In honor of National Junkfood Day, our fabulous Pipeline team is holding the 2^nd annual Cupcake Social today in the Zappos Bistro. There's a cupcake station where we can make our own cupcake creations with tons of flavors, toppings and frosting to choose from!

We really weren’t kidding when we said we love our junk food around here!

What's your favorite junk food guilty pleasure?

Congratulations to June 2011 HERO Award winner Jose N.! Jose is a lead in our very own Zappos Bistro. His willingness to go above and beyond and always lend a helping hand did not go unnoticed!

Here’s what a nominee said about Jose:

Jose was instrumental in the great Mozo Celebrity Chef Cookoff event that took place on May 3rd! Jose spearheaded efforts to get food and equipment for the event as well as helped with food prep and staging. He did all of this while his supervisor was out of town and kept the bistro running at its usual high level. He was a pleasure to work with and always kept a smile on his face even when things got stressful at times. Thanks for the help!

The recipient gets a special HERO cape, a HERO pin, a $150 Zappos gift card and the best part of all...a parade thrown just for them!

This week, our Zapponian Spotlight is on Cat S., a buyer from the Zappos Merchandising Rideshop team. This Oregon native lived in Southern California before moving to Las Vegas (never having stepped foot in Vegas until moving here!).  

Read on to learn more about Cat!

Pick 3 words to describe your personal style.

All over the place… sorry that’s four words. I don’t know what my style is, I like to mix and match a lot and accessorize.

Who is your favorite musician or band?

I have a lot of faves, but I have been listening to the Black Keys and Miike Snow a lot lately!

Name 3 things you never leave home without?

Sunglasses, phone, water

If you could have dinner with one famous person, who would it be?

Gwen Stefani.

What’s the weirdest thing to ever happen to you?

Hah I have weird things happen to me all the time.I got stuck in Denver trying to get to Aspen a few years ago and wound up road tripping out with a complete stranger I had just met on the plane. The drive took longer than planned because we got stuck in a ditch during a snowstorm. That was probably one of the strangest “sorry I’m late” stories I’ve had to tell a boss before!

What’s your favorite part about working at Zappos HQ?

There are so many different types of people and personalities here that it makes it fun coming to work every day. I get to work with some of the best brands and reps in the industry also, which makes my job that much better!

If there’s one thing we have a steady supply of here at Zappos HQ (besides fun and a little weirdness), it’s food. We never seem to run out of baked goods, junk food, and other sweet treats around the office.

So imagine our excitement when local bakery Pick Your Poison Bake Shop stopped by Zappos HQ to sample their unique cupcake creations. These self-proclaimed “baketenders” specialize in uniquely flavored and liquor-infused cupcakes.

With such tempting flavors as Champagne & Strawberries, Caramel Apple, Mimosa, and Margarita, just to name a few, Pick Your Poison really indulged our sweet tooth!

Check them out if you’re in Las Vegas! Special thanks to Taryn and Robyn (top left photo), the founders of Pick Your Poison Bake Shop, for letting us try their delicious creations.

Here at the Zappos HQ, we’re no strangers to office pranks. If you’re not careful, it’s very easy to fall prey to a practical joke. Even celebrities aren’t safe from some our office jokesters. Remember the classic prank played on Carey Hart? 

Leave your computer unlocked when you walk away from your desk for a couple of minutes, and you could come back to a pleasant surprise like a weird desktop wallpaper, or worse.

If you share your biggest fears…well, you could end up like our friend Darren. Consider this a friendly warning!

This week’s Zapponian Spotlight is on Jia, a transplant from New York by way of China. Jia, one of our talented software engineers from Zappos IP, Inc., is quite the ubiquitous character here at Zappos HQ. You’ll often find him at different Zappos events all over town, almost always with camera in tow.

In this year’s Corporate Challenge, Jia participated in a whopping 12 events! He’s a physical fitness enthusiast who practices tai chi at a local park almost daily. He even challenged himself to run up the Stratosphere tower here in Las Vegas, and he did so in less than 14 minutes! That’s 108 stories, 1,455 stairs and 854 feet! Quite impressive!

Read on to learn more about Jia:

Pick 3 words to describe your personal style. 

Energetic, Enthusiastic, Sociable.

Who is your favorite musician or band?

Backstreet Boys and NSYNC

Name 3 things you never leave home without.

Camera, necklace, clothes 

If you could have dinner with one famous person, who would it be?

Tony Hsieh!

What’s the weirdest thing to ever happen to you?

The last time I dislocated my shoulder was from a high five during a soccer game.

*Fact: Jia has dislocated his shoulder a total of nine times!

What’s your favorite part about working at Zappos?

Just to be able to be happy and look forward in coming to work every day.

Father's Day is tomorrow, a day when we pay homage to great dads everywhere for everything they do. From best buddy, sports coach, driving instructor, impromptu car mechanic, and just overall fixer-of-all-things, a super dad deserves a super day!

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful dads out there!

Congratulations to May 2011 HERO Award winner Tara J.! Tara is a payroll analyst and her exceptional service definitely did not go unnoticed.

Here’s what a nominee said about Tara:

"What can I say about Tara other than she works miracles. She goes above and beyond to deliver on last-minute requests and is always positive. I know she is swamped every time I contact her, but she makes every one of my requests seem like the only thing she has to do. SHE ROCKS!!!"

The Zappos Family HERO Award is given to well-deserving nominees monthly to recognize them for all their hard work and overall awesomeness.

The recipient gets a special HERO cape, a HERO pin, a $150 Zappos gift card and the best part of all...a parade thrown just for them!