There are few things better than getting on a plane in cold weather and emerging somewhere warm, and that was exactly what happened to us when we flew to Australia and New Zealand for the last stops on our 2014 world tour. Sweet relief! Give me sunshine or give me death!

After a couple of lovely days wandering around Bondi Beach and getting totally lost in inner-city Sydney, we were ready to teach our Australasian beauties all about blogging!

SYDNEY
Our first class was in Sydney, at Studio Soma in Surrey Hills. We started our days with full breakfasts at a great cafe called Orto (just up the street), and spent the rest of our days teaching a gaggle of enthusiastic Sydney-siders everything they wanted to know about blogging. Our class had two men in it (a record, I’m sure!), 3 pregnant women, and at least 4 or 5 energy healers, who, unsurprisingly, all ended up sitting next to one another on the first day. So cool.

Why didn’t we go to Sydney earlier?! They were so positive, bursting with vitality, and made us feel so welcomed. Babes, one and all!

Who could resist a Blogcademy mug? Not me. I have at least 3 Blogcademy mugs in my kitchen. In fact, I’m drinking yerba mate out of one right now!

We really do mean it when we say you’ll fill up a notebook or two. In fact, our transcript for Blogcademy Online is 62,000 words! Holy MOLY!

We were blessed with so many happy faces in Sydney. There’s nothing better than looking out at people who smile and laugh with you all day long!

Shauna does such an incredible job designing custom totes for each city. Our bag for Sydney featured a two-tone koala, definitely inspired by last year’s love affair with Brandy!

In their custom branded city tote our attendees received greeting cards from Love Ideas Ink, confetti from Fizzy Bunting, tattoo transfers from Pepper Ink and eye shadows from Violent Maiden. There were Blogcademy branded mugs and cute coloured pencil sets from Brand Me for our Aussie classes and of course there were sparkly ears for everyone from Crown and Glory. Finally, each attendee was given access to a free download of Reeta Krishna’s amazing WordPress for Beginners book!

One of the things that makes Blogcademy really special is the amount of personalised feedback each attendee receives on their blog or business. In addition to writing report cards, we make ourselves totally available for two days, so that we can answer absolutely any question you might have. If you’re in need of some branding advice from Shauna, an advertising brainstorming session with Kat, or a pep-talk and pondering digital products from me, you can have it in abundance.

Blogcademy Online is selling like mad (and the feedback has been incredible!), but the only way to get one-on-one advice from us is to come to an in-person class… And P.S., there’s a special deal for in-person classes! Scroll to the end for more info!

Sydney, you’re crazy, sexy, cool. We love you!

MELBOURNE
Walking into our Melbourne venue, The Establishment Studios, was like a dream come to life. Behind an extremely unassuming wooden door is a massive photo studio and — the most exciting bit — never-ending shelves full of props! We had two photographers on board, Kate Dyer (who came to class last year!) and Madeline Kate, and we made the most of them! We were also delighted to have The Photobooth Guys in attendance, whose zippy little printer spat out any photo with #theblogcademy hashtag. So cool.

We ate lunch (and breakfast) at Gramercy in The Cullen both days, and drank more Green Press juice than we imagined possible. (Pineapple + mint = a winning combination.)

Our Blogcadettes wear the most amazing things, which of course is a great excuse for us to dress up too! These shoes are Hobes, handmade in Australia, and apparently feel like you’re wearing nothing at all! They sure look cute on Steph!

There were so many wonderful props on hand, and we were sure to make use of them!

Who can resist chairs up a wall?!

Taryn is a traditional Maori tattoo artist from New Zealand, and she has the best style!

Our photobooth was provided by The Photobooth Guys, and it was a huge hit. There’s a video of some of the highlights further down…

Dueling ears! Gosh, Crown And Glory, you make our world go ’round.

It’s not a Blogcademy class without some confetti being thrown…

Thanks, Melbourne! You sure know how to take a great class photo!

AUCKLAND
Despite waking up at 5am to fly across the ditch, our enthusiasm for Blogcademy Auckland was super-high. Class was held at Biz Dojo Gallery on K Road, which was beautiful, and it was decorated by Wink, who did such an epic job! I was so thrilled that our last class of the year was in New Zealand (Kiwi pride!), and of course, they delighted us SO much. What an amazing group of women (and token men — my father was also in attendance).

Wink decorated the space with so many fun goodies, including these BLOG balloons, and a Polaroid wall using images from our Instagram accounts! It was so nice to walk in and discover this after weeks away from home — it felt so welcoming and wonderful.

SICK style. Those shoes are too amazing to exist!

These girls knew EVERY piece of blog gossip ever. EVER! It blew our minds!

Sometimes our blogcadettes come bearing gifts, which is very flattering and sweet. In this shot, you can see Tannia — owner of Most Wanted, an incredible vintage clothing shop — giving us amazing flower headbands made out of felt! So cool!

“Wait, so you mean I can use FaceTune to remove ALL signs of a hangover in a photo?! Why didn’t someone tell me about this years ago?!”

At the end of class, we were astounded when Te Kiira, an educator and all-round badass, sang us a song to say thank you. It was incredible!

Cuties galore. THANK YOU, Kiwis, for making our last class of the year so goddamn great!

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, we thought it was the perfect time to show your blog a little love! That’s why we’re offering $100 off ALL of our 2015 in-person Blogcademy workshops until Wednesday the 18th of February! Here’s where we’ll be…

LOS ANGELES
February 28 – 1, 2015

LONDON
June 13 – 14, 2015

SAN FRANCISCO
September 12 – 13, 2015

NEW YORK
September 19 – 20, 2015

MELBOURNE
December 5 – 6, 2015

SYDNEY
December 12 – 13, 2015

Just enter the code blogyourdreams at check-out to have the discount applied. If you’re not sure what you’ll learn, see our site and read our FAQ!

Love forever,

Sydney photos by Janneke Storm. Melbourne photos by Kate Dyer and Madeline Kate. Auckland photos by Steph of Bubblerock.