I love being able to utilize my platform to educate other parents. As a parent of two little ones, I believe education is key and knowledge is a powerful tool when raising children. I also believe keeping children safe and healthy are two aspects of parenting I advocate for most. There is nothing more important than my children’s safety and learning ways on how I can keep them safe through education.
And like most moms, I have researched car seats over the years like there is no tomorrow. I have been known to endlessly search website after website to learn about which car seat would be the safest for my children before making a purchase. Then I would drag my husband though the baby store and look at every carseat in person over and over again asking the poor employee a million questions before making a final decision. As you can imagine that first drive home from the hospital was a stressful one! And that was just the newborn car seat. Did I mention I have now moved on to convertible car seats and even a booster seat now? I’m telling you, it’s years of education and research! And since having two children, my family is on the go – a lot – running errands, driving to and from school, work, and daycare, going on road trips, and honestly traveling from here to there on the daily – we are in the car on some days more than we are home!
But something I didn’t think about before my children were born, on that first drive home from the hospital, or on the million miles we drive day to day from one place to another, were my tires. But what I learned on this trip was that tire consideration and research should be a priority because even though our brakes stop the wheels, our tires stop the car. And depending on how much tread are on your tires and what tire brand you purchase, it can make all the difference when it comes to safety on the road. Our children are our most precious cargo and I know I was enlightened by what I learned and can’t wait to share it more in detail with you.
So as you may have seen, I recently took a trip to South Carolina for a New Parent Experience Tour with Michelin and Graco to learn and raise awareness for car and tire safety. The entire trip was revolved around education about safety on the road. I will get into the nuts and bolts of what I learned so you can be just as educated as I am now – but first I want to share with you the details of the trip itself. This was a dream job to work on and I was so honored I was chosen as one of the bloggers that was able to attend this very special event. As seamless as it may have looked, it took a lot of mom juggling to make this trip happen. I had to coordinate special childcare with my daughter’s school as well as my son’s daycare and arrange special coordination with my parents and my husband’s work schedules to make it all come together. And luckily it did. But then I had to deal with my mom guilt for leaving the house for two days.
First I had to wake up about 3:30am the morning I flew across the country because I had a very early morning flight. Fortunately the brands arranged a car service to pick me up and take me to the airport. This was so extremely helpful for so many reasons. Most importantly, this meant I could keep my car at home for my parents to use and not have to worry about transferring car seats and whatnot. I also didn’t have to worry about getting to the airport extra early to park my car and take a shuttle when it was still dark outside (safety first) and it saved me from paying extraordinary prices for parking! I first flew to Dallas and I was able to get so much work done on the plane!! And of course watch my favorite show, Fixer Upper, to boot!
When I arrived in Dallas I met up with my good friend Angela from Mommy Diary and we flew together to our next destination!
When we first arrived in Greenville, South Carolina, Angela and I joined a handful of other mom bloggers/influencers and we were transported to Aloft Greenville Downtown!
Once we checked in, we had a little time to ourselves in the room before getting ready for the welcoming reception and dinner.
We were also spoiled with some incredible presents upon check-in too – like new luggage, a new leather luggage tag, sound proof headphones, waterproof speakers, and more!
It was a gorgeous evening and once we all gathered in the lobby, we snapped a few photos and we walked as a group to the event space called Avenue Greenville. As soon as we arrived, we were greeted by Bib, the Michelin Man!! I was SO excited to meet this legendary icon in the flesh! If you don’t know, he is 120 years old and was just named Icon of the Millennium a few months ago!
Once we took some photos with Bib, we went upstairs and as soon as we walked off the elevator we were greeted with Francois Montand Brut Rose, NV France and some delicious hors d’oeuvres like Chilapita of Hamachi & Caviar and Ponzu Marinated Octopus!
We then mingled and had the opportunity to hear Michelin and Graco speak about the event, it’s purpose, and what they had planned for us!
