Monday, July 1, 2013

Cocoanuts Summer Sweets Blogger Event...Where Real Bloggers' Blog...and I Blog Like a Wannabe...

 When I had taken my first Blog class at the BCAE this past March, one key note the instructors told me was to attend different blog events to network and meet other bloggers, so I was excited when I found a Twitter page dedicated to promoting Blogger Events (@BlogAndTweetBos). I started following them and last week and event was posted on Twitter about a Summer Sweets Blog Event at Cocoanuts in the North End. The event was for bloggers alike to come down and try all sorts of local goodies and chocolates and blog about your experience. Chocolate & sweets tasting…count me in!...

...just one problem… what and how do I blog about a blogger event at a blogger event? Guess I’ll just pop in and see what everyone else does and follow suit.
After walking the hot two miles from work to Cocoanuts in the North End, I was more than prepared for some chocolate goodness. And that’s just what I got as soon as I walked in the door of Cocoanuts- a small boutique type shop that was covered floor to ceiling in chocolate and candy-(kind of like Willy Wonka’s Candy Factory for adults).



Right as I walked in, I was pleasantly greeted by a woman asking if I wanted to try some chocolate… (she didn't have to ask me twice). Her name was Nicole and she was promoting her company Fixx Chocolates. She had quite a selection of her homemade chocolate to choose from: Praline crisp with passion fruit pate de fruits (which was surprisingly delicious given it was chocolate and fruit filling), peanut butter nougat with roasted peanuts and sea salt (can't really ever go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate and the sea salt added a kick to the flavor) and finally peanut butter nougat with apple wood smoked bacon and maple caramel (one of those combinations that sounded, well, strange, but the different tastes of the peanut butter, bacon and caramel all came at separate times, which made the taste that much better.  

After devouring a few pieces of chocolate and I walked around to see what I could try next, that’s when I found Ra’chelle of Lark Fine Foods and her delicious cookies. She had four different types of cookies to choose from, and if you know me, you know that I can’t resist cookies! The types I tried were:

·        Salted Rosemary Shortbread  
o   Rosemary-seasoned shortbread lightly dusted with sea salts
·        Coco Locos (my personal favorite)
o   Buttery cookies with toasted coconut and a hint or rum
·        Lark Bark (Lark’s newest treat)
o     Crispy oak cookies
·        Polenta Pennies
o   Polenta cookies  with lemon and studded with golden raisins

Each cookies was more delicious than that next, but by far my favorite cookies were the Coco Locos, I love just about anything with coconut.
As I was stuffing my face with delicious treats, I was starting to wonder if this was we do at a blogger event, if we just eat a bunch of cookies and chocolate and blog about it? Not as soon as that thought ran through my mind when my answer was given. Tara, co-owner of Cocoanuts, introduced herself and started discussing about the shop, the chocolates and candies that they sold and introduced both Nicole and Ro’chelle and explained about their companies and the different types of samples they had to offer, (apparently, I started the taste test a little too soon).

There were about 13 other bloggers in attendance, and it seemed, they’ve all done this before. As soon as Tara started explaining about the shop and the candies, just about all the bloggers whipped out their phones and started typing and taking notes and asking questions about the chocolates, what types were gluten-free and how do you properly store candy in the summertime. Not wanting to look out of the loop, I quickly grabbed my phone and started to record, take pictures and try to take notes as quickly as possible. I thought I had the hang of it, until I saw my recording was mostly of the ground, my notes made no sense; but the pictures at least looked semi-decent.
After Tara spoke, it was time to snack some more and try and network with a few of these bloggers. I had met some really nice people at the event and everyone was open to asking my “beginner blog” questions; how their blog originally started, if and where they go their websites designed and if they blog a certain way.

Towards the end of my first blog event, I think it went really well, I learned a few tricks of the trade when it came to taking notes, I had a few networking contacts via blogs & tweet posts and a full stomach of chocolate deliciousness. With a bag of goodies purchased at the event, I was excited to go home and blog about my experience… now if only someone could teach me how to blog on schedule and on time, that would be great.

*Update* Saturday night, I went home to the North Shore to celebrate my mum’s birthday with my family. By Sunday morning, when I had come back to Quincy, I discovered my ENTIRE box of Coco Locos Cookies that I had purchased at the Summer Sweets Blog Event had been mysteriously ripped open and EVERY cookie had been consumed. I’m not naming names or pointing the finger, but I have a person of interested in mind. I won’t give any names (it starts with a “boy” and ends in “friend”), whom I feel owes me a further explanation…and a new box of cookies. 

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