Sorry for my absence this past week! I’ve been away at a conference of vegan bloggers in Portland, and then traveling with my mom up to Victoria, BC.
The conference is called Vida Vegan Con, and was such an amazing experience! The vibe was super friendly and collaborative, with tons of amazing energy from everyone.
I met so many of the people who I only knew from emails and blogs, and spent time catching up with some of my favorite friends from my online life.
Some of the new people I met were Sayward Rebhal, whose amazing blog I came across recently because of her inspiring post about regaining her health within the context of her veganism.
I also met Miyoko Schinner for the first time, who made some phenomenal artisan vegan cheese for the conference soiree. I found out that she had a TV program on PBS, and you can watch some of her videos on her site – how cool is that??
I had a fascinating conversation with Nava Atlas, who has written so many cookbooks – but I learned that she also has a book about female writers called <https://www.amazon.com/Literary-Ladies-Guide-Writing-Life/dp/1416206329″>Literary Ladies and is also an accomplished artist.
One of my favorite talks (though there were so many fantastic ones!) was Fran Costigan’s on how to put on an awesome cooking demo. She has such a wonderful energy and sense of humor 🙂
I finally met Angela from Oh She Glows over morning smoothies, whose yummy carrot cake oatmeal I filmed a while back.
Sharing energy is the only way to describe meeting Tess Masters (aka The Blender Girl). She has the most amazing energy and presence, and is one of those people who loves to share it.
I also got to spend some quality time catching up with some of my favorite people – Dreena Burton, Christy Morgan (who I’ll be speaking with very soon in Austin at BlogHer Food!), Gena Hamshaw, JL Fields, Jill and John (of Vegan Cuts), Ricki Heller, Jill Nussinow, Lisa Pitman (and I finally met her partner in crime, Nicole Axworthy), and Hannah Terry-White.
It would take me ages to tell you how wonderful each of them is, and I want to get this posted sooner rather than later cause it’s already late! But go check them all out – trust me, they are all amazing.
Of course, there was lots of great food to be eaten as well as great people to talk to. We had wonderful breakfasts and lunches at the conference, and yummy meals out in Portland.
I kept going back to Prasad for bowls of soup or quinoa with veggies or salad with tempeh or oatmeal with fruit or smoothies… so much good stuff! I was basically working my way through the menu…
My mom and I did branch out a little, though. We had dinner at the Veggie Grill with Fran Costigan, Nava Atlas and Ami Baio. We also went for dinner at The Blossoming Lotus, which was phenomenal.
I also went to Canteen for my last lunch in Portland with my mom, and we both got the Portland bowl which includes maple glazed tempeh – yum! And took smoothies to go for a drive out to Cannon Beach.
We also stocked up on kombucha and fruit at Whole Foods for the next few days – yum 🙂
So I’ve been busy connecting with people experiencing life rather than being at my computer lately – which has been really fulfilling and refreshing, though I have missed connecting with all of you!
For anyone who follows me on facebook, twitter or instagram you’ll have seen all the photos I’ve been posting, which was my way of staying in touch 🙂
