My trip to Campbell’s came with a few surprises

P.R. firm Weber Shandwick (organized down to the last detail by Aaryn Enos, Sarah Kittel, Caroline Guth & Sarah Mages) invited a group of bloggers to visit Campbell’s in Camden, New Jersey.

left to right: MJ from MomViews.net, Anne-Marie from This Mama Cooks.com, Liz from This Full House.com, Dawn from Because I Said So.com, Elizabeth from BusyMom.net, Me, Amy from MomAdvice.com, Dawn from Mom of 3 Girls.net, Carmen from Mom to the Screaming Masses.com, Christine from From Dates to Diapers.com
not pictured- Stacy from Mom Central.com

While discussing flight arrangements with Sarah from Weber, I mentioned that Friday was my birthday. I honestly was not expecting anything at all, all I said was the trip was a nice early birthday present.

Weber Shandwick took that ball and ran with it.

Thursday was our day at the Campbell’s Kitchens. There we were, sitting at round tables having enjoyed a breakfast of scrambled egg-and-sausage wraps with fresh fruit and chocolate chip scones, with all the V-Fusion and original V8 or V8 Splash (or coffee) we wanted, listening to presentations by important people in charge of health, wellness and nutrition for the Campbell’s company.

And then I heard it-”we have a special occasion today, and here at Campbell’s, we celebrate this occasion by having the person wear something very special”. Oh NO. Oh YES.

Yes, it’s a giant white, felt, birthday HAT. Which I put on my head and then posed like I was on the Red Carpet while everyone flashed their cameras at me. It was heavy, too! But that was very kind of them.

I’ll write more later about our day at Campbell’s, but first I want to fast-forward to our dinner at Philly restaurant Le Castagne. Our menus listed Appetizers, Pasta, Entrees, and Dessert. We were told to pick two things but not a Dessert because that was already arranged. I figured we were getting a nice sampler of their popular desserts, which has been the case at other events I’ve attended.

Well, that was not it at all. As we sat enjoy after dinner coffee, I suddenly heard singing. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SONG singing. I turned around to look, and here comes a server carrying a HUGE CAKE with lit candles. I was absolutely stunned. Everyone sang, I blew out the candles, then they took the cake back to the kitchen and cut it into huge pieces for everyone.

It’s three layers of chocolate cake with two layers of chocolate mousse in between, topped with fresh sweet whipped cream and berries. It was THE BEST CAKE I have ever had in my life. If you’ve never eaten chocolate cake topped with whipped cream and strawberries, I highly recommend you do.

Thank you Weber Shandwick, Campbell’s, the pastry chef at Le Castagne, and all of the wonderful bloggers who helped make my birthday one that I won’t soon forget. And thank you everyone who left birthday comments, tweets, and facebook comments! Turning 42 was pretty dang awesome.

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