Preparing for the 1st 8th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational

My plane is booked. My hotel room is prepared. I am headed to the 1st 8th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational (and LA) for the first time. It would not make sense for a grilled cheese lovin’ man to miss the Grilled Cheese Invitational. No, I am not competing, at least not this year, but I am judging. (How awesome is that?) Plus, I am going so I can promote this very blog. A little exposure definitely wouldn’t hurt, especially among fellow grilled cheese enthusiasts.

I have no idea what to expect so I am preparing for everything. I will be bringing my digital camera so I can photograph every sandwich imaginable. A notepad is a must so I can take notes for future recipes and blog entries. And, finally, I am bringing business cards (3.5 in x 1.5 in) and wearing a homemade t-shirt to promote this blog. The design for the cards are below while I am still working on the t-shirt design. I am thinking of simply putting “I am GrilledShane” on it, but that has yet to be determined. I don’t want to look more dorky than I already do. If you have any suggestions, please leave them in the comments below.

The front of all of my business cards will be the image above, with my logo and blog address. The back will have have various photos, with the slogan “reinventing the grilled cheese sandwich” appearing on each every card. Also appearing on every back is “thanks to kyle sliney for naming grilledshane.” When I finally decided to join Twitter, I needed to create a handle, something short, creative and unique. I was at a loss and really wasn’t sure what to go with. GrilledCheese and such were all taken or boring. That is when my friend, Mr. Kyle Sliney, came to the rescue and said, “Why not GrilledShane?” And the rest is history. As a show of appreciation, he will now be thanked on all of my business cards (and any future menus).

Please let me know what you think and if you would change anything. I have worked hard on these, trying multiple designs before finally deciding on these. I am hoping to print these as soon as possible so I can insure they are ready to go prior to me walking on the plane.

I am not sure what else I should bring, besides a rather large appetite, so please let me know if you think I am missing anything. I am really excited to go on a vacation that will hopefully further my blog and hobby. I truly believe that cheese/grilled cheese is my calling; it’s what I am meant to do. This visit to the Grilled Cheese Invitational is just the beginning.