{Sweet Travels} Wilton Blogger's Workshop

The words "Business trip" and "Cake" rarely go together, but when you're a food blogger, fun things like that can happen!  I was recently invited by the Wilton company to attend the Wilton Blogger's Workshop, held outside Chicago, Illinois.  I gladly took the opportunity to meet up with many talented bloggers, and learn more about the Wilton company.  Since I frequently visit the cake decorating section of my local craft stores, I'm quite familiar with many of Wilton's great products.  Their huge selection of products can be purchased everywhere from Wal-mart to Michael's, and the full line of products is available on their site, Wilton.com. 

The day of the workshop, our group of 25 bloggers traveled (from our hotel) to the Wilton Headquarters (Woodridge, Illinois).  We started the day with a decorating workshop, where we brushed up on decorating basics and piping skills, and enjoyed demos of some of Wilton's newest products. 

We were greeted with a goodie bag full of all the decorating supplies we'd need for the day.

Later in the day we were split into groups (of three) and participated in a good natured cake decorating contest.  We were given a cake (a fake cake) already iced, and had one hour to decorate it as desired (using a variety of Wilton supplies provided).

(Above) Here I am (in blue) working hard with Liz of Hoosier Homemade.

(Below)  Rachel, of Cooking with my Kid (on left), and Shelly of Cookies and Cups (right) working on their cake, which later won the title "Most Creative"

(Above) Jessie of Cake Spy with her group's cake.

(Below)  My group's finished cake (decorated by Liz of Hoosier Homemade, Carrie of Fields of Cake, and myself).  Our cake won the title "Best Overall Technique".

Part of our day included a great peek behind the scenes at Wilton, including tours of the test kitchen, the decorating room, photo studio, prop room and decorating school.

Have you ever seen an office lined with cakes on every surface?  =)

A peek inside the photo prop room... It's scary to realize I almost have as many cake stands as they do!   

We rounded out the day with a trip to Wilton's annual tent sale.  The tent sale is open to the public, and if you love cake or cookie decorating and live within a few hours of Woodridge, Illinois I would highly recommend finding your way to the tent sale, which is held every June.

Need a cake pan... or 10?

How about a cookie cutter... or 20?

I may have found a few things at the sale to stuff in my suitcase...

The day ended with a delicious dinner at Gordan Biersch, where I enjoyed a bit more time with some of the lovely ladies in attendance.

(Left to Right) Kristan of Confessions of a Cookbook Queen, Shelly of Cookies and Cups, Karly of Buns in my Oven, and me (Glory- Glorious Treats).

(photo thanks to Karly)

And a little shoutout to a couple lovely ladies I enjoyed visiting with, but didn't get a photo of...

Amy of She Wears Many Hats and Stacie of Cupcakes Take the Cake.

And thank you to Wilton for including me in this fun and enriching trip!

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Hello Chicago... and a fond farewell dear Oprah

Earlier this year I had an opportunity to visit Chicago for the first time in my life.  I was very excited to visit a new city, spend some time with a good friend, meet a couple of new friends, and enjoy a few days kid-free!  (Yes, I LOVE my children... and yes I also enjoy a break every now and then!)  I was also VERY excited to go here...

The Oprah Show!!!  (Now before you get too excited... I just got to SEE the show, not be on it!)

A little background...

My dear friend Sharnel, of Sharnel Dollar Design had the wonderful opportunity to create a dessert table, and plan and set up a gorgeous baby shower for the Oprah show last November when the show visited Australia (see photos of Sharnel's beautiful work for Oprah HERE).  The producers of the show were so blown away by Sharnel's work, they offered her tickets to see a taping of the Oprah show in Chicago this spring.  Sharnel was given 4 tickets and I was the lucky recipient of one of them!  Oh how lovely it is to have friends in high places!  =)  (Read more about how I met Sharnel and our first face-to-face meeting HERE)

Sharnel, myself and two more of Sharnel's friends (Michelle and Marlene) spent 5 days in Chicago shopping, dining and chatting, with the highlight of the trip being our visit to the Oprah Show.  The show topic (which is unknown the audience until you arrive at the show) was a Saturday Night Live Reunion.  Past cast members of Saturday Night Live including Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, Dana Carvey and Chevy Chase reminisced about the show, and shared lots of funny clips from Saturday Night Live over the years.  

So... no giveaway  =)  But it was so special to simply see Oprah in person (across the room) and witness one of her very last shows. 

(Above) Here is our group of international friends (L to R) Sharnel (from Australia), Marlene (from New York), Me- Glory (from California), and Michelle (from Australia).  And yes... I'm sort-of a giant. 

Here, you can't tell so much when I'm by myself... (and next to a huge sign!)

The day of the show we enjoyed a special dinner at Table Fifty-Two, a restaurant owned by Oprah's former chef, Art Smith.  The restaurant was beautiful and charming, and the food was delicious!  We all enjoyed one of the restaurant's signature drinks, the Peach Palmer.

(L to R) Michelle, Sharnel, Me (Glory) and Marlene

Our visit to Chicago also included two fun meet ups with "internet friends"... the lovely Jessie of Shop Sweet Lulu and adorable Kelly of The Party Dress. 

The trip will always be a very special memory for me and I feel very lucky to have seen even one tiny piece of The Oprah Show.  And I feel even more blessed to have such a special friend in Sharnel, and two new friends, Michelle and Marlene. 

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A Sweet Week in San Francisco

I'm home tonight from a five day visit to San Francisco.  I'm a native Californian, so I've been to San Francisco several times before, but this trip was extra special!  The five days were spent shopping, eating, chatting, and then a bit more shopping and eating!  I shared this wonderful week with Sharnel of My life my loves, a beautiful friend whom I met (on the internet) several years ago through our mutual love of cupcakes and pretty things.  Although I've considered Sharnel a true friend (much more than just an internt acquaintance) for quite a while, we've never met in person.  Sharnel flew from her home in Australia this past week and we enjoyed a whirlwind tour of San Francisco.  I have LOTS of fun photos to share (that I'll include in a few future posts), but I'll start with a little overview.... 

Here is Sharnel (on the left) and I just hours after first meeting in person.  We enjoyed a lunch down on Fisherman's Wharf.  Sharnel enjoyed the traditional sea side lunch, clam chowder in a fresh sourdough bread bowl. 

Throughout our visit we enjoyed the beautiful and unique architecture and scenery of San Francisco....

We also enjoyed a few sweets along the way...

And rounded out the sweets with a few other yummy foods...

We also did LOTS of fun shopping...

(Above) We enjoyed a stop at Paper Source after sharing a beautiful lunch with Becca of Birthday Girl, and Michelle of Cakewalk (more photos of our visit with these lovely ladies in a future post).

(Below)  One of the stops on our "must see" list included a gorgeous ribbon store... Sharnel and I went nuts in this store ohh-ing and ahh-ing.

That's all from our trip for tonight.  I'll be sharing more photos in future posts.  We found a few really special places I'll look forward to sharing!  I had such a wonderful time with Sharnel, a beautiful person inside and out.  Not to mention, incredibly talented, kind, genuine and down right hysterical... this girl has an amazing sense of humor!  But I am also glad to be home... somehow my town feels more like "home" than ever, my husband looks cuter than ever (I wanted to say sexier than ever, can I say that?) and my children seem extra angelic. 

Home sweet home. 

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