The MAD Blog Awards 2014

This year, I was so thrilled to be a finalist in the Craft category of the MAD Blog Awards. Along with the other finalists, including the other fab blogs in my category - Along Came Cherry, Little Button Diaries, My Little 3 and Me and The Imagination Tree - I was invited up to London to a glamorous awards ceremony. I didn't win, that honour goes to the very well deserving Little Button Diaries, but I can honestly say that I'm not upset at all. I really was so excited to find myself a finalist that I already felt like a winner.

I arrived in London early and met up with some other bloggers at Wagamamas. Here I was really pleased to meet Jo from Kids Days Out Reviews. We've chatted online a lot, and I've contributed a couple of guest posts to the blog, and it was great to finally meet in person.

After lunch I headed to the Royal Garden Hotel for my hair and make up appointment. I haven't had my hair and make up done since my wedding, so it was a big treat for me. It was carried out by the Powderpuff Girls, and they spent plenty of time making everyone look glamorous. I had no idea what I wanted, and so she plaited my hair across the front and put it up at the back with plenty of curls. I don't normally wear make up so I decided to go with something very bold - full on smoky eyes that I could never have managed myself! I loved my new look for the evening. I posted the picture below on Facebook and I received more likes and comments than I did when I posted the first photographs of my babies!

Before the awards began I met up with Jo for a drink in the hotel bar, then gradually we bumped into more and more bloggers and we made our way downstairs for the drinks reception. I was so pleased that my friend Swazi from the great Chocolate is not the only fruit had won a ticket to the evening, it was lovely to see her. I also caught up with bloggers that I've met before and bloggers that I had heard of but not had the opportunity to meet yet.

At dinner I was sat with Kara from Chelsea Mamma that I often seem to bump into at events, and we also share a local connection. I met Emma from Adventures of an Unfit Mother and caught up again with Katie from Hurrah for Gin. We enjoyed a delicious dinner, and then it was on to the actual awards. The awards were presented by Dr Ranj, famous in our household from CBeebies Get Well Soon, and he was a great host. When it came to my category I was so excited to see my blog appear on the screen and hear him read out my blog name as a finalist.

I may not have won myself, but I was so pleased that Jo won the Family Travel category with Kids Days Out Reviews. It's a fantastic blog with masses of brilliant content and she works very hard on it. It was absolutely a worthy winner, and she even mentioned me in her acceptance speech!

I made it my mission for the evening to have my photo taken with Dr Ranj, and I lined up Swazi to help me manage it. She did brilliantly, spotted her opportunity and took a fantastic photo! There is a less tipsy official one around somewhere, but I think that I like this one better, do I look a bit star struck?

Photo thanks to Swazi

We finished off the evening with a go on the life size Operation game. You may notice than in every photo of me I'm clutching a wine glass very tightly which probably affected my concentration somewhat, not that I was tipsy of course!

Photo thanks to Jo

It was a fantastic night, I had a brilliant time and I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to be there. I think that the stats that were shown on the screen after the awards really prove how proud I was to be a finalist. Thank you so much to everyone that nominated me and then went on to vote for me, I'm so grateful to you all.