My first baby shower: An experiment in normal(ish) looking cupcakes

Last March marked one of the first times I felt like a professional baker. Not because it was my first order or anything (I'd already cupcake-catered a few birthday parties and dinners by that time), but because it was the first order that wanted normal looking cupcakes. 

Typically, my draw is the interesting designs: the Legos, butterflies, popcorn, or even leather jackets. This time, they just wanted simple (but still cutely decorated) cupcakes for a baby shower.

Weirdly, this was more nerve-racking for me than the other, more complicated, cupcakes I've made over the last year. I mean, with interesting (usually cartoon-y) designs, I feel like people might be more forgiving of tiny errors because the cupcakes are still so fun! With regular cupcakes, however, you don't have that cushion. 

Anyway, I'm rambling now, so let's just skip the rest of this and get to the cupcakes themselves:

Despite my concerns, I think they turned out pretty well. 

I've got another baby shower in two weeks with a slightly more complicated design. Get excited!