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Meet Expat Celeste: “I lost my mother close to the time that I became one myself”

January 28, 2019 by Heather Step Leave a Comment

Today we meet South African mom blogger Celeste, who blogs at I Wrote a Letter to My Love.

My name is Celeste Strydom and I am a 35 year old, first time (somewhat crunchy, attachment) mommy to a 15 month old little girl, Emma Rose. I am from the southern suburbs of Cape Town, living in The Middle East.


My life used to be super predictable. I was previously married to my high school sweetheart and had dreamed of motherhood for as long as I can remember. For a while I looked set to live out my days in the 25km radius I had always occupied. Maybe it’s just my circle, or maybe it’s a Cape Town thing, but school, work and home generally all took place no further apart than a 15 minute drive!


After years of obsessively planning my life and living carefully, I was swept off of my feet when the universe offered me a second chance at love and life. I fell hard and fast for a South African raised, British citizen who was living and working in The UAE. (Craig AKA Daddo) Up until then, I had barely travelled outside of SA and could never have guessed that within a year my life would be turned serendipitously on its head!


On the 1st of June 2017 I boarded a plane with two suitcases, a ring on my finger and Emma 13 weeks along in my belly. I enjoyed an idyllic pregnancy until my water broke at 30 weeks. I spent the next 4 weeks in hospital on strict bedrest (in a country I didn’t know with no friends or family besides Craig) and Emma was delivered safely and naturally at 34 weeks. We did our time in the NICU and 12 days later I was admitted back into hospital with retained and infected placenta and accreta. Recovery was slow, but we have a healthy baby and mommy at the end of it all.


Our journey has not been easy. On 13 February we boarded a plane home to CT to spend the last week with my mom, who was braving the final stages of colon cancer. We spent 6 months in SA. Immersing ourselves in family and love and loss, while sharing our greatest joy with those closest to us. When we returned to our home in Abu Dhabi, my little blog was born. https://alettertomylove.wixsite.com/alettertomylove/aboutalettertomylove


I write letters to Emma. I don’t know when she’ll read them, but I suspect that in a decade or 3 (God willing longer) these letters will be her treasure. The irony of losing my mother at a time when I am finally meeting myself as a mother has made a huge impact on me. I reread notes my mom wrote just to see her handwriting. I hope that my child will hear me in the words I pen to her.I share these letters publicly for 4 reasons:

  • It allows our loved ones who are far away to keep up with what we’re up to.
  • It allows me to feel connected to a larger community. The early years of expat living can be lonely. This helps.
  • I appreciate that there are women who are wise in their own experiences. I hope that they will interact and comment. They say it takes a village and I would be happy for my child to read the positive opinions of other strong females.
  • I hope that our transparency, truth and laughter can encourage others. Or even just a single individual.

Our blog (“our” refers to Emma and mine) has very little in the way of advice. It’s more a peek into the wisdom/wit/wonder a mother shares with her child. Who knows how it will grow, but so far I’ve covered bits ranging from prematurity and PPROM, friendship, her birth story, sensory play, some of my parenting fails… I tend to write based on what ‘comes to me’. If there’s a topic I wish I could discuss with grown up Em, I write. 

A typical day for me is radically different to days gone by (corporate, financial services, for 12 years). I’m a stay at mom, and I can say that I am way more tired now than I was when I was single and working 10 hour days (hats off to the working mommas!) There is something to be said of the rejuvenating properties of catching a break at the water cooler.What I miss about work: adult conversations, mental stimulation and the money!!!I put a face and a bra on every morning. No, I don’t judge women who don’t… but, in a world where oftentimes the only person I see is a terrorist, I mean toddler, it makes me feel like I’m still kind of keeping it together!

Emma and I spend our days playing. With, fingers and toes and sand and food and paint. We did baby led weaning and so meal times are still a fun and messy part of our days. The winter months are great and we’re enjoying that now. We eat frozen yoghurt lollies in the pool and enjoy plenty of mommy-and-me, as well as family outings. Summer is impossibly hot. 50 degrees celsius is very normal and I’m dreading the coming months. If anyone can send me some tips on entertaining a toddler indoors for 4 months, please share! I’ll let you know how we get on online!


