Well I am not sure where to start really. Such a whirlwind trip to Melbourne and now back to reality. I had such a great trip. SO. MUCH. FUN. I have so much to tell you. So here goes….
Last Friday I headed to town (you can read all about that trip here) to attend the Kidspot Voices 2015 Masterclass down in Melbourne. What an experience. As I neared closer to Melbourne I started to wonder what the hell I was doing. Who did I think I was. My heart was beating fast and I was starting to get nervous. I really couldn’t wait to see my blogging friends – Kirsten, Amanda & Emily, who I was staying with in the City. But until then I may have had a slight panic attack in the taxi. The girls sent me this photo to try and put me at ease…
Amanda from Cooker and a Looker
Aren’t they sweet. They went out and bought me a bottle of Chardy, what legends. I could have cried, but pulled myself together. We were staying smack in the middle of the City and when I arrived I was greeted by so many friendly faces. 2 of those faces I had never met before – Bec, from The Plumbette and Nicole, The Builders Wife. Bec had even prepared little survival gift bags for us. What a sweetie. So thoughtful. There were so many laughs as soon as I walked in, it felt as if I had known these ladies for a life time. Of course I was also handed a glass of Chardy on arrival…. see I told you they were legends! After a bit of a catch up and lots of talking over the top of each other, not to mention a few selfies, Kirsten, Amanda, Emily and I headed out for dinner.
I couldn’t believe where we were staying. Right in amongst everything and even at 8:38pm on a Friday night, the shops were still open, so we had to have a quick squiz.
I was beside myself when I found Kate Spade. So much beauty in this store.
After dinner and lots of laughs it was home to bed so we didn’t have bags under our eyes for the next day.
First up on Saturday morning was the Garnier Australia Breakfast. I knew it was going to be good, but it went above and beyond my expectations. What a wonderful morning. Waiting on our seats was a very generous Garnier gift bag, full of little treats. We learned so many different things: what brands look for in bloggers and what bloggers should look for in brands. It was a chance to mingle and catch up with bloggers – old and new. I introduced myself to some unfamiliar faces on the table and managed to make some new friends.
Here is Bec from The Plumbette, Lucy from Bake Play Smile and Kirralee from Escape with Kids
After the breakfast it was off to the Masterclass. The main event, full of guest speakers teaching us all about blogging. We learned so much. I was lucky enough to be one of 4 bloggers selected to get up on stage and do a quick 5 minute presentation. I was along side some wonderful bloggers and I was not sure how I managed to be chosen. But none the less I trotted up on stage along side Amanda from Cooker and a Looker, Nathalie from Easy Peasy Kids and Lucy from Bake Play Smile and told the room my story of blogging remotely. It was so much fun stepping out of my comfort zone.
After our full day of learning it was time to relax with a glass of champagne to celebrate the Kidspot Top 100 Voices of 2015. It was such fun raising a glass of bubbly to so many wonderful bloggers – congratulations to you all and well done. It was also a chance to wind down and kick back with a room full of fun chicks. Of course I took this opportunity to make some new friends and managed to find this gorgeous lady – Anna from Colour Me Anna. I think I could have stood there and talked to her all day, what a lovely lady. See there she is with the blonde hair and cream vest coat on, she is just as pretty on the inside as she is on the outside. And there is Kiralee from Escape with Kids standing next to her and with me in the photo below this one. I was very excited to catch up with her. So many lovely ladies in the one room.
Look, I finally got to share a glass of wine with my style hero – Vanessa from Style and Shenanigans. I would be nothing without this lady, nothing I tell you. I would be still under my rock. See here we are – below….
And I also got to meet this lovely lady in real life… Emma from She Sows Seeds…
We finally dragged ourself and all of our gift bags back to the apartment and headed out again for dinner.
The next morning it was up, pack and off to breakfast. Then of course to the airport. I hung with Kirsten in the Virgin Lounge as we were pretty early. It was lovely to be able to just kick back and not rush. At this point I would have usually started to get quite sad about leaving – I hate goodbyes…. but I had something to look forward to. My sister was meeting me in Brisbane and flying home with me. We haven’t seen each other for 1.5 years, so I was quite beside myself. There were a few little tears with the initial hug but I pulled myself together and off we went. We had a lovely night in Mt Isa and now it is back to reality.
Reality set in on the trip home. There had been some rain and the dirt road was quite cut up with big wheel ruts from a road train passing over it. We arrived home at 6:30pm and I was straight back in the kitchen. Thankfully I had stocked up on some BBQ chooks in town, so we just had to break them down, make a salad and feed 17 people. No biggie…hmmmm. We haven’t stopped since we got home and I am so glad I have my sister here to help.
Thanks so much to Emily, Amanda and Kirsten for the fun weekend, can’t wait to see you all again in August!!! xx
So there you have it. My whirlwind weekend. Did I see you there?
