Alright…this will be my last Blend recap post, I swear!
Unfortunately, it will also be the hardest…
Because as if it wasn’t hard enough to actually leave all these beautiful ladies on Sunday afternoon, now, I feel like I’m doing it all over again…
After a delicious Chobani breakfast, we all geared up for the raffle. And seriously, you would not believe what all the sponsors had thrown in there…gift certificates to Bob’s Red Mill, cases of Chobani, blog redesigns, KEURIGS…it was unbelievable!
AND there was enough for EVERYBODY to go home with something special!
I actually won a HUGE gift pack of NuNaturals stevia products, but since the company has been so good to me in the past and I have enough stevia to get me through a zombie apocalypse, I ended up trading someone for an insulated Chobani grocery tote and a SUPER soft Chobani T-shirt! 🙂
Then we all headed outside for our Blend 2012 group photo:
Photo credit: Bobbi
Can you spot me in all the Blends?
After all that excitement, the rest of the morning was a blur…before I knew it, over half the crowd was gone and the last few taxis had arrived…
Even as I was packing my EXTRA bag just full of swag, it was hard to be excited about going home after such an incredible weekend.
So you can imagine how happy I was to find out that I some of my fellow blends were going to the airport at the same time! I was actually able to sit down and have “lunch” with Christine…I refused to pay almost $10 for a sandwich and opted for swag instead…although I WAS tempted to snatch up one of those local whoopie pies
(Hello red velvet!)
Then I got the shock of the day once I boarded my plane and found I was sitting RIGHT BEHIND Jen!
It was a nice flight home and although I did doze off a few times (coming down from my Blend high, I guess), I actually got a few chapters of Catching Fire under my belt. I introduced The Hunger Games to my mom and sister and now they’re both chomping at the bit waiting for me to finish the second book! lol
Once we landed, I felt the butterflies coming…it was time to find BB!
It felt SO good to see him after what felt like forever since we didn’t really spend any time together before I left for my trip.
And he even brought me presents!
I am now the official owner of my very FIRST fishing pole…and a pack of mini peanut butter Moon Pies that I am still hoarding! 😉
After gathering all my bags and seeing the look on BB’s face once I told him that one was entirely full of snacks, we realized we were both starving and headed into downtown Nashville for a date night:
We tried a new-to-us place in the middle of Broadway, Merchants Restaurant & Grille, and we both thought the prices and menu options were great!
I ordered the grilled chicken sandwich and BB opted for the grilled salmon BLT and we both got the melt-in-your-mouth sweet potato fries!
Of course we each had nibbles of the other’s sandwich….and while I loved the flavor of the salmon paired with the bacon and basil mayo on BB’s, my sandwich with the chipotle mayo, avocado, and smoked gouda was out of this world!
Hmm, welcome home hugs & kisses, presents, and dinner…I REALLY need to go out of town more often!
After we got back home, I think it was about 15 minutes before I was in PJ’s and already snoozing away. And of course I dreamt all about my blends…
Photo credit: Bobbi
I can’t even begin to express how grateful I am to Lindsay, Katie, Janetha, all the people of Chobani and our other generous sponsors, for making this weekend one of the best of my life! So many laughs…so many experiences…so many memories that I will ALWAYS hold close to my heart.
It’s not goodbye, it’s see ya later!
Can’t wait to see you all at Blend 2013!
🙂
