Well, after that unexpected and extended delay in posting, I am finally back on deck. It seems that technology has been conspiring against me as I couldn’t upload photos and barely tweet while away, I also came home to find that my house was undergoing a power outage! But now that it seems to be finally sorted, let’s get down to business with the Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards wrap up!

Official photos courtesy of Mike Yip
As most of you will know by now, I headed off to Singapore last Thursday as a guest of Nuffnang and a finalist in the Best Fashion Blog category. The finalist were chosen by a panel of industry judges from 13,000 nominees, so needless to say, being one of the five finalists was a HUGE honor!
The Asia Pacific region is comprised of bloggers from all across Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines and Australia. It was a great thrill to see Australia so well represented in the categories as compared to the population of bloggers in the other countries, we are tiny in comparison. But even in a crowd that big, it was easy to pick the Australian’s – we were the ones that kept partying all night!
After reaching Singapore at 1am Friday, we hit the hay in the hope of getting a little beauty sleep before the big night. I have to say, that with all the excitement, sleep was not an easy thing to get for the entire trip and I subsequently handled Friday and Saturday as a 48 hour straight adventure!
Getting ready for these events is half the fun, and even more fun when you get to do it with a friend. I was thrilled to finally meet up in person with Erica Bartle from Girl With a Satchel and Violet Le Beaux, so after a big breakfast we hit the shops to warm up the credit cards and indulge in a relaxing pedicure. These girls are just so much fun, and we really hit it off. Running around Zara, finding the perfect pieces for one another and making a significant dent in the budget in the first half hour! (See the evidence here!)Then it was back to the rooms for naps, facials, hair and makeup.

With Violet Le Beaux and Erica from Girl With a Satchel
Putting an outfit together for the night required a lot of planning. Not only in deciding what to wear in such a hot and humid climate, but how to handle the frizz factor of the humidity. I’d planned to set my hair and had come prepared with all the rollers, pins and lotion. But after stepping out of the plane that first night, I realized that unless I planned to go with a wild a crazy look, the humidity was not going to be my friend. So I quickly changed that plan and opted for a sleek French roll with a ton of spray to keep it together.
I have to say a huge thank you to Circa Vintage Clothing for my amazing shell pink, duchess satin earl 1940’s gown and Mr SKM’s delicious cravat. It certainly helped to amp up the glam factor of the evening, and you know me, I couldn’t possibly just go for a little black dress for such an occasion! I paired it with my Great Grandmother’s necklace, and a 1960’s silver lame evening bag – so it was a total mix of eras but I think it was a success.
Arriving at the awards was a somewhat humbling moment. Entering a throng of bloggers and guests over 400 strong, via the red carpet was both exhilarating and surreal. I don’t think I’ve ever had my photo taken so much in my life and after about five minutes was beginning to feel just how big the scale of this event was. Coming from Australia where blogging is not yet the widely recognized phenomenon that it is in other parts of the world, it was overwhelming to meet so many people who knew us and what we did. If you tell most people here in Australia that you are a blogger you’ll most likely be met with a quizzical look, or in one case a response of, “Is that like someone who cuts down trees dear?” So yes, wow…!

- With Mr SKM looking super stylish!


- Walking the Red Carpet with Violet – I love this photo!
The night went off with a bang. Delicious dinners, local celebrities, bands, magicians, T.V crews; the works. And then we reached the part of the night that everyone was itching to get to – the Final Announcements! This is the part of the evening in which I couldn’t stop beaming. As the winners were announced, it became clear that the Australian bloggers were punching above their weight, taking out awards in three categories! The Best Parenting Blog Award went to Childhood 101 from Perth, The Best Tech Blog went to Mr Gadget from Melbourne, and the Best Fashion Blog went to none other than Lady Melbourne from right here in my own city!

- Just some of the many finalists.

- With the fabulous Xia Xue – Singapore Blogger Extraordinare
I also want to give a special congratulations to my lovely Singaporean friend Xia Xue who took out not one but Three awards – for Most Original Blog Design, Most Influential Blogger and Region’s Best Blogger! Truly, the whole thing was amazing, and as was said many times during the evening, everyone came away a winner. When you consider just how many blogs were nominated by readers (over 13,000), to make it to the finals in each category was no mean feat.
For me the memorable moments of the evening were meeting some of my favorite international bloggers, being able to represent Australia with such a talented and delightful group of bloggers, and… being able to pose for photos with MR SKM in a suit! I haven’t seen him in a suit since our wedding day so this was indeed a night to remember!
I have so many pictures and so much to share with you about this trip that I’m going to break it up into a little series of travel log posts. I had hoped to do this along the way in real time, but doing it from home now means I have much more to show and tell.
So stick with me, tell a friend and enjoy a bloggers adventures in the East!
