On this day last week, I was already six doughnuts deep and had consumed several sips of coffee. It's not every day that one is served deliciously made treats and freshly brewed coffee in the actual Krispy Kreme headquarters located in Winston-Salem, NC. However, this was the was the case as an intimate group of bloggers embarked on what was dubbed the
Krispy Kreme Very Important Blogger Summit.
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| A view of North Carolina |
I arrived in North Carolina on Wednesday, after making a transfer from the local airport. I was greeted by two, warm smiles and a welcome sign held by our amazing representative, Kara. Standing with her was Laura from My DFW Mommy. We made our introductions, then loaded up the car to pick up blogger Donald, from The Celebrity Cafe.
We arrived at the
Winston-Salem Marriott in downtown Winston-Salem. The staff was amazing– checking in was a breeze, everyone was extremely pleasant and I don't ever remember opening the door for myself. What a wonderful welcoming to the city.
I only had four hours of sleep the night before. You can tell from my "airplane look" on the left. I tried to put on my game face (or is it fish face?!) because I knew there was a long day ahead. I guess you could call the left picture 'BEFORE', and the right picture 'AFTER'.
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| Treats from Krispy Kreme |
There wasn't much time for "play". All of the bloggers were scheduled for a tour of the Krispy Kreme factory later on in the day. I used this time to relax in my room while catching up on emails. I didn't waste any time diving into the box of doughnuts that was included in the goodie bag I received at check-in. I was starving. The dipped cake doughnuts were just what I needed to perk right up until it was dinner time.
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| Mural that reads, "la luz de diversidad" |
I allowed myself a few minutes to explore the city. I walked a few blocks down to the CVS. Along the way, I noticed several wonderful places to dine. I also sensed the area was artsy and diverse judging by a mural I spotted on the wall.
I headed back to the hotel's lobby, where I met a few more of the bloggers. We all arrived at different times throughout the day. Because I am constantly on Twitter, I knew exactly who everyone was. I may have called them by their Twitter handle, but that's accepted in the blogger world. LOL! Here are all the bloggers who were in attendance:
I was so graciously afforded the opportunity to attend this event thanks to Amanda from
Mommy Mandy (and recommendation by her sister, Kristin, from
Our Ordinary Life). Amanda is having a baby girl soon and decided to sit this one out. While I'm sad she missed it, I'm overjoyed that I didn't. I learned so much!
We headed to the factory. There we were stripped of our jewelry and video-recording devices. They can't let all their secrets out. I was able to capture a few shots.
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| The bloggers entering the Krispy Kreme Factory |
In fact, a part of our tour lead us to the vault that stored the original recipe to make Krispy Kreme's delicious doughnuts.
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| Me pretending to crack the code on the vault holding the recipe for Krispy Kreme doughnuts |
The tour continued:
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| The older version of the doughnut roller |
Our first day at the Krispy Kreme factory ended with a HOT doughnut. You haven't experience anything until you've had one of these babies right off of the conveyor belt. While I could have eaten the entire tray, I wanted to leave room for dinner.
We headed to a local restaurant called
Sweet Potatoes. There slogan is, "Not soul food......but FOOD that's good for the Soul." I couldn't have said it better myself. The food and atmosphere were on point.
Lemon Raspberry Martini and Pimento Cheese
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| shrimp and grits |
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I'm not used to eating fish with the head still attached (poor fella), but it was delicious.
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Stuffed Whole Trout
Bacon wrapped whole boneless rainbow trout stuffed with sweet potato cornbread stuffing, greens, and crabmeat,
topped with cold tomato caper relish and served on creamy stone ground grits
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This trip brought me to Winston-Salem for business, but I also dabbled in a bit of pleasure. Once the Krispy Kreme activities were done, I had some free time. I completely forgot a friend from high school lived there. She noticed my check-in on Facebook (see, social media IS great) and told me she was just minutes away from the hotel. We made plans to meet up at
Tate's Craft Cocktails to catch up on, have a few drinks and laugh, laugh, laugh! Madeline, from Endless Simmer, joined us.
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| Me and Katie, my friend from high school |
After saying "good bye" (
and accusing Katie of stealing ONE of my gloves, lol!), Madeline and I headed back to the hotel. We parted ways and I literally crashed when I got back into my room. This is me right before I went to bed:
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| You are getting sleepy! You are getting sleepy! |
I had to prepare for Day 2 of the Krispy Kreme VIB Summit.
To find out what happened on Day 2, visit
Mommy Mandy for all the details.
Disclosure Information
All accommodations and travel were paid for thanks to Krispy Kreme. The opinions, views, and ACTIONS are my own.
