I thought it would be fun to make a faux benedict with cheese fondue instead. To check out the recipe (it's pretty simple, just replace the hollandaise sauce with re-heated cheese fondue), read more

Check out this photo that our very own Molly took. She was on vacation in Hong Kong and from the look of things, it seems like she was eating quite well. Her photo of a Peking style duck is a bit disturbing, but I bet it was even more delicious than she said it was.

Do you have any photos from the last time you ate out? Submit them to the Savory Sights Group for everyone to see. Submit before May 1st and you could win your very own YumSugar shirt!

I'm taking on a pretty difficult task this week: planning a wedding. A few weeks ago I threw an engagement party for lucky reader julieulie and this week the wedding talk continues with my inspirational ideas and helpful tips for her wedding. Julie will have a traditional Jewish wedding in Philadelphia on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend in 2008. Following DearSugar's wedding time line, the bride to be should start thinking about invitations at least six months before the date of the wedding. Wedding invitations are incredibly important to setting the tone, feel, and look of your event and when your guests receive a thick beautiful envelope in the mail, they should know that their presence is requested at a very special moment - think of the invite as a keepsake memento. If the wedding is a black tie formal event, it should be reflected in a sleek, elegant invitation with classic lettering. If the wedding is a low key beach party, the invitations can be more playful with seaside motifs. An invitation is about making a grand opening statement, so get artistically creative with your fiance(e) and let your style as a couple shine. Use the colors of your wedding in the paper, font, and detailing and choose a motif or symbol (a flower, your initials, a pattern, etc.) to give each aspect of the invitation a uniform look.

I spoke with my buddy Jake over at Paper Source, a wonderful resource for wedding invitations, and the colors that are hot this year are chocolate brown, bluebell blue, and vibrant red. Currently their best selling motif is a birds and leaf design. Remember that there is more than just an invitation that must be considered. A complete set of wedding invitations include (choose what you want to include inside the envelope with the invite):

• save-the-date cards
• the invitation
• response cards (this is how guests rsvp)
• programs
• seating cards
• place cards
• menu cards
• thank you notes
• directions to the location
• hotel information (if it's a destination wedding)

With wedding stationery, the options are limitless from the paper that you choose to the method of printing. The paper can come in many shapes, sizes, and textures with various glosses, finishes, and weights. Generally the heavier the cardstock, the more expensive the paper. The shape of a traditional invitation is a 4 1/2 by 6 1/4 inch flat card although Jake said that this year the A7 (roughly 7 by 5 inches) and A10 (about 4 by 9 inches) are popular.

The most formal and expensive printing method is engraving when the information about the party is etched into metal plates that are then impressed on the paper. Engraved invitations will have small indentations on the back of the paper along with raised type on the front. Engraving makes a powerful statement with a light colored text on a dark background. Letterpress is an old technique where the type is created by impression resulting with indented words that have a handmade feel. Offset lithography is flat printing that you'll find on standard greeting cards and invitations. This is the least expensive printing technique and can create very modern invitations. Thermography is another affordable option that uses a heat based process and a resin powder to create raised lettering that looks similar to engraving.

Now that we've covered the basics it's invitation making time! To see what I've created for Julie in her light blue, black, and white color scheme, read more