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Vegas or Bust—A.K.A. The Best Conference Ever #BBCVegas

October 17, 2012 by Laura Lohr 12 Comments

Over the past three years, I have been to many conferences. For me, the blogging conferences are my excuse to have a girl’s weekend out in whatever city the conference is being held in. Last year, I went to Bloggy Boot Camp in Denver, Colorado, which meant a few days with my best friend who lives in Denver and lunch with a sorority sister. This weekend, I went to Bloggy Boot Camp in Las Vegas, mostly to spend the weekend with some of my favorite Southern California bloggers, but what I got out of it turned out to be so much more!

I have to say that with all the conferences I have been to in the past couple of years, this year at Bloggy Boot Camp in Vegas was my favorite conference yet! Not only did I get to spend time with some of the smartest women I know, I learned so much!

Friday night, about 10 of us got together for an ice cream social downstairs in the Southpoint Casino we were staying at. We had great conversation about blogging, networking, husbands, working with brands, and being moms. There were not many topics we did not touch. We ended up laughing, talking and hanging out until 3 a.m. We weren’t drinking, gambling, dancing or anything like that. We were enjoying great conversations and everyone was excited about the conference the next day. I did not get a full 8 hours of sleep and it was totally worth it! It is so important to me to connect with other bloggers and to network. The result has been that I have a really fabulous network of friends.

The San Diego Bloggers

I came back home with so many ideas in my head and so much gratitude in my heart. I am so grateful to have found this community of supportive women that I have had the privilege and honor to know. I have so many plans in my head, I do not know where to start, but I know which direction I want to go. I feel inspired and I am excited to start moving on! It is going to take me a week or so to synthesize all the information I got out of the conference.

Me with Melissa

I got to see many San Diego bloggers I have met many times, as well as some Southern California bloggers I know from Facebook and Twitter that I have not met before. I loved listening to all the women speakers of the day. I was inspired by the strength and courage of the women in the room, including the Warriors in Pink that were at the conference sharing their stories.

Me and Lolo

Some important lessons I learned (that I may or may not have applied yet!)

1. Set working hours. I think my working hours are going to be 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. I need to make myself wholly available to my family during the hours I am not working.

2. I need to come up with a business plan. No more of this throwing things on the wall and seeing if they stick. I need to focus on where I want to be and work my way backwards.

3. I need to find ways to simplify my life so I can focus on my work during my business hours. I think this means a housekeeper is in order. I need someone to come in and do the deep cleaning so I can focus on my business and get this enterprise feedback management to help me keep track of my client´s reviews.

4. Wednesday nights are for Mr. Bear and I. We are going to have a date night every Wednesday. We need some time together, without interruptions from our little bundle of joy.

5. I do not need to worry about my critics.

“Don’t try to win over the haters. You’re not the jackass whisperer.”

— Scott Stratten, author of Unmarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging.

Some of the people I hung out with that I think are AMAZING!

Tiffany of SITS and one of the women behind Bloggy Boot Camp. She is one of the funniest women and I love her! I left the conference so inspired and ready to put the work in to get where I want to be. I found out she is also my friend Tracey’s neighbor. We will have to invite her over at our next get together.

Gigi of Kludgy Mom. I got to bend Gigi’s ear for a while at the conference and she is awesome. She has so much knowledge and I learned so much in such a short conversation.

Melissa of Miz Meliz She is one of a kind! I had so much fun with her! She seriously has one of the most contagious smiles of anyone I have met before. She and her husband joined Mr. Bear, me and a few others at the Hofbräuhaus in Las Vegas. It was a lot of fun and I am so glad she joined us!

Danielle Smith of Extraordinary Mommy She inspired me so much, listening to her speak at the conference. She is one extraordinary woman for sure! She inspired me to pursue my dreams and to make them happen. She also reinforced the working hours rule that I will be soon implementing.

Carolyn West of This Talk Aint Cheap and founder of SoCal Lady Bloggers. We got to chat about a lot of things over the weekend. Carolyn was inspired over the weekend too and I cannot wait to see the incredible things that result! Carolyn joined us for dinner at the Hofbräuhaus after the conference. (We got to see quite a bit of spanking, which was very interesting. Every time someone ordered a shot, the servers would swat the shot-taker.)

