August 2013 – Will Bake for Shoes

Outfit
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- Weekend

23

Posted on August 28, 2013by Brandy Saldana

Chambray Shirt Ana | Skirt H&M | Scarf Unknown | Bird Necklace Wet Seal | Pink Stud and Pearl Bracelet Forever 21 | White Bangles Coach | Natasha Petal to the Metal Bag Marc by Marc Jacobs | Pink Stud Beatrix Flats Sam EdelmanIt was my birthday yesterday! Yay me! I turned 23 and let me tell you, I still find that a little hard to believe. I can no longer sing that Taylor Swift Song 22. I still feel 22 even though I am 23 now. After working 2 full days at Caltopia, I was pretty exhausted and felt like yesterday was more of a recovery day than my birthday. Most people take the day off on their birthday, and after working those 2 long days I felt like I should have but I am in a training in SF for today and tomorrow and will be going off to Japan in September for a 2 week vacation and felt a little guilty that I’d be out of the office for so many days. I know what you are thinking What? Japan!? Why?!
Well it just so happens my sister will be studying abroad for a year at Chuo University near Tokyo and I, needing an excuse to vacation and go somewhere far, decided to take some time off to help her move to her dorm and do some sight-seeing before her first day of class. I am so excited to be going to Japan again (this will be my second time there) and being able to experience this trip with my sister!
In my last birthday post I wrote about accomplishing some goals, or resolutions, by my next birthday. When I think about what I’ve accomplished this year I feel very proud of myself for how far I’ve come. One was to have a full-time job. I accomplished that in April and love where I work. I do feel lucky to have a job so soon after graduating and being in such a positive working environment. My coworkers went all out to make me feel special yesterday by bringing me cupcakes, flowers, and gifts and for that I am extremely grateful.
My second goal was to improve the blog. I feel like it has improved tremendously since it first started and while I don’t have a consistent posting schedule, I am trying to write fewer quality posts rather than a bunch of so-so posts. I am putting a lot more of myself into my posts, so in my opinion my posts are better than when I first started. I am not as afraid of being critiqued and have been less frustrated with the world of web design and HTML.
The third goal was to be more sustainable, and that is a lot more apparent with my clothes and is slowly making its way into my lifestyle. I rarely shop at department stores now and buying new items sometimes makes me feel guilty. I feel like my wardrobe has improved tremendously by buying used items. This outfit is mostly finds from Crossroads Trading Co. (Top, Scarf and Skirt) and eBay (Flats, Bag, Sunglasses).
Now I have some new goals set for myself:
1) Spend more time with my family/friends. Blogging has opened so many doors for me and has allowed for me to go to a lot of events and meet many new people. Often times it feels like I don’t have enough time in the day to work, blog, and stay connected with people, but I want to put more of an effort in spending quality face time with the people that are important to me.
2) Be more financially aware. I have gone a little overboard shopping at thrift stores and am not really saving as much as I should for the future. I am hoping to really pay more attention to the comfortable salary I make and really make an effort to save more.
3)Travel! Now that I finally have a full-time gig I know it might be a little more difficult, but I would love to be able to take more trips and see new places. Even if it isn’t across the country, I’d like to be able to go someplace if I happen to find a good deal (and use some of the funds I will be saving up just for that!)
I am looking forward to being 23 and I hope you’ll stick around and watch as I continue growing up ( I know I am not done yet!)

Life’s a Beach…Cake

Posted on August 24, 2013by Brandy Saldana

Last week, my coworkers and I held a celebration dinner at a local pizza restaurant to celebrate a coworker’s upcoming wedding. I was commissioned to make the cake and, because it was a pretty casual event, I wasn’t restricted in making a traditional wedding cake.
This is the first cake I’ve made that wasn’t for a decorating class, and the first I’ve ever stacked! It came out a little crooked which ended up working out for me since it looked like a sand dune. I learned a lot from making this cake, so I am sure the next one will look better. One piece of advice I received in decorating cakes is people will rarely notice your mistakes. All they see is cake and what piece they want. Luckily the flavors of these cakes were pretty delicious. The top tier was lemon with a cream cheese frosting and lemon zest filling and the bottom tier was french vanilla cake with cream cheese frosting and fresh strawberries as a filling.

My inspiration for this cake came from my coworker’s love of surfing and the couple’s appreciation for nature. The “sand” is made out of crushed graham cracker and pressed against a layer of frosting. The seashells and starfish are made using a chocolate mold and pouring melted chocolate into them. To give them a more realistic look, I used small brush to add a teaspoon of cinnamon all over the shells and starfish. For the wedding cake topper, I used to shells to make a clam, squeezed in some blue frosting, and my boyfriend added the couples initials using pearl sprinkles. I am proud of all the details and how it really dressed up the cake.
Enjoy my fashion picks inspired by the chocolate seashells and starfish!

