{My attendance at Blog Brûlée was partially funded by the Sponsors of the event. I was not compensated to write this post}
I can remember when Blog Brulee was months away. Now it has come and passed so quickly! I have to admit, I was a little intimidated and slightly anxious knowing that I would be spending time around such successful and experienced bloggers; but the moment I met Danielle in the airport just before boarding the last leg of our flights to Vermont, her warming smile and kindness took all my worries away.
This conference was jam packed with all things blog, with topics of discussion like food styling and photography, storytelling, professional development, social media best practices and branding/marketing strategies to name a few. There wasn’t a single thing I didn’t enjoy (except that I wanted to skip a week of work to further explore Vermont). But there were a few things that I especially enjoyed.
The food. Obviously. It was ah-mazing. But expected; I mean come on, a weekend get-away with food blogging dietitians?
Because we would never dream of skipping breakfast, our rooms were plenty stocked with morning munchies like oatmeal, Kashi cereal, cow’s and soy milk, Greek yogurt, peanut butter, eggs, jelly, and whole wheat bread. The first night we indulged in a variety of Cabbot cheeses and fresh fruits; crudite; lamb sliders with caramelized onions and tzaziki sauce; roasted eggplant flat breads; indian spiced chicken-veggie kabobs; and of course, a creamy, maple creme brûlée to finish off. Nothing could have been more representative of the Blog Brûlée in Vermont than that damn good maple creme brûlée.
Some more of my favorite eats from the weekend included the sesame encrusted salmon, the maple butter served with a fluffy buttermilk biscuit, the cheese tasting at Boyden Valley Winery, and the Lake Champlain chocolate tasting.
On the subject of food…For lunch on Saturday, our wonderful host from Smuggler’s Notch Resort was explaining each item in the buffet line. The minute he mentioned spicy citrus jicama salad, all of us in harmony said, “OOoooooooohh!” A fit of laughter ensued. We foodies were clearly meant to be together at that moment, and I loved it.
Roomies! After retiring Friday night, Marisa, Jenny and I lit up the fireplace and got to talking. We shared stories about our past, aspirations for the future, and what we hoped to get out of blog brulee. There just wasn’t enough time to really get to know everyone, but at least I got to really know Marisa and Jenny.
Ebook talk. I had a brief, but inspiring chat with Kylie, author of The Single-Serving Cookie Cookbook, about writing and publishing an ebook. I’ve got pages upon pages of an ebook written but I’ve been feeling overwhelmed about the editing and publishing process. Her suggestions simplified matters and her “just do it” attitude was motivating.
Networking. I’m pretty sure this was the most efficient and meaningful networking I’ve done in such a short period of time. Perhaps it was the limited amount of time that created this. I felt as if I didn’t have a moment to waste so I tried to get to know as many wonderful bloggers and pick as many brains as possible in roughly 36 hours. It was exhilarating, empowering and above all, plain old fun.
Seeing Mrs. Kristina LaRue again! I worked with this phenomenal woman at Teen Xpress back in 2011/2012. She may not know this, but she gave me that last little morsel of courage needed to start blogging. Thanks Kristina 🙂
Gretchen’s quote during our food photography sesh. It’s a much needed reminder from time to time.
I love this quote. It helps us to avoid comparing ourselves to others and to instead, focus on our individual, unique growth. Every blogger at Blog Brulee has something unique to offer. And we all acknowledged that uniqueness.
It was an inspiring weekend spent with women of great character. Thanks Ladies!
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