I fell in love at #BlissdomCA. #FavouritesFriday

It’s true, I did. I fell in love at Blissdom Canada. The first time I saw her, it was in Sponsors Row. She was gorgeous, sitting there in the sunlight. I obviously wasn’t the only one who noticed her beauty, based on the number of people who surrounded her. I’m a bit shy, though, so I passed by, stopping to let my gaze rest on her just a little too long. I was officially crushing (for the first time in a long time). The next time I passed by, I stopped to watch her in action. You could tell, without even interacting with her, that she was heads & tails above all the others in her industry – she had talent. When I spoke on the phone with my husband at the end of the day, I told him everything. Right there & then, I admitted that it was love. Real love. I WANTED HER. I NEEDED TO HAVE HER IN MY ARMS. Not surprisingly, he readily agreed to this, said he would be thrilled if it worked out, and wished me luck with my mission to get her attention. It’s not every husband who is so supportive in situations like this.

LOOK AT HER! Isn’t she stunning?! 

The next day, I went out for dinner with my sister & other roomie, Laura from My Life in the Sun. It was pouring rain, but we wanted to get out – so off we ran to the car, then dashed from the car to the restaurant. Like a conference keener, I forgot to take my name badge off. It got soaked. I tossed it aside when we got back to our room & hustled to get ready for the absolute best party that I’ve ever been to IN MY LIFE (yes, including my own wedding!), The Greatest Show on Earth – The Canadian Lentils Carnival Party, where I got to hang out with my new friend & have a bit of fun together (ok, a lot of fun. We may have stolen a half a bottle of wine & then sung hit songs from days gone by at the baby grand in the hotel foyer while my talented sister accompanied…).When I got back to our room after the party, I noticed, as I was clearing the day’s paperwork off of my bed, that my name badge was fused to the brochure that I picked up from the Salton Group. Apparently wet paper glues to dry paper if you leave them together for long enough – who knew? It was a sign. 

The booth she was at was hosting a competition at the end of the conference, so I threw my name in the hat. My name wasn’t so much pulled as I was just chosen out of default, since only four of us showed up at the booth to take part – I’d call that fate. The contest was a blend-off: The best smoothie recipe would win the prize. 

We worked like a dream team together – my ingredients, her expert precision – I knew (ok, I hoped) that I had a winner on my hands.

I’m not going to say that it wasn’t nerve-wracking. I had my doubts about putting a whole (raw) carrot & an entire apple into the smoothie – but with a few powerful pulses, the concoction was as smooth as…. a smoothie. And being so close to something so gorgeous – that’s enough to make anyone weak in the knees! 

The judges from PercyVites sat down to test all four recipes. The pressure was on: it was a tough choice to make. I don’t envy them the position that they were in. The incredibly generous folks at Salton decided that they’d award two prizes instead of one – the first prize was chosen almost immediately, but it was down to mine and one other – and in the end, mine won out!! 
…I know. I don’t look overly excited – but trust me, I was thrilled! The prize for winning the blend-off was my very heart’s desire and the new found object of my affection: A Harley Pasternak Power Blender. Isn’t she absolutely gorgeous?! 
Guys, this blender can make SOUP from raw veggies! Just toss them into the blender & run it for 7 minutes – it’ll be steaming hot & ready to serve! Amazing! I didn’t get to take my lady home with me & as of the time that I’m writing this I’m waiting for it to arrive any day now. I’ve been planning out my different soup recipes to try out & dreaming of the different smoothies that I’ll have for breakfast. Apparently the cleanup is minimal – just add some hot water & a dash of soap, run it for a minute, rinse it out, and let it air dry! Love it. One of my first questions was, “Ok, so I’ve seen the Vitamix and the Ninja blenders – what makes this different? Do we really NEED another power blender on the market?” The answer? Yes, yes we do. The horsepower is higher on the HP Power Blender, and instead of having just 4 blades like the Ninja & Vitamix, it’s got EIGHT! Four up, four down! This allows the blender to grab the pieces hiding at the bottom & propel them up. Also, the bottom of the container is a four-leaf clover shape – I’m not entirely sure how this plays into the effectiveness, yet, but I’m sure I’ll find out. Did I mention the price-point? Whereas the other blenders are on the market at $500-800, this beauty is entering at a low price of $250. Crazy, right? Plus, if you ask me super ridiculously nicely, I’ve got ONE coupon for $50 off and free shipping that’s good until November 15th. Want it? 

My new blender can NOT arrive soon enough – last night, my husband was making pumpkin soup with smoked pumpkins, and our poor little blender couldn’t even handle COOKED PUMPKIN!!  I look forward to sharing my blender soup recipes in the near future, and I’m almost sure that I’ll be able to report that we’re still happily in love, even after the honeymoon is over. 

Nancy, the blender may have won my heart, but you won my friendship – here’s to the most awesome rep on Sponsor’s Row!

FYI, this isn’t a sponsored post. I just wanted to shout my undying love from the mountaintops – or, at least from my blog! The fine folks at Salton didn’t ask for a thing from me…. come to think of it, I hope Nancy doesn’t blacklist me for posting all those pictures of her. 😉

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Jenn vanOosten

I live in Hamilton, Ontario, and love my city. I'm a Netflixer, choral music geek, bookworm, inventor of recipes (I take Artistic Licence on EVERYTHING that I make), wife of one, mother of two, and owner of a neurotic Schnauzer. I respect people who respect others. I love good food that's well done, but my favourite lunch is KD & hotdogs. With ketchup. I'm addicted to Clearance Shopping. I will ALWAYS get the product that I want at the price that I want, eventually.

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