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Mixed Conference Recap

I spent the weekend at Mixed Conference.  H-E-B provided me with a ticket to the conference, covered my stay at Woodlands Resort and compensated me for my post.  AND one of the most fun parts of the entire weekend was Andrew got to join me for this blogging conference!

The conference got off to a good start with a fluffy bed…

mixed conference with HEB | immaEATthat.com

A swag bag…

mixed conference with HEB | immaEATthat.com

Tea…

mixed conference with HEB | immaEATthat.com

Yummy snacks H-E-B provided all bloggers with… 

mixed conference with HEB | immaEATthat.com

And serene views from our hotel room…

mixed conference with HEB | immaEATthat.com

We arrived Friday afternoon and the weekend started with a session on videos from ChezUs.

mixed conference with HEB | immaEATthat.com

I know absolutely nothing about doing food videos so what I took away from the session was that 1) there’s a thing called a-role and b-role, 2) never use house/kitchen lights when making videos, 3) don’t stand too close to walls when making videos, rather set the scene in the middle of the room to give you some depth, 4) facebook calls a view on a video at 3 seconds whereas youtube calls a view on a video at 30 seconds, 5) if you don’t have a pretty kitchen, don’t shoot in your kitchen and 6) never shoot portrait, always shoot landscape.

Starting to make videos still makes me feel overwhelmed…we’ll see.

Dinner that night was a pasta bar + salad + roasted veggies outside by the lake.  AND there was garlic bread, which I realized once I saw it that I hadn’t had garlic bread in ages.  So tasty!

mixed conference with HEB | immaEATthat.com mixed conference with HEB | immaEATthat.commixed conference with HEB | immaEATthat.commixed conference with HEB | immaEATthat.com

Then we chatted it up with A Family Feast for awhile.  She had so many helpful tips to give us about blogging.  So glad we got to meet her and pick her brain.

Then we headed to bed.  We woke up around 7:30am to move our bodies a bit before sitting all day in sessions.  Andrew and I went to the gym for some weight lifting and planks.

mixed conference with HEB | immaEATthat.com

Breakfast was up next.  There was a breakfast buffet and I went with eggs + bacon + sausage + orangey french toast with cream cheese + yogurt.  

mixed conference with HEB | immaEATthat.com

Then we ran back to our hotel room to shower and I happened to turn on the TV and watch the best cooking show while I got ready.<3

mixed conference with HEB | immaEATthat.com

We headed back to the conference and had sessions on 1) working with brands and 2) how to temper chocolate and make chocolate designs.

The brand talk emphasized how to build relationships with brands.  Basically, think about brands you like and would want to work with eventually and use their products and promote them on social.  After building a relationship for awhile, reach out to them about collaborating.

Next up we had a quick walk over to Robard’s Steakhouse for lunch and I got…not steak.  I’m always in a mood for a hamburger, but rarely am in the mood for a steak.  So I went with the salmon.

Served with asparagus + creamy mashed potatoes. 

mixed conference with HEB | immaEATthat.com

Before the main meal we had wedge salads & fries.  I have so much love towards wedge salads.

mixed conference with HEB | immaEATthat.com

And then…oh geez.  Dessert.  You guys.  

We had a trio of desserts, but that one in the front was the only one I tried because it was so perfect.  It was an oreo crust + peanut butter mousse + whipped cream pie.  I need to recreate a version for the holidays because it was SOOO incredible.

And I ate the pretty chocolate twirl because chocolate.

mixed conference with HEB | immaEATthat.com

After lunch we had a session on creating food photography boards from Meredith.  I’m realizing I want to do more food photography on dark gray base boards, so Meredith had helpful tips for making all kinds of photography boards to achieve different styles.

mixed conference with HEB | immaEATthat.com

Up next was a food styling and photography session with Tami & Helene.  In the talk they discussed a lot of different food photography styles.  I still want to work at bringing a little diversity into my food photography style, so it was nice for them to go through a lot of different looks.

 mixed conference with HEB | immaEATthat.com

Then we had a 2ish hour break before dinner.  Andrew and I just headed back to the room and relaxed a bit and I did some Pinterest work.

Dinner was sponsored by H-E-B and was Italian food based on their Ciao Italia campaign.  I had caprese salad, mixed green salad, lemon chicken, fried eggplant (it was dreamy!), focaccia bread and just enough pasta to taste it.

mixed conference with HEB | immaEATthat.com

Up for dessert was a tiramisu and a cannoli that Andrew and I split.

mixed conference with HEB | immaEATthat.com

It was such a good weekend away.  Now to head home and get ready for the week.  Stay tuned for a soup recipe coming your way tomorrow.

Have you been to any blogging conferences? What one is your favorite?!

9 comments

  1. It was so nice to meet you at the Friday night dinner. I’m happy to meet another local blogger. Wasn’t it an awesome conference? There was so much good information, good food, and good company!

  2. This looks like it was so much fun – and that swag bag is dreamy! (as is the fried eggplant!)

  3. Great recap! It was so nice to meet you!

    • Great meeting you, Ann! I hope you had fun at dinner Monday night! (…I think that was when you were taking your son to the fancy restaurant!) I look forward to eating in his restaurant one day…he sounds like such a cool kiddo!

  4. Your work conferences are much different to the boring ones I go to for work! Very jealous :)

  5. What a glorious food & fun filled trip! I am so ready for another blogging conference soon!

  6. We’re so glad y’all could join us!

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