Category: Travel

My First Blogalicious

me-blogaliciousAt the beginning of November, I had the pleasure of traveling to Atlanta to attend my first ever Blogalicious conference.  First of all let me say KUDOS to the Stacey Ferguson and her team for providing am insightful, inspiration and empowering weekend for bloggers, brands and everyone in between.  Not only was there the opportunity to connect and experience the brands, the social suites, a new concept to me at these conferences was an amazing way to unwind, engage and experience everything the sponsors had to offer the conference attendees.

meblogalicioussignAs a lifelong learner, it is always an plus for me when I have the opportunity to engage, to learn and to find myself immersed in an environment where I can engage others, learn more about my craft and how to be and do better and to connect with those who have experience and knowledge to share.  Blogalicious provided all of that and much more.

 

From the very beginning of the weekend, being allowed to test drive the new vehicles by Kia, to a whiskey tasting and private party hosted by Jack Daniels as well as the personalized one on one media kit sessions, Blogalicious offered a little bit of everything for the blogger. Participants were also invited to attend a social engagement panel, book signings, by New York Time best selling author Luvvie Ajaye and former Apprentice contestant phenomenal Nely Galan.  There was even an opportunity to talk health with the Change the Cycle, suite and panel discussion about women’s health and fibroids.

I had an amazing weekend.  As expected I left the conference with much more than I came with (both knowledge and swag) and I was able to meet people that I have been friends with on Facebook and who I engage through blogging and social media and I met countless others who shared, laughed, cried and discussed so many topics during the weekend.

Hasbro at Blogalicious 2016

This was a weekend to learn, to grow, to network and to engage.  All of the reasons you spend your time and your money to go to a conference.  There were also wonderful extras added to the conference that made it more of an experience.  The caricature artist, the ability to have professional headshots taken after having a professional makeup application in the Dove suite.  Plenty of soft drinks and Coke floats provided by Coca-Cola,  the book signings and day party.  If anyone left this conference feeling anything other than inspired and a little more educated, and with a few more friends, then they surely did not experience the conference.  I am looking forward to what Blogalicious has in store for 2017.  I will be there!

Private Dinner with Canadian Lentils

The first night at BlogHerFood16, some of us went to a special dinner hosted by Canadian Lentils.  The dinner was hosted at a wonderful location in Austin named, Vuka, a wonderful indoor and outdoor space with music and outdoor games for adults (please click the link and check out the pictures, the space is amazing).  The weather was great for outdoor dining and since the dinner was being made on a food truck the outside atmosphere was perfect.

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We were greeted with an open bar and an antipasto station.  The antipasto station and the open bar was a great welcome to the first day of a conference.  It was important to pace myself because there was more food to come.  In addition to the antipasto station there were appetizers and then we were ready to order our final entree’s.  The premise of the dinner was to find different ways to experiment and cook with Lentils.  Canadian Lentils always pulls out all of the stops when they host us and this time was no exception.

We were able to go to the truck and select what we wanted from the menu.  My choice was the lentil salad with avocado, tomatoes, onions, sweet potatoes and dressing, along with the salmon taco, and the Frito pie.  I have never had Frito pie so I was very excited to taste this particular dish.  The chef incorporated lentils into each of the dishes served as well as the dessert which was a sweet potato brownie with lentils.  The food was really good I just felt like the lentils could have been transformed a little more, they just felt like an additional ingredient.  But the food itself was tasty and satisfying.

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Another great thing about Canadian Lentils, is that after the feed you all of this amazing and tasty food, and serve you drinks to your hearts content, they also provide you with great parting gifts to compliment your kitchen and to inspire you to cook more at home and to cook more with Lentils.  From the cooking utensils, to the cook book and recipe cards Canadian Lentils definitely brings out the cook in you.

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While I have not had many experiences with Lentils prior to attending the BlogHerFood conference, I do have friends that cook and eat lentils often and I am learning.  One of the best things about Canadian Lentils as a company is that they get you excited about cooking lentils and experimenting with flavors.  During the conference Canadian Lentils had pre measured lentils in mason jars and a spice station with recipes and a chef on hand to assist you in making the best choices for your lentil creation.  I spent time putting together my Indian inspired and Creole inspired lentil recipes that I am waiting to cook.  (Video will be forthcoming).  I am looking forward to making and enjoying my lentil creations.  What are your favorite lentil creations?

 

 

Stay Blessed……..Stay Fabulous!

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