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Oh my. The upcoming series of Ruby Assembly’s Peninsula Adventure blogs reminds me a bit of a Baby Sitter’s Club Super Special. But instead of Mary-Anne and Logan, Claudia and her sweet stash, Dawn and alpha-captain Kirstie – you’ve got a selection of your favorite bloggers adventuring together. Enjoy living vicariously with virtual girlfriends – bloggers Cecylia, Esme and the Laneway, Super Kawaii Mama, Style Wilderness, Stasia Fox and your truly – as we experience the best accommodation, hospitality and spa luxury that the Mornington Peninsula has to offer. Well – are you packed gurlfriend? Let’s go!

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Prior to heading off to the Mornington Peninsula and our special accommodation – Aquabelle in the heart of Rye – I caught up with Marianne from Esme and the Laneway for a chinway and a coffee at Mixed Business in Clifton Hill. Suitably caffeinated, we zipped down the Nepean Highway and before you knew it, the sky was autumn blue, the sea was sparkling and we were chowing down on goat’s cheese and avocado mash on Di Chirico bread in our fully-kitted-out Aquabelle apartment (bel0w).

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Only an hour and a half (max! I drive quite slowly) from the city, Rye is perfectly positioned in the middle of the Mornington Peninsula – close to Sorrento and Portsea’s posh delights, the wineries of Red Hill and the ol’ skool holiday charm of Dromana and Safety Beach. Aquabelle apartments are terrific if you love to self-cater as I do. Totally modern and finished with a designer’s touch, the apartments are a home-away-from-home with snuggly rugs, wifi (I might have downloaded a few episodes of Homeland….), plush danish-style couches, a DVD collection and everything you need to entertain in the kitchen. After scarfing down the avo toasts and a few Lindor balls from our darling host Donna, I got to work on a final couple of deadline pieces to submit by the weekend – before flaking out on the couch with some trashy mags. Oh yes, there are trashy mags (and designer ones too) aplenty at Aquabelle!

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My room at Aquabelle – a king size bed for dreaming sweetly, divine hanging lights like crayfish baskets and cool polished boards. Why can’t it be like this at home? PS Do you like my new Zola Collection Hisabel booties? They’re soft suede leather, lined with leopard print material and are going to be just the thing to get me through winter.

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Sexy, sexy ensuite bathroom – get down wit cho’ bad self! Aquabelle’s bathrooms are luxuriously large, with deep baths, double showers and tiles more suited to a fantasy Moroccan bath-house. Spoiled. This bathroom deserves an R rating.

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I spy with my little eye Marianne Instagramming on wifi from Aquabelle in particularly cute sox. You can find her and Babycat by following @laneway_esme

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What’s a girl’s weekend away without a treat or two? Miss Italy gifted us colorful Braccialetti Cruciani to brighten our armswag. Beautifully crafted Italian lacework in an array of designs and colors.

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If there’s one thing that you must know about bloggers – it’s that we love EATING. And cooking. And drinking. After a langurous afternoon, we got straight  into our dinner party prep with Candice (top left) whipping up a deadly batch of honeycomb cream martinis. *hic* Stasia got busy whipping up her famous Tiramisu – and she also brought an array of cupcakes for dessert.

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Stasia and I were so worried about missing out on coffee that we each brought our cafetieras from home. I love the design of these ingenious Italian stovetop dreamboats, their warm steely patina increases with age.

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Marianne cooked a delicious pea and goat’s cheese pesto pasta with roasted tomatoes, I made a toasted chickpea and spinach salad…. and then came dessert.

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…. well, dessert and a good ol’ girls catchup. Talking and giggling (about blogs and much, much more) until the wee hours of the morning – our first day at Aquabelle was everything you want in a girl’s getaway. And the best was still yet to come!

Stay tuned for the next edition of Ruby Assembly’s Peninsula Adventure. We visit a famous natural spa, discover an amazing coffee house and organic cafe in Dromana and dine out at Italy’s finest by the beach.