It’s official you guys: I’m a Clever Cookie! And I’m not alone. In fact, there are hundreds of other Clever Cookies that are now hitting the blogwaves like it ain’t nobodies business, actin all fancy with our new-found skills!
For the last few weeks, I’ve been a student of the Clever Cookie School of Blog run by Chantelle Ellem and Rowe Timson. And guess what? It’s been AMAZING! Maybe even life-changing! (Woah Sheila, settle down…it’s just an e-course!) I’ve made so many new friends, learnt so many skills, and got to hang out online with one of my biggest girl crushes ever: Chantelle Ellem (aka Fat Mum Slim). She’s all lovely, and hard-working and inspiring, but at the same time just a regular ol’ Mama who loves her babies and has hard days like the rest of us. Anyways, I’m always down for a bit a good ol’ learning, especially if I can do it in my Jimmy Jams! (Which I did most days).
Now, despite my best attempts to never successfully graduate anything, I’m very proud to say that I’m now a certified graduate from the Clever Cookie School of Blog! Yep! I’ve even got a little badge to prove it! (see menu to your right). Full of pride and giddy school-girl excitement, my fellow Brisbane Clever Cookies and I got together for a little graduation celebration recently…and since these girls will most likely end up my bloggy besties, I thought it worthwhile to introduce them to you all since I’ll be no-doubt chatting about them here from time-to-time!
Here’s how it went down:
After weeks of anticipation, we all met up at Le Bon Choix patisserie in the CBD (FYI: That’s french people, for ‘The Good Choice’ and a good choice it was!) After a few formal real-life introductions, we all got down to business: Drinking coffee, eating cake, and swapping hilarious Cookie Classmate anecdotes!
The first of the Cookies to arrive was Lauren from Create Bake Make. Lauren was not only punctual which was impressive in itself (she has small children), but also lovely! At first she seemed a little on the quiet side, but once we got chatting we soon learned of Lauren’s many talents! Not only is Lauren a ridiculously talented baker, she’s quite the little entrepreneur! She’s modest about all of her achievements, which is probably why she failed to mention that she also holds a degree in Behavioural Science (i.e. She’s a smart cookie that can also bake cookies). She’s also super thoughtful, which became evident when she produced bag upon bag of freshly baked cookies for us all. What can I say, the girl can COOK! It was at that moment that I knew we’d be great friends. She’d be the enabler, and I’d be the chubby one.
Next up was pint-sized Karin from Calm to Conniption (potentially the best blog name ever. I literally have a conniption every time I say it). My first impression of Karin was that she was cute. She was all blonde and petite and sporting a nice little baby bump which I resisted the urge to pat. Karin was warm and friendly from the get go. Turns out though, under Karin’s cute little facade is a whole lotta cheeky! This pocket rocket was full o’ sass! and I loved it. Karin has a quick wit and isn’t afraid to tell it like it is! Let me give you an example. On Karin’s ‘About Me’ page she explains how she suffers from “FOMO” or ‘Fear Of Missing Out’. In Karin’s words: My ‘Fear Of Missing Out’ makes her as indecisive as fuck. With classic lines like that, who wouldn’t love her? She also mentions that a delicate flower she is not. Thanks Karin, but I think your blatant use of the f-bomb on your About Me page pretty much covers that! Her blog is funny and random and I think if nothing else, you should at least read her ‘About Me‘ page cos it’s a cracker!
Next up was Susan of My Style to a Tea. Susan and I immediately bonded over our shared love (read: obsession) for all things Mimco. Susan was wearing the cutest aqua leather bracelet that I’m now obsessed with. Thanks for encouraging my obsession Susan! Another thing that we have in common is that she’s a newbie blogger too. My first impression of Susan was that she was well put together (You know those people who roll out of bed and look all chic without even trying?!) She’s also a multi-talented Mama, as she casually threw into conversation that she you know ‘makes quilts’. Cos you know, everyone could make a quilt if they really wanted to, right? (Well no, Susan, they can’t!).
Susan is definitely one to watch. I chuckled my way through her first post where she introduced her reason for starting a blog as part of her New Years resolution. I love that she admitted this despite her first post being more than 6 months into the year! It is because of her tardiness that I know we will get along famously. (This post should of gone up a week ago, but I know at least Susan won’t be judging me!).
The delicious Citron tart that Emma watched me eat.
The next unsuspecting Clever Cookie at our table was Emma from 93 Frocks. Emma made a strong first impression on me: Pretty, blonde, and rocking a kick-ass pink lippie that if I attempted to wear would just look 80’s tragic. Emma was very personable and polished with the tiniest English accent that made her sound a little bit fancy. I wondered if her polished persona was due to her background in Communications, but to be fair she was probably just born that way! I wasn’t familiar with Emma’s blog at the time so I was absolutely appalled when we all sat down to ridiculously lavish sweets and Emma just ordered a coffee (Ummmm Pardon?).
My brain couldn’t really compute this girl sitting at a table full of french desserts, none of which she was eating. I tried to assess the situation before me. Do I hate her? Is she some kind of evil sorceress? Perhaps both. I decided that because I liked her pink lipstick so much, I should give her a chance. Turns out she’s a weight-loss queen, and her whole blog is about her amazing transformation through weight loss, good eating, and exercise. And I’d dragged her to a patisserie. *Awkward*.
I’ll be honest…I thought that would be the end of the friendship (not eating cake in a patisserie is usually enough for me to discount a person) but Emma is so open and honest about her choices, and she has the resolve and discipline of a buddhist monk! What can I say, I was impressed! Her story is incredible and you should definitely check out her blog, it’s inspiring! Check out her fun frock posts here.
Last to arrive was Sasha of From the Left Field. Sasha was a little late but she soon established herself as a bit of a fire-cracker from early on! Sasha is a bit of a walking contradiction. She’s all edgy and tattoo’d, and looks like she might be a Yoga instructor or the lead singer of a female rock group. Instead, she’s Dr Sasha, a fancy, serious psychologist who reads people’s minds for a living! She insisted we all address her as ‘Dr Sasha’, which seemed excessive, but if we didn’t I was scared she’d hypnotise us all to act like chickens or something! (Ok, I may have made that whole sentence up. Perhaps I’m a pathological liar? Must remember to ask Dr Sasha…)
In all seriousness, Sasha was super lovely and down to earth, and she’s got a great sense of humour! She writes like she talks so her blog is not only interesting, it’s a lot of fun to read. I enjoyer her recent post on imaginary friends, which you can read here.
Marns The Mama Blog 