Ladies Who Lunch – The Lilo Cafe Edition

September 10, 2014 Annette12 Comments

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.

View from Lilo Cafe — We had four seasons in one day, again!

01113a913ccf137f49828c16f02fab9b5d63b1f39a — Lilo’s bejewelled spoon collection – oh look, there’s Maryke in the reflection. Selfie for the win!

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

Blind dates for bloggers

February 27, 2014 Annette21 Comments

As the alarm went off, I thought, ahh, it’s blind date day! So I bounded out of bed, got myself gussied up and headed off to the epicentre of coffee and consumerism in my hood, to meet not one, not two, not three, but four lovely ladies – ladies who I had chatted with online, but never seen or spoken to. I was a bit nervous, I don’t mind telling you. Deep breaths girl, come on.

Thanks to the amazing Pip Lincolne, our esteemed blog school leader, den-mother, technical support whiz and personal cheerleader, I decided to put an invitation out to Melbourne #blogwithpipstudents to get together for a coffee (or tea). I was worried people would think I was a weirdo, but hands shot up and we agreed on a place and time.

So, I approached the meeting point and saw Sarah, looking like someone waiting to meet strangers, we said hello and grabbed a seat and lo and behold, there was Julie, Michelle and Julie striding towards us like a band of lifetime besties. Gulp! With hellos and cheek kisses and laughter about the location of the actual ground floor (sorry about that girls), we made our way to a cafe to settle in and get to know each other.

Phew – nobody seemed like a lunatic (well, maybe I am a little bit loco) and we got ourselves situated and had a great morning. Conversation flowed freely, we mock debated the supremacy of coffee versus tea (I let the tea lovers think they walked away victorious, but you and I know the truth) and it was so interesting to hear a group of women with one commonality – Pip’s blogging course – discover other common likes, passions and experiences.

Here’s how I knew I was really at a bloggy catch-up…. the emergence of a super cute crochet square!

I am so glad that I pushed past my usual introvert-y ways to organise to meet these great ladies – I hope you’ll take a moment to check out their blogs, which I’ve linked above, because I’m a super technically gifted blogger now (I’ll be stuffed if I’ve gotten any of it wrong).

I had a crazy thought after we’d posed for these photos – maybe we’ll be someone’s bloggy heroes one day – like the fabulous ladies of Mrs Woog, BabyMac and Styling You or our own, super fabulous mentor Pip! Hey now, a girl can dream can’t she!

L to R: Me, Sarah, Julie H, Michelle (thanks to Sarah from Zinc Moon for the group shots)

L to R: Me again, Julie G, Julie H, Michelle

Thanks so much for today girls, I had a blast. I think I did alright for my first blind date. Call me, okay?

Annette x

Tuesday Travels

February 11, 2014 Annette9 Comments

I decided to make the most of the sunshine, and venture out and explore today.

After a delicious cup of coffee and a banana and walnut muffin (fresh from the verbs kitchen) I headed out.

I’d asked my qulit making friend Mandi of www.poppyfoxathome.com where I could find great fabrics, and she pointed me to a local supplier without missing a beat.

What a cornucopia of craft supplies I stumbled into. I actually stopped in my tracks at the front door to take it all in. Wowsers!

There were hundreds and hundreds of fabrics, in more colours, patterns and textures than I had ever seen. I wandered up and down the narrow aisles, wondering where the heck to start. It was a revelation to me, as a first-time craft/fabric store visitor.

After looking at fabrics for a while, I chose these bad boys. I’m going to use them for photography backgrounds here on the blog. I may even get my iron out, so they will all be nice and crisp. As a general rule, I simply do not iron, for anyone – so that tells you how pumped I am about practicing my photography.

After extracting myself from fabric heaven, I meandered a little further afield and found a pretty spot for lunch, where I enjoyed three of life’s great pleasures; coffee, people watching and dappled light. I am ~~mildly~~ obsessed with dappled light, as you’re sure to see if you become a regular visitor here.

I think Tuesday Travels could become a regular occurrence, while my Tuesdays are free – I love hopping in the car, with some (or no) sense of where I’m going, and seeing where the road leads me.

As I made my way home, I saw these gorgeous houses – I love me a picket fence or pretty gate.