The Disney Social Media Moms Conference: an Unforgettable Family Vacation

I heard about the Disney Social Media Moms Conference too late last year to attend. The bulk of the conference spots were awarded by invites and the handful of spots opened up to anyone interested were snapped up in seconds. When the conference took place, I read the tweet stream with great interest, noting that the speakers were top notch and that the evening entertainment (Joe Jonas, Demi Lovato) were unbelievable. And I decided to do all that I could to get us to attend in 2011.

Mickey and Minnie posing with the kids after hugs all around.

This year, registration was handled differently, with the majority of the spots available on a first come first serve basis. I logged on right when the window opened, and provided the requested background information to apply. A few hours later, I received confirmation that we had been accepted. For less than $500, our family of 5 would be staying at the Grand Floridian for 3 nights including breakfasts and dinners, and would have a 7 day park hopper pass. We started counting down the days immediately.

There's nothing like a Pluto hug.

We got back late last night from Orlando. It was a vacation filled with once in a lifetime memories for our family, a chance to do Disney as VIPs, to peek behind the scenes and to have character encounters galore. The conference day was amazing for me as well, hearing from Matt Jacobson, head of market development at Facebook and Chris Brogan, but being able to attend a summit at Disney with my family and give them all such unforgettable memories was definitely the highlight of the trip. We'd been to Disney many times before, but never like this.

With Darrell Green at the Disney Magic of Healthy Living Competition that Bella participated in.

Mark your calendars and begin checking Twitter for the #DisneySMMoms hashtag in late November for 2012 sign up details. I hope that next spring, you'll be embarking for a once in a lifetime Disney vacation combined with a quality social media conference with your family.

Family Fishing at Cheeca Lodge in the Florida Keys

Even the greatest fishermen have to rest some time.

I married a fisherman. We'd only been dating a few months when he introduced me to the joys of opening spring fishing, romantically threading my slimy worms on my hook all morning. Now he has three happy helpers, eager to reach into dirt containers to pass him grubby worms, and his joy at getting a fish on the line hasn't decreased a bit.

A proud Daddy moment. Baby girl with a rod.

This summer, we spent an amazing weekend fishing in the Florida Keys at a luxury hotel called the Cheeca Lodge. As Spring break begins in a few weeks, I thought I'd use my Wordful Wednesday this week to share some memories, in case any of you are still looking for inspiration and ideas. We didn't stay at Cheeca Lodge as part of a press trip or a blogger event, just a long weekend we took to recover from the stress moving and gear up for the beginning of school. I kept meaning to write about it, but as soon as we returned to civilization, life got in the way.

The long Cheeca Lodge Pier is great for fishing.

A Fisherman's Paradise
Cheeca Lodge is a fisherman's paradise. There are rods everywhere to throw a cast in at the end of the 500 foot pier that juts out from the back terrace, and charter boats and party boats constantly going out to take advantage of the water. My husband and kids spent most of the weekend staring at the bottom of the shallow water, catching and releasing small sharks and colorful fish. When we caught a few red snappers during a snorkeling trip, the hotel chef was eager to fillet them and prepare them as a tempura appetizer. We had great meals at both the swanky hotel sushi restaurant and the outdoor contemporary American restaurant.

Isn't it amazing how good a fake beach can look? Illusion.

Disappointing Beach
Based on the hotel website, and the reservation agent, we expected the hotel to have a beautiful beach, but it was man-made and full of rocks. The pool and the dazzling turquoise water stretching out to the horizon made up for the lack of sand castles. Even if there had been a great beach, it still would have been pretty hard to tear my crew away from their fishing rods. I would have been left all alone with a good book with my toes in the sand. Such hardship!

Getting a little fish education from the charter captain. Better him than me!

Easy Access from Miami Airport
Cheeca Lodge is located in Islamadora, a Northern Florida Key and a 90 minute drive from Miami Airport. To give you a frame of reference, Key West is another two hours South of Islamadora. We took advantage of a some pretty amazing discount offer online when we booked our room. Make sure to shop around before booking.

