Right off the bat, this is not a sponsored post. This is a post about a lovely lunch date I enjoyed with a friend. I may rave about her cafe… let the reader beware! 

 

Yesterday I got to do one of my favourite things – go on a day trip! Well, it was an overnight trip actually, and stop number 1 was a lunch date with my Blog With Pip pal, Maryke. She and her husband run a fab cafe beside the seaside at Mornington (a gorgeous part of the coastline here in Victoria, Australia) so plans were made to meet there for lunch, and I set off on yet another bloggy blind-date. Exciting!

Now, these days, people often say that unless you ‘Instagram the shit of it’ things haven’t really happened. Well, I was so busy enjoying Maryke’s company that I neglected blogger rule #1 – thou shalt obsessively take selfies. Oops! You’ll see other shots on Instagram, fear not!

Maryke and I bonded during our Blog With Pip days, and since, over our shared love for the Mornington Peninsula, and we have become firm Instagram buddies.

Here’s a little insight into Maryke’s character – earlier in the year, ‘just because’ Maryke decided to send me a bulging care package, which was as much fun to unpack as any gift received on Christmas morning. What a legend! The dukkah (which she made herself!), oh my, so awesome….. and I’m still using the spices regularly. It’s truly a gift that keeps on giving. Oh, see that wee jar of tomato chutney – GAME CHANGER!

By the way, Maryke’s Instagram name is @missmarthamarthamartha and I totally recommend you follow her to see snaps of her lovely beside-the-seaside life, which she shares with her gorgeous boys and her husband Mark.

Mark & Maryke are the kind of people who have hospitality running through their veins, so their cafe by the sea – Lilo Cafe in Mornington – @lilocafe on Instagram – is a welcoming, warm, eclectic, emerald toned, light-filled yet cosy place to stop for a filling breakfast, spend a leisurely hour with a latte and the paper, or meet friends for a delicious lunch with a cheeky glass of wine. If I ever have a glass of one of the Peninsula’s many fine wines with lunch, I’m out & proud, but I know some people like to keep their pre-cocktail hour imbibing on the down-low.

Well, the weather outside was frightful, but the decor and food, delightful.

I have said it before, and I intend to keep on saying it, one of the BEST things about blogging is the connections that you make. Whether that’s through an online course you might do, or a conference you may attend, or a good old Instagram crush, there are LOADS of amazing people out there, and this week I got to meet another one, hug her tight and chat with her over lunch.

I loved meeting Maryke – she was exactly who I thought she’d be from our encounters online. Generous, interesting, creative, down to earth – and we only spent 90 minutes together! And if you think I just got a free lunch and great conversation, you’d be wrong, I came away with fresh eggs, a couple of lemons (she’d seen me bemoaning a lack of lemons on Facebook), another jar of her game-changing RELISH and a gorgeous notebook.

Thank you Maryke!

So, if you’re planning on heading down Mornington way, or even if you’re not, I highly recommend that you stop in at Lilo Cafe – as well as serving excellent food and bevvies, you’re sure to enjoy Maryke’s whimsical, eclectic, upcycled styling of the space.  The Lady of the Lilo will watch over you benevolently, reminding you that even if it happens to be pouring with rain, just across the road, the sea awaits.

As the clouds parted and I hugged Maryke goodbye, I felt so grateful for the ways that blogging has brought me out from behind my computer, especially when it lands me in one of my favourite parts of the world.

When was the last time you discovered a new cafe? Or made a new friend?

I’d love it if you’d share your stories, or recommendations for best latte in your ‘hood in the comments.

Are you a lady who lunches?

Do tell!

Cheers,

Annette