Blogher Food '11 Atlanta

I decided I better post something here, lest you all think I had been taken aware during the rapture. I have been busy having fun in Atlanta, and now Charleston. After spending days talking about food, learning about food, and meeting other food bloggers; it is hard to find the time to actually write a blog post.

Many of you have asked what one does at a food blogging conference? I wasn't really sure what to expect as this was my first one. I can tell you now that you can expect a lot of socializing, networking, learning, and eating; not necessarily in that order, but pretty close. I have tried to figure out how to write this post; I want to give shout outs to all the lovely people I met along with sharing some of the knowledge I gained during the event. I have decided to highlight my favorite moments of the weekend...

1. Dinner at Cakes and Ale with Rachel from Hounds in the Kitchen, Amy from Idiot Mom, Melissa from Taste Sip Travel, Janet from A Cook at Heart, and Kate from Blue Chair Fruit. Such a lovely group of ladies. It was so nice meeting them all right away as there was always a familiar face in the hallway to smile at or  chat with for a bit between sessions or during breaks.
2. Being roommates with Kate from Blue Chair Fruit. I have been a big fan of their jam and the cookbook for a while. It was great to meet Kate and see how much she loves her job and believes in the company. You often wonder it the pretty pictures, happy faces, and tea parties are all a facade to sell more jam. I can tell you after meeting Kate that they are not. They love what they do. That makes me happy.  The next time I am in San Francisco I am taking a jam class for sure!
3. Meeting up with the folks from Bob's Red Mill and all the great samples. I'm especially excited about the whole wheat cous-cous. I also learned that my local Fred Meyer store will carry any of their products, all I have to do is ask.
4. Scharffen Berger chocolate. They were one of the most generous sponsors; I'm headed home with pounds of baking and eating chocolate. I can't wait to make something with that 70% chocolate baking bar.
5. Four cocktail parties in two days! Thanks to Rockher, Blogher, and Tasty Kitchen for all the great drinks; Banana Margaritas, Peach Martinis, POM Martinis, and the Starbuck VIA Martini, and also my new favorite beer Sweetwater 420.

5. Sweet Auburn Curb Market. It was a small little market, but it was so much fun seeing all the collard greens, beautiful peaches, and huge watermelons. The produce all looked so good. The best part was a peach lemonade. They roasted the peaches with raw cane sugar and then blended them with lemonade. See more pictures from the market on my Arctic Garden Studio Facebook page.
6. Thanking Jaden Hair from Steamy Kitchen for being the first commenter on my blog.
7. Sitting down next to Molly Birnbaum, not recognizing her and then going on to talk about her trip to Denali National Park, and life in Alaska. She is a sweetheart, I look forward to reading her new book.

8. All the great sessions, the biggest lesson learned is that everyone who has been successful did it by being themselves, and having passion for their work. They didn't worry about marketing and SEO, this was good to hear. All the photography tips were incredibly helpful. If you want to learn more, check out the live posts online from Blogher.
9. Dancing at the Tabernacle. I don't think I have danced in years. They had a great selection of music that evening and after some serious toe tapping I decided to get out on the dance floor. It was so fun to watch all of the other bloggers cut loose as well.
10. After waiting all weekend for Hank Shaw to have a free moment (this guy is really popular with the ladies), I finally snuck in a quick hello before leaving the Tabernacle. He said that  he "loved his Alaska readers, because they are doing this every day".  I am a huge fan of his site Hunter, Angler, Gardener, Cook as I always find some inspiration for cooking in Alaska. I wish he would have been around when I was in college during all those edible food classes.
11. Finally, Sublime Doughnuts are amazing. Caramel Apple Fritters, Smore's Doughnuts, Orange Cream Stars...Oh my!