I totally got lucky in Las Vegas.

Am I talking about slot machines? No. No, I am not.

I am talking about the trip I made to Retro Bakery, away from the glitz of the Strip, a buttercream oasis in the Centennial Hills neighborhood.

Now, to say "trip" may not be quite sufficient, because it was more like a Pastry Pilgrimage, involving two bus transfers and about an hour of transit either way (the other alternative was taking a cab, which I was advised would be "well over $50"). But it was so worth it, because once I got there, I was enthusiastically greeted by owner Kari Haskell, who I've known since the beginning of her business over three years ago (read the interview from way back when here!) who is about my height but somehow has about triple the amount of energy...

...and I was also greeted by this amazing spread of cupcakes and cakes and cookies.

Where to start?

Howsabout with a butterscotch cupcake, which I had been informed could "not be missed". I basically made eating this cupcake a race of "how quickly can you get into my belly?". Nobody challenged me to this race, but still, I think I won.

Poor cupcake. It trusted me so much (see picture, top).

and here's what I did to it.

...and then there were the cookies. Oh, the cookies! After eating the better part of a chocolate chip cookie, a white chocolate chip cookie, and a frosted sugar cookie with rainbow sprinkles, I wondered: what would happen if I combined all these cookies to form one super-cookie? What would happen? The answer:

...but don't worry. I was a gracious guest; I left Kari with a bunch of CakeSpy pins and a signed copy of my book!And the rest of the cupcakes I purchased kept me company all through the rest of my journey back to the hotel and then on the flight back to Seattle.

Thank you, Retro Bakery, for making Las Vegas magical!

Retro Bakery, 7785 N. Durango Drive, #130, Las Vegas; online here.