Anyone who’s familiar with the lifestyle of Abu Dhabi housewives might be shocked and horrified to know that I don’t have a nanny and I do all my own cooking and housework. My SAFFA sisters won’t be surprised at all! We werrrkkk! 🙂


Craig is a photographer and producer, when he’s not out shooting or filming he’s hard at work from home! So some days I also act as a bodyguard and gatekeeper to protect his levels of productivity from being shot by our Daddo obsessed girl! (If you’d like to follow us on Instagram we can be found @iwrotealettertomylove. I’m often spoilt with amazing pics, courtesy of my very own PAPPA-razzi)


I haven’t been blogging for long enough to feel I’ve necessarily learnt anything of value that I can share, but I am looking forward to learning from the moms in this community. This all feels a little like home.

Follow Celeste on her blog, Facebook and Instagram.

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Filed Under: Meet SA Mom Bloggers, mom bloggers

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I've just come from the dentist and it was awful b I've just come from the dentist and it was awful but now afterwards not so bad! Glad I took the rest of the day off though.

On the weekend we tried this recipe from Louisa Holst's new book. I've always wanted an easy way to make my own pizza with real bread dough and I think I found it. It came out like a pizza pie but still good. My son is very fussy, he moaned that he could have done a better job but he still ate it. 

What do you think? Would you try it? Full recipe and comments up on the blog.

#samomblogs #airfryerrecipes #airfryerpizza #airfryerpizzas #mommyblogger
Do you like branded sneakers? Up on the blog I've Do you like branded sneakers?

Up on the blog I've got a new post which will show you where to find them and how to get the best deals.

#samomblogs #sneakers #ad #onlinedeals #sneakerfactory
Am I the only one completely overwhelmed with all Am I the only one completely overwhelmed with all the activities that we have to remember as moms?

There's nothing worse than pulling up to school and seeing all the other kids dressed a certain way and you forgot.

But I'm making an effort now to get organised with my mom planner. 
You can get it in the shop on my blog here:
https://samomblogs.co.za/product/ultimate-mom-planners

Here’s what’s included in the planner:

Cover page
Daily Planner page
Monthly planner page
Daily Routine page
Weekly planner page
Yearly plan
My goals page
Habit trackers (2 pages)
Health Tracker
Project planner
Savings tracker
Moms swear jar savings tracker
Cleaning checklist
Cleaning list
Chore chart
Grocery list (3 pages)
You’ll get a 20 page PDF File

On special for R97!

Let's get organised!

#samomblogs #momplanner #goals #routine
Happy Heritage Day! Grabbing some food quick in be Happy Heritage Day!
Grabbing some food quick in between classes. 
Hope you guys are having a good one.
#samomblogs #heritage #heritageday
This is an uncomfortable lesson for me, but if I This is an uncomfortable lesson  for me, but if I can save someone else, my job is done.

You can read the full story up on the blog.

CopyTrack is a legit company, but they follow dubious practices. They don't actually represent the client. They attack people who already have the right to the images. 

Read the full story up on the blog.

Always do your research!

#samomblogs #copytrack #copytrackscam #knowyourrights
It's the workbook you didn’t know you needed! Po It's the workbook you didn’t know you needed! Pop this around the house to journal for when you get ideas. 
40 pages full of questions with cute picture watermarks to give you inspiration. 

Check it out in my shop: https://samomblogs.co.za/product/busy-mom-content-workbook
Or just click on "shop" on the menu bar. 

#influencerjournal #leadingquestions #contentcreator #mominfluencerjournal #busymomjournal #samomblogs
Last day of presentations! I really got a lot of i Last day of presentations!
I really got a lot of insight yesterday, especially from the Pinterest ones. 
But today it's all Instagram and TikTok, so it's lots to learn!

Speaking today 

✨ Aprille Reed - 11 Ways to Monetize on TikTok (from 0 to 10K Followers)

✨ Laura Coulter - Just Talk. The Rest Can Be Systemized

✨ Helen Garfield - Back and Better: How to Make a Social Media Comeback You Can Actually Keep Up With

✨ Dr. Tracy Davis - From Overwhelm to Aligned Visibility: A 311% Instagram Growth Strategy Rooted in Energy, Not Hustle

✨ Sabine Matharu - How To Create An Evergreen Visibility Flywheel To Get Clients Consistently

✨ Becky Nieves - Break Up with the Algorithm

✨ Tracy Hoffman - TikTok: More Than Dancing Kids – A Powerful Business Tool

These presentations are all available for the next 20 hours - make sure you don't miss them!