Lolo of Crazy About My Baybah. Lolo is one of my good friends and although this is only the second time I have got to hug her in person, I feel like I have known her forever! It was great to see her!

Bibi of Bibi’s Culinary Journey. Bibi is from Canada, but joined the Southern California ladies meet-up on Friday night. She is a lot of fun and I am so glad we got to meet. She and her friend also joined us at the Hofbräuhaus Saturday night. She was kind enough to give us a ride over.

I also got to see Ali, Theresa, Surferwife, Laural, Wendy, and many other bloggers. Unfortunately, one day was not enough time to get to hang out with everyone.

True Food Kitchen Restaurant Review—Truly Delicious

July 1, 2012 by Laura Lohr 2 Comments

Photo courtesy of True Foods Kitchen

San Diego’s Fashion Valley mall has a new restaurant and it promises to WOW!

Thursday, Mr. Bear and I had a VIP reservation to try out True Food Kitchen before their official grand opening. (They open TOMORROW, July 2nd.) I was excited because we were able to have a sit down meal, without the interruptions of a six year old. Those meals are few and far between!

When we arrived, we could smell the fresh herbs and fresh produce the moment we walked to the hostess podium. The atmosphere is light, airy, and inviting. We were greeted by a friendly and helpful staff, then taken to our seats. We were immediately impressed by the spacious dining spaces and the warm environment.

I ordered the Cucumber-Citrus Skinny Margarita, which had so many different refreshing tastes and flavors. Mr. Bear ordered a Berry Cup, which was light, sweet, and tasted a bit like a smoothie.

Cucumber-Citrus Skinny Margarita
Photo courtesy of Laura Lohr

For a starter, we ordered the Salmon Sashimi and it was so fresh and delicious, it was almost like candy. The presentation of everything was so inviting and appealed to our every sense. The sashimi melted in our mouths. YUMMMY!

Albacore Sashimi
Photo courtesy of Laura Lohr

For our entrées, I chose the Fish tacos with cotija cheese, tomatilla salsa, sour cream, and pickled onion. The beans were so perfectly prepared. I usually skip the beans when we go out to eat, but these had such a wonderful texture and taste, I am glad I did not skip them! They were so good and filling. The fish was light and flaky. Oh, my goodness! So good! Mr. Bear ordered Organic Tomato and Roasted Kale Pizza. I was a bit surprised with his choice, as he is never a very big fan of kale. This pizza, however, was so darn good! The server explained to us that the kale is first soaked in lemon juice, so it makes the kale a lot less bitter. The crust was just the right crispness and the kale was the right saltiness.

Fish Tacos with cotija cheese, tomatilla salsa, sour cream and pickled onion
Photo courtesy of Laura Lohr

We finished up our meal with the Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp. It was the perfect ending to a delicious meal. The combination of all the flavors was sinful. So, so good! It was served hot, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream piled on top. Mr. Bear and I shared it and I was glad. I would have liked to try everything on their meal, yet I was so full, I could not think of eating anything else.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
Photo courtesy of Laura Lohr

The best part about the True Food Kitchen is that everything is prepared with optimal health in mind. Their focus is sustainability, simplicity, freshness, and healthy eating. We were told by another server that even their furniture is made with concern for sustainability. The chairs are made our of plastic bottles (I seem to remember something about over a hundred plastic bottles). You can choose from a variety of vegetarian recipes and they cater to those that require gluten-free preparation. The place was wonderful when you love having friends over for drinks or delight in throwing entertaining cocktail parties because of its bar outdoor aura. Thanks to Lavita Outdoor Bar Settings!

Dr. Weil’s Food Pyramid, based on his Anti-Inflammatory Diet
Photo courtesy of True Food Kitchen
(Click to view full-size image)

Information on True Food Kitchen

Here is information directly from their website:

A Balanced Approach for Optimal Health

Our entire menu is centered on the principals of Dr. Andrew Weil’s Anti-Inflammatory Diet & Food Pyramid.

According to Dr. Weil: “Following an anti-inflammatory diet can help counteract the chronic inflammation that is a root cause of many serious diseases, including those that become more frequent as people age. It is a way of selecting and preparing foods based on science that can help people achieve and maintain optimum health over their lifetime.”

For more information, view Dr. Weil’s Anti-Inflammatory Food Pyramid or visit Dr. Weil’s website.