Outfit
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- Work

Dressing Up Denim

Posted on August 23, 2013by Brandy Saldana

Denim Shirt a.n.a a new approach | Yellow Skirt Banana Republic | Necklace via LE TOTE | Nude Ulltra Pumps Steve Madden
This is on of those outfits that I just threw on and I am very happy with how it turned out. I have heard of denim chambray shirts becoming a wardrobe staple because of how versatile it is and I feel this outfit proves just how versatile it is since it can very easily be dressed up.
I tucked it in to my yellow Banana Republic skirt in order to work with the colors of the necklace I rented from LE TOTE. As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, it is a clothing rental service that sends you 3 pieces of clothing and 2 pieces of jewelry for $49 a month. Not a bad way to try new things, especially if you are not a fan of shopping but still want to your wardrobe to be current.
This week has been extremely busy for me and I expect it to be difficult to be posting consistently. This Saturday I will be heading to Salinas to celebrate my Sister’s 21st Birthday/ Farewell Party. She is heading to Japan to study abroad for a year in September, and I will also be joining her for her first two weeks there! I am so excited and looking forward to this much needed vacation!
Sunday and Monday I’ll be in Berkeley running a booth for our office at Caltopia. My goal last year was to make this year a bigger success, and I already feel like it will be. I remember being so stressed out about running the booth for the first time and getting things ready at the last minute. This time it feels a lot less stressful, and it might be because I had the opportunity to really plan ahead.
I’ve been going to a lot of events as of late and doing my fair share of baking which you can catch on Instagram first hand. I originally didn’t know how Instagram would benefit me when it comes to blogging, but now I see it is the best way to keep up with what I am doing since I don’t post as often. Follow me @willbakeforshoes to stay updated with my daily adventures.
I will be updating you on more about my upcoming trip to Japan and anything else I forgot to mention here.
Hope you are having a good week,Brandy| BLOGLOVIN | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM |TUMBLR | TWITTER |

JustFab! with Stilettos and Cocktails

Posted on August 20, 2013by Brandy Saldana

I attended a meetup two weekends ago for Fashion Bloggers in the Bay Area. The event was sponsored by JustFab! and was held at Sen’s Restaurant at Embarcadero Center. I’ve been part of this Meetup group for awhile going to various events in the city, but this was the first Meetup where we were all focused on really sitting down and meeting each other. It was a great experience being able to meet like-minded people and drink cocktails while talking about our latest fashion obsession and Fashion Blogger Problems.

I met so many amazing women at the event such as Layla. She introduced me to the Fashion App My Runway. Below, Heidi introduced us to her company My Muse Box which is a subscription based beauty box where a portion of its sales give back to the community.

In the above picture, I mingled with Alyssa Moreno Voila Marie Fashionation, Esther of Esther-Lee, Chasma from Thrifted Bliss, and Alyssa Kane from Stylematic.

I struck a pose with my girl Esther above and below I am posing with Lalah of The Diva Doll Guide and Alyssa.

We all were very passionate about shoes, which made me feel like I was in heaven! The event was made even sweeter because it introduced me to JustFab! I feel like I have been living under a rock, especially since this site sells shoes, but this was my first formal introduction to the site. I like heels, but on a day-to-day basis I prefer flats, wedges, and kitten heels. I can’t rock really high, platform heels because of my fear of heights/ because I am clumsy and would fall in towering heels. I was really excited to hear that JustFab! isn’t limited just to sky-high heels, they have bags, jewelry, and clothing waiting to be bought at ridiculously fabulous prices. It would be hard not to find something you like on their site. That’s because you take a style quiz and suggestions of what you might like are made for you!

It took me awhile to decide because of all of the amazing items they had, but I finally settled on ordering the Prestige Satchel. I expect for it to arrive on Thursday. Such a long wait, but so worth it! I see myself wearing this bag with everything! It looks roomy enough for all the things I carry to work. I can’t wait to share an outfit post with this bag.

A big thank you to JustFab! for sponsoring the event, to Jia of Catwalk Chic for setting up the Meetup and to all of the Fab bloggers who attended and made the night super fun!
Until next time,Brandy| BLOGLOVIN | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM |TUMBLR | TWITTER |
Photos taken by Lucy Glover. All Rights Reserved.

Cupcakes

Chinese Takeout Cupcakes

Posted on August 17, 2013by Brandy Saldana

I was enlisted to make some cupcakes for a going away party held in honor of a colleague leaving to China for 3 years to complete his MBA. I thought to myself, what better way to celebrate the party than with Chinese takeout?

