Turning 24| My Birthday Celebrations

This week was my birthday…. possibly one of my most favourite days in the year. Although it has always been special, it used to have the shine taken off it as it was always in the middle of exam and assignment hand-in time. However now I have finished university I think that my birthday is perfectly placed in the year. It is kind of halfway through the year, so not near Christmas and New Year and overlooked or during the summer so is favoured for Summer Holidays.

I am currently snuggled up on the couch nursing a tiny hangover after celebrating my 24th birthday last night with my boyfriend and closest friends. Matt and I spent Saturday morning baking and cooking ready for everyone to arrive. I made three flavours of cupcake; Oreo, Malteser and Rolo, you can see pictures of my handy work above. Matt made homemade pizzas and potato wedges for dinner… a big carb dinner, perfect to line our stomachs for all the fizzy cocktails.

After getting glammed up, my friends and I all sat around and played the usual drinking games, before heading off into town for more cocktails and some dancing. I haven’t been out partying in my new hometown much and it’s definitely a big change from my old favourite drinking establishments in Newcastle, but we made the most of it. It was actually great to go out to places that weren’t full of idiots and posers. To be able to go out and not worry about what you look like, but rather go out let your hair down and dance like a loon with your friends. We stayed out until closing time, then went back to our apartment and made more pizzas and caught up with The Voice before all passing out. Overall it was a perfect night and a great way to celebrate my birthday. So thank-you to all my gorgeous friends for travelling hundred of miles to visit me, my family for all the love you share with me and my boy for spoiling me like he does everyday.

What’s your preferred way to spend your birthday? A night with the girls, a dinner with family or a weeks worth of celebrations like me (might as well make the most of it!)

Don't forget to check out my blogger of the week Rhiannon from The Barbelle. If you enjoy my fitness and health posts you will love her blog. It is crammed full of fitspiration!

Birthday Wish List

 

Red Bag //Phone Case // Jeans // Lamp // Lipstick // Cook Book // Water Bottle // Mac // Bowl //

Door Matt //Camera Bag // Blue Bag

Did you know that it's my Birthday in 13 days time! My birthday and I have a funny old relationship. Obviously I love the day as it's a day all about me, and I can behave like the princess that I think I am for the day, however at the same time I get anxious about it. Ever since I woke up on my 20th birthday and cried because I was no longer a teenager the feeling that I was growing old and time is flying by too quickly looms around on my birthday.

This year I will be 24 years old and to me that is a proper adult age! I remember when I was a little girl and I imagined my life as a 24 year old and it doesn't look much like it does at the moment. I imagined that I would be living in my own swish apartment in a city some where, working hard all day in my fancy office then partying all night in cocktails bars. I imaged that I was well into my career, had a fancy car and dreamy man.

When I was 10 these dreams were realistic as 24 was a million miles away. However 24 is now just around the corner and although I am not where I dreamt I would be when I was a little girl I am very thankful and happy where I currently am on my life's path. The only thing I have that I imaged I would have is my dreamy man and I am the luckiest girl in the world to have him for what he puts up with from me! Even though I am just starting out in my career, I work hard, am gaining results for the company I work for, have a lot of responsibility, am appreciated and enjoy it. I don't yet own a swish apartment but the one I am renting is pretty damn gorgeous and even though it's not in the city it has the most gorgeous views which are a lot nicer than the rooftops I would probably look out over in a city!

I have to keep telling myself that 24 is not old!That I am still young and there is time to do the things I want to. Life does not have to pan out the way I imagined it would, as long as I grab the opportunities that come my way with both hands then I will be happy. I should never settle and should always be planning my next adventure.

I plan on spending my birthday with the biggest love in my life and will be celebrating with plenty of champagne at the weekend with my closest friends. I haven't asked for much, as I am quite picky and hard to buy for (apparently) but above is a selection of a few of the things I am hoping for or will be spending my birthday money on. Most is stuff I need; new house stuff, clothes that actually fit me, cute workout gear. The bags and lipstick are merely things I love!

They say that time flies when you are having fun, which must mean that my life is everything it should be and more, but am I the only weird one who worries that time goes by too quickly? How you you feel about growing another year older? 

Don’t forget to check out my blogger of the week Vicki and her amazing lifestyle blog A Life Of Geekery, full of food, crafts, beauty and life. Her photos are truly gorgeous and I love her recipes!

Dressed Up Birthday Girl

Dress- Closet from Dorothy Perkins

Shoes- Ebay

Bag- Primark

Well if you haven’t noticed already, it was my birthday last week. (If you didn’t notice… where have you been?) This is the final birthday related post I promise! This is what I wore for my birthday cocktails and dinner with the boy. I bought the dress with a birthday voucher and it was an absolute steal! I have had my eye on it for a while as I thought it would be a flattering cut, due to the colour blocking. I think the original price was £35, however it was in the sale at £15, but student discount made it about £12.50! The dress is very fitting, but has a give in it, so was comfortable to wear, even after a large dinner and many glasses of fizz.

The Closet range can be bought in a variety of shops, such as Dorothy Perkins, AWear and House of Fraser. It is actually one of my favourites at the moment, they do a range of fitted, flattering, smart dresses, that I think are quite glamourous. They are great for occasions such as birthdays, weddings or even a reasonable priced graduation dress. I think they resemble some of the tailored designs that Victoria Beckham famously uses, which is probably why I love them so much. Below is my pick of their current range, prices range from £12 to £48;

What do you think of this range? Which dress is your favourite?