Happy Wordful, Five Minutes Wordless, and Way-back wednesday.

When You Wish Upon a Star... Tears Flow

It never fails. I've seen the full Magic Kingdom fireworks show about five times now, but it makes me teary every time. It's all so perfectly timed, with the music and the childish simplicity of the power of a wish, that it captures the magic of childhood so well, so overwhelmingly, that I tear up, fully conscious that I'm a silly grown woman hopped up on mommy hormones. Tonight I stood on the balcony of the contemporary resort, with the music piped in to enhance the pastel explosions down below, and the tears slid down my face like clockwork.

When I walked back into the room filled with the other Traveling Mom contributors, I spied wet streaks on many of their faces. Earlier that evening, I was inspired by all these bold, amazing, creative women who effortlessly shared their bucket list dreams to learn to pilot a plane, to travel to Antarctica to see penguins, to take a dangerous trip to feel the power of the Middle East unrest.

I'm thrilled to be spending three days at Disney with these powerful dreamers, strong women with bold visions, who are not afraid to let their feelings show, not afraid to wish upon a star.

Wordful Wednesday: Second City Crush

"I think Chicago may be the perfect city," I told a table of pretty people a few months ago.

Clean, accessible, with a pulse that rivals New York's, I've fallen head over heels in love with Chicago.

 I love how I can see its skyline glitter, every night when I take out the trash.

I love the mysteries of its endless lake with its waves, beaches, and lighthouses.

I love the pervasiveness of its architecture from the Frank Lloyd Wright houses I pass on my way to school pick-up to the hundreds of reflections in the shiny Bean.

And I love that I've only just begun to explore its dining scene, with its foams, its deconstructed Caesar salads, and its fully loaded Italian Beef sandwiches.

"How long did you say you've been here? You haven't experienced the Chicago winter yet. Just wait. You'll be singing a different tune soon," said the New Yorker.

But my Second City Crush didn't vanish with the first arctic gust of wind, like college crushes in the harsh morning light. Even as the Lake Effect Snow paints my new home an even coat of white, I'm reveling in my crush, singing it from the mountain tops.

I love Chicago.

Happy Wordful, Five Minutes Wordless, and Way-back wednesday.

Pinch Me, Was I Dreaming?

Tonight her lips were chapped again. At dinner she cried until I slathered them with cream. I rubbed the raw skin slowly, mesmerized by how quickly it went from sun kissed to wind burnt.

Just yesterday I was smoothing suntan lotion on the very same spot.

Already our time in the sun seems like just a pleasant dream, a deep freeze hallucination. Our sand cities, like our footprints, have been washed away.

Pinch me please. Or rather don't. I'd rather close my eyes a little longer to feel the kiss of the sun on my face, the soft sand between my toes, and be seduced by the riot of blues all around me all over again.

Happy Wordful, Five Minutes Wordless, and Way-back wednesday.

the Best Place to Dine in Grand Cayman: Blue by Eric Ripert

This is our third family trip to Grand Cayman in five years. We're drawn back year after year to this island with its friendly people, its easy access, and its beautiful Seven Mile beach with silky smooth white sand and turquoise water. There's one other experience that we look forward to every time we return: dinner at Blue, the Eric Ripert Restaurant in the Ritz Carlton hotel.

If you've ever had the chance to eat at Le Bernardin in New York, you'll understand why having the chance to eat at Blue is such a draw. Serena from Fresh Local and Best posted a beautiful review of her meal at Le Bernardin. Eric Ripert is more than a chef, he's a magician. He creates sauces for fish that you'll remember for the rest of your life, no doubt completely redefining your expectations for fish dishes. I first ate there over 10 years ago and its been my favorite restaurant ever since.