The cupcake idea and instructions came from the What’s New, Cupcake? book. The Chow Mein is made out of vanilla ice cream tinted with cocoa powder. The broccoli is a green tootsie roll cut halfway with scissors. I added frosting to the two branches and dipped them into a bowl with green sprinkles. The fried rice is made using Rice Krispies. All of the toppings are candies reshaped to be the ingredients for each dish.

The book had instructions on how to make fortune cookies out of melting caramel candies, but I didn’t have the time to make this many the night before. Instead, I ordered food from a Chinese Restaurant right below my apartment and ordered 2 dozen fortune cookies. I asked for extra takeout boxes and chopsticks to complete the look.

Everyone complimented my work and mentioned the cake itself tasted very good. While you can’t taste them for yourself from the screen, enjoy some of my outfit picks inspired by my colleague’s trip to China!

My Runway

Posted on August 14, 2013by Brandy Saldana

On Saturday I attended a Meetup with other Bay Area Fashion Bloggers in San Francisco. We wore stilettos and drank amazing cocktails at the Sen’s Restaurant in the Embarcadero Center.
One of the perks of attending these types of events, and living near the Silicon Valley, is learning about new ways Fashion and Technology merge with new websites and apps. At this Meetup I met the Sr. Product Marketing Manager of SAP Layla Sabourian and was introduced to SAP’s app called My Runway.
My Page:

My Runway is a new, free social shopping app that allows fashion lovers to follow the brands they love and get personalized updates on what’s new, what is trending, and what is on sale. It’s like your best friend working at your favorite store and giving you a heads up when the jeans you tried on and loved will be on sale next week or letting you know some new stuff came in that you’ll absolutely love!
I’ve had a couple of days playing with the app and I’ve found it to be a good way to keep a wishlist of brands you covet. I am following stores like Chanel, Chloe, Burberry and Celine and while I am not in the financial situation to shop “What’s New?” for these brands, I like being able to see what is trending in stores and know what to keep an eye out for when I go shopping.
View by Brands:

View by Product:

Add items to your wishlist and see what is on sale:

All the Deals in One Place (my favorite part of the app!):

One of the features that is really cool about the app is the social experience it brings with online shopping. I grew up in a mall, and that was the place to go with friends when you wanted their opinion before spending your allowance money on anything. My Runway allows for you to add friends and comment on items they’ve added to their wishlist. It brings back the good ol’ days of shopping with your girlfriends, except now you can shop at more stores in less time.
I have not tried out all the features of the app yet, but I look forward to becoming more familiar with it. There are points awarded and a gift box you can shake to win a prize and I have yet to earn enough points or learned how to earn points in order to win. I am used to apps providing a short tutorial in order to introduce you to it, and while the concept of the app seems simple, I would like to know more about the box and how adding friends, aside from your close ones, can help with your personal shopping experience.
Aside from being introduced to the new app, our group was also invited to attend a workshop this Thursday titled “What are the secret ingredients to a Successful Fashion App?” The panel will include America’s Next Top Model, Naima Mora, Paul Friedland, senior director of marketing at Levi Strauss & Co, Stephanie Rahlfs, the owner of Stiletto Jungles Enterprises and Gong, Vice President of Product & Head of My Runway, at the software company SAP. This event sounds fun and if you are in SF and can attend, here are the details:
Date: Thursday, August 15, 2013 from 5:30 – 8:00 PM
Location: The Art University of California, San Francisco10 UN Building, 1130 Market Street, San Francisco, 94192 CA
RSVP: http://www.meetup.com/First-Thursday-Silicon-Valley/events/124096522/
You’ll have to register within the Meetup group to attend, so make sure to do that and RSVP to attend. Not in the Bay Area or have a prior commitment No problem! You can still join in on the action by participating in the Twitter Contest they’ll be hosting that night. To participate, send a Tweet to @MyRunwayapp answering the question “What Do You Want to See in a Fashion App?” and include the #SAPContest hashtag. At the end of the contest, Layla Sabourian and the panelists will select the best tweet based upon originality of the idea, buzz, and ease of implementation in a fashion app! More information can be found here. The winner will receive a Tory Burch bag or a signed copy of Naima Mora’s book “Model Behavior.” Don’t miss out on winning any of these awesome goodies.
Good luck with the contest and hopefully I’ll see you at the Panel Discussion this Thursday!
Also, let me know if you have used My Runaway and what your thoughts are of the app?
Brandy| BLOGLOVIN | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM |TUMBLR | TWITTER |