What was RockHer Blogger Bash??

It may be easier to answer “what wasn’t RockHer Blogger Bash?”!

On May 19th, the night before the official start of the BlogHer Food Conference in Atlanta, I, along with my two gorgeous co-hosts Brandi from BranAppetit and Leslie, The Hungry Housewife threw a party that will go down in history. (well, at least in our minds!)

We chose the incredible Hard Rock Café Atlanta as our venue – or rather, IT chose us, it seems, and the location could not have been more perfect! Located directly across from the Westin, where everyone was staying made it uber convenient. But convenience wasn’t the wow factor – it was the Hard Rock in general! We had the Velvet Underground room, complete with red carpet, and our guests were treated to amazing food! From passed hors d’oeuvres, such as Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail and GIANT Hamburger Sliders, to a live action Pasta Bar, to a Mashed Potato Bar, and even a carving station.

There was also a dynamic dessert bar, complete with shot glass cheesecakes and cookies and brownies, cupcakes and more! Our good friends at Dole provided a Salad Station to showcase their new salad mixes (yum!) and Fruit Bites (double yum!), as well as the most incredible Dole Banana Margaritas and Pina Coladas – if you weren’t having a good time eating and drinking it was your own fault!

The Hard Rock Staff went out of their way to make this a night to remember, from the pre-planning, to the planning, to the set up, breakdown, and everything in between. Dina, my contact at the Hard Rock, was a wonderful person to work with – I wish I could plan parties with her everyday!

Dina not only arranged the party, but she took care of the great band that followed, as well as arranged for Burgess Amusements and ButtonItUp to keep us all entertained throughout the night! Game stations were spread around the room, and a super cool FlipIts station was available, too! Group after group lined up to get a keepsake Flip Book – a little mini-movie type of book that captured our crazy antics! Thanks so much Burgess & ButtonItUp!

None of the night would have been possible without our amazing sponsors. Here’s what you missed!

Dole

Dole, as I mentioned above, provided the Salad Bar, Fruit Bites, and the Margarita and Pina Colada Bar. We were thrilled to have them as sponsors, and even more thrilled when they showed up in person to attend the event! What a great, personable company, and I am lucky to say I know them!

Midstate Mills

I LOVE Midstate Mills, and all of my contacts there. Not only did they send a huge display of their products, we also gave it away! Pancake Mixes, Corn Meals, All types of flour – this array was drool worthy, and our lucky winner was so happy! It was awesome to be able to work one on one with the Midstate Mills team…they were kind enough to sponsor my trip to Atlanta, and I honestly LOVE their products. Being a real family type of business, rooted in history, I can support something like that, and have no doubt that they stand true to their products. Check them out!

Cameron Hughes Wine

Marina & Owen came all the way from California to showcase this wine – and wow, is it ever wonderful! They surprised one lucky winner with a wine basket fit for a queen, and I know the winner is so excited to get it in the mail. Lucky!!

ManPans

Ahhh, ManPans. Did you know the OWNER of ManPans was in attendance? He was! Perhaps you missed him, as you were gape mouthed at the quality of the pans on display – both of which we gave away! Hopefully you grabbed one of the discount coupons while you were there – you’ll LOVE these pans!

Keurig

Dear Lord, the Keurig Coffee and Tea Bar. Swoooon! Keurigs were set up on display to use, where we could make our own refreshment. LOVE the new Southern Sweet Tea and the new Lemonade/Black tea mix. Of course, Italian Roast Coffee had lots of attendees smiling as well! Keurig was SO kind – they gifted LOTS of great Keurigs and KCups to lucky attendees…so many winners! Thanks, Keurig!

Nordicware

Remember that dessert bar? Those little cakes that looked like animals, the funny whoopie pies, and the tiny Bundlettes? Yep – all due to Nordicware! Everything was so good looking and TASTY! We were able to give away LOTS of Nordicware pans, thanks to their generosity! Not only THAT, but every attendee received a Cupcake Cookbook, courtesy of Nordicware. Thanks!!

KitchenAid

No one, and I mean NO ONE missed this display, or the presence of KitchenAid. The new Raspberry Ice Mixer was on display at the door, and inside, their entire line of Cooks for the Cure Pink was on display. A mixer, handmixer, blenders, food processor, pans, aprons, plates, ice creams scoops, knives – we gave it ALL away! Thanks so much KitchenAid!

Le Creuset, Edgeware, Chicago Metallic, and Westbend

I feel sure everyone noticed that new Fennel colored Dutch Oven. Gorgeous! We also had a crock filled with Le Creuset tools – we gave both away to two lucky attendees! We also had Westbends new (and amazing) crockpot, a set of Edgeware Zester (LOVE those things!), and a great set of Chicago Metallic cookware on display – again – all prizes! A lucky few were surprised with Edgeware’s new better Zester – and let me tell you – it’s fantastic!

