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Macy’s Culinary Council Presents Todd English

Posted on by Brandy Saldana

By now I think it should be of no surprise that I am a fan of cooking demos. One of my favorite shows on Netflix is Chopped and I love seeing how creative chefs can be with food. Seeing a cooking demo live is always a treat and with summer get-togethers just around the corner I wanted to let you know that this Saturday, June 11 at 1PM, Chef Todd English will be hosting a cooking demonstration at the Macy’s in the Westfield Valley Fair Shopping Center in Santa Clara, CA.
Chef English will be sharing some of his favorite award-winning dishes for Summer in his demo and plenty of delicious samples will be available to nibble on. No event is complete without a good deal, and any purchase of $35 or more in the Home department will result in a special gift from Macy’s.

This event is hosted by the Macy’s Culinary Council and tickets to the demo are free! All you need to do is RSVP for a seat and to secure your samples. RSVP to the cooking demo at toddenglishmacysvf.eventbrite.com.  You’ll get a $10 Macy’s Gift Card to use at the event when you RSVP. If you’d like more information for the event, you can check out Macy’s events page here. I recommend arriving early to get a seat, but also to shop and take advantage of the gift card.
I’ll be away for the weekend and will unfortunately be missing what sounds like a fun event, but let me know if you are attending!

This post is sponsored by Everywhere Agency on behalf of Macy’s; however, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

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Designing Your Own Shoes With Shoes of Prey & Nordstrom

Posted on by Brandy Saldana

Beige Trench Coat Banana Republic Factory Store | Pink Polka Dot Portofino Button Down Shirt Express (similar here) | Pink High Waist Skirt Express | Mint Green Statement Necklace Kate Spade | Teal Arrowhead Bracelet and Crystal Bracelet LE TOTE | Gold Wrap Tassel Bracelet E. Kammeyer Accessories (here) | Eat Cake for Breakfast Bracelet Kate Spade | Gold Bow Moon River Bracelet Kate Spade | Teal Cross Body Avery Purse Rebecca Minkoff (similar here) | Custom Teal Suede d’Orsay Heels c/o Shoes of Prey | Le Rouge Fuchsia Irrestible 205 Lipstick Givenchy (here) |
About a year ago, Shoes of Prey launched their pop up shop at Nordstrom located in the Westfield Mall. Walking in to the opening party made me feel like a kid in a candy store. Not only did I get to meet Janie Bryant, the amazing costume designer from Mad Men, but I had a sneak peek of her shoes from her collaboration with Shoes of Prey at the opening. The highlight of the evening was receiving a voucher to design my own shoes as a thank you for attending the event.
I set up a follow-up appointment after the event since I wasn’t sure exactly what type of shoes I wanted. I created a few designs in store with a helpful Nordstrom employee on iPads setup underneath large flower structures made of shoes. I was really unsure with which shoe I wanted designed, although I knew I wanted classic heels, and left my appointment without placing an order and left to ponder what shoes I needed in my life. I tried thinking about shoes I missed out on because they weren’t available in my size and flipped through magazines for inspiration, but felt like I was back at square one.
The nice thing about Shoes of Prey is that they have plenty of fabric options and sizes (from 3 – 13). The turnaround time is pretty quick too, and are made-to-order and shipped in about 4 weeks. Having too many options became a problem for me and it was tough choosing between satin, suede or glitter. I was inspired by the colors from this outfit post and decided on this turquoise suede with a pop of pink leather on the inside. When building your shoe, you have the option to customize the sole and can even add text (perfect to commemorate the date you get married if you were designing your own wedding shoes.) 
 These heels had been in their box for a few months and I wondered if I would ever have the chance to wear them or if I needed to ask for them to be remade in a neutral color (you have 365 days to decide on having the shoes remade.) I am glad I didn’t change my mind because these heels have already been paired with more outfits and they really compliment my wardrobe since they are unlike any other heels I own. Their insole is comfortable and are now pretty comfortable since they have been broken in. I matched the heels with my Rebecca Minkoff Avery purse I scored through ThredUp and a statement Kate Spade necklace I found on Poshmark. My top and skirt are from Express and I bought them on sale last year, but I’ve linked similar options above.
I loved that customization experience didn’t just end with me ordering the shoes. I was able to build this outfit from the ground up and it took a little patience, but it was worth having all the pieces fall into place. It really is gratifying to be able to tell people who compliment my shoes that I designed them and that they can do it too! I am already looking forward to designing my next pair and to add shoe designer to my list of skills.
Let me know if you have tried Shoes of Prey and what you’ve designed!

