Hobnobbing and Nibbling At The CHFA Trade Show

What an amazing time we had at the CHFA Trade Show yesterday!

My apologies for not getting a post up when I got home. We didn’t get home until 8pm and then I baked up Glo Bars until 11pm! I was literally exhausted by the end of the night.

I started off by putting on one of my favourite power suits:

It’s not even a matching set, but no one has to know! ;) Well, except you guys. haha. The pants were hand me downs from my sister Kristi. The suit jacket is from RW & Co (purchased in 2006) and the green silk shirt is from Jacob Outlet (got it for $8 this summer on clearance). Note: The dots on the suit are from my Cybershot camera, lol.

Of course, I wore it with my stilettos! Eric even dressed up too. ;) With minimal complaining. ;)

Off we went to Toronto…

When we got there, they almost wouldn’t let Eric in because he didn’t have a business card showing that he was part of the business. I had my Vendor Permit, RST/GST permit, Incorporation documents, everything, and they still wouldn’t budge. We had to speak to the manager and finally he decided to allow Eric in too.

So after about 30 minutes we were IN!

It. was. huge.

It took us 2 hours to get just 3 aisles complete! We knew we had to get a move on because it closed at 5pm.

When we arrived were were starving because we both hadn’t eaten lunch.

We sampled, and sampled, and sampled…

My motto was: If it was vegan, it was in my belly!

This is the best vegan, no sugar added sorbet I have EVER had:

The man was so nice and let us sample as many flavours as we wanted!

Look what I found! Amazing Grass :)

Brandon and Todd recognized me and gave me big bear hugs!!! It was so funny. They are super nice and down to earth. We could have chatted all day. We talked about The Green Monster Movement and how it is spreading like crazy. Brandon and I are going to be working on a special product together, so keep your eyes peeled for details in the next several months.

Of course, we did a shot of Grass together!

Eric was officially initiated into the Grass club. He did his first shot ever! :) I was so proud. They also gave him this fun shirt that says, ‘Don’t Pass On Grass’ on the back.

They had coolers filled with SWAMP WATER- Amazing Grass Wheatgrass + H20.

It was fun. They also sent me home with my favourite Amazing Grass Product (Chocolate Amazing Meal) and some samples. Thanks guys!

Eric was so sweet, he carried all of the stuff the entire day. He didn’t complain once. I was the happiest wife in the world.

Normally, when we go shopping he really hates it and we fight like cats and dogs. I knew it was asking a lot of him to attend a full day trade show filled with stuff he doesn’t really care about.

It meant so much to me that he came and was nothing but helpful. He even helped me promote the bakery, OSG, and Green Monster Movement! I think he really understands how much this means to me and he was nothing but supportive for the entire, long, exhausting day!

/end Sappy talk. ;)

Because I also love YOU guys so much, I am going to let you share in all the goodie bag fun. Stay tuned for quite possibly the COOLEST giveaway EVER on OSG!

As a special thank you to Eric for enduring one of the longest days ever, I treated him to his favourite- PIZZA, PIZZA and Coke!

He ate the entire pizza!!!!! lol.

As I said on Twitter, He was happy as a pig in shit!

My dinner was about as simple as it gets because I had some baking left to do.

I took 1/3 of leftover Neal Brothers Pasta Sauce and added about 1 cup of cooked chickpeas and 1 teaspoon of curry powder. I mixed it all together and zapped it in the microwave for 2 minutes.

And then I poured it into a pita spread with hummus. It was so not fancy, but seriously so delicious!

I followed the pita with this bar:

And a few other samples. Ok, a lot of samples! :)

TRICK OR TREAT?????? ;)

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All and all, it was a great experience. I met so many amazing contacts that I can’t wait to talk to again. I was able to connect with some companies whose products I use (e.g., Manitoba Harvest, Nature’s Path) and discuss bulk ordering options. The Nature’s Path rep is even going to try to get the President to agree to a special bulk sized of the Gluten-free rice crisp. Currently, they do not offer it, but I explained to him that the Eco paks just do not cut it for the volume I use. You never know unless you ask, right?

I also chatted with a few packagers and labelers and I will be following up on a few of them.

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TODAY is our FRESH restaurant MEET-up! 10 of us ladies are meeting at Fresh today for lunch! I can’t wait. Email me at [email protected] if you for some reason did not get the email I sent last night confirming everything.

Have a lovely Sunday!

I’m off to do some work on the Shopping Cart. US Shipping FINALLY begins this week. I will be announcing what day that will be in tomorrow’s post.