Trophy, Bliss, and Yelp

I’ve discovered a new addiction. The reviews of local business on Yelp.com have me completely obsessed. Have you visited this site? It features consumer write-ups of all sorts of enterprises. Anyhow, on Sunday night I was surfing around looking for day off/Monday haunts when I stumbled upon Trophy Cupcakes.

Located in the charming but underutilized Wallingford Center, this place was dreamy. Jeff and I shared a Triple Chocolate and a Red Velvet. Rich, moist, as good as the best cake I’ve tasted. Points for charming décor too.

Next on our agenda was Bliss Soaps on Capitol Hill. We used to buy all of our soaps from Phil at Bliss when he had a little cart in Northgate Mall. I just recently rediscovered my Bliss when I learned that he'd moved to a storefront.

These cupcakes are another type of treat - they are bath fizzies topped by bubble bath. I especially love the little handcrafted roses on top of each cake.

Reading all of the Yelp reviews (good and bad) and visiting these two great small businesses got me thinking about why I like certain stores and cafes. What gets me jazzed are those places where you can see passion in the enterprise. Quirky, fun, random passion.

The kind of place where someone has said to themselves, "This is my dream," and has hung their shingle and part of themselves out there to share. It can be scary to put yourself out in the world like that, where you know you'll be judged, compared to others, and nitpicked. The businesses I love do their work with confidence and joy.