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Mornings with Modern Oats

Posted on by Brandy Saldana

I’ve never been the biggest fan of oatmeal. Despite knowing the health benefits it can have, I’ve always found the taste either bland and kind of a boring way to start the day.
A few months ago, Modern Oats sent me some of their oatmeal to try and I now wonder if everything I knew about oatmeal was a lie! Modern Oats was founded in 2013 with the goal to “Change people’s perception of “old fashioned” oatmeal.” Besides their focus on taste, Modern Oats oatmeal is gluten-free and and contains Non-GMO Verified oats and artisan selected fruits, nuts and seeds.

To sample, I was sent Chocolate Cherry, Mango Blackberry, Apple Walnut, 5 Berry, Nuts & Seeds and Goji Berry. I was not expecting the fruit in the oatmeal to taste as good as it did. My experience has been that the fruit bits in oatmeal tend to be really small and taste like they have been preserved. The fruit really stood out to me and added enough sweetness to the oatmeal. The Nuts and Seeds flavor did not come with fruit, but I added some fresh strawberries and it totally made my morning.

I enjoyed all of my Modern Oats samples at work. I feel like I am always in a rush in the morning and prefer to sleep an extra 10 – 15 minutes instead of making myself breakfast. I loved that these were conveniently packaged to be a portable (and recyclable) bowl. I kept a few at my desk and used the hot water dispenser in the kitchen to fill the cups before enjoying. My favorites among these samples were Goji Blueerry and 5 Berry.
Each container has a recipe to create 2 oatmeal cookies. While I didn’t have a chance to bake any since I really enjoyed eating these for breakfast, I would like to try making cookies out of the Apple Walnut and Chocolate Cherry flavors.

Since these were really easy to prepare, and tasted really good, I would not hesitate to purchase these to keep in my cubicle and as part of a future camping or hiking trip.  Modern Oats proved itself to be the perfect, healthy, anytime, anywhere snack. Their new flavors sound intriguing, Coconut Almond and Vermont Maple, and both sound like they would make delicious oatmeal cookies.

To try Modern Oats, you can search for them using their store locator or order from Amazon. let me know if you have tried Modern Oats and what your favorite flavor is!

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I received samples for review from Modern Oats. All opinions expressed are my own.

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Macy’s End Zone with Chef Marc Forgione and Alyssa Milano

Posted on by Brandy Saldana

There is a pretty big football game happening in Santa Clara this weekend and San Francisco is a hotspot for free events this week leading up to the big day.
 Macy’s is Gearing up for Game Day in Union Square this Saturday with guests Chef Marc Forgione and Alyssa Milano. 

Chef Marc Forgione will be hosting a cooking demonstration sharing gourmet recipes perfect for you to prepare for your own tailgate or football watching party. The event is hosted by Macy’s Culinary Council and will take place Saturday, February 6 at 1:00 PM  in the Cellar Kitchen on the Lower Level. There will be bites and guests that spend $35* or more in the Home Department can receive a $10 Macy’s gift card, a special game day gift, and an opportunity to meet Chef Marc and take a photo with him.
You can RSVP for this event here: http://marcforgionemacysusq.eventbrite.com/.

Macy’s and LIDS will also be hosting a Meet & Greet Alysaa Milano at  2:00 PMat the Locker Room by LIDS™ shop on the 4th floor.  If you are one of the first 100 customers, you’ll receive an autographed photo of Alyssa Milano with a minimum purchase of $50 required.
Macy’s will also be hosting Kids Activities on the 5th floor starting at 11:00 AM and a Fireworks Spectacular live show at 10:00 PM. 
There will be plenty of fun activities in the city, what event are you looking forward to attending? For more information on any of these events visit http://bit.ly/MacysEndzone16.