This is a restaurant that we will be putting on our list of favorites. Everything was fantastic, from the service, to the food, to the restaurant environment itself. If you live in California or Arizona, look for a True Food Kitchen near you! Also, check out their website, where they have many recipes to share!

Disclaimer: We were offered a free meal to try True Food Kitchen. However, the opinions expressed are my own not influenced by any form of monetary compensation or services. I only recommend products and services that I believe in and that my readers may be interested in.

Summer Sweetness with California Strawberries

June 8, 2012 by Laura Lohr 4 Comments

Last fall, I had the opportunity to take a trip to Los Angeles with a few San Diego bloggers for a blogging event with the lovely folks from CA Strawberries. They provided an incredible spread for us, complete with beverages (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, of which I chose the non-alcoholic variety—TASTY!), appetizers, main courses, and desserts galore. I learned more about strawberries that evening than I ever thought I would learn.

My friend Laural and I enjoying some non-alcoholic strawberry refreshment. Laural is hilarious! Check her out on Twitter @LauralOutLoud.

These were so T A S T Y!! Crab Tostadas with California Strawberries and Mango Salsa (recipe below)

For example, did you know that strawberries are the only fruit to have their seeds on the outside? I never questioned this tasty little fruit, however, they are fascinating little guys!

Crab Tostadas with Strawberry & Mango Salsa
Recipe from the California Strawberry Commission

For the salsa:
2 cups fresh strawberries, stemmed & diced
1 cup diced mango
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon canola oil
1-2 jalapeno chiles, finely diced
salt & pepper to taste

For the crab salad:
1 pound lump crabmeat
1/2 cup English cucumber, seeded & diced
1/2 cup green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
48 small corn tostadas or nacho chips

For the salsa: Combine all salsa ingredients, mix gently, reserve.

For the crab salad: Pick over crabmeat and remove any pieces of shell. Gently mix with cucumber, green onions, mayonnaise and cilantro; add jalapeno and lime juice. Place a small mound of shredded lettuce on each tostada or nacho chip. Top with a heaping tablespoon of crab salad and garnish with strawberry mango salsa.

…
It is summer and in California, it means it’s strawberry season. Over the past several weeks, I have been hearing the buzz from the CA Strawberry farmers across the California coast on Twitter and I have been remembering the blogging event fondly. They were wonderful and I have a new found appreciation for this truly super fruit!

Strawberry Shortcake Sliders (Click for Recipe)

Today, I was going through the photos from the event and had to share these fabulous recipes from the event. They have an awesome website, where they share nutritional facts, recipes, and other pertinent information about strawberries.

Strawberry Caprese

Strawberries. One more reason to live in California. Did you know California is the largest producer of strawberries? Yum!

My full plate. I had no idea how versatile strawberries are! There were so many yummy ways they prepared them!

You can find many recipes on the California Strawberries website, including this one below for Grilled Mahi-Mahi Tacos with Strawberry Salsa:

Grilled Mahi-Mahi Tacos with Strawberry Salsa
Recipe from the California Strawberry Commission

Mango, pineapple, lime and other fresh ingredients are combined to take fish tacos to a whole new level!

Ingredients

Strawberry Salsa:
1 cup diced fresh California strawberries
1/2 cup diced mango
1/4 cup diced papaya
1/4 cups diced pineapple
2 tablespoons diced red onion
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 1/2 teaspoons rice vinegar
Salt and black pepper
Cayenne pepper

Avocado Sour Cream:
1/4 cup diced avocado
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice

Chipotle Sour Cream:
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 chipotle in adobo
Salt and white pepper
Granulated garlic

1 pound mahi-mahi, cut into 2-ounce pieces
Salt and black pepper
Ground cumin, ground coriander and ancho chile powder
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas, heated
8 (6-inch) flour tortillas, heated
2 cups shredded napa cabbage

Directions

To make Strawberry Salsa, gently mix together all ingredients; season with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. To make Avocado Sour Cream, blend all ingredients in food processor or with stick blender. To make Chipotle Sour Cream, blend sour cream and chipotle in food processor or with stick blender; season with salt, pepper and granulated garlic. Season mahi-mahi with salt, pepper, cumin, coriander and ancho chile powder. On gas or charcoal grill, cook fish until it offers no resistance to the point of a small, with a small sharp knife from Cut it Fine. Place 1 corn tortilla on top of each flour tortilla. Top each corn tortilla with 1/4 cup cabbage, 1 piece mahi-mahi and 1/4 cup Strawberry Salsa. Serve Avocado Sour Cream and Chipotle Sour Cream on the side.