But before I get into that, let me first talk about the dinner they prepared for us. When I tell you it’s the best meal I’ve had in my life I’m not exaggerating one bit. It was nothing short of extraordinary.
First of all, it is important to note that Michelin and Graco flew Chef Val Cantu from Californios in San Francisco, the world’s only 2 Michelin Star Mexican restaurant, to cook for us. Can you believe it? They flew a Michelin 2 Starred Chef clear across the country to prepare a 5 course meal for us – each dish being as equally delicious and delectable! Do you know much about Michelin Star restaurants or maybe you have eaten in one? The coveted Michelin Star is the highest honor a chef can receive in the culinary world. Michelin stars are not easy to get – in fact, we were told that the Michelin Guide team travels to restaurants all over the world each year to inspect each one for certain criteria. If those restaurants meets the criteria, they can be awarded one, two, or three Michelin stars. But they are VERY hard to get! For example, they will inspect thousands of restaurants in New York City and only 5 will actually get 3 stars. And even getting one star is hard to come by and a huge honor. In the US, Michelin Starred restaurants can be found in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. And as a sidenote, Chef Joel Robuchon has 31 stars and Gordon Ramsay has 16 stars. Can you believe it?
But before we get into the food, can you please look at the table setting? Everything was delicate and beautiful. And the service from Table 301 Catering was like nothing I’ve ever seen before! I thought I was at a Presidential dinner the way we were served! To put it in perspective, please visit my Michelin Graco Highlights on my Instagram feed!
Now let’s talk about each course. Each course came with its own wine pairing so we were able to try various types of wines along with each dish to bring out the flavors the way they were meant to be tasted.
The first course was eggplant Caponata, which consisted of roasted eggplant, charred cherry tomato, fresh basil, garlic, herb cream, balsamic reduction, pickled onion, and celery curls. This dish was paired with a 2016 Chateau Lagrange from France.
The second course was Beet Cured Verlasso Salmon, which included baby lettuce, black and red lentil with yellow beets, lemon-fennel, shaved wild radishes, and red-wine vinaigrette. This dish was paired with a 2015 Domaine Drouhin “Rose Rock” Pinot Noir from Oregon.
The third course was Squab, with mole blanco and fermented onion. This dish was paired with a 2014 Proprieta Sperino from Italy.
The fourth course was Carne Asada with grilled wagyu beef, black truffle mole served with a sidecar of black truffle and chilhuacle negro. This dish was paired with a 2015 Cliff Lede Cabernet from California.
And the final course was dessert! We were treated to a Chocolate Pot De Creme with an assortment of berries. This dish was paired with a Fonseca 10 Year Tawny Port from Portugal. It may have been the most incredible dessert of my life.
Everything was planned out methodically to the finest detail. The coordination of this event was like nothing I’ve ever seen or experienced thus far in my career. And everything we were treated to was of the upmost highest quality. Most importantly, we were treated like royalty, with so much kindness and respect, it was such a privilege to be in the company of those at Michelin and Graco. The rolled out the red carpet for us and I would be truly grateful and honored to work with them again. The employees are truly remarkable, educated, and passionate about their jobs and they were all so kind! They truly have great values!
I also want to take a moment to share about the brands’ Welcome Baby Kit! They only have a limited supply so grab yours while you can. You can get $100 off a new set of Michelin tires, 20% off a new Graco car seat, a Michelin Man plush, and more!! It’s FREE and every parent should take advantage!!
Most importantly, let’s not forget that this trip was about safety. And I was able to learn about car safety from the tires on the outside of the car to the car seats on the inside the car and so much more! I even got to get behind the wheel on the test track to see firsthand how much better newer Michelin tires are than their competitors. More to come on Part II of My Michelin Experience soon – including my experience on the test track! But in the meantime, here’s a little sneak peek! And by the way this is a real tire that weighs 10 tons and is 63 inches in height!
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