Spoilt Rotten

Yep.  I know I am spoilt rotten.  

I was treated like a princess by Steve and my family for my birthday and my friends were all stupidly generous as well - it was really incredibly touching.

There was a distinct theme to my cards this year - an awful lot of them featured shoes, flowers and cocktails.  Hmmm.  

My assistant director bought a birthday cake to rehearsal the day before which  was covered in a giant chocolate shoe - more evidence.  I blew out the candles and stubbed them quickly in case the fire alarms went off and then everyone got a nice big chunk of chocolate cake.  Cue sugar high for the second run of Act 2!

Steve had this most beautiful bouquet of pink and white lilies delivered to my office on my birthday as a surprise.  I had always said that I had never had flowers delivered to work so he decided to change that.  They smell divine.

My friends were incredibly generous with me - isn't the white rabbit necklace gorgeous!  The charm bracelet has mini shoes and tea cups on it - again with the shoe thing!

My sister bought me the leopard print necklace, gold ring and earrings, all from Wallis - I have the earrings in right now.  I sometimes struggle with long earrings but these are so comfortable.

Another friend bought me the Muse (The Resistance) album - one I have wanted for a while.  I do download music but I still like having CD's, much the same way I like having a Kindle but you cannot beat a good old fashioned book.   He also bought me the brown Italian leather writing journal for blogging ideas, an incredibly thoughtful gift that I don't want to write in as it is so pretty!

The Lush box was a surprise from some friends - I am out of Lush bath bombs and haven't been able to replace them yet so this was perfect!  The Lust Gorilla Perfume stick is one that I carry around with me.  It is heavy on the jasmine and very strong at first but dries down within two hours and leaves quite a subtle fragrance on the skin which lasts for hours and can still be smelt the next day.

The owl necklace was a gift from another friend - I have a thing about animal jewellery and have a collection of frogs, owls, bees, tigers and other random creatures.  This owl has a feather body and is quite unusual - I also love the mix of colours. 

My parents and my sister both have these glasses - they are miniatures for vodka, rum, port, liqueurs, anything really!  They come in the most beautiful jewel colours and are tiny but elegant.  I seem to drink caramel vodka out of them more than anything else....

These.  These made my jaw hit the floor.   I love Alex Monroe jewellery but could never justify the expense - I have always been particularly taken by the pear and the baby bee and have spent hours dribbling over them - they are both on my Amazon wish list and my Pinterest boards!

Steve surprised me with the baby bee necklace - I absolutely love it.  He was probably sick of hearing me talk about it for the last few years!  He had to arrange for a friend who works in London to collect it from the Alex Monroe store in Snowsfield and then met them at the train station in Rainham to collect it.  So much coordination and effort for a present.  Incredibly thoughtful.  The bee is stunning- it has a textured body, highly detailed wings and is tiny and delicate.

The pear was from my parents - unlike the bee it has a smooth, cool, sleek texture and is weighty, like a nugget around your neck.  Both of these necklaces show such craftsmanship, I still can't quite believe I own them.

Finally, and I am still gobsmacked by this - I got a new camera from my parents.  I love my Nikon but it is a pain in the behind to lug about as it is so big and heavy and takes up a crazy amount of room in my handbag.

Look at this little beauty.  This is the Canon EOS M Compact System Camera.  It is small, light, easy to use, takes beautiful pictures even in extreme low light and is perfect handbag size.  I haven't had a chance to use it yet as the battery needed charging and I need to get a memory card for it but I can't wait to try it out.   I had originally tested the Lumix G in the store to get a feel for it and while it was good, this one was better.  I had walked away at that time with the intention of saving up for it - huge SQUEEE when I opened my gift!  This will make blogging regularly so much easier.

I am incredibly grateful for the generosity of the people around me and know how lucky I am.  Thank you everyone for a wonderful birthday