Ripert is not one of those chefs who spreads himself thin with restaurants in cities across the globe. He's been running Le Bernardin in New York City since 1991 and his focus has earned him the recognition as one of the top NY restaurants by the New York Times, Zagat, and the Michelin Guide to name a few. QG even went so far as to call the restaurant one of the "Seven Food Temples of the World."

Having the chance to sample many of the dishes from the menu of Le Bernardin menu made with locally caught Caribbean fish while sitting out under the Caribbean stars is pretty much like paradise on earth. It's the highlight of every trip we make to Grand Cayman, and one of the reasons we keep coming back.

Just like at Le Bernardin, the menu at Blue is a choice of three different levels of prix fixe. We chose the smallest menu, with just three courses, because we were dining with the kids. I would never dream of taking my children to Le Bernardin, but at Blue the children were welcome, and thanks to the impeccable service, they immediately sensed that they were in a special place and behaved accordingly. Having three waiters approach our table with big fluffy pillows to make them comfortable clued them in to the fact that they were in for a special treat. They were handed children's menu and were soon dipping their steaks, rice, and vegetables in their own decadent sauce with as much gusto as the adults.

Steve and I both ordered the tuna carpaccio with foie gras as our appetizers. This is a dish I dream about, and wake up salivating. The tuna is wafer thin and covers the entire plate, drizzled in an olive oil and Cayman Island sea salt. And under the tuna lies a sliver of baguette covered with foie gras. The result is unforgettable.

For my main course, I opted for Cobia, a local fish. It was served atop a coconut avocado cream with a vibrant and fresh citrus sauce with lime and grapefruit. And even my dessert was perfect: a warm toffee bread pudding and a dollop of vanilla ice cream over which a waiter poured a rich caramel sauce. Even with just the three course menu, my mouth experienced a full range of spices and tastes representative of the Caribbean.

Such perfection does not come cheap. The three course menu is $80 CI, currently about $95. The two six course menus are $110 CI and $120 respectively. But as most restaurants in the Caymans are fairly expensive, this is not as much as it could/should be in comparison.  And I guarantee that it's a meal you'll remember forever.

a Little Caribbean Bliss to Close out the Year

Last year was our first year living through a Midwestern winter, four straight months of shades of gray. By the time March rolled around and those bold crocuses poked their courageous little heads through the snow, we were all starved for color and desperate to give our chapped lips a break. And we weren't even living in Chicago, the capitol of winter!

This year, we decided to deal with the Midwestern winter differently. We planned a bold escape to a place filled with a riot of color: the Cayman Islands.

The chapped lips are gone and are replaced by big smiles all around.

The return to the frozen world will probably be rough, but for now, we'll continue to wade blissfully in the Turquoise Caribbean waters.

Win a Foodie Weekend Getaway in Grand Rapids, Michigan

And the winner is.... Comment #31, Milcah! She was selected using random.org. Thank you all for entering. Congrats Milcah! This will be a welcome break for this stay at home mom of 4!****

A few weeks ago, I was a guest of the Grand Rapids, Michigan Tourism Board along with my family for the weekend. We drove along the coast of Lake Michigan for two hours until we reached Grand Rapids, a clean city near beautiful beaches with a surprising amount of cultural and culinary activity for the entire family.

You may be surprised to think of Grand Rapids as a foodie destination, but there's plenty of restaurants to keep your taste buds engaged. I enjoyed some really exciting tapas at Sans Chez restaurant on Saturday night. The presence of world-class restaurants in Grand Rapids is clearly related to the fact that the International Culinary School at the Art Institute in Michigan is located there.

But there's more to do in Grand Rapids than just eat well. We were blown away by the beautiful artwork in the outdoor sculpture park of the Frederik Meijer Gardens, including works by Auguste Rodin and Juan Munoz. I love to expose the kids to art in such a relaxing and wild setting.