TinyPrints

Everyone at the party was presented with a gorgeous name badge, courtesy of TinyPrints. Weren’t they awesome? They do such great work…it keeps me going back time and time again. A few lucky attendees were fortunate enough to walk away with TinyPrints designed business cards as well – so thanks, TinyPrints! You made our night!

Coach’s Oats

Two lucky attendees were the fortunate recipients of HUGE Coach’s Oats gist baskets, and just as amazing – every single attendee received a sample of Coach’s Oats in their swag bag! Thanks for the generosity!

Nestle Kitchens

Who didn’t notice the full sized bag of the NEW Nestle Dark Chocolate Chips in their swag bag? I bet you did! How sweet is THAT? Plus, did you know that Chris and Liz from Nestle Kitchens were there? What fun ladies! Hopefully you got to chat with them a bit…they are so sweet, and were so excited to include these chocolate chips for everyone. I for one, was GLAD!

Stonyfield

Stonyfield surprised everyone with great coupons, and a huge gift basket filled with cookbooks, coupons, and lots of other goodies. The winner was so happy! (and rightly so!)

Guylian

Chocolate. Guylian supplied each and every guest with a sample of their divine candies, as well as gave away some larger boxes of assorted chocolates. Delish!

LuckyLeaf

A large handful of attendees left the party with Lucky Leaf cookbooks in hand…filled with great recipes! Lucky indeed!

Tate’s Bake Shop

Oh, cookies. Cookies and Brownies. Shipped. A big thanks to Tate’s Bake Post for taking care of several of our attendees, what a treat! We were thrilled to have you represented!

Beanilla

Here’s where I die. Beanilla Vanilla Beans were given to each and every attendee. There were four different varieties, and no matter which one you got, you were in for a treat! I expect to see lots of great recipes popping up across the web from the attendees who are using the beans – but fair warning – you’ll be hooked! Thanks, Beanilla, I love working with you all!

Burpee Home Gardens

Burpee Home Gardens was generous enough to send seeds, lettuce packs, brochures and more for us to share, and share we did! I love working with Burpee, and their staff is top notch. Questions, concerns? Just contact them, and you’ll get your answer. How great is that?

Re-Use It, Vapur, and Platypus

Natalie at Re-Use it was kind enough to not only send us some great reusable bags for the event, but also put us in touch with both Vapur and Platypus for reuseable (and collapsible!) water bottles. There were some very lucky attendees who walked out of the party with these goodies! Thanks so much! (Gotta say, I LOVE the collapsibles. Once they are empty, just roll them up and shove it in your pocket or purse – how easy is that?)

Moe’s Grill

Moe’s jumped in at the last minute with a couple of great giveaways – Giftcards! One even included a Le Creuset StockPot!! Thanks Moe’s!

One 2 One Network

I really enjoy being a part of this tightknit network. O2O was kind enough to send each and every one of use a VERY useful business card holder, and I spent the rest of the weekend filling it with the cards of fellow bloggers, PR firms, and companies! So smart! Thanks O2O!

Cookbooks

A huge thanks to Dorie Greenspan for sending copies of her great books, as well as to Elizabeth Karmel, for sending her fantastic grilling book! We also have to say WOW, THANKS, to the kind souls at Harvard Common Press for supplying each guest a copy of the gorgeous “Salty Sweets” Cookbook. What a gift!

Again, a HUGE THANK YOU to all of our sponsors. You truly made this event amazing, and we could NOT have done it without you!

Behind the Scenes

What you didn’t see? Brandi and I arriving at 1030am in the hot Atlanta heat, making over 6 trips uphill with that rolling cart loaded down with boxes and goodies. SIX trips. Leslie arrived just in time to load us down with another trip! Brandi and I drove down from Virginia in a huge white van. It was packed to the gills! Seriously, how I ever thought we could make it in my Trailblazer is beyond me! Just LOOK!

Once everything was actually IN the Hard Rock, we had to do something with it. Luckily, Leslie made it back over, and Carrie from Fields of Cake stepped in to assist! We filled swag bags for HOURS – yes, HOURS! – ate a quick bite (while standing, of course) and arranged the display tables. it was fast and furious in there! Here’s a look at everything in the Goody Bag that EACH attendee got! Great stuff!

Hopefully, everyone had as great of a time as we did! And, if you attended, and have a post about it, or, you have any pictures of the night, PLEASE share them on our Facebook Fan Page. We want to see!

Photos were stolen from Danica’s Daily, Spice’s Bites, Bran Appetit, Fields of Cake, AlliEat, and maybe you? Sorry – I was too busy working the party to take pictures for myself!