I am a member of the Everywhere Society and Everywhere has provided me withcompensation for this post. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

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DIY Holiday Cookie Gift Jars with NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE Cookie Recipe

Posted on by Brandy Saldana

While browsing through Pinterest for baked good gift ideas, I have noticed a lot of the cookies in mason jars have layered dry ingredients that include baking instructions. While these type of mason jars look pretty, the last thing anyone wants is another task during the holidays. So instead of giving your friends or loved ones a mason jar filled with cookie mix, why not take the extra step and bake cookies for them? I used NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE products to create the two types of holiday cookies inside of my mason jar gift containers. These would make a great gift for a loved one and I am excited to share how I made these!

The two cookies in my mason jars included Dark Chocolate Peppermint and Holiday Chocolate Chip. The Dark Chocolate Peppermint cookies are in a precut refrigerated cookie dough and a dozen are ready in less than 30 minutes. 

I broke out the squares and placed them on the baking sheet after preheating the oven to 350 degrees. I rolled them after spacing the 12 cookies so they wouldn’t have a square shape after baking.

I took out the cookies and placed a second tray right after for the same amount of time. I removed the first batch from their baking sheet and placed on a wire rack to cool. The came out pretty thin, but I love how the peppermint chunks looked. When I tried them, they were fudgy and I loved the mix of peppermint chunks and semi-sweet morsels. They were all the perfect size to fit inside the mason jars (if you are using mason jars, look for ones with a wide opening.) 

I liked that the Dark Chocolate Peppermint cookies were really easy to make, but I wanted to bake some of my own chocolate chip cookies using the NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE Holidays Morsels. I took the recipe from the back of the Holiday Morsels bag, but substituted the nuts with 1 cup of NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE Bittersweet Morsels. This felt like the best way to remix a classic for the holidays. I will admit that I have never baked cookies for my blog because the last time I attempted to bake cookies, it resulted in crispy, burnt mess. I was a little nervous attempting this recipe, but I think I have learned the trick to making soft, chewy cookies.  If you learn anything from this post it is that butter should be at room temperature before creamed with sugar to result in soft, cookies.

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NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE Holiday Chocolate Chip Cookiesby Nestle December-6-2015Ingredients2 1/4 Cup All-Purpose Flour1 Tsp. Baking Soda1 Tsp. Salt1 Cup (2 Sticks) Butter, softened3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar3/4 Cup Packed Brown Sugar1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract2 Large Eggs1 2/3 Cups (10 oz bag) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE Holiday Morsels1 Cup NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE Bittersweet MorselsInstructionsPreheat oven to 375 F.
Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in 1 cup of each of the morsels. Drop dough with a rounded tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheets. Top dollops with remaining morsels.Bake for 11 to 13 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on cookie sheets on wire racks for 2 minutes and move to wire racks to cool completely. DetailsPrep time: 15 mins Cook time: 13 mins Total time: 28 mins Yield: 4 1/2 Dozen Cookies

Once the cookies have cooled down, they are ready to be placed inside the mason jars! I found these Spritz mason jars in the holiday section at Target on sale for $2.40 each. They came with the red ribbon and I had holiday ornaments ready to place on them. These came with gift tags on the lids, but one can easily be tied around the jar. I mixed a few of the different cookies together in some and kept them all the same in the rest. These make a great, inexpensive gift for the holidays and can easily be customized with decorations or items you have on hand. Add a twig from a pine tree, mistletoe, or a fake poinsettia flower to decorate the jar. You can always use boxes or Tupperware as your container, but I love that mason jars are budget-friendly and can be used as a glass cup with milk for the cookies. 
Baking for the holidays is easier with NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE and I hope this gives you inspiration to bake for someone special this holiday season. For more baking inspiration, check out their Pinterest page here. To save on your baking, enjoy these coupons for NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE products. These coupons are limited and only available while supplies last!
Save $0.50 when you buy one (1) Nestlé® Toll House® Refrigerated Cookie DoughSave $0.50 when you buy one (1) Nestlé® Toll House® Frozen Cookie DoughSave $0.50 when you buy one (1) Nestlé® Toll House® Morsels
To make it easier to bake, I’ll be hosting a giveaway on Instagram, so make sure to follow me @willbakeforshoes for a chance to enter and win!
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Ghirardelli Chocolate Pumpkin Pecan Brownie Recipe

