Scottish Bloggers Valentine's Party:

Last night I had a great time (and also succeeded in keeping one of my New Year's resolutions!) at the Scottish Bloggers Valentine's Party.  It was my very first blogger meet up, and I probably wouldn't even have gone along if Margaret hadn't told me about the event, but I'm really glad I made it!  It was comforting to go in with somebody that I already knew, but I didn't need to worry because everybody was lovely and very friendly.

Unfortunately, I was too busy chatting to take any photos - time absolutely flew by!  The venue (Hemma Bar on Holyrood Road) had a great atmosphere and more than enough space for all of us to fit.  There were loads of us there!  Hemma's cocktails looked amazing as well, but sadly I was driving and couldn't try them.  I'm determined to go back and have a few at some point in the future!

We broke the ice with 'Blogger Speed Dating', which was a great way to learn a little about everybody there, and that just kind of naturally progressed (descended) into more general chatting.  The event organisers - Lianne, Gillian, Juliet and Jenn - had also put together an amazing raffle with loads of prizes.  The proceeds went towards Shakti Women's Aid, and I'm chuffed to say that I won a prize!  The raffle was actually so generous that lots of people went away with a prize, which was lovely.

As you can see, I won some award winning, gourmet marshmallows from The Marshmallow Lady, which are right up my street!  They will definitely be gone soon, and only survived this long so that I could get a photo...

So much thought and effort went into the organisation of this event, and I just wanted to say a massive thank you to the girls who put it all together.  It seemed like everyone who attended really enjoyed themselves, and I had a fantastic evening!  If you're a blogger who would like to attend a meet up but feel a little bit shy, I would highly recommend going along to an event like this one.  Just remember that everyone is in the same boat and they are all going along to meet new people with similar interests, just like you.