Cocktails, Canapes, And A Top Secret Club Of Blogger Babes!

We came up with the idea for a mixer while sitting around the dinner table at my parents’ house in New Zealand. One of the things that is so miraculous to us about The Blogcademy is the mini-economy which has sprung up around it. Put a few blogcadettes into a room, and almost immediately they’re plotting ways to work together or help one another out. We wondered, what if we did that on a grander scale? What if we threw 60 ambitious geniuses into a room and watched what happened?

It was a quick conversation, but it stuck in our minds. By the time we were reunited in Palm Springs a couple of months later, we were convinced that it was worth going ahead with. We let people know we were looking for an events coordinator, and almost immediately heard from Jade, a badass Aussie who had assisted us in Melbourne. We knew she was the dame for the job… And so started a few months of plotting, planning, and of course, emails!

All of a sudden, the Mixer was upon us. Jade, bless her heart, had organised everything, so that literally all we needed to do was show up. On one balmy Thursday night, coiffed and excited, we walked into The Roost… And the party began.

This video very vividly captures what it was like at our party. If it looks like a good time, that’s because it was!

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If there are no sweets, it’s just not a party. Thankfully, Plumb And Rabbitts provided us with beautiful pastel macarons and pencil-shaped cookies. Adorable and delightful!

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I’m not a big drinker, but even I couldn’t resist these toothsome cocktails by Pigs Bladder And Petticoat. You could take your pick between a Rhubarb & Rosemary Fizz (rosemary-infused vodka, homemade rhubarb syrup and lemon juice, topped with sparkling water and garnished with a sprig of rosemary), and Pear & Cardamon Twist (gin, homemade pear syrup, lemon juice and crushed cardamon, topped with ginger ale)… And they were both out of this world.

London Velvet hooked us up with beer, and VitaCoco provided us with gallons of coconut water. Glug glug glug!

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Don’t they look so cute in their ears? D’awwwwww!

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Of course, the photobooth — supplied by Fishee Designs — was a MASSIVE hit. How can you not like a booth with a sequinned silver backdrop, flattering light, and a super-quick printer?! I couldn’t resist jumping in with anyone who asked! By the way, my dress is from Miss Selfridge, and it was only $68!

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We have to give SUCH huge props to the purple-haired babeling in the middle of this photo, the incomparable Sophie from Crown & Glory. (You know, they do the ears and flowers crowns that we are always wearing!) She stayed with us and helped out during both London classes, supplied about a trillion pairs of sparkly ears for this European trip alone, and — most amazingly — flew to Amsterdam (even though she had never flown alone before!) to help us when our assistant said she could no longer pitch in!

Sophie, you’re the tits. We love you!

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We were grooving all night long, thanks to The Wedding Smashers. Our DJ even treated us to our newest obsession, Rebbie Jackson’s Centipede! What are the odds?!

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We met a lot of new faces at our Mixer, but it was so wonderful to see plenty of familiar ones, too. These two blogcadettes, Shannon and Georgina, weren’t even in the same class, but got connected, and are now working together as Ruby And Stardust on all kinds of brilliant projects (some of which include taking photographs of shirtless men in the woods)! Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about! Look at their site: they are doing seriously beautiful things!

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The (total) babe on the left is Emily Fisher of Fishee Designs, aka a complete photobooth genius! She worked her arse off to customise this booth for us, and we appreciated it so much. A sweeter, kinder, more bubbly and energetic person you’ll seldom meet. She also has a new blog, Mermaid Gossip, and — obviously — you should check it out! And yes, Sophie is clearly a unicorn.

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The Costa Sisters working their magic. Such, such lovely women, and so bloody talented, too! Check out their video at the top of the post if you don’t believe me (and then hire them!).

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Absolute Taste kept our bellies full and our tongues happy. I went crazy for their little chicken spring rolls! So delicious.

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So stylish. I love it!

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Three lovely ladies! Grace, in the middle, is total magic, and she made the trek from Wales to be with us! She also — months ago — did a ritual to help my husband and I find a new house. Suffice to say, it worked! Grace is incredible. Don’t sleep on her radness!
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Halfway through the evening, we all adjourned to another room to answer some questions and talk about our favourite subject, blogging! We planned to do around 45 minutes of Q&A but it quickly ballooned to almost an hour and a half. The questions were great: intelligent, complex, and thoughtful. We hoped that everyone in attendance would walk away feeling empowered and ready to jump into their next challenge with both feet!

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Before we knew it, it was time to wrap up the party, and we were left asking each other, “Where did the time go?!” We gave copious hugs and kisses, and sashayed out of the venue feeling high on life. Such a fun night. How is this “work”?!

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We’ve gotta say a huge thank you to the fabulous companies who stuffed our Arnis Purple goodie bags: Crown and Glory for sparkly ears, Cheap Frills for cute jewels,  Abigail Warner for fun cards, Berin Made for Jump For Joy prints, and Peach Blossom for the honeycomb balls. You made our attendees very happy!

Never-ending love to Jade (our hero!), Eliska who helped with sourcing and gave support, Charlotte Bailey who assisted on the night, Lisa Jayne who took all these great photos, and the Costa Sisters for their slam-dunk video!

What a wonderful night. Thanks for coming out and making it so special!

Dreaming of sequins,