My 25th Birthday!

25 years old, where did the time go?

🎉🎈🎉🎈🎉

One year older and none the wiser, right? 

Well, that's not entirely true this year...

I've turned 25 and something has awoken inside of me, it sounds cheesy, right? but it has made me think how far I've come and how far I have left to go. I no longer have negative thoughts, no more putting myself down, no more saying 'I should be here and I'm not', it's actually an extremely enlightening experience and it has made me appreciate life in a whole new way. 

I have struggled with a lot of things in the past few years, weight loss, weight gain, mental health issues, stress, losing & gaining friendships, moving house about 5 times, having no money, nearly becoming homeless, completing my MA and much, much more. 