although i have spared this post, i went a little camera happy at this gorgeous gardening spot located out in red hook, brooklyn. the liberty sunset garden center is very close to fairway, and even closer to steve’s authentic keylime pies (yum) as well as to perch! design’s small outpost for some of their ceramics. on a shopping expedition for gallons of various cleaning products at fairway, k and i stopped by a week ago to see what was there. we first went to the inside part of this garden center which i had been to a while ago, and i was a bit baffled as to the appeal of this cavernous space. yes, it was big, and had lots of green big plants and pots and even a waterfall and pond, none of it was quite my style, and i actually thought some of the plants looked a little bedraggled (granted i don’t really know anything about plants so who’s to say what i know.)

with k leading the way jumping up and over rocks and sculptures, we finally figured out where the action was, in the outdoor section of liberty sunset and that area was fantastic. rows upon rows of beautiful flowers and plants including compact pink innocence, echeveria black knight, snapdragons, dahlinovas (pictured up top) to my favorites azaleas. they also had tremendous varities in the herb collection. i never knew that there were so many kinds of sage — nazareth sage, sage berggarten, sage tri-color and sage pineapple, and then these kinds of mints: mint kentucky, mint orange, mint variegated peppermint and mint golden ginger.

it was all enough for me to really crave having a house rather than this relativelly crammed apartment (even if we know nothing about how to take care of a yard). red hook, not surprisingly, with its urban spaciousness and the calm that comes with being near the water, has become home to a few other nurseries including the gowanus nursery and chesea garden center — though i don’t think either has the charm of liberty sunset garden center — they are there as a back up in case you don’t find what you need. for me the trouble at liberty sunset was limiting my picks. liberty sunset garden center, 204-207 van dyke street (at the most western edge of the street at pier 41, brooklyn, new york, 718.858.3400.

i know. it’s not really necessary to showcase the wonderful bakery baked yet again, but i couldn’t help myself as this weekend k and i went on a red hook outing and of course had to see what baked had on offer. and yes, i was very pleased they had these hostess imitation cupcakes i had tried a few weeks ago. i used to love those hostess cupcakes (and the snoballs were also a favorite, and the brighter the color the better) and would get them every chance i could but as i got older i just knew that i shouldn’t be eating that stuff at least that often because who knew what was in there.

but these cupcakes are much easier to justify. homemade with a little darker chocolate and the inside gooey filling, these baked hostess cupcakes are a little less sweet making them an easy buy for the three of us in the family who love chocolate and treats. baked, 359 van brunt street between wolcott and dikeman streets, brooklyn, new york, 718.222.0345.

i have an enormous sweet tooth. i don’t know where i got it, but i definitely know that i have unfortunately passed down this trait to at least one child so we’ll she if she is as crazy as i am. as a result, i am constantly on the search for the best brownie, the best cupcake, the best ice cream — whatever — and i will hunt for that item as long as i need to and the more difficult to find the more obsessed i become. take for example, my obsession with rocky road ice cream from edy’s. granted, this ice cream really is nothing special and if we lived in ohio i am sure that i would be all over it by now because i could get it every single day. but for whatever reason, new york supermarkets do not carry it on a consistent basis and i have even gone so far as to email edy’s to understand why and of course got a completely nonresponsive answer. to solve my problem, i convinced j. that we really needed a second freezer in our tiny apartment so that we could store extra tubs of this stuff when we found it. j reluctantly agreed so now this baby freezer lives in our bedroom along with the garage of tricycles, scooters, and bikes from the kids. very romantic i know.

and yes these easter bunnies are a bit out of date but they were so cute and devilish i couldn't resist

now, getting to the point of this post is that i have found my favorite bakery in all of brooklyn and maybe all of new york at least for the basics like cookies and cupcakes. baked, located in red hook which is also one of my favorite neighborhoods, has extremely delicious goodies. while i used to adore the cupcakes at magnolia bakery many moons ago pre sex and the city madness, i have somehow outgrown that sweetness (and way less than pleasant service), and now appreciate slightly more interesting flavors like baked’s sweet and salty version that combines dark chocolate with a salty caramel frosted with a caramel chocolate ganache and sprinkled with fleur de sel. i also like their malted cupcake with a white cake flavored with malt and then covered with a malted chocolate ganache and topped with a malt ball. they have a bunch of other nonchocolate flavors too like caramel apple, citrus coconut and hazelnut kiss. we have had their cakes and cupcakes at both kids birthday parties where they are always a hit with parents and kids.

baked also has great brownies. unsurprisingly, i am quite addicted to the sweet and salty dark chocolate version and these i can get fairly easily in other parts of brooklyn including grab and blue apron so i’m all set there. they have lots of other treats including grasshopper bars, and lately they have been making these “baked” cupcakes which look like the packaged version of the hostess cupcakes but they say baked in cursive on top and have lovely fillings inside in different colors like pink and a special green on st. patricks day. these have become my latest obsession and of course they don’t have them every day keeping them just out of my reach to be sure they are on my must have list. i have already had two of these in the past few weeks (and i do not live anywhere near red hook) so needless to say i will be back for more of those. if you don’t live nearby, they have recently published a cookbook that looks delectable so i may have to try that out. now my only wish is that they would upgrade their coffee machine. baked, 359 van brunt street between wolcott and dikeman streets, brooklyn, new york, 718.222.0345.

really, even before sarah ryhanen of saipua became a beloved guest blogger on design*sponge, i had been an ardent fan of this great store. and now that we get to see more of sarah’s amazing personality through her weekly column weeder’s digest (such a great name — i still cannot believe that my parents subscribed to the real reader’s digest for years, really years, so that i could read each and every issue - and they even got me those condensed books — how weird is that). anyways, back to saipua. in addition to offering gorgeous flowers and arrangements, as well as a selection of candles and amazing smelling potpourri, the real attraction (for me at least) is the suds.

saipua makes the best soaps with the most incredible scents like rose clove and lemon geranium. they have a gardener’s soap made with rosemary and mint with a base of cornmeal to get the grime off and shea butter to keep your mitts smooth and silky. and they are made from things like saltwater, avocado, coffee and peppermint and french green clay. my apologies to friends and family if i have already given you a bunch of these soaps and you have received a second or third bundle. while i do try to avoid repeat presents, sometimes i get so excited by what i find here that i just think that these gifts would be perfect for any occassion. hopefully you won’t mind too too much. saipua, 392 van brunt street at dikeman street, 718.624.2929 (they’re usually open on weekends but not always during the week so call ahead).