I almost feel silly saying this, but we were so impressed by the Grand Rapids Children's Museum. I normally am yawning within seconds of stepping into a children's museum with their thick cloud of germs and their tattered toys. But this children's museum was definitely the exception to the rule. Its design was light and airy with huge windows, and the exhibits were fun for the whole family. The bubble station and the working bee hive were particularly memorable.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:
But don't just take my word for it, experience Grand Rapids for yourself thanks to this generous giveaway from the Experience Grand Rapids tourism board. One lucky reader will receive a foodie weekend package including:

• an overnight stay for a family of four at Courtyard Marriott Downtown Grand Rapids.
• Tickets for a family of four to to Frederik Meijer Gardens Sculpture Park
• an iPod Shuffle with a Podcast about Grand Rapids
• a Voucher to experience dining out in Grand Rapids
• And our Official Experience Grand Rapids Visitor Guide

To enter to win, please leave me a comment about whether you've ever been to Grand Rapids and why you'd like to go. I'll select the winner at random after midnight on Monday, December 20.

And there's many ways to earn additional chances to win, just make sure to return here to leave comments for each additional entry. You can:

• Follow @Frenchfoodiemom on Twitter
• Tweet about this contest using either this tweet, "Win a foodie weekend getaway to Grand Rapids from @FrenchFoodieMom www.chefdruck.com"
• Like the Experience Grand Rapids Fan Page
• Like the Chefdruck Musings Fan Page
• Post about this contest on your Facebook page.
• Post about this contest on your blog.
• Subscribe to Chefdruck Musings.
• Tweet about this contest on multiple days, and you'll get multiple entries. Just don't forget to leave me a comment each time you perform an entry action so that you get credit.

Why the Saugatuck Police Department Have my Eternal Gratitude

I didn't see the broken glass at first. We were still flushed and smiling from our beautiful walk through the Lake Michigan Dunes and it seemed like the car passenger window was just reflecting the sun in a funny way. It wasn't until we rounded the corner that we realized the car had been broken into while we walked in the forest.

The girls started crying immediately, traumatized by the reality of a bad guy rifling through our lives. Steve picked the rest of the glass carefully out of the window pane, and I kept a crazed Jack from picking up the shiny pieces with his bare hands. His reaction to the drama couldn't have been more different than the girls. He was giddy with excitement and kept pushing up against my restraining arm, drawn to the evidence of the crime like a moth to the flame.

The robber had shattered the window and grabbed only my purse before running off. He left behind our GPS and my camera bag with the macro lens. He also appeared to have ignored the trunk with my laptop and our iPad. We looked around nervously, wondering if he was watching us from a nearby bush, getting ready to pounce with a gun or a machete. Then, as an afterthought, I told Steve to call 911.

We almost didn't make the call. I was so freaked out, making a mental list of the contents of my purse: my cell phone, credit cards, and most painfully, my writer's notebook with a year's worth of work. I remember thinking, as Steve dialed, that the call was probably a waste of time, that there was nothing the police could do.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

Within 20 minutes, a sergeant arrived, notebook in hand. Our case was already being worked on, and looked promising.

• We had a suspect! Another deputy was on his way to interrogate him at his home. The team had tracked down the license plate of the driver of a pick-up truck who had been reported by another park visitor for acting suspiciously around empty cars. 
• Cell phone tracing is not just for movies. When I mentioned that my cell phone had been stolen, he immediately got on the phone with Verizon to trace the signal to see if they should be pursuing another lead.
• Next he spoke to American Express to get more details on a suspicious charge at BP, ready to call the nearby gas stations to pull their video records.

Twenty minutes later, we had an update.The suspect, found wearing women's lingerie, confessed to a long list of crimes, including our car break in. The deputy told us to sit tight while they went to look for my purse and belongings.

So we headed to a nearby Burger King and waited while a team of policemen searched under leaves in a ditch in the dark to recover our Flip video camera filled with irreplaceable birthday candle blow-out moments, my notebook with the beginning of my historical fiction novel, and my wallet with all our insurance information.