Nutritional Information

Nutrition Information Per Serving: 575 calories; 19 g fat; 102 mg cholesterol; 714 mg sodium; 71 g carbohydrate; 9 g fiber; 32 g protein

Makes 4 servings

Bagels, Lobster, Ice T

May 30, 2012 by Laura Lohr 3 Comments

It was 1994 and I turned twenty-one in June that year. I was working at Red Lobster, which my co-workers affectionately called the Red Dumpster. For my twenty-first birthday, the girls I worked with promised to rock my world with a wild birthday celebration. They teased me for weeks about how my birthday present would have batteries and in my naivety, I was horrified and curious.

Angie and Sally, two sisters that I worked with were several years older than me, far less naive, far more wild, and much more cool. Angie arranged for a road trip from San Diego to Hollywood. There was six of us girls and the plan was to spend my first night of my twenty-first year at a high end club, frequented by celebrities. It was the early nineties and Cher had recently split up with her 22 year old boy toy, bagel boy Rob Camilletti. He was working as a bartender at the same club we were going to.

We checked into the expensive, yet rundown Hollywood hotel and got ready for the big night out. The club/bar did not disappoint. I do not know how Angie got us in or how much it cost to get in, however as a poor college student, I appreciated the opportunity and I walked into my first club with wide-eyed wonder.

As promised, the bagel boy was tending bar and one of the girls suggested I select a name for the night. Without much hesitation, I selected Molly. I still do not know why it was suggested to change my name, yet it was fun to be in this exotic atmosphere and to be someone else. Knowing the girls, it is quite possible they were messing with me. Nevertheless, my altered ego for my twenty-first birthday night was Molly.

I never ordered a single drink that night, yet consumed more than I should have. While standing at the bar, my lovely friends would tell any man that came near that my name was Molly and it was my twenty-first birthday, which was followed by another round of drinks in honor of MOLLY. One such fast talking club patron was thrilled to buy me a drink. He introduced himself as Ice and proceeded to sing “Happy Birthday, Dear Molly.” He put his arm around me and was genuinely excited about my birthday—perhaps, even more so than I was!

I did not know who the heck he was, this Ice person. I kept asking the girls, “Who is that creep and why does he keep bothering me.” Uncomfortable in my own skin, the attention this stranger was showering on me was far beyond my comfort zone. Years later, it has become very clear to me who ICE FREAKING T is. Naive. I was. He was nice and generous. Oh, yes, and he loved to sing.

The night wore on and my level of intoxication grew. I do not remember all the people I met or the friends I made. By the end of the night, I was begging for the shots to stop. I wandered off by myself as the night wore on. Unable to maintain my composure from the continuous shots, I needed to get away. Exciting night? Yes? Overwhelmed? Yes, yes! Oh youth!

I eventually went outside to get some air. The girls found me sitting on the sidewalk and we bid our goodbyes to the celebrity club. The cab back to the hotel became very interesting when I rolled down the window and threw up on the side of the cab most of the ride home. After a breakfast of 7-11 nachos the following morning, I puked my guts out most of the way down Interstate 5 between Los Angeles and San Diego.

Nearly 18 years ago, I am in contact with most of my girlfriends from Red Lobster. Memories are made in the most unexpected places but some of the friendships last a lifetime. Each time I sit down to watch my guilty pleasure television, I cannot help smiling when Ice and Coco do their thing and remembering back to the first time I got intoxicated in a club with a rap star I did not know.

BlogHer Recap Part Two

August 14, 2011 by Laura Lohr Leave a Comment

You can find part one HERE.

This sculpture was made from soap

Friday: Yoga with Pfizer, BlogHer Sessions, A Winning Lunch with Verizon, Sparklecorn, Cheap Sally Party

Friday morning, I was up early to watch the sunrise and practice yoga on the rooftop. Yoga was sponsored by Pfizer and they were kind enough to provide us with yoga mats to keep and gave us delicious fresh smoothies and juice afterward. Yum! It was a great way to get my mind and body in sync before starting the busy BlogHer schedule.

Next, was breakfast and onto the sessions. I met some new friends and found I already knew others from Twitter.

