baker's paradise 2.0

so we all know how much i love my local cake & candy supply store, oh-so-conveniently around the corner from our house.  but when my friend lilcee told me a tale of a similarly amazing shop in arcadia, i knew i had to go and check it out.

it actually took me quite a while to make my way there, but i finally went.  and yes, i had to agree - it is a worthy opponent, almost to the same level of awesomeness of a&j.

i took most of these on the sly, as i detected a bit of a stink eye from the lady working there as i walked in (my usual excuse for fuzzy, blurry photos).  although she was perfectly nice to me when i asked her for some help, so maybe i was being oversensitive.  heh.

look at the wall o'cookie cutters!

soft gel food colors in every shade imaginable.

decorating tips in almost every size and shape - except for the elusive 00, which i have yet to find in stock anywhere.  gah!  it's a super fine point, perfect for delicate lettering and outlining.  i may have to resort to ordering the damn thing online, if i don't find it soon.

lots of fondant.

look at the ginormous sheet o'rice krispy treats!  and the amazingly giant marshmallows (but at $8/bag, hell to the naw):

stacks of luster and disco dust, and premade royal icing decorations.

cupcake liners galore, and all the cake pans you could ever want.

they carry so many candy molds, they're sorted into a plethora of bins by category.

sanding sugar heaven!  and all sorts of different candy and bakery boxes, too.

they sell decorated, individually wrapped sugar cookie favors here, for $3.50 a pop on average.  wow.  i'm pretty sure i wasn't supposed to take pictures of these, but oh well.  there are lots and lots of even better ones on the internet, so whatever.

fancy schmancy baker's emulsions, which i have yet to try.  they're supposed to be super duper concentrated, and so way better than regular ol' extracts, but i wasn't feeling the $6/bottle price tag.  maybe when i really need some.  maybe.  not to mention, i was looking for it in lemon - and they didn't have any.  of course.

i did end up spending a pretty penny here, as i found a bunch of cookie cutter shapes i didn't already have (my cutter collection is starting to get a little out of control).  and i noticed that their prices for a lot of the same items that a&j carries were considerably higher. so i'll just have to remain loyal to my own local shop, which is okay by me.  but i'm happy to know that i have an alternative, just in case.  hey, you never know.