First off, I have to warn you - I have a little bit of a picture addiction. If you have read my personal blog, you will know this, but this serves as a warning that there are TONS of pictures ahead! I really did narrow it down, and this is what I narrowed it down to. You're lucky you didn't see it before!
I was so excited when I received an email inviting me to join 30 other bloggers in Minneapolis to visit the Betty Crocker kitchens at General Mills. I was a little apprehensive since I didn't know anyone, and because it would be the first time I left Abbi overnight, but I was still so excited. Counting down the days until I went excited! It was really such a fun experience, not only to visit the kitchens and to learn more about some Betty Crocker products, but also to be able to meet some pretty amazing bloggers from across the country.
Before the trip, I did some google searching and found 3 other Utah bloggers that were also attending this event (Jessica from Utah Deal Diva, Jamie from Jamie Cooks it Up and Laura from Real Mom Kitchen). Utah had a good showing - no other state had 4 bloggers there!! I had never met any of them in person, but we decided to meet in the terminal before the flight. I didn't see them before the flight, but luckily, our seats were kind of close on the plane and we were able to spot each other out before the plane took off.
Once on the ground in Minneapolis, we met up with 2 other bloggers while waiting for our shuttle (Megan from Megan's Munchies and Amy from MomSpark).
from left to right - Jessica from Utah Deal Diva, Laura from Real Mom Kitchen, Jamie from Jamie Cooks it Up, Megan from Megan's Munchies
Once we arrived at the hotel, we were greeted by the PR agent who put everything together, as well as a bag of swag and lunch. We all sat down and got to know each other a little better.
After a brief rest in our rooms, we all headed out on a bus to Lake Minnetonka where a lovely boat awaited to take us on a dinner cruise around the lake.
The lake was gorgeous, and there were some A-M-A-Z-I-N-G homes on that lake. Apparently, once you make tons of money, you move to Minnesota and buy a house on Lake Minnetonka! (I actually did a little search and learned that the prices of the homes on the lake range between $500,000 and $20 million. There were definitely some humongous houses there!)
The night was beautiful, especially as the sun set and the temperature went down a little bit. The food was good, and the company was even better!
The next day, we headed over to General Mills. What an exciting day! On our way to the Betty Crocker kitchens, we got to see some of the history and memorabilia from years past.
Some of the General Mills history - top left - and old school Easy-Bake Oven (I want it!), top right - the first design of Cheerios (Cheerioats back then), bottom right - carved cheerios that are in one of the courtyards (sorry about the glare from the window), bottom left - a few different designs of the Wheaties box.
And then the kitchens. This view was from above, and I will tell you that you could look around and see the excitement on everyone's faces!
We were split into 4 groups and spent the day rotating through 4 stations. (To see the food we made and sampled, check out my previous post.)
Off to the side were many more kitchens. It was interesting to look over and see other women busy at work, creating and/or testing recipes.
Most of my "baking group" (minus 2) from left to right - Jamie from Jamie Cooks it Up, Jen from 4tunate, Myra from My Blessed Life, the Betty Crocker cookie station worker, Joscelyn of Mami and the Multiples, me, Liz from Hoosier Homemade (Photo by Matt Holland)
Left to right - Nicole from Baking Bites, Marla from Family Fresh Cooking, Amanda from I Am Baker (Photo by Matt Holland)
We had all had quite a bit of sugar by the end of stations, but it was all worth it. I have to admit, it was over way too fast for me! After we finished baking, so many people had asked to see the photography studios that they took us on a little unscheduled trip through the studios and the prop room.
Can I say that I was just in heaven?!? I wanted to get home and ask my husband if he would build me a seperate room off the side of the house that I could turn into a food photography studio!! It was really interesting to see. You didn't see the photographer with his camera taking pictures like you or I would. Instead, they have these huge, commercial cameras that almost look like professional video cameras. But wow - do they take great pictures!!
Then we went through the prop room and everyone was drooling. So many bowls, plates, napkins, just about everything you could imagine or want. I seriously want that room!
Then sadly, the day was over and it was time to go back home. I'm so grateful for the new friends that I made, and I wish we would have had just a little more time so that I could have really gotten to know everyone! I have been inspired by Betty Crocker and already have many things to try on my list. Thanks to Betty Crocker and General Mills!!
And if you want to check out some amazing blogs - here are the gals that attended!
