i chose to walk to [...]]]> i woke up in our comfy hotel bed, reached over and dismissed my droid alarm.  i laid there and just relished about the day before.  i had another tight schedule but i was feeling rebellious and decided that today was going to be the day that i just enjoyed myself.

i chose to walk to the convention center, it was such a gorgeous morning and  i really enjoyed the 10+ block walk – i passed by the court, a federal building, a cute little park and the new children’s building. oh, and richard walker’s pancake house. the line outside was HUGE. never heard about it till my walk – known for it’s famous oven baked apple pancake, wish we had more time in the city to try it out!  when i got into the breakfast area, i called ruby and she stood up with sandrini of soyfashionista.com waving their arms around like madwomen.  i really enjoyed that.  i sat for a minute and looked at their plates, WHAT? NO BACON!  breakfast on day 2 lacked in what i needed the most – a hearty hot meal!  there were pastries and oatmeal.  i raided the vegan + gluten free tables for fresh fruit.  the breakfast convo consisted of the swag bags that eden fantasys was giving out.  ruby and sandrini were headed back to the expo hall and to check out sessions when ricca showed up – we planned on checking out the mom select swag suite together.  grace of hapamama.com (& also race & ethnicity editor at BlogHer) joined us and we had the usual exchange of what we blog about and our expectations of BlogHer.  after BlogHer, i saw grace’s post about an asian blog directory/list and am so excited!

the mom select swag suite was at the hilton bayfront and it was a walk.  we got there and (of course!) the line was long.  this event was super organized.  some of the moms were foul.  you basically check-in at the table, get to pick out a candy bar and reusable bag.  then you head in and there’s a few rows of tables with displays of items and reps.  the tables without reps had moms taking advantage of the situation and taking multiples of items.  i have 3 kids and a ton of nieces and nephews that i could have easily stocked up on christmas and birthday gifts for but i was thoughtful of all the other ladies that spent money to attend to BlogHer.  i was the last mom to get to the mega bloks when it ran out and i was just imagining a black friday fight to break out.  but it didn’t and even though many of us were crazy impatient, we waited like civilized human beings to finish meeting with the rest of the reps.

by the time we were done, i was holding at least 40 pounds of swag and ricca had to run back to the expo hall to sign hp x snapfish books.  we saw some pedicabs outside the hotel and asked how much… they seriously wanted $15 EACH. NO THANK YOU!  i planned on attending a couple sessions that day but remembered that i promised myself that i was going to enjoy myself.  i hung out with ricca for a bit while she signed books and wandered around the expo hall, again.  i felt a bit intimidated by the bigger brands and their huge booths, i don’t think i’m the only one that felt this way either because those booths were the ones half empty.  everyone knows who is a huge corporation (pepsico, P&G), maybe split your booth into several different booths by specific products.  also have your reps stationed outside and easily accessible…  the most inviting powerhouse brand was 3M.  each and every one of their reps genuinely seemed interested to talk to me and my friends.

thee BEST session i attended was the hillshire farms food photography and styling workshop.  i was walking in the marriott looking for the torrey pines 2 meeting room and was greeted by a girl in a hillshire farms apron that directed me to the room.  when i got to the room, the room was open and prepped to go.  i mention this because one of the events i attended was late on opening doors and there wasn’t any guidance.  at all.  things like this are frustrating because bloggers want info on certain things and if the reps don’t even know what’s going on – what good are they? #FAIL  each of the chairs had a small swag bag.  as i was getting ready to sit, i saw mona of kirida.com!  she’s a fellow chamorro and i had planned on meeting her later that day.  we sat down, talked for a bit and were advised that one of the panelists was running late and there would be a short delay.  first impression and communication are definitely good traits that hillshire farms owns.  the first panelist was food photographer sara remington.  i was in awe of some of her pictures.  who knew a huge stack of pancakes could look so good.  she had great tips and i can’t wait to try some of ‘em out.  the next panelist was food stylist william smith.  good gawd, who knew there was such an art to food photography!  he’s amazing.  and the final panelist was my favorite.  saveur.com web editor helen rosner (@hels).  she is blunt and professional.  i didn’t think i would be so into her presentation.  but the absolute best part?  the one on one conversation we had at the end.  she gave me some positive thoughts and reinforcement into what i had already believed.  i really really love her!!!  THANK YOU HILLSHIRE FARMS!


check out my notes:

at this point, feeling super inspired – i decided to make use of my free pass and ditch the help screening i was supposed to attend.  i headed back to the expo hall, met up with more brands that i’ve used in the past or am genuinely interested in working with.  i missed lunch so i scoured the hall for food (which there was never a lack of) – the yummiest thing i had was a hillshire farms “light” cuban.  i think it was light from what i was told.  i just wanted to run out of there and eat it in private.  (this was my personal preference – hillshire farms actually had an area you could sit at and order other food!  whoa at that concept!) as i walked outside of the expo hall, the afternoon snack tables were being set up. i grabbed a plate of hummus, chips and soda and found a nice area right outside of the expo area.  i sat on the floor and other ladies had the same idea of me.  a little bit of peace and quiet to enjoy a snack.  it was sublime.

i still had a bunch of time left till the night events and decided to take a cab back to my hotel.  it was really nice to have my husband and youngest one waiting for me back at the hotel, dropping in on them was definitely a huge highlight of my trip.

saturday night parties and swag posts, next!

i remember kool-aid man when i was a kid and i’m sure because of him i’ll always have fond memories of a vivid and happy icon from my childhood (unlike some scary other ones but i [...]]]> This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Kool Aid. All opinions are 100% mine.

i remember kool-aid man when i was a kid and i’m sure because of him i’ll always have fond memories of a vivid and happy icon from my childhood (unlike some scary other ones but i won’t say any names)…  my favorite kool-aid flavor has and always will be cherry.  i remember my grandma, aunts and uncles always making huge pitchers of Kool-Aid in the summer when it was sooo hot outside.  my grandma used to call me and my cousins when it was ready and we would race inside to get our fix.  on special days, grandma would let us make popsicles or even eat the mix out of the packet. i used to pretend it was lipstick!

kool-aid was a staple in our family because growing up on an island, you don’t have much choices!  it was fun, easy to make, readily available and easy to store!  we have a huge family and it was economical for parties and barbecues!  

those were the days, oh yeah!  

when it comes to making new memories with my own kids, cherry is still the flavor of choice with us.  i’m sure my kids would love to mix flavors and i’m game!  i love how kool-aid has evolved since i was a kid and i can’t wait to try deep fried kool-aid at the oc fair!  be sure to check out Kool-Aid noches de pelikoola on facebook!

you are going to need to slice (1) pound cake. lay ‘em flat on a plate – about 8-10 slices. make the [...]]]> latiya is a Chamorro dessert. it’s really good for these summer months when you don’t want to be slaving away in a hot kitchen. it’s also really easy on the wallet.

you are going to need to slice (1) pound cake. lay ‘em flat on a plate – about 8-10 slices. make the large box of jello brand vanilla pudding but instead of 3 cups of milk, use 2 1/2. pour the pudding on the slices right after you mix it up – make sure you cover each slice!, sprinkle some cinnamon and leave it in the fridge for a few hours.

if that’s not super easy (& cheap!), i don’t know what to tell ya!  it’s super yummy!  if you want to impress your friends or family, be sure to bring this to the next bbq or potluck – ENJOY!