Life and Work with Jacqui Saldana

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacqui Saldana.

Jacqui, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My husband Dan and I met our sophomore year of college back in 2004. We started dating shortly after and I wish I could say the rest is history. Though somehow we broke up our senior year in hopes of “finding ourselves” apart from each other. While separated we became best friends. We morphed into ‘Dan and Jacqui’, our friends and family never truly knew if we were dating still or just friends. I don’t think we really knew, we just loved each other and had fun when we’re together and when we are apart. After college, Dan went on to find a job and I moved to Costa Rica. Time passed and we still were connected, talking almost every day online. When I moved back, I went to grad-school and Dan worked. We officially started dating again. Things were great! Until we had the scare of a lifetime and found out I was pregnant. With mixed emotions; fear, excitement and “can we really do this? be parents and all?” Dan and I moved into together and soon I gave birth to a   beautiful baby boy named Ryan. He had bright red hair and the three of us lived happily in a tiny apartment in Los Angeles.

I started this space, Baby Boy Bakery when Ryan was a baby. I strived daily to make every day exciting for Ryan and shared every last detail here on my blog. Life happened so gorgeously and we couldn’t have dreamed of a better child. Ryan was in perfection. Right before our son Ryan turned three, Dan and I got married. Dan proposed to me at Disneyland in front of Snow White’s castle and Ryan was there too. It was all pretty special! At last, it seemed that ‘Dan and Jacqui’ had figured things out and were well on their way to being a happy old married couple with a wild son and big hopes for the future.

You know when life is pressing along and things seem great and then all of a sudden something happens that rips it all apart? Something only parents has nightmares about happens in real life and leaves you shattered in a million pieces. Our son, Ryan passed away when he was three and a half. I will tell you right now, we never talk about how he passed because truthfully it doesn’t even matter. He is gone and it happened so fast.

We try really hard to focus on remembering Ryan and all the good about him. Never do we focus, think or dwell on how he left us. In mere moments, our life that was feeling so wonderful and then it quickly turned into burning hell. The days afterward were pretty much mush. I remember eating donuts, crying, screaming at family members to “Please Remember My Son!” and gripping onto my husband’s arm. Dan and I never left each other’s side for fear of losing one another in the midst of losing our son. It was like we were the only ones in the world who stopped while everyone else kept moving. It took two weeks for me to come to and realize that I had to write out my feelings of loss and grief. In those two weeks, my online community showed up by the thousands. So many kind people, kind strangers pouring our support and sending their love to us and for our son Ryan. I made the decision the continue this space online I created with my son when he was baby in honor of him. I write here and share our family’s story in hopes of keeping Ryan alive and proving that even after heartache can come wonderful things.

My husband Dan and I welcomed our second child, Mila in December of 2015. Mila has bright red hair and the three of us live in a tiny apartment in Los Angeles. Well, the four of us. We are a family of four and I do my best to incorporate both my children in all that we do. Today, my family and I live our life to the fullest and seek adventure every day. Big or small, we love to find fun everywhere and we take you all along with us! We hope to inspire and showcase that life is tricky and hard and really sad, but it is also beautiful and exciting and full of happy moments. Life is hard, but worth it and we hope to really drive home that notion with everything we do at Baby Boy Bakery.com.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
When I started my business, it was just myself and my family. I was baking desserts in my small apartment kitchen and selling them to friends and family. I didn’t truly know what I was doing, all I knew was that I was doing something that I loved with the people that I love the most. In the process of sharing my recipes and parenthood stories on my blog, I was connecting with people in such a personal way. From the get-go, I shared my entire heart, my good days and my bad days. I was honest and my online space became a place where I didn’t feel alone.

I stayed up late most nights learning how to work my website and drafting up emails to send to brands for potential partnerships. I asked a ton of questions and was afraid to fall and fail.

I remember applying to be a part of a cupcake competition knowing that if I made it in it would be a struggle. Sure enough, they said yes and I had to bake a 1000 cupcakes in two days. My husband stayed up all night with my frosting and mixing. My churro cupcake ended up being a running up and I met so many incredible people that day who helped me further Baby Boy Bakery.

Today, Baby Boy Bakery is still a place where recipes are abundant. Though I think people visit to feel inspired to live a wild life and take chances in life. People come to feel less alone while going through hard times. I feel like my family is a glittering example of smiling through the pain and finding the joy within the difficult.

My only advice is to fight for happiness and be patient with your journey. Initially, I wanted to build Baby Boy Bakery into this incredible online bakery. Little did I know, that wasn’t in the cards for me at all! Trust what happens to you and make the most of every drop.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Baby Boy Bakery – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
Baby Boy Bakery is a lifestyle and recipe website. Every day, I share with my online community how my family and I live in a positive way after the grief that was unexpectedly handed to us. By choosing joy we’ve been able to build an uplifting space that has done some incredible work. Over the past eight years, Baby Boy Bakery has developed into a lifestyle brand creating content and products that showcase a vibrancy for life. Everything I create is inspired by family and the products that come to fruition are things that I hope being families a sense of zest for life. With everything I put out, there comes a story and reason.

Last year, I partnered with a kids shoe company, Freshly Picked, and together, we created a collection that truly brought to life the way children live. A child’s life should be a party day in and day out, and a party isn’t a party without balloons! One of my shoe designs within the collection featured an array of whimsical balloons. The red balloon within that design signified my own son living his party as well. You can still shop those shoes today as the designs really resonated with parents who wanted to instill that same joy within their own children.

I also try to give back to charities that I love as much as possible. Especially with my brand collaborations. I typically like to give a portion of proceeds to No Kid Hungry like I am currently doing with my bracelet collaboration with Starling Jewelry.

Since so many of my online community friends are here in California, I love hosting events to bring them together. I host a Summer Kick-Off party every year and invite them to join me. Last year, we held it SteelCraft in Long Beach and the ticket proceeds benefitted the Dodgers Foundation which helps bring baseball programs to children in the LA area.

I’m not sure what sets me apart from others. I’m truly just a mom who loves her children so much. I share everything and try to come up with the best ideas for other families to enjoy. In the process, I hope to help as many people as possible.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts or other resources that you’ve benefited from using?
To be honest, I love Pinterest the most. I use Pinterest a ton when putting together mood boards for upcoming products. The only podcast I listen to truly is the Armchair Expert Podcast. I love that podcast because it is so real and raw, but it also makes me laugh hysterically. I’ve actually learned a lot from that podcast in regards to my marriage, how I parent, it’s great!

I know this might sound weird, but I get my best ideas when I work out. Moving my body and staying active somehow helps my brain. I work out six times a week and afterwards, I feel on fire! I’ll often sit in the locker room at my gym and write down things that came to mind. I carry this small notebook and a pen always!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.babyboybakery.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: instagram.com/babyboybakery
• Facebook: facebook.com/babyboybakery
• Twitter: twitter.com/babyboybakery
• Other: youtube.com/babyboybakery

Image Credit:
All Photos by Lily Ro Photography except the following: Bathing Suits On The Beach Photo by Nicki Sebastian, Photo of my son and I taken by my husband

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.