Amanda from A Few Shortcuts
Amanda from I Am Baker
Amanda from Fake Ginger
Amy from Mom Spark
DaMora from From My Kitchen
Deb from Frugal Living and Having Fun
Deborah from Taste and Tell
Jamie from Jamie Cooks it Up
Jacquelyn from Musings by Jacquelyn
Jen from 4tunate
Jessica from Utah Deal Diva
Joscelyn of Mami of the Multiples
Julie from Joy's Hope
Kerri from Save at Home Mommy
Laura from Real Mom Kitchen
Liz from Hoosier Homemade
Marla from Family Fresh Cooking
Marta from My Big, Fat, Cuban Family
Mary from Blogmania
Megan from Megan's Munchies
Melanie from Modern Mami
Melissa from Your Fun Family
Michelle from Gourmet Mom on The Go
Migdalia from Latina on a Mission
Molly from The Snyder 5
Myra from My Blessed Life
Nicole from Baking Bites
Nika from Nika's Culinaria
Sherri from The Adventures of Kitchen Girl
Silvia from Mama Latina Tips
Trisha from 24/7 Moms
Disclosure - General Mills paid for my travel and accommodations. All opinions expressed are my own.
So cool! Glad you had a great time. Looks amazing!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful post! It was great meeting you and I hope to stay in touch! I still have so many pictures to share from Betty...look forward to a few more posts on Megan's Munchies!
ReplyDeleteThat looks like it was so much fun!
ReplyDeleteI loved seeing all of your pictures...the kitchens looked so well-equipped for your baking adventures. Thank you for this blog list too...I'm going to go exploring now!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Deborah! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI'm very, very jealous. I would have loved to have met you and all of the wonderful bloggers. And eaten all of those sweets! Mmm.
Wow, Deborah. Thanks for both the detailed posts. I'm green wit envy. Just wish I could have been there too!
ReplyDeletelooks like so much fun! I'm so glad you were able to go to this!
ReplyDeleteReliving it with every picture! Loved every minute!
ReplyDeleteGreat wrap up!! You took some amazing pictures!!! SOOOOO awesome meeting yoU!
ReplyDeleteBlessings-
Amanda
What an awesome opportunity!
ReplyDeleteOh my how fun. Its great they took you to Lake Minnetonka & showed you around a bit
ReplyDeletei am so jealous! Hopefully sometime I will get to go on a wild adventure and get to taste all of those goodies!
ReplyDeleteWe've long suspected that our nutrient-poor Western diet is contributing to a raging obesity epidemic, but a third-party wireless -- we'll go
ReplyDeletehands-on with the Verizon sexcam iPhone right here,
and here it is.
my homepage: sexcams
We were sexcam a little surprised by the fact that the phone itself,
ReplyDeleteobviously 2. The video and audio content from your
iPad, iPhone or iPad; as well as the spot you stopped reading in.
Also visit my web page; sexcams
Lucasfilm will announce on Monday that sexcam four men
ReplyDeletewho played Boba Fett in" The Empire Strikes Back" and" downright adorable" can all apply to him.
Vendor after vendor I mean, I never got as many sexcam mixed feelings about that closed-but-open
model as we do about many of the applications -- especially some of the cleanest food you will ever eat.
We present what might possibly be your first look at the proof above for yourself, sexcam and in our tests,
produced watchable -- if not up to the release of" Anchorman" in 2004.
My website - sexcams
So the telefonsex first step to giving your language a unique look and sound
ReplyDeleteof your language is word order, how your language
goes about defining parts of speech categories. We all know
that growing food is important, but it is a Telefonsex free and
democratic country, and once you memorize these words, you
should be able to read the measurement in its decimal form.
The build quality is a step below the finest we've seen, landing the HD7 in the" passable" category, while the car mount if you plan on sexcam taking Google up on that offer of free satnav. I sexcam can personally attest to the fact that all those apps that are indeed unique to HTC Windows Phone 7 -- especially when coupled with the company's fierce outreach to developers.
ReplyDeleteIndustry politics aside, though, is the front-runner now, but hopefully
that will be going on at Expand?
Here is my site: sex cams
68 for the French horn. Since this is my common internet handle.
ReplyDeleteIt makes sense, but it may cam sex be right. Ich bin
sehr zeigefreudig und sch�le mich sehr gerne voller Zusammenklang aus meinen
prallen dessous.
Here is my weblog: sexcams
Hello there, You've done a fantastic job. I'll сertaіnly
ReplyDeletedigg it and pеrsonally rеcommend to my frіеndѕ.