As I write, we're waiting for the police to arrive, getting updates every thirty minutes or so, wondering what the police will have found, incredibly grateful that this story of a beautiful walk gone bad may have a happy ending after all.

Update: At 9:30PM, the police escorted us to the station to retrieve some of my belongings, my precious writing notebook, a few credit cards, my wallet, and some cash. The suspect, a registered sex offender, was in custody. My Flip video cameras, my car keys, my iTouch, and my purse itself, were still at large, tossed in the leaves of a hunting reserve.

I couldn't believe the police had even found anything. They, on the other hand, seemed to think they hadn't done enough, and promised to get right back out into the woods to search at first light.

Memories of Food, Love, and Travel

Travel is a riot of experiences. You're flooded with new tastes, smells, colors, sights, and sounds everywhere you turn. It's overwhelming. It's exhilarating. It's when I feel most alive.

Beautiful Blue Belize from the sky.

I crave travel. I love that sense of excitement when I zip the suitcase shut and wheel it out the front door, knowing that I'll be changed somehow when I return home with it. When I'm traveling, I try to capture all the memories with my camera or my Flip video, but all those pixels usually get lost in the memory of my computer, with the exception of a couple of good shots.

Just arrived at Maruba Jungle Resort.

The travel memories that really stay with me, long after the pictures are downloaded, are the tastes from great meals. The foreign foods that woke my senses linger, stirring new and surprising cravings. Then when I seek out those foods near home, I re-experience the joys of travel, one bite at a time.

Two years ago, I went on a second honeymoon with my husband to Belize. We'd never traveled to Central America before, and we stayed in little boutique hotels where we really got to know the staff and other guests. We got mud massages in the jungle, walked barefoot in the sand, and went spear fishing for reef lobster. It was like paradise, so much more intimate and romantic than our first honeymoon at impersonal luxury resorts in Hawaii.

The best Huevos Rancheros I've ever had.

Out of all the meals of that vacation, it's the breakfasts that we still crave and talk about with nostalgia. Nothing fancy: a couple of eggs over easy, a little salsa, a spoonful of steaming beans, a fresh tortillas to soak it all up, and a few slivers of papaya to finish on a sweet note. All those flavors so early in the morning, some spicy, some tangy, some sweet, were a wild awakening to my senses, such a drastic departure from my usual cereal or toast. It was the perfect breakfast to have in paradise.

I've tried to recreate it, but it's never come close to that perfection. If this post gave you the craving for Huevos Rancheros, I suggest you head on over to SimplyRecipes for Elise's mother's recipe.

I'm waiting for my third honeymoon to have that perfect breakfast again.


This post was inspired by the DVD release of Eat Pray Love, a great movie that really speaks to the senses and the love of wanderlust. I'll be co-hosting a Traveling Mom Twitter (#TMOM) party next Monday, November 22, at 9EST on the topic of Food, Travel and Relationships.  I hope you'll join me and my fellow hosts and tell us about some of your most memorable traveling food moments. 

Please RSVP for the Twitter party and join us!

I received compensation for my participation in this campaign to call attention to the DVD release.

Chicago Gourmet 2010

Millenium Park was one of the first sights I visited when we moved here. I couldn't wait to see the iconic cloud statue that locals refer to as "the bean." We've only been here a month, but we've been back twice to see this amazing structure that reflects the sky and the Chicago skyline so uniquely.

Yesterday I was back at the Bean for a third time, but this time, instead of being surrounded by camera-wielding tourists, the crowd was laden down with wine glasses and appetizer plates, attendees of the 2010 Bon Appetit Chicago Gourmet event. My husband and I joyfully left the children with a babysitter and joined the throngs in a tasting frenzy.

