*wipes blueberry crisp crumbs off face*
Hi again IT’S MEEE. Yes, guys, it’s Saturday, and I’m breaking blog schedule and popping in with some newsies.
As much as we love being at home in our T-shirts and jeans (okay fine sweats) all day, Bjork and I are getting all profesh and hitting the road this fall for some food slash blog conferencing. Beep beep!
When we were living half a world away in the Philippines, I started to get that sort of buggy feeling about wanting to (brace yourself for the obnoxious term) network and eat num food and make friends by going to some conferences. But at the time when I was wanting that, I was, uhm, like, way over in the jungle getting my world rocked and eating full cartons of mangoes.
Last fall after we came back to the States, we headed out to an IACP conference in Seattle for some awesome learning and speaking and people meeting (AND THE FOOD. worth it.) You guys, it was so fun for us to travel together and have this cool conference experience and we totally got the itch to do more of this sort of thing.
Buuuut behind the scenes it was kinda super stressful because after a very full weekend meeting people, presenting, and learning, we took a red-eye flight home (no no no no no) and then – wait for it – I went to school the next morning. I tried to be Awesome Elementary School Teacher Who Is Patient With Kids while making a mental note that we better keep conferences reserved for the time in our lives when we not only in the homeland country, but also not so overwhelmed with multiple jobs.
So here we are coming full circle and then some – our primo conference time is right now! We’re in the US, blogging and related entrepreneurial things are both of our primary jobs right now, and as a result, we’re both super pumped to be attending and speaking at two conferences this fall. I am crossing my fingers that you and I will find each other at the snack table at one of these events as we’re both reaching for the same goat cheese crostini and our hands will touch and we’ll look up and… fate.
Blog Elevated – September 25-27th
TEXAS. Bring it on, y’all. I have only been to Texas once but here goes round #2 since we’ll be attending and speaking at BlogElevated in Galveston at the end of September. Woot! This conference is a weekend event and as a Minnesota girl, I can say that I’m pretty excited to be heading out to AN ISLAND (squee) for all the bloggy things.
The fun thing about BlogElevated is that it’s for all kinds of bloggers, not just food bloggers. So everything that Bjork and I are speaking about will obviously be from the perspective of a food blog but geared towards anyone with a blog. Some of the awesomeness of this conference includes:
- Blog Like a Rock Star ā Dayna Steele
- Monetizing Your Blog – Bjork Ostrom *mwah*
- Bookkeeping and Business Basics – Helena Swyter
- Pricing Your Worth as a Blogger – Amy Locurto
- eBooks for Bloggers -dats me
- Representing Brands with Style – Fred Goodall
- Photography Props and Set Ups Everyone Can Use – hey again
There are also Creative and Social Media tracks – and lots more events in between to keep us smart/happy. Since we’re only about a month away from this one, please tell me where a person should buy her first pair of cute cowgirl boots? Or no. Too much?
Wait wait wait for this little Rafflecopter widget to load just below this sentence and – boom! – you can enter to win a free ticket to BlogElevated 2014.
Chopped Conference – October 24, 2014
Bring on the barbeque! That’s what you eat in Kansas City, right? I am super pumped to be attending and speaking at Chopped Con with Bjork because in addition to meeting a boatload of food bloggers from the Best Midwest, there are a few panels with some of my favey food bloggers who I have never met because I have hermit tendences and I am going to hunt them down once and for all and give them hugs and kisses. Just… turn away.
This is a one-day conference on October 24, and it. is. power. packed. Think fun and educational and delish. I think just the air in this room is going to taste yum to the max – obvi a side effect of packing food bloggers into a room together. Some party conference highlights will include:
- The More You Know, The More You Can Eat!Ā by conference Keynote Speaker,Ā Carolyn OāNeil
- iPhones, Hashtags, and Filters, Oh My! Building and Expanding Your Social Media Presence on Instagram. Ā Participants on this panel: Bev Weidner, Kristen Doyle, and Christina Lane
- The Art of Food Writing by Jill Silva
- Taking Your Food Blog from Good to Great byĀ Lindsay & Bjork Ostrom (hiiii mom!)
- The Food Blogger Time Turner: How to Work With a Virtual Assistant by Milisa Armstrong
- Building Your Blog Power Hour: How to Work with Brands. Participants on this panel: Cheryl Sousan, Ali Ebright, and Kathryne Taylor
- Oh the Places Youāll Go: Why Food Blogging is More Than The Sum of Its Parts (i.e. revenue)Ā by Kristen Doyle
This is a one-day powerhouse conference – I surely hope I will be seeing some fellow Midwestern, maybe even Minnie-sota bloggers there HINT HINT HINT. Check out this little Rafflecopter dittly to load under this sentence for the free ticket to this conference up for grabs. Free as in zero dollars yeh yeh booyeh.
That’s all for this Saturday, favorite peoples of the internet! Thanks for reading, attending conferences, friending us in person, and loving food.
dance wiyh
The best thing about conferences is the free food! There may also be a way to “crash” one for the food but I wouldn’t advocate it!
I wish you a lot of fun š
No idea how I missed this post earlier, but super excited to hear your presentation in Kansas City… I’d like to (strongly!) suggest a Thursday or Friday night blogger field trip to Arthur Bryant’s or (AND?!) Oklahoma Joe’s (which they just renamed)… you know, for research purposes š
I grew up in KC, so I’m pumped to go home AND be part of a blog conference there. Looking forward to seeing you guys and saying hi!