“I know you! I follow you on Twitter!” was a commonly uttered phrase.

One of my favorite sessions was titled, “Your Perfect Imperfections: Blogging Your Way to Self-Acceptance” and featured Brene Brown, Gretchen Rubin, Mr. Lady, and Shauna James Ahern. (You can find the transcripts for the session Here) The speakers were great and I was ready to change the world.

Friday afternoon, I had lunch with Verizon. Verizon Wireless executive Diana Zaccardi spoke while we had a lovely lunch and previewed their products. There was only 50 of us lucky women at the luncheon. It was intimate, personal, and made us all feel special. They gave away five Samsung Galaxy Tablets. I WON THE SECOND ONE! I could not believe it! I was so excited! Verizon was completely awesome and they treated us like royalty. We have been customers of Verizon for about 8 years now and this reinforced my love for them as a company. I *heart* Verizon!

That night was the Cheap Sally party and the Sparklecorn party. At Cheap Sally, the winner of Top Chef, Brian Malarky hosted the party. I knew his name was Brian Malarky, because he said it a number of times.

Here he is, Mr. Malarky (personally, I was less than impressed)

They had ran out of much of the sandals they had in the bigger sizes and it was a bit cramped at Cheap Sally. A group of us girls were feeling antsy, so we wandered over to the Eden Fantasies party at the Omni Hotel and it left me blushing.

I left the Cheap Sally and Eden Fantasies parties early to spend some time with Allie and Mr. Bear. They came by the hotel to enjoy some swimming in the beautiful Marriott pool.

Friday night, I went to the Sparklecorn party with my roommates Elke and Dorie of Mamalode. Not only can those girls shake their booties, they are a blast to be around. Although I dance like a white girl (NO RHYTHM, NO BEAT, NO CLUE) I danced my butt off at Sparklecorn and had a lot of fun. It was midnight before I got to bed. It was another good day.

Elke, shaking it

I am looking exhausted in all these photos!

Saturday: Yoga with Matt Reyes, Breakfast with Bob Harper, BlogHer Sessions, Lee Jeans Fitting, Expo, Aiming Low party, CheeseburgHer party

Saturday morning, I woke up early to a text from Lori that they had room for me to do yoga with Reese Witherspoon’s yoga instructor,

Our view from our mats

After yoga, I went to breakfast with Bob Harper of the Biggest Loser. He answered questions from the audience and took pictures with everyone. He was as genuine and nice as he is on television (not to mention, more handsome). It was a great morning and I was star-struck! I was about an arm’s length away from Bob the whole time!

Bob and I

Me, Bob, my friend Danielle and her beautiful baby

I chose a three session block on writing, blogging and content. I needed that session to rekindle my blogging mojo. The panel was informative and I definitely took away a lot. My favorite session was Your Blog Can Make You a Local Hero. The panel included Darya Pino, Jaden Hair, and Lindsay Ferrier—three very successful women that had much wisdom to impart.

The parties were great. I got the massage of my life at the Aiming Low party. When we arrived at the party, they would give you a sticker that would start with “You are” and then fill in the blank, like this guy, that had no idea he had a sticker

Mine said, “You are smart and sassy.” How did they know? 🙂 While I was waiting in line to get my massage, someone gave me another sticker that said, “You are waiting to be fondled.”

I also got my first tattoo! It says, “Internets, hell yeah!” (Don’t worry, it washed off.)

The thing I loved the most, was taking this picture at CheeseburgHer with my roommates and friends I met on Friday and Saturday.

We were standing in line watching everyone smile and laugh while they got their photos taken, so we decided to take a solemn photo. Of course, I never follow directions, so I was a frame behind on posing. We stood there laughing at the pictures for about 30 minutes. My side and cheeks hurt for days later. We had a lot of fun joking and laughing!

@RedheadedJen and I

I had the time of my life AGAIN at BlogHer. For me, it was all about having fun, meeting new friend and hanging out with old friends, and networking. I feel as though I accomplished all my goals.

Now, if you excuse me, it is time to sort out the swag and take a nap!

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Vegas or Bust—A.K.A. The Best Conference Ever #BBCVegas

True Food Kitchen Restaurant Review—Truly Delicious

Summer Sweetness with California Strawberries

Bagels, Lobster, Ice T

BlogHer Recap Part Two

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