I was surprised to find that the event was dominated by wine and spirits exhibitors. Tent after tent filled with friendly individuals ready to pour libations like this blue-eyed Irishman and his sweet Coole Swan dairy liqueur. I love wine and fun drinks as much as the next person, but there's only so much you can taste on a Sunday afternoon before returning home to deal with the kids' dinner and bathtime.

We tore ourselves away from the free-flowing liquor and went on a hunt for food. And there was plenty of food to be found, as long as we armed ourselves with a little patience for the long lines. Chefs from Chicago's top restaurants were sampling tastes of signature dishes and even rotating them throughout the day. There was so much I wanted to try, so many restaurants I'd heard about, but hadn't had a chance to visit yet, but the crowds were so dense that anything other than going with the flow would have been an exercise in frustration. The line for Rick Bayless' Frontera must have been over 100 people deep.

Pumpkin S'Mores Cakes

I had some delicious bites drifting along and tasting what came my way. The dessert pavilion featured exciting novelties like this pumpkin s'mores cake. The seafood pavilion offered fresh little bites like smoked black cod salad and tuna sashimi with granny smith slivers. Fulton's on the River served up some red wine braised short ribs on top of a corn puree that I will be dreaming about until I sit down to dinner there. I was glad to find them at the back of the St Michelle tent, along with a smooth Cabernet Merlot blend to go with it.

Cooking demonstrations and talks took place both days at the Bon Appetit Main Stage, a stunning setting under the futuristic trestle of the Jay Pritzker pavilion. I heard Chefs Takashi Yagihashi and Jackie Shen speak about Asian indulgence and demonstrate the enriching of a 5-spice braised pork with some other simple tastes (pickled veggies, Hellmann's mayonaise, and lime juice) to give the dish an umami dimension.

More Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

My favorite part of the day was definitely my chance encounter with the More Cupcakes team and their gleaming trays of mini cupcakes. The dark chocolate and salty caramel cupcakes were a delight. They left me wanting... more. But I'll have to wait til next year to experience Chicago Gourmet again. Until then, I have my work cut out for me, trying even a small fraction of the Chicago dining scene.

Why Can't I Kick the Craving?

We're here. We're finally here. The day has finally come when traveling with three kids is easy. No diapers. No bottles. Not even sippy cups. Just pack and go with three little people who can walk on to an airplane on their own two feet. Three kids who take their shoes off without being asked in airport security and who countdown and shout "blastoff!" when the plane's wheels finally leave the ground.

This picture was taken during our last trip to New York, in a quiet moment outside of FAO Schwarz. The kids greeted New York with the same thrill their parents did, enthusiastically demanding to visit their favorite restaurants and greeting the skyscrapers like old friends.

It seemed like this day of (relatively) stress-free family travel would never come. But I'm not celebrating. Instead I'm staring at the wrinkled, translucent foot of the infant across the aisle, quietly moved by his frail baby wail. I've forgotten how maddening those cries were at all hours of the night. I'm too busy hungering for that new baby smell, the weight of that tiny defenseless body nestled into mine.

I should listen to the rational me, recognize that life is finally getting easier, and celebrate. I meet so many women who tell me without a moment's hesitation, "I'm done having babies." Why can't I declare our family complete with the same certainty? Why can't I kick those baby cravings?

Wednesdays are a time to use pictures as a writing prompt. Check out the Wordful, Five Minutes Wordless, not so Wordless and Way-back wednesday posts to see how others were inspired today.

Letting the Kids Win at Max Brenner's Chocolate by the Bald Man

Worshiping chocolate at Max Brenner's Chocolate Restaurant

Just like that, the weekend was over. The bags were packed. The goodbyes were said. Plans to reunite over roast turkey and cranberry sauce were made with cousins. Promises were exchanged to email, call, stay in better touch.... this time.