Two Birthdays, One Dinner| The Highwayman Restaurant Review

Having just returned from the Lake District after a very busy but lovely birthday week visiting my family, I thought it was about time I got back to regular blogging, so will be writing three posts this evening as well as taking part in #bbloggers chat at 8, two to be published today, and one tomorrow.

The first, this one, is about my second birthday meal that I had in a Restaurant outside of Kendal in the Lake District. As the pictures show, I went with my boyfriend, Mum  and her partner. The photos also show my two dogs, who didn’t go, but looked cute so thought I would involve them in this post. The meal was for my mums partner’s, Steve, Birthday as well; a double celebration.

We went the the HighwayMan Inn, owned by Nigel Haworth and located in the small village of Burrow, near to Kirby Lonsdale, I have never been before but was thoroughly impressed, not only with the quality of the food and service, but more so of the concept of the restaurant. What I love is that the restaurants uses exclusively local producers for their menu. As it is close to the borders of Cumbria, Yorkshire and Lancashire they are in a prime location to use many different local and regional flavours. The restaurant was decorated with pictures of the producers with their produce, giving it a real feel of community. The first picture shown in this post was the placemat, which again was decorated with the friendly faces of the farmers and producers.

We had a selection of starters to share, sort of like an English tapas, which included deep fried cauliflower with curried mayonnaise, cheese soufflé, deep fried fish cheeks with an apple and garlic mayonnaise, and bread with olive oil and treacle balsamic vinegar. For my main I had a cheese and onion pie, and desert a lemon meringue pie (pictured). Overall it was beautiful, I admit not the healthiest…diet starts tomorrow, but definitely worth it!

As I mentioned the diet starts tomorrow, which it definitely must! I’m off on holiday in 4 weeks, and the past week of birthday celebrations has not be favourable to my figure, I’m looking and feeling a little more rounded… oh dear! To encourage my health kick, I will be posting a few healthy recipes that I am going to give a go… I’m an awful cook, so it could be quite entertaining!

Birthday Day

Dress- Dorothy Perkins

Blazer-Ebay

Shoes- Ebay

I am currently writing this post at my parents house in the Lakes. We arrived yesterday, and it has not stopped raining since, quite typical, but not great for my hair! We visited Matalan today, and to be honest was quite disappointed with their summer range, couldn’t find anything of interest, and left empty handed. If anyone has bought anything of interest from here recently let me know.. I may of not been looking hard enough!

From the previous post, you will now know that Tuesday was my birthday… 23! Oh My life I’m getting old! I dressed quite smartly for the day, as I enjoy dressing up for special occasions, so chose something that was confortable but still a little special. This was actually the first time I had worn my new bargain tweed jacket. I love it now; it is a little tight along the back, but that will be solved once I lose my dissertation weight ( library plus deadlines, equals poor diet and no exercise). I bought it for £15, and it came within 3 days, so I am very happy with this purchase.

I chose to sport a tweed jacket with this tan coloured dress, which is really comfortable. It is a chiffon type material, a little heavier, so doesn’t blow up in the wind… good for us girls in the North-East, and can be dressed up or down. I wear it quite often.  The belt is nothing special, I just wanted a plain band around my waist, as the tweed material is the focus, so didn’t want to back the look too fussy. The heels worn are another Ebay bargain… told you I’m obsessed! They are from Dorothy Perkins, so probably cost at least £30 new… I got them for £8.

How you you dress for your birthday? Something special, or dressed down and comfy?

Turning 23| My Birthday in Pictures

Yesterday was a special day for me (Tuesday), it was my 23rd birthday, and my last ever assignment hand-in’s all on the same day. I had an absolutely perfect day thanks to my best friend and gorgeous boyfriend, who both spoilt me rotten. Thankfully for you guys I took plenty of pictures of my day, so you have a better idea about how I spent it.

It actually started at about 1 in the morning,when I managed to convince my boyfriend to give me my present; so he got to see my reaction obviously… not because I couldn’t wait. I was super happy with a Kindle Touch, which I have been lusting after and have not put down since! In the morning the postman visited me on three different occasions to drop off presents and cards… he was like my own little Santa!

I met my friend in town for a surprise afternoon that she had planned for me… I was not disappointed. We first went for cocktails at a favourite restaurant and bar of mine, Babuchios, then wandered across to the Hilton where I was treated to champagne afternoon tea… which was absolutely divine, the manager was a doll, and kept our champagne fully topped up all afternoon. We then went shopping in town, where I picked up a new dress for the evening.

For the evening my boyfriend took me to Mal Masion for custom made cocktails, and then to a beautiful modern Italian for dinner, Gustos. I had Garlic and tomato prawns for starter, then a pizza with roasted peppers, caramelised onions, goats cheese, pine nuts and pesto.. possibly the best pizza I have ever had! We then took a stroll down Quayside and off to a bar for a drink before retiring home. After a long day and many glasses and fizz I was very tired!

I have a few OOTD posts coming up from my birthday, plus a review on some lash inserts I tried, so keep your eyes peeled!