Thanks Jessica! Can’t wait to meet you as well! š
Hi Lindsay! Did I mention I finally quit my job? Let’s get lunch soon. Also, I’ll be seeing you at ChoppedCon! YAY!
Yes you DID! Or, I mean, I saw it because I web-stalk you š can’t wait to see you at Chopped! high five, girl!
AH! If it’s still there, you absolutely have to try the fancy restaurant that’s over the water/on a dock-sort-of-thing! A lot of the places in Galveston have really great food locally, and I just really recommend it, but the fancy restaurant over the water (it’s in the market part of Galveston where the party’s at;)) provides a great experience. The houses are also fun to look around at. c: And if you can, consider checking out San Antonio, Fiesta Texas, and SeaWorld.
…actually, save San Antonio and the others for later. The food in that city is gfjldsjklgf. I lived there for a few years, and I visited, and I still haven’t been able to eat everything.
Thanks for the tips Liz! Can’t wait!
Wow! How exciting! I love reading about your journey and adventures. It’s definitely fun and inspirational! Good luck š
What’s up Dear, are you actually visiting this site on a regular basis,
if so afterward you will absolutely take pleasant know-how.
I’m going, I’m going! Can’t wait to meet the real life YOU GUYS! š
yes! can’t wait, Beth!
Ahh! I wish you were going to the Seattle conference again, because that is going to be my first food blog conference! Anyway, these conferences sound bomb. Also Texas.
Aw, have fun!
Sounds so exciting! Blessings on all you do at these great conferences.
Thanks Suzy! Appreciate that!
SO excited to see you speak at ChoppedCon, I’m eagerly awaiting October!!!
Yay! Can’t wait to meet you in person, Phi!
Yay!!! I’ll see you all at Chopped š So looking forward to it. You both were about 97% of the reason I signed up to go!
Yess! Blog friends in real life!
Woohoo! Those conferences sound great! Congrats on the speaking engagements! You guys are going to rock it!
Thanks Tyler! How did the rest of the granola making go the other night? We should have a granola making party.
Granola is amazing — no substitutes — real salted peanuts (cheating a little here). Super easy to make and wonderful on yogurt. A winner that we will put in our shuffle.
I’m also working on the banana oat muffins. They get better each time.
Thanks for the great work!
Oh so exciting!!! I wish I could be there and meet you and Bjork and hear you speak in person. That’s awesome!!
I’m speaking at a blogger conference in November in Europe. I’d absolutely love reading about your experience on speaking, preparing, how to make it interesting, and getting over nerves, lol!
WHAT?! Europe? How fun!
I’d love to go, but it’s a bit far right now. If you hear of one in Florida, I’d love to hear about it. Texas is Great. Have a ball.
I think Food Blog Forum is occasionally in Florida – have you heard of that one?
Oh gosh you guys are in my back yard! I live in The Woodlands just north of Galveston. So excited for you to be so close. I certainly hope I can come see you. I’d love to see you in person. š
How fun! Hoping to see you there Kelli!
Thanks for this information! Sometimes it hard to know where to start and where to look, but this was definitely helpful š
I visited your blog to find your pork carnitas recipe, saw this post, and have to ask: where did you get your SHOES?! The pointed flats are fantastic!
Thanks Jenna! So funny that you asked – I’ve been looking for a replacement pair since they are pretty cheap (Target, I think?) and stained, and I’ve been having the hardest time finding another pair!!
I’ll be at Chopped, I’m looking forward to seeing you again! Looks like it’s going to be a great conference. My husband is coming down with me and we’re going to stay all weekend because I love Kansas City!
How fun! A weekend trip! Would love to meet your husband (and I’m sure Bjork would too) this time around!
I live in Galveston and just started reading your blog last week – so imagine my surprise when I saw that you’ll be visiting! Galveston is a great little island city, but not very ‘Texan’. Geri from Austin is right about our lack of cowboy boots. Bring your flip flops! Places to eat: Mosquito Cafe for sandwiches, Sunflower for brunch, Gorditas for Mexican, Saltwater for seafood and Gumbo Bar for, well, gumbo. Olympia at Pier 21 is one of my favorite places – sit outside on the patio for a great view of the port, pelicans and maybe dolphins, if you’re lucky. Enjoy your trip!
Flip flops it is! Thanks for all these awesome recs, Katie!
Ooh I wish I could go to one of these! In my 4 1/2 years of blogging so far, I’ve never been to a blog conference but would really like to one of these days. It’s not in my budget for this year, but I’ve had my eye on Blog Her Food for a while, and know there’s plenty of others out there. Texas in September sounds amazing!
Yes it does! I cannot wait!
I’m from Minnesota as well and would LOVE to go to these blogging conferences to learn more and meet some great people. Texas in late September sounds like weather Heaven!
I wish I could go. There is so much to learn from you guys!
Good luck…
Cheers!
Hi Lindsay,
Galveston doesn’t have a ranch/cattle background and is way down on the coast. Don’t believe I’ve seen cowboy boots being worn down there. Now, here is Austin it is a different story. Whatever, have a wonderful time in this very diverse state.
Thanks for the tip Geri! š