Will I see you at ProBlogger?
Did you have as much fun as me?
I absolutely enjoyed your talk at Voices. I loved hearing about how you live on such a remote community, and how blogging helps you connect. Thank you for sharing your story. I am sorry we didn’t meet on the day, but I am sure there will be more opportunities to meet soon x
Oh Carly I am sorry I didn’t say hello to you too…. how about ProBlogger…will I get to say hello to you there. I am so glad you enjoyed my little talk, thanks so much!!! 🙂
Already seems like a lifetime ago, now I’m back in the trenches! At least we have PBEvent to look forward to! x
Thank god we have ProBlogger to look forward to, can’t wait to laugh my ass off with you girls again, I am grinning just thinking about it, ha ha ha. xx
So glad you had a great time! It’s my dream to head east at some point and join in the festivities! x
One day….one day!!!
Miss Chardy! What a fabulous time you have had. I am so so proud of you and how exciting to go and share your blogging with the good folk of Melbourne. I am loving the styling at the Garnier breakfast and the fresh flowers! So fancy. I love the snap back to reality with the chooks for 17 people to! Great post xx
So much fun my friend…… bring on August for us!!!
I am loving all these round-up posts and so sorry I missed it! I am booked in a ready to go for ProBlogger, so I hope we get the chance to have a cocktail…. errrr… I mean chat.
Hello there – congratulations on making it as a finalist! Well done. Pity you weren’t there. Can’t wait to meet you at ProBlogger for a cocktail….the chats will follow!
You ladies are totally amazing and it would have been loads of fun to catch up with other bloggers.
It was so great to hang out with like minded people!!
I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed getting to meet & spend time with you! What a whirlwind trip indeed it was for you. A huge effort well rewarded by the sounds!
I am still processing some of what was talked about on the stage, but I am basking in the warmth of spending time with like-minded folks & having a good laugh with friends old & new. Can’t wait to have more time to catch up at Problogger – dinner & a chardy or two with you will be such a treat! xx
Wasn’t it such fun. So lovely to meet you! I can’t wait for ProBlogger!
Thank YOU for a fabulous weekend. So many laughs and so much wine! Can’t wait to be your driver in August 😉
SOOO many laughs, I get a smile on my face just thinking about it. Can’t wait for August, it will be here in no time…xxx
Well if I don’t get to talk to you more at Problogger {and drink and swear, let’s be honest} then I am not going! So great to meet you, it was the highlight of my day! x
Oh god I can’t wait to drink and swear with you again!!!! ha ha ha. So classy. I CANNOT WAIT until Problogger…I am going to be giddy with excitement, will have to bring my Rescue Remedy spray to calm me the F down…. 🙂
God it was good to see you gorgeous lady. Far far and away the best thing about this blogging caper is the completely awesome women who do it. How fab is Anna? That woman is stunning and so amazingly lovely. Such a fun time seeing everyone. Bring on Problogger!
I totally have a girl crush on her… ha ha ha. I can’t wait to see you again in August, it was so great to see you, feels like I have known you for years.
Wow, what a fabulous break you have had & how great to learn all those blogging tips! How nice for you to get a weekend away, great for recharging those batteries i would have loved to hear your talk , sounds like you did a great job and enjoyed mingling with all those inspirational, like-minded ladies. Great photos & good to see you had a couple of chardys and bubbles too! Me, the weekend was kids sports and gardening – very exciting lol!
It was so great Miss Twinings, it really is so wonderful to mix with like minded people, you are so right. Glad you managed some garden time! I don’t know how you fit in anything between kids and sports.
I was there, absolutely loved your presentation! Learnt so much, met so many great people and had a total ball! Not to mention now I’ve found so many awesome blogs to stalk (including yours)
Wow, Routine Queen I love the sound of that, will have to stalk you too.
This whole event looked so lovely. I wish I could have gone. It looks like you had such a fabulous time.
Oh it was such a wonderful day Nicole, so glad I made the trek down.
Oh MY … I cannot wait to see you at Problogger. Such a big trip you did for a couple of days but so worth it. x
ProBlogger will be here before we know it… where has this year gone? I can’t wait to see you in August!
The best weekend, with the best company. Was wonderful to meet you and spend some time with the crew. Really looking forward to more fun at ProBlogger xx
It was so great to meet you too!!! Bring on August!!!
A fabulous wrap up – such a great weekend with you – here’s to Problogger. x
Can’t wait!!!! xxx
So FABULOUS to finally meet you Miss Chards! I’m flattered by your gorgeous words but the feeling is totally mutual – you are rural me living in the outback with your three shenanigans! I’m just the city version. Looking forward to more laughs and chardies at PB in a few short weeks. xxx
Ha ha ha, very happy to be the rural you!!! 🙂 Can’t wait for August!!!
glad to see you enjoying my home town. Hello from Berlin 🙂
It was wonderful Cate!!!