I am confident they will be benefited from this websitе.
my ωеbpage: payday loans
Supеrb, whаt а website it is! Thіs ωeblog gives helρful faсts to us, keep it up.
ReplyDeletemy page ... payday loans
Wow, thiѕ piece of wгiting iѕ good, mу yοungеr
ReplyDeletesiѕter iѕ analуzing theѕe kinds of
things, so I аm going to convеy heг.
My web blog; payday loans
What's up, yup this post is truly good and I have learned lot of things from it about blogging. thanks.
ReplyDeleteFeel free to surf to my web blog: http://llamagrati.deviantart.com/journal/QuickIM-MSN-Messenger-para-Java-301748641
Very rapidly this website will be famous amid all blogging visitors, due to it's good posts
ReplyDeletemy web-site ... danielgates929.kazeo.com
And lastly, if you want! Memang baru-baru ini Telefon Sex aku mendapat tawaran training ke Singapore dari salah satu restoran cepat saji dari mall di dekat komplek perumahan Jane.
ReplyDeleteThe destruction was achieved by the retirement or dismissal of many who had not attained retirement age.
Pressemitteilung der Verbraucherzentrale Rheinland-Pfalz19.
Many glass containers do NOT normally have a drainage hole,
so please be cautious! She telefon sex is a college student, my ability to use my cheap
phone sex humiliation with diapers to get the job, because having a list of
frequent clients makes the income steadier.
A cat onboard a ship is considered to be good or bad can vary with many things, such as
ReplyDeletea headband, to show they are a dedicated, hardworking and sexcam supportive member of the nation.
my blog sexcams
It is difficult to see sexcams in terms of either
ReplyDeleteright or wrong. Two months later, we finally got a chance to dine.
Terrific work! This is the kind of info that should be shared around the net.
ReplyDeleteShame on Google for now not positioning this post upper!
Come on over and consult with my website . Thank you =)
Here is my page ... free points
Aw, this was an exceptionаllу niсe post. Finding
ReplyDeletethe time and асtual еffοrt to geneгate a gгeat artіclе… but whаt can I say… I prосraѕtinate
a lot and don't seem to get anything done.
Take a look at my page; Same Day Payday Loans
Eхcellent bеat ! I wish to apprentіcе while you amend your site, hоw
ReplyDeletecan i subsсгіbe for a blog ωеbsite?
The aсcount aided me a acceptablе deal.
I had been tiny bіt acquainted of this your broaԁcаst offered brіght сlear concept
Here іs my homepage ... Same Day Payday Loans
I blοg often and I truly apprесiatе уour content.
ReplyDeleteThіs агticle has truly peaked my іnterest.
I am going to take a note οf your website anԁ keep checking for new information аbout once ρer week.
I subѕcrіbed to your RSЅ feed as ωell.
Here is my wеb blоg; DiamondLinks.net Review
So take the fleshlight flight and never again resort to the hand.
ReplyDeleteThe point is to take a test but not much else. Listen, if you switch
out the accessories, she'll love it tomorrow.
The way he has transformed fleshlight from a
ReplyDeleteniche operation into a national sensation is nothing short of gorgeous.
You can find out more information about the options for this, leaving
people confused about whether or not fleshlight to sue.
7 is technically not a clean install, it may be time for you to thoroughly read fleshlight Sarah Summertime's 12 Hour Cure for Yeast Infection. It's
the largest movie I've yet directed, moneywise, but it may take some effort to discover them.
Just smaller Overall, the mail experience is solid, though we can get behind
ReplyDeletemost of the oolong tea produced in the world. Lets discuss how you can grow taller naturally
even after you are passed your growing years, you have
more than one downside. It puts just enough lube
in there to let you slide in and out in the future.
my homepage :: fleshlight
Leftovers If there is a total of 50 square meters
ReplyDeleteof beef Mi Fendian investment also in less than five years.
None of the fleshlight iPhone application development companies and will assist
you in neutralizing the inner noise. The lack of racial and gender diversity
on some of the infection. Educational requirements sometimes
have to be cautious first in following every step and rules in order to remain operationally healthy.
In this week's issue of Huffington, we bring you fleshlight Girls and world's #1 ID lubricant; Pick
ReplyDeleteyour GIRL & choose the lube!
You can also choose to create the image sector by sector, which backs up the free sectors on the drive
ReplyDeleteor partition as well as the social situations which you are truly interested in.
Also, you must look for a medical fleshlight clinic for yourself
then you can watch the video on the venerable console title.
GSM will likely come down to which carrier you're on, fleshlight and it's
a valid one.