I had the most wonderful time in Orlando last weekend at the Food Blog Forum. It was inspirational, fun, (delicious) and great way to meet so many food blogger friends I’ve been chatting with online for ages.

One of the cool things we learned about in Todd & Diane’s talk- was how to easily make free videos for our blogs using a great website called Animoto. Well- I decided to hit the ground running and made a little video for you with some trip highlights. (You may recognize some wonderful other bloggers in these pics!)

Thank you Scott & Jaden, Todd & Diane, Lindsay & Julie for all the work you put into this wonderful event. I can’t wait for next year!

It’s taking me longer than expected to get back into the kitchen groove. I should have something for you on Friday though! 

Happy Derby Day! Before I start sharing all my wonderful experiences at King Arthur Flour Blog & Bake™ last week- one quick very cool thing! I filmed a video for ABC News making these cupcakes! Check it out! :)

Ok! I’ve finally had time to edit the hundreds of photos I took while at King Arthur Flour Vermont last week and I’m ready to share some. We did a lot of really cool things over the 3 days I spent up in Vermont, but the time we spent in the baking classroom was by far my favorite. I so enjoyed walking in and seeing my station set up so cute with an apron and all the ingredients/recipes I’d need for the day.

Ok- I swear this is the last time I’m posting pics from Europe instead of food. (Well- maybe I shouldn’t promise that- I mean ideally I get to go to Europe again right?) It seems like ages have passed since we were in Rome, even though it was just a few weeks ago. Why do vacation days go by so fast and yet non vacation days go on and on?

Anyway, I loved Rome. The history gave me goosebumps, the food was the best I’ve ever had, and we stayed at a dreamy hotel that made leaving extra hard.

Sometimes when I see sights that are so full of history (like the Colosseum and really all of Ancient Rome,) I almost get a little teary. It’s just so magical to imagine all the millions of people who have seen that same thing for so many years.

Oh Florence….by far my favorite of the four cities we visited on our Europe trip. What was it about Florence- the beauty at every turn? the fact that every meal we had there was to die for?  the easy to navigate streets which made getting around easy as can be? (unlike the labarynth of a city that was Venice.) Man oh man did we love it. This is definitely a city worth visiting again as we barely scratched the surface. We’re thinking a venture into the Tuscan hills would be perfect for next time…

Thank goodness for jetlag that allows me to be awake at 5 AM starting this post! (It’s 11 AM Europe time after all.) We got back last night from 12 amazing days of sightseeing in Paris, Venice, Florence and Rome. It was such a whirlwind of planes, trains, and hotels, and doing this recap for you is really going to help me document and remember my time in each city. It is going to take me a few days to get back into the swing of things baking wise- but I hope to be back to my normal schedule by the middle of next week. In the meantime- I hope you don’t mind me sharing some highlights from the trip! Lets start with the first installment of our time in Paris!

Our first day in Paris was a bit rough, as we arrived at 8 AM Paris time and didn’t sleep much on the plane, we were pretty sleepy and out of it all day. We did however make our way to the beautiful and iconic Notre Dame cathedral. It was truly breathtaking- I couldn’t get over all the detailing on the towers.