Posted on by Brandy Saldana

 I love any excuse to bring delicious treats to the office and was stoked when Ghirardelli asked me to try out a recipe from their website using some of their products. I always bake cupcakes for work and felt it was time to branch out and bake something really different. Brownies are classic, but not really interesting to me, until I found this recipe. The pumpkin puree provides a unexpected twist on a classic brownie recipe and kicks up the look of this dessert with the swirl of pumpkin and chopped pecans. I fully consider these to be ridiculously photogenic brownies and I should have expected nothing less by using Ghirardelli.

I baked these in a 9×9 metal pan and used parchment paper to line the pan. This was my first time baking with parchment paper and I loved that nothing sticked to the pan in the end (and made clean-up a breeze!) These brownies are really decadent and I seriously recommend making these for an upcoming holiday party or get-together (your office buddies and friends will thank you.) They are pretty easy to make and look amazing when they are done in about an hour. Check out the ingredients below and see what I changed for my batch.

Ingredients – Makes 16 Servings:

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Ghirardelli Chocolate Pumpkin Pecan Brownie Recipeby Gemma Stafford December-1-2015Ingredients1 Cup Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips3/4 Cup Unsalted butter3/4 Cup Plain Flour1/4 Cup Ghirardelli Unsweetened Cocoa Powder1/2 Tsp. Baking powder3 Large Eggs1/2 Cup White Sugar1/2 Cup Soft Brown Sugar3/4 Cup Pumpkin Puree1 Egg1/4 Cup Brown Sugar1/4 Cup Heavy Cream1/4 Tsp. Pumpkin Spice MixA pinch of SaltInstructionsFor the Brownies:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a medium sized pan, heat the butter and sugar until just hot.
3. Remove from heat then add ½ cup of the chocolate chips and stir until it has all melted.
4. Leave to cool for 5 minutes, then beat your eggs into the mixture in the pan one at a
time
5. Add the flour and cocoa and beat well together.
6. Stir in the rest of the chocolate chips and ½ of the pecans (I omitted the pecans in my brownie mix and saved them all for toppings). Pour the brownie mix into
your lined baking tray.For the Pumpkin Mixture:
1. Beat all the mixture ingredients together well in a bowl using a hand whisk or wooden
spoon, then pour over the top of the brownies. Spoon the pumpkin mix on top in large dollops and roughly swirl / fold the pumpkin into the
brownie mix.
2. Roughly chop the remaining pecans and sprinkle on top. ( I bought chopped pecans, but chopped them down even more.)
3. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes. It will be ready when a crust has formed on the top.
4. Leave to cool, then transfer to a wire rack, cut into cubes and enjoy.
DetailsPrep time: 15 mins Cook time: 40 mins Total time: 55 mins Yield: 16 Servings

For a video tutorial on how to make these brownies, you can find it on Ghirardelli’s website here. 
In case you need another reason to bake these brownies,  or any other treat, Saturday December 5th is Ghirardelli Baking Day. This has been officially declared a National Holiday in San Francisco by Mayor Ed Lee and you are invited to bake the day away and participate for a chance to win some sweet prizes (like a KitchenAid Mixer or Ghirardelli baking products) by using #sweetestsecret on your social posts. Details and conditions can be found on the Facebook Event page. The day will be full of holiday recipes centered around the sweet not-so-secret ingredients of Ghirardelli chocolate as well as Tips and Tricks from Baking Experts Caroline Artiss and Gemma Stafford. (Gemma Stafford is the creator of this brownie recipe!) 
Baking in silence is no fun and I always listen to music when I am baking or decorating in my kitchen. Ghirardelli must have known this and has a Spotify playlist to get you in the mood to bake for the holidays. I’ll be participating on Saturday and hope you’ll find some inspiration to bake too.
Enjoy the brownies and stay tuned for more baking posts this month!

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This post was sponsored by Ghirardelli. All opinions expressed are my own.

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