ITWBN Event at Glenlo Abbey

I am so excited to tell you all about the ITWBN event at Glenlo Abbey I attended a few weeks ago. First off, ITWBN stands for Into The West Blogger Network. It’s a fabulous blogger networking group run by Sinead Carroll & Saibh Egan. The group is open to all types of bloggers from all over Ireland. Events are held in the west of Ireland.

My family had a weekend away in Galway & the ITWBN event fell on the Sunday that we were in Galway – it was fate! This was my first EVER blogger event or get together of any kind. It was held at the stunning 5 star Glenlo Abbey Hotel, which is located a few miles outside of Galway city. The hotel & grounds are absolutely stunning.

The hotel is beautifully decorated & elegant. I signed in & immediately started chatting with fellow bloggers. Everyone was open & friendly. And, everyone had a phone in their hand. It was a relief to talk & tweet at the same time without being rude. lol We had lovely punch & enjoyed the beautiful surrounds & company. After an hour of mingling & selfies, it was time to be seated at our tables for afternoon tea. I was sat at the Tom Ford table & met some fabulous bloggers who made me feel so welcome.

The afternoon tea selection of goodies was mouth-wateringly gorgeous! Everything was perfectly presented. I couldn’t wait to try some! We made our selections then sat down to enjoy them with a gorgeous cup of Solaris Tea. Catriona from Solaris tea was at the event & made sure everyone had the perfect cup of tea to enjoy. I was delighted that she had a selection of naturally decaffeinated, organic teas.

The afternoon tea was really lovely & each item was delicious. I couldn’t wait to break into my goodie bag & starting pulling things out but I exercised self-control & waited until I got home.

The guest of honor at the event was Erika Fox, the stylish blogger behind Retro Flame. Erika is from Kerry but lives in NYC now. She works in the fashion industry & had so many fabulous stories to share with us. Erika told us the story of how she started blogging & she said something that stuck with me – Luck is where hard work & opportunity meet. I think that’s the most amazing quote!

After Erika’s talk, she opened the floor up to questions. I wrote down everything Erika said in my notebook. She had so much good advice to share! I’ve taken her advice & joined Snapchat. If you’re on, look me up – cuddlefairy1. I’m not sure what I’m doing yet, but it’s a lot of fun! (update...I'm not on there anymore lol)

There were some really lovely brand representatives at the event with tables set up displaying their merchandise. Along with Solaris Tea, there was also Design House Barna, St. Moriz & iNailz. It was really exciting to speak with the reps & other bloggers.

We would be a poor group of bloggers if there weren’t loads of selfies & photos taken! From left to right: All of us on the steps of Glenlo Abbey, one of my selfies for the #ITWBNselfie competition, Erika & me, my prize-winning best selfie (woohoo) & myself with Sinead. I won the highly sought after title of Selfie Queen & a fab hamper of Clarins goodies from McSharrys Pharmacy!!

It was the perfect first blogging event for me. Everyone was so nice, I made new connections with bloggers & brands, I learned so much from Erika & had a gorgeous afternoon tea! Here are the fab products from my ITWBN goodie bag in case you were curious. 😉