#Socialsellssummit #socialsells #sellmyproducts #tiktoktips #growinstagram #Instagramgrowth #beatthealgorithm #samomblogs
If you are in Joburg, this workshop is a must atte If you are in Joburg, this workshop is a must attend one. You'll get a lot of input from experts, which will leave you better equipped to help your child. 
https://babyyumyum.com/the-neurodiversity-parenting-workshop-2025/

#NeurodiversityWorkshop #babyyumyumcoza #specialneedskids #neurodiversekids #WhatsoninJoburg
I'm speaking today at the Social Sells Summit! It I'm speaking today at the Social Sells Summit! It will be a behind the scenes look at how I put a social media schedule together. 

I also listened to Kira McCoy and she had some really interesting things to say about your messaging. (It's not about you. It's about what the person is looking for) But she is also into crafting and it's really cool how she described how she would sell a pair of earrings and what hashtags she used. 
Lots of other ones still to listen to. 
Speaking today 

✨ Heather Step - How to Sell a Summit on Social
✨ Tiffany Ngu - LinkedIn for Leads: How Coaches & Creators Are Quietly Booking Clients Without Paid Ads

✨ Frances Vidakovic - Cool Ways To Get Traffic From Pinterest In 2026

✨ Marin Johnson - Signature Social Series: The Content Strategy You’re Missing
✨ Kira McCoy - Magnetic Marketing with a little help from AI
✨ Dana Bahr - Pin, Post, Profit: Creating Evergreen Pinterest Funnels That Sell While You Sleep

These presentations are all available for the next 20 hours - make sure you don't miss them!
Another great lot of speakers today! Today, there Another great lot of speakers today!
Today, there are two audios, so I actually listened to them while doing some cooking. 
Amy Ayres is a great encourager if you've been scared to put yourself out there as an introvert.
Julia Zatta did a talk on LinkedIn, but I found what she said to be very applicable to any media you are putting out there, even for blog posts or any content. Something she said was to use those expressions that you are known for, use emotional, sensory stories and use numbers to grab attention. 
I still want to listen to the rest.

Speaking today 

✨ Jenna Webb - How to Authentically Use AI to 10x Your Art Sales and Social Media Reach

✨ Julia Zatta - 10 Copywriting Tips to Make Your LinkedIn Posts Pop

✨ Amy Ayres - Offbeat Ink Presents: Breaking the Feed (Meaningful and Intentional Social Media That Doesn't GIve You The Ick)

✨ Maiko Sakai - Quizzes as a Fast Conversion Tool: Sell More on Social Without the Hard Sell

✨ Maylene May - From Likes to Loyalty; Tips for Turning Your Groups into Community-Driven Sales

✨ Susan Trumpler - Turn Social Media Besties into Paying Clients (without feeling salesy!)

These presentations are all available for the next 20 hours - make sure you don't miss them!

#Socialsellssummit
#socialmedia #socialsells #contenttipsandtricks #samomblogs
I've just finished listening to Kayleigh King, who I've just finished listening to Kayleigh King, who is a photographer. She had lots of ideas to do professional photography. It's really important to showcase your brand. 
I also listened to Kelsey Silver yesterday, and she had some good tips on not to waste your time on certain DMs. It certainly rang true from the time when I tried to get private students and the kinds of conversations I had. 
These presentations are available for the next 18 hours. 

Speaking today 

✨ Kayleigh King - How to Build a Creative Shot List + Introduction to DIY Brand Photography

✨ Alex Jean Grunwell - Making Content Work Harder: Your Pinterest Content Stack for Evergreen Marketing

✨ Jenn Prochaska - You're Too Good at What You Do (And It's Killing Your Content)

✨ Nikki Hutson - The Social 5 Formula

✨ Esai Arasi - Content That Cuts Through the Noise and Straight to Buyers

✨ Sydney O'Brien - The Buyer Behavior Shift No One’s Talking About (and How It’s Changing Sales on Social)

✨ Kelsey Silver - Decode your DMS - How to turn conversations into clients without being online 24/7.

#socialmedia #Socialsellssummit #socialsells #samomblogs
https://samomblogs--catgriffin.thrivecart.com/social-sells-fast-action/ and link in bio as well
The countdown is on for the Neurodiversity Parenti The countdown is on for the Neurodiversity Parenting Workshop, your chance to gain expert advice, practical tools and connect with a community that understands.

https://babyyumyum.com/the-neurodiversity-parenting-workshop-2025/

This year’s Neurodiversity Parenting Workshop is brought to you by BabyYumYum and sponsored by @oldmutualsa in partnership with @theneuroverseza and @nutripaeds

BabyYumYum #BYY #NeurodiversityWorkshop #Countdown #ParentingSupport #NeurodivergentKids #BYYParenting #WhatsoninJoburg #TNPW202
The Social Sells Summit has started with these spe The Social Sells Summit has started with these speakers today.
The presentations are available for a few more hours. I have already listened to Kisten Robinson and she had some useful ideas to get your Instagram going again.

