shoes for a cause!

Toms are sweeping department stores and college campuses everywhere this year. I saw tons of them on campus last semester but wasn't convinced that I needed a pair until I started working at Nordstrom and every single one of my coworkers had a pair!

If you've seen my previous posts, I'm a Chuck Taylors girl all the way so I figured I wouldn't wear another pair of sneakers until the new summer line of Toms came out the last week of May, it's adorable! I ended up getting an off-white crocheted pair, perfect for summer!

$58.00

Not only are these shoes super comfortable, but for every pair that you buy, a pair is donated to a child in need, how amazing is that!? 

$48.00

$54.00

What better way to justify shopping than the fact that it helps a good cause!? There are tons of other patterns on the Toms website, check it out!

http://www.toms.com/

fedora frenzy

Sooo, I've been MIA for awhile, but I do have a good reason! I got a job at Nordstrom working in the BP department but I work basically every day so I've been slacking on the blogging!

One of the best parts about working at Nordstrom is not the discount (we only get 20% off), but the people watching. I love looking at the outfits that my coworkers and shoppers put together, and while some of them are decked out in designer (I play spot the LV bag on my lunch break) their outfits inspire me to create the same look for less! 

Aside from designer handbags, one trend I keep seeing is fedoras.

I've never been a hat girl, but after seeing so many I figured I might be able to pull it off. I bought one from the BP section at Nordstrom and I wore it to work yesterday with a black and tan patterned dress belted at the waist with a tan and brown belt, army green jacket, and those black sandals that look like slouchy boots and got tons of compliments! 

This is the one I got from Nordstrom for $18, except mine is black straw with a tan bow! 

Forever 21, $6.00

Forever 21, $10.60

Super cute and cheap, I don't know why I've never bought one before! Just toss them on with a cute dress and sandals, or skinny jeans and a t-shirt and you have the perfect "oh I just threw this together but I still look amazing" thing going on! 

strawberry spinach salad

My boyfriend and I made this salad last night, and it was amazinggg! The strawberry vinaigrette dressing is on the sweet side and paired with fresh strawberries, almonds, and spinach, this salad will be a serving of fruits and veggies you'll actually crave.

(Sans dressing)

I adopted the recipe from Annie's Eats, the same place I got the oreo cupcakes recipe from, but my boyfriend and I didn't want to buy a whole bottle of champagne just for cooking so we altered it a little bit. Surprisingly, salad dressing is super easy to make and I can't wait to make this recipe for my family!

Strawberry Vinaigrette Dressing  
1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
2 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp strawberry banana fruit juice (you can't taste the banana!)
2 tbsp sugar
pinch of salt

Toss all of the above in a blender and puree till smooth! It's that easy. These measurements made enough dressing for three to four large salads, depending on how much dressing you like on your greens.

Salad 
baby spinach leaves
sliced strawberries
sliced almonds

That's it! The next time I make this I'm going to try it with some bleu cheese to cut the sweetness and maybe some green apple slices, I love fruit in my salads :)

(With dressing)

I love the way the colors look together! 

Here is the original recipe I got the idea from

 http://annies-eats.net/2011/04/06/strawberry-spinach-salad/

Yay for healthy recipes that actually taste good!

cookies and cream cupcakes

Beware, after making these I have the worst stomach ache ever, due to excessive bowl licking. Oreo lovers, this is your cupcake! A vanilla cupcake with an oreo cookie base and cookie pieces inside, topped with cream cheese frosting and oreo crumbs. Helllllo heaven! 

I got the recipe from annie's eats, 

http://annies-eats.net/2010/06/02/cookies-and-cream-cupcakes/

I followed the recipe and made the cupcakes from scratch, I bet you have most of the ingredients you need in your pantry! But you will need an electric mixer....more on that to come.

You can use the other halves for the cookie bits in the middle and the crumb toppings!

mmmm

My helper (he's scared of the mixer hahaha)

Perfection. 

Of course, it wouldn't be my life unless something weird happened while I was baking. My mom got this mixer from her mom...so it's more than 20 years old. I don't think it could handle the cream cheese frosting because all of a sudden it started making a funny vibrating noise and smelled like it was burning. I thought it was going to explode (naturally) so I threw it outside on my deck incase it blew up...bye bye mixer. Good news, the frosting was perfect. 

Insidee :)

Calories never tasted so good. 

the little black dress

What never goes out of style, always looks fabulous, and can be worn by anyone? Yes, the little black dress. Anyone that knows me knows that I hate pants so I'm addicted to shopping for going out dresses! 

You can never go wrong with a little black dress, my motto is that I'm usually overdressed anyways so why not go all out? When shopping for something as basic as the little black dress, it can be easy to get stuck with just a blah dress that every girl owns and who wants to show up wearing the same thing as someone else? I'm all about the details when it comes to black dresses, zippers, embellishments, lace, one shoulder, I love it all! Look for something quirky and never be afraid to try anything on, what looks strange on the hanger might look awesome on you. 

"Draped Neckline Dress", Forever 21, $27.80

Pretty beading, flattering midsection, open back? Want. Now.

"Studded Cowl Neck Dress", Forever 21, $19.80

Rocker vibe? check. 

"Zip-front Cross Back Dress", Charlotte Russe, $32.99

Amazingggg back! 

"One Shoulder Ruffle Lace Back Dress", Amiclubwear.com, $31.99

Mock one shoulder, ruffles, lace? Perfection. 

"Lush Crochet Shoulder Dress", Nordstrom, $44.00

You could dress this up or down so easily! 

Don't forget, killer accessories can make a black dress really pop! I'm a big fan of colored heels and accessories, but if you have details like the silver beading on the first dress and the lace back on the fourth, the dress speaks for itself, I'd go with a pop of color in the shoes instead of competing with the dress with accessories.  

But, as always, confidence is your number one accessory! And who doesn't feel sexy in a LBD? 

baker's shoes under $50? yes please

Baker's shoes equal one thing, HOT.

I'm obsessed with their shoes, I could easily buy every pair in the store if I had an endless shopping budget. While their shoes are amazing, they can also be expensive but today I found this one little link that made me reach for my debit card. I don't know how I've never seen this link on the Baker's website, but there is a "Dress shoes under $50" link, you have to check it out.  
http://www.bakersshoes.com/c3-727-Dress-Shoes-Under-$50.aspx

"Rayne" $29.99

"Yazmin" $29.99

Why are you still on my page!? There's shoes to be bought!

a cake only a mother could love

So, today is my mom's birthday, and I had this vision of a wonderful cake that I was going to bake her...it was an epic fail. There is a reason I like cupcakes more than cake: because they're easier to make.

Here is what NOT to do while baking a cake, although, I did manage to salvage it!

1) Gather the needed ingredients 

I chose to just use a standard box mix for this cake, for the sole reason that I know it is almost impossible to mess up :) 

2) Bake the cake

Everything went okay so far, then disaster stuck...

3) Frost middle layer of cake, then put top layer on

fail.

Where I went wrong was not letting the cakes cool enough before taking them out of the pans, I thought 30 minutes was enough, but I was way wrong.

4) Frosting 

By using frosting as filling/glue, I managed to salvage the cake and give myself a major stomach ache by eating half a can of it. 

5) Decorate! 

This is the first time I ever tried to make rosettes with a frosting tip, I have way more respect for all the bakers on TV cake shows, it's hard! I used store bought icing tubes and attached a frosting tip to the end of it, messy and unprofessional, but they turned out okay!

Then I added flat sprinkles and of course, birthday candles! 

Cake crisis averted.