when bloggers meet.

Blogging is quite the solitary profession.

Days are usually spent creating, photographing, and writing alone (or with a cat on your lap).

When you do socialize, it’s within a virtual web of curated social media feeds and blog comments with absolutely zero physical contact.

There are no hands to shake, lunches to attend, and hugs to give when a co-worker needs it most.

Ironic, isn’t it?

But recently, I had a chance to bridge the gap between virtual and reality.

I attended the first ever Boss Babe Fest: a blogging retreat for like-minded people.

The retreat took place in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Amanda and Sherrie were the incredible she-brains behind this event, planning every single detail to the tee- you could totally feel the love!

The overall vibe was part business, part play:

We photographed and styled food together. Talked about editing, blogging, and book writing. We quietly watched each other create…

There were plenty of cocktails & mock-tails to go around and we ate at some of THE BEST restaurants in the city. I’m still dreaming about this flavorful shredded zucchini salad that I’m going to re-create for you…

In addition to Amanda and Sherrie’s hospitality, I have to mention and graciously thank our official sponsor: Vital Proteins.

They’re a new-to-me company specializing in high-quality pasture raised and marine collagen supplements.

Are you familiar with collagen? Lately, it’s been all the rage (think bone broth or seaweed)! Collagen is excellent for your hair, skin and nails.

I’m currently enjoying their Coconut Vanilla Beauty Greens for morning smoothies: 1 scoop + frozen bananas + coconut water + fresh lime. I’ll let you know if my wrinkles go away anytime soon…

I also used their supplements to make my first ever smoothie bowl…

And now on to the retreat snapshots!

Starting with the group image above, the guest list included (from left to right):

• Amanda (Heartbeet Kitchen)
• Alanna (The Bojon Gourmet)
• Sarah (Snixy Kitchen)
• Liz (Floating Kitchen)
• Shelly (Vegetarian Ventures)
• Kristan (The Broken Bread)
• Jayme (Holly + Flora)
• Renne (Will Frolic For Food)
• Me!
• Sherrie (With Food + Love)

We spent time photographing and drinking these sassy ‘Strawberry French 75 Cocktails’ made with fresh strawberry puree, prosecco and gin.

We also visited the General Mills world headquarters.

General Mills was another brand we partnered with and sponsored our recipe challenge.

In their test kitchen, our mission was to create an original recipe using a variety of cereals. Renne was my partner and we made a 4 layer cake using ground Trix cereal as our ‘flour’ base.

We did it in under 1 hour.

Also, if you look at the color of the cake, you’ll notice it’s not super bright. We learned that General Mills has removed all artificial dyes and colorings from their cereals.

Cool, right?

Our sugar intake was then balanced out by nutritious veggie grain bowls for dinner…

We ate a lot on this trip.

One of the most memorable meals was our farm-to-table dinner sponsored by La Croix and prepared by Create Caterers.

The natural light got dark (really quick) so I don’t have any pictures of the food we ate, but from memory, there was this stack of multi-colored beets with crunchy nut praline and DILL PESTO that still keeps me up at night…

Sherrie made us hand-crafted non-alcoholic drinking vinegars, also known as ‘shrubs,’ that we mixed with our La Croix sparkling beverages.

I hope she shares the recipe for her pineapple-sage shrub one day… it’s amazing…

When the retreat was over, and it was back to our regular scheduled programming at home, I felt different.

I felt re-charged.

Was it because we spent time together in real life?

I think so.

Humans need to connect.

And to be a part of this experience, with such an amazing group of women was beyond inspiring.

**Thanks again to all of our amazing sponsors & new friends!**

Vital Proteins 

General Mills, La Croix

 Now Foods, Vital Farms

Rodelle Vanilla, Udi’s Gluten Free, Big Spoon Roasters 

Mademoiselle Miel, My Encha, A Heirloom, Jered’s Pottery, Fauxgerty