What went down at the Cape Town Mommy Blogger meet up 2015 (#ctmomblogmeet)

If you are on twitter or instagram, chances are your feed was probably blowing up with all the #ctmomblogmeet posts this past week. So, regardless if your interest was piqued by this, or you were just dying for it to stop, I’ll bet you’re actually dying to know just what the hell went down that day? Right? Well…

If you’re still reading this, then I’ll take it as a “hell yes, we want to know!!”

Well basically, a bunch of lovely mommy bloggers stole away to the cool eatery, Graze out in Kenilworth, for a day of glorious me-time, networking, blogging 101, excellent chow and fun.

I would say, if you’re still trying to find your way around the blogging world, particularly in mommy blogging land, I’d say this is a fantastic place to find your feet (& more), soak up glorious inspiration and just get to have some rare me time with some like-minded bloggers. I mean, there’s nothing quite as binding as a having a common thread like motherhood! Nothing.

The effortlessly hilarious Cindy of 3kids,2dogs, 1 old house was the mastermind behind this mommy blogger meet-up and totally deserves like a bajillion gold stars for her organizing abilities.

We kicked off the morning with a delicious starter (I personally went with the yum-drumz banana smoothie, but we were actually really spoilt for choice). This was followed by the breakfast mains – which were all freakin’ delicious!

So, the quick lesson here is, people, you need to get your booty down to Graze ASAP! If their cool vertical garden isn’t enough to intrigue you, the tasty food should. And if I’m still not tipping your decision scales, just have a look-see at their dynamic kiddies menu! And by dynamic, I really mean it in the true sense of the word: nothing is set, only take what you need. That is, you only choose the foods that YOUR kid enjoys, never-mind how odd the combinations may be – and that’s what you pay for. It’s a picky-eaters paradise, as such. It’s a total kid-friendly restaurant win! For a review on Graze, keep your eyes peeled on What happened to my body. She has a review in the making.

Now, back to our awesome #ctmomblogmeet: After a bit networking time and fueling up with brekkie, the knowledgable Nikki Lincoln of Between Day Dreams gave us an excellent talk on blogging 101. She shared a few gems through her invaluable tips and tricks – which I totally lapped up! In fact, if you spotted any of the pix on other ,#ctmomblogmeet posts going around, you could totally spot me feverishly taking notes like a good little school girl. (embarrassed face).

There was plenty of time for Q&A, as Nikki, and everyone else were pretty generous with their time and knowledge. (THANK YOU, ladies!)

Speaking of generous, not only were there seriously cool spot prizes, we also received super goodie bags from our generous sponsors – so watch this space for some fun reviews and giveaways!!
A thousand thanks, once more, goes out to:

Gumtree (Needs no introduction! Free online classifeds and community website)

Mr Price (I’ve clearly been living under a rock, as I was totally gobsmacked by the awesome selection they have in their kids fashion (SO trendy), at truly affordable prices! @MRPfashion)

Adventure Bootcamp ( if there was ever a time to invest in you, mom,its now! Its always now. And I think Adventure Bootcamp is the perfect four-week outdoor instructor–led exercise programme to have fun with a bunch women, no matter your fitness goals.)

Kin Shop (for gorgeous local art & design in hewelery, kids toys,home, the whole schebang!),

Oh So heavenly (I’ve been wanting to check out their baby range, and you should too!)

Ellas Kitchen (My kids love the taste, and I love the convenience and it’s portability)

Sinchies ( I kid you not, I’ve been waiting for this kind of product to hit our SA shores for so long. YAY!)

Tangled Tree (Apart from their excellent quality wine, this bottle is made from unbreakable thermal polymer, making it much lighter than glass – making it a perfect lightweight companion for your picnic or hike.)

Babygroup (South Africa’s premier online shop for Mom and baby, and with free delivery on all orders in South Africa, I’d say Im definitely going to get in on that pure convenience bliss)

Optiphi (It’s all about skin science for them, so allow them to rehabilitate your skin)

Wellness (Get the facts on how you can enhance your health or improve general well-being with this informative magazine)

Almay (ALMAY has helping women look and feel their best Since 1931)

Mitchem – Because: Sweat.

Beautiful Earth (They are a specialist manufacturing company, distributing natural products for personal care. I have their BABY BREATHE EASY CHEST RUB, and whilst I sincerely hope I don’t have to use it soon, at least I know Im prepared!)

And Galielo Open Air Cinema (Their out door cinema is definitely one of hubby and my favourite date night options as you can tell from here. I totally urge you to go enjoy them while our beautiful weather still allows it.Go, go, go!)

Now, it may be possible that for the first time ever, in the history of me, I did not take enough photos. (Not something I could usually be accused of) But last week Saturday, I definitely did not snap much. I blame Leigh (Red Lips & Darling Adventures), Olivia(Perfectly Normal Life), Faz (Chasing Dreams), Namreen(Life and times of the Fireflies), Cass (Cass Lee, Mom in the making) and Seven(Seven) for being so damn distracting with their loveliness and interesting chatter, that I hardly snapped anything. BUT, if you would to have more visuals of what went down at the #ctmomblogmeetup, you could totally go check it out on Chasing Dreams, Se7en, What happened to my body, and 3 Kids 2 dogs 1 old house. They all did an awesome job at capturing the day.

So, as I said to her before, Cindy did such an excellent job at organizing this event, (goodness knows how) WITH three kids in tow, that she totally deserves a slow clap, high fives and knuckle bumps for her mad skills. (ok, ok, ok, enough of singing her praises. I promise.) Needless to say, the event was a resounding success in my books, and I totally recommend it to anyone looking to network in blog-land, eager to improve their blog or just up their personal blog ante.
To find out more as to how you can also get in on the action, why not check out her blog and keep your finger on pulse of such meet ups!

Happy blogging, mommies, and see you at the next meet up!
Got any questions about the day? Feel free to fire away in the comments section, or get me on FB, twitter or Instagram.