We looked at our watches and did the math. We had ninety minutes left in New York City. Ninety minutes til we packed the kids in their last yellow cab and headed to Laguardia. The timing was tight, extremely tight, and we started telling the kids that we wouldn't be able to squeeze in a visit to Max Brenner's, Chocolate by the Bald Man this trip. We were being adults, responsible parents, trying to play it safe. But just like we pick our battles, so do the kids. They were willing to fight to the death for their right to visit the temple of chocolate, Willy Wonka's factory come to life.

So we capitulated. Miraculously, we hit no traffic on the way down to 14th street, and found no line at the restaurant. In less than 15 minutes, we were sitting happily surrounded by pipes of molten chocolate, pondering whether to have waffles, s'mores, or simply a giant chocolate syringe.

This was one battle I was happy to lose.

Max Brenner Locations:
NYC: 841 Broadway between 13th and 14th
Philadelphia: 1500 Walnut Street
Las Vegas: The Forum Shops at Caesars
Coming this fall to Boston at 745 Boylston

Goodbye Columbus

A year ago, our first night in Columbus was spontaneous and magical. We were strolling through the outdoor luxury of Easton when we decided to treat ourselves to a steak dinner at Smith and Wollensky. They were having a surf and turf special and we feasted like kings, dipping our lobster tail bits in drawn butter. We sat outside on the terrace, overlooking the massive silver doors of Tiffany's, mesmerized by the pastel glow of a nearby fountain. The lavender sky seemed to melt right into the water and the kids danced around to celebrate the beauty of our new hometown.

Magic can be hard to duplicate, but we decided to try on our last night in Columbus. I'm not sure if it was the marbled steak or the lure of the fountain, but we danced again, this time to say goodbye to Columbus.

Happy Wordful, not so Wordless and Way-back wednesday! 

Waking Up after the Dream of BlogHer

You may have noticed my silence, a rare occurrence, in the last few days. BlogHer washed over me like a tsunami, and I simply gave in to it, flitting from event to event like a giddy butterfly. I have to admit that it was wonderful to simply put all the stress of our move on hold, and just enjoy reconnecting with old friends and making new ones.

Last year at BlogHer Chicago, I heard people say that they didn't attend any conference sessions and spent all their time socializing. At the time I was live blogging the sessions, and didn't understand their lack of interest in what seemed to be to be the true purpose of attending the conference. But this year, I have to confess that I only attended one session, and I left halfway through. The topics just didn't seem that interesting, more of the same old conversations about FTC guidelines, working with PR firms, and monetizing your blog. But the parties and the conversations with creative and outspoken women made the trip well worth it. I found my inspiration outside the BlogHer sessions, making my virtual reality a physical one.

The week is a blur of amazing experiences. I'll try to give you a taste for them through a few pics...

Thursday began with the Kodak Big Apple Bus Tour. I spent a decade of my life living in Manhattan and never once got on one of those double decker buses. So I was looking forward to experiencing the city I called home for so long as a tourist. New Yorkers never look up, so I saw my city from a whole new perspective. I even took a few shots with the Kodak M580 share camera that I received as a gift from Kodak in advance of the event.

Thursday night was jam-packed with parties. We started out at the Social Luxe Lounge, a dazzling affair organized by Jane Maynard, Allison Czarnecki, and Marie LeBaron. Even if it had been held in a cupboard, I still wouldn't have missed a chance to catch up with Jane, who I see all to seldom for my taste.

Then I headed down to the Martha Stewart offices, eager to get a glimpse at where the Martha magic is created. I caught peeks of rooms filled with props, even walking by a dozen white doors, each waiting, like a shy girl at a dance, to add their own slight nuance to the background of a Martha Stewart magazine shot. Like the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, I didn't stay long. When I stepped into a cab to head back uptown, I felt as though I had just experienced a strange dream filled with chic men wearing white suits with bowties and gorgeous, impossibly tall women sipping ginger martinis and watermelon cosmos.