Here are the presentations:
Selling What You Know (Without turning into a sleazy salesbot) - Sarah Raanan

Delegate & Dominate Pinterest - Hemapriya Natesan

What Improv Taught Me About Social Media That Marketing Never Did - Jill Pavlov

Scroll-Stopping Social: How to Repurpose All Your Content with Less Effort Using AI - Heather Ritchie

Selling Without the Sleaze: Ethical Sales Strategies That Actually Work - Megan Kachigan

Back on the ’Gram: How I Revived My Instagram in 30 Days and Built a Consistent Posting Rhythm That Converts - Kristen Robinson

https://samomblogs--catgriffin.thrivecart.com/social-sells-fast-action/

#Socialsellssummit #instagramtips #contentcreation #samomblogs
Exciting news! The Social Sells Summit is happenin Exciting news! The Social Sells Summit is happening September 8–12, 2025 - and I’d love to invite you to join for free!

This virtual summit isn't about tricking the algorithm or posting endlessly to nowhere. Instead, you'll learn how to:

 ✅ Sell with integrity - no sleazy tactics 
 ✅ Find a rhythm that aligns with your life and business 
 ✅ Convert your conversations into clients without burnout 
 ✅ Lead with strategies that feel authentic and sustainable

I’ll be presenting on how to sell a summit on social, where I’ll share exactly how I put together a schedule and the method I used for the relevant video clips.

👉 Save your free spot here 👈

It’s totally free, fully online, and you can catch each session for 24 hours after it goes live!

https://samomblogs--catgriffin.thrivecart.com/social-sells-fast-action/
It's officially spring 🌻🌺 Get ready for the It's officially spring 🌻🌺

Get ready for the warmer weather with my new post up on the blog all about different kinds of fans.

#fans #heat #spring #cool #beattheheat☀️ #samomblogs
Sometime it all gets broken so that you can build Sometime it all gets broken so that you can build again.

Nicky handed in his project before he left for Craddock. But the wind blew it over. it was flat. People put their projects on top of his. He brought it home in tears. But we got the prestick out and added some reinforcements to make it stronger. The second version is built to stand.

What have you had to rebuild lately?

#rebuild #kidsprojects #electricity #tennis #scienceproject
If you are looking for educational resources, look If you are looking for educational resources, look no further. I've already downloaded the cutest alphabet flashcards and some growth and fixed mindset activities. There are all sorts of planners, guides, and printable resources. 

The Ultimate Homeschooling Bundle is a curated digital collection of nearly 30 resources worth $677+, available for just $28.

It includes:

🎁Printable learning centers

🎁Growth mindset escape rooms

🎁Character-building activities

🎁Subject-specific support (math, budgeting, early literacy)

🎁Planners for moms

Support for conscious parenting and more!

✔️ Created by certified teachers, published authors, and experienced homeschoolers 

✔️ Perfect for homeschoolers, families looking for educational screen-free fun during weekends, holidays, or breaks.

The sale is ending on Sunday, but if you buy before Friday night, you will get these bonuses:

🌱Gardening & Homesteading Bundle (available until Friday night)
🎄Year of Holidays Bundle (available until Friday night)
🎊Pop-Up Facebook Community with encouragement + guest sessions (closes Sunday night)

I'm contributing an e-book on how to teach the alphabet. This is based on my years of experience at a very progressive Montessori school. So go ahead and check out all the goodies here. 

I'm also doing a guest session on Monday night at 7pm SAST (1pm EST) on how to teach the alphabet and some early grammar resources.

https://heatherstep.krtra.com/t/uDnMSLq1c4dT

#homeschooling #homeschool #education #educationalresources #ABC #alphabet #maths #planners #school #teachers
When you claim the tiniest corner of the bed but s When you claim the tiniest corner of the bed but still rule the house 🐾💤 Who else has a cat that thinks they invented sleep?

Tell me what your cat did today! 😸👇 #catsofinstagram #catlover #catlifeishard
There are certain people I really look up to in th There are certain people I really look up to in the blogging world and Chelsea Clarke from @herpaperroute is one of them. 

I really enjoyed reading her book because it is her personal story of how she turned her life around.

Need to reinvent yourself? You need to read this book. Check out my review up on the blog. 

#samomblogs #blogging #girlpower #reinvention #buildingwealth #mindset
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