Dangerous Cupcake is a Southern California lifestyle blog with a focus on midlife moms as they prep for the empty nest life — or they’re already in it. Phase 2 of life is where we get to rediscover our interests and spend more time on ourselves, without any guilt. Food, family and fun….or as I like to call it, lifestyle, wellness and mindful living inspiration, when we get to spend more time — and money — on ourselves. We’re based in the Rancho Cucamonga / Fontana area of the Inland Empire, but we spend a lot of time all over SoCal.

I’m Donna, a community and social media manager, content creator, writer, digital marketer and leader of the Dangerous Cupcake Lifestyle team. In my spare time, I’m a make-from-scratch foodie with a love for cupcake experimentation and living just a little dangerously…even if it is sometimes all in my head. I’m also imaginary best friends with Chris Hemsworth and I may or may not have 8′ cutouts of both Thor and Loki in my family room. Our large family lives in Southern California and consists of four kids, two sons-in-law, one granddaughter and a toddler grandson.

We share info on our travel adventures, wine experiences, foodie creations and explorations, remodeling and furnishing our home, entertaining our friends and family, our dogs and so much more that’s relevant to this stage in life. While we sometimes talk about mom stuff, our youngest is 23, so we focus more on parenting and fun with young adult children and being grandparents. We want to share things that are relatable to others facing midlife, and we want to cast the light on positive aging and confidence.

Life is different without diapers and early bedtimes, but no less chaotic. We open up about our lifestyle change as our kids grow up and while there are moments of “the last time,” there are so many “first times.” We also share our decades’ worth of organization tips, party hosting, finding a new focus and the issues moms face in phase 2 of life. Midlife isn’t a bad word, and we’ll talk about it all….except menopause. There’s so much more to midlife than the big M word. I mean, in midlife, we’re just getting started. We’ve pivoted somewhat in the last six months, moving away from parenting and family entertainment, with a goal of creating a community for midlife moms in the same era as us. Please join me.

As the kids grow, life changes, but we adults get to grow up with them, so no matter what, life is never boring and it doesn’t end when the empty nest grows near! Next up for me? Diving deep into photography and learning how to play the cello! It’s never too late to do the things we want. Fueled by coffee and yoga, I’m a big believer that you don’t have to be perfect to be fit and healthy. Wine, NASCAR, a good tailgate party, we keep it real here. 

Life is short. Live a little dangerously.

In case you’re wondering if I have any “real” writing experience, I do. I was awarded a journalism scholarship but left college early to join the military. After a few years of wondering what to do next, I ended up in major media and towards the end of my employed life, I was contributing to the Today show’s morning news feed selections. My blog even appeared on the show one morning. Now I’m fully self-employed at my social media marketing agency, where I am an SEO geek and still a freelance writer when the mood hits.

And, in case you’re wondering where my blog name came from, Dangerous Cupcake was a nickname my daughter used years ago online, and when I decided to start sharing my booze-infused cupcake recipes on my sites many years ago (I’ve had two blogs prior to this one), I used the name, with her blessing. I used to sell my cupcakes with an alcohol flavor kick, and cakes of all kinds, over 20 years ago and while I don’t sell them anymore, I still create and gift my friends and family with our creations. It’s a family affair!

If you’re interested in joining our team of writers or working with us in another capacity, please email Donna@dangerouscupcakelifestyle.com.

Glad to have you a part of the Dangerous Cupcake community! Stick around, we have a lot of fun here!