Those of you who follow my blog will know I was recently shortlisted as one of five finalists for Health & fitness blogger of the year in the Bloggers’ Lounge awards. I got home this morning from my trip to London for the award ceremony and want to let you all know what I got up to.
To save you scrolling through this post trying to find out where I announce what happened in the ceremony…I didn’t win blogger of the year, but it has been one of the best experiences of my life and I am hugely grateful to all of you for voting for me! I’m also really grateful to Nichola Whitehead (of Nic’s Nutrition) and Lee Constantinou – the judges who placed me as one of the finalists!
I never expected to make it as one of the finalists when I entered so this has been a huge boost for me as a blogger and I’m incredibly happy and proud to have got as far as I did, so thank you all again!
I took my Son, Mum and Brother with me on the trip to London and it has been my favourite visit to the city so far. We got there on Tuesday and spent the afternoon sightseeing and shopping…because you can’t go to London and not go shopping. The two main things I bought were a new sports bra (the more practical item of the two – which I plan to review in a few weeks) and some stunning shoes for the award ceremony. Seriously, I’m actually in love with these shoes.
I felt this photo of the shoes needed to be made into some sort of meme!
I had intended to get an early night because I had a photo shoot booked for the next morning but we decided to check out the Dad’s Army world premiere going on just outside our hotel at The Odeon, Leicester Square.
We were hoping to basically do a bit of celebrity spotting, but within an hour of being there (waiting eagerly in the crowd) we won tickets to watch the premiere! Yep…we actually got to sit in the cinema with all of the stars of the film and watch the world premiere of Dad’s Army!! We even got to walk up the red carpet!! I still can’t quite believe it!
The word unbelievable is batted around so much now, but none of us could actually believe our luck and if I’m honest, it still hasn’t sunk in yet. The news I made it into the finalists for the Bloggers’s Lounge awards only sunk in once I was finally at the award ceremony so I have no idea how long this experience will take to sink in.
I’ve enjoyed watching Dad’s Army since I was a child and can honestly say it’s a brilliant film. Very funny and it thankfully doesn’t try to rip off the original series…it complements it perfectly. The actors were all so friendly afterwards too, posing for photos and signing autographs. We couldn’t have asked for a better way to start the London trip!
Although I could easily write a whole blog post just about that incredible experience (which I honestly didn’t think would happen in a million years), this post is about the whole trip, so I’ll move on now to talk about the following morning when I had a photo shoot with Eulanda Shead.
I had no idea what to expect as this was totally new to me, but had a brilliant time and Eulanda is fabulous! So friendly and she totally helped me when I wasn’t sure what photos I was looking for with the shoot. We walked along South bank looking for good spots to take some photos and although I wouldn’t say I’m a natural model, Eulanda was great helping me to learn how to pose and to make my ‘serious face’ photos (if that makes sense) not look like I want to rip someone’s head off. 😉
I’ve had a sneak peak on Eulanda’s camera and love what I saw! I can’t wait to share the pictures with you all when they arrive, which should be in a week or two.
After that fantastic photo shoot it was time for the main event I was in London for…the Bloggers’ Lounge award ceremony.
As I spend most of my time at home in gym clothing, I used this excuse to get really dressed up and, of course, wore my new shoes!
The award ceremony was at Grace bar in Soho and I loved having the chance to meet so many other bloggers, as well as getting to know the lovely people behind the Bloggers’ Lounge. It was brilliantly organised and I’ve learnt a huge amount from chatting to other bloggers at the event about their experiences, and made some lovely friends who I will definitely be keeping in touch with!
Huge congratulations to the winners of each category!! I love the blogging community because everyone is so supportive of each other and the whole evening was great fun!
As I said at the beginning of the post, I didn’t win health & fitness blogger of the year, but it was an excellent experience from the announcement of the shortlist right up to now, and I’m still shocked and super proud to have even been shortlisted as a finalist!
If you’re a fellow blogger I highly recommend checking out the Bloggers’ Lounge as they regularly post great tips for bloggers!
I wanted to let you all know what I did on my trip and could easily make this post three times this length as I’m so excited my fingers are typing insanely fast eagerly wanting to tell you every detail, but I realise you probably don’t fancy reading an essay length blog post, so will summarise my trip by telling you it truly was unbelievable. The film premiere, the photo shoot and (of course) the award ceremony were three things I will never forget. I didn’t stop smiling for the whole trip and am still grinning while writing this! I’m so grateful for all of these experiences and am thrilled that you guys liked my blog enough to support me in getting this far. Thank you again!
In the past year I’ve made the decision to really chase my dreams, all of them. Not just fitness and health goals, but career goals, and everything else…and I haven’t looked back since making that decision. I also decided to start saying yes to seizing so many more opportunities, and considering I rapped with my family (in the crowd outside the cinema) to win the Dad’s Army film premiere tickets, I think it’s fair to say that I’m doing that!
The Bloggers’ Lounge awards were the first awards I have entered and from this experience I am definitely keen to enter again next year. I’ve learnt so much and have loved every minute.
Chase your dreams. Yes, it can be scary at times because dream chasing is hard work, but (seriously), if you have a dream you can’t go a day without thinking about, go for it. Whatever category of your life it is in, make it happen…and be open to new opportunities! Fill your life with people and things that make you happy.
“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”
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