Thursday night ended at the Nikon party getting flash and lens tips from the Nikon team, and chatting on the terrace overlooking the lush green lawn of Bryant Park with Anne Marie Nichols, Susan of Five Minutes for Mom, Ellen Seidman, Heidi and, of course, my sister Jessica.

Delicious olive oil poached salmon at BLT Fish

On Friday, I left the BlogHer festivities to head to BLT Fish for a discussion with the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition on the importance of getting 12 ounces of fish in women's weekly diets. The discussion was relevant and interesting, and the food was delicious, including this olive oil poached salmon that melted in my mouth like butter. Getting a chance to meet Olga from Sassy Radish and see Sarah Caron from Sarah's Cucina Bella made the lunch even better.

 Although the schedule was packed, my sisters and I found a few minutes to sneak away to have a picnic lunch in Central Park, a decadent one to celebrate our birthdays with food from the Bouchon Bakery in the Time Warner Center.

Kidnapped by Mario!

The best photo opp of the weekend took place Friday night, when rickshaw drivers dressed up as Mario took us to the Boathouse in Central Park for dinner. Weaving in and out of midtown traffic behind a man wearing a fake mustache and an electric blue polyester costume was definitely another dreamlike sequence. The dream became even more surreal when other rickshaw drivers surrounded us spontaneously in the park, playing tinny Mario Brothers music on their cell phones. The fact that our Mario was himself an eco-tourism blogger seemed like fate, as we spent the rest of the crazy ride discussing the power and egalitarian reach of social media.

MJ Tam, Duong Sheeha, Miss Lori, Jessica Rosenberg and other Nintendo guests

The food was delicious - not a small feat for a large group dinner. My buttery filet mignon was perfectly cooked with a crispy crust and a warm red center. I'd never eaten at the Boathouse, waiting in vain for my husband to surprise me with a romantic night at this gorgeous spot. Instead I shared the view of the moonlight casting a blueish glow on the boat basin with these gorgeous women. Then we headed to the Swanky After Hours party at the Penthouse of the London Hotel to continue our superstar night, rushing to beat the twelfth stroke of midnight in case the magic wore off, returning us to our usual blogging attire: pajamas and zit cream in front of the computer screen.

How many bloggers can you fit in a luxury tub?

The alarm rang early on Saturday morning, and I still felt the pull of sleep when I walked into the dazzling loft above Nate Berkus' apartment in the Jean Nouvel Building for the Kellogg's Moms' Breakfast. The views of the river and the New York skyline were incredible, and combined with the positive energy of the two women organizing the event, Cooper and Emily from the Motherhood, I couldn't imagine a better environment to bring me back to fighting form. We had an interesting discussion about the challenges of providing a healthy breakfast to our kids, and brainstormed the logistics of the Kellogg's breakfasts we will soon be hosting in our homes. The caterers had created some delicious juice combinations: blueberry lemonade, strawberry acai juice, cherry pomegranite juice, and a honey melon juice. I'm thoroughly inspired to kick our breakfast drinks up a notch, and not just for the breakfast party I'll be hosting in Chicago this fall!

Beautiful views at the Kelloggs Breakfast

My last event was a brunch at the Loews Regency on Sunday Morning. It was organized by Carol from NYCityMama, and even though I always expect great things from my visionary and spirited friend, this event may have been her crowning achievement. The food was spectacular, a far cry from your typical "hotel food": the ceviche bar left my mouth zinging with flavor and the short ribs served atop potato pancakes with a perfectly poached egg and a dollop of demi-glace hollandaise were heavenly. My only regret was that I did not have the time to explore the elaborate cheese display and chat with the cheese expert. I would love to have had an entire evening to talk cheese with him, but it was time to catch my flight and reunite with my family in time for our move.

If this post was overwhelming and lengthy, it was meant to be, that's how BlogHer should be experienced. It's a mad rush of top-10 life experiences crammed into a three-day period. Leaving BlogHer is like waking up from a great dream. Only the bulging bag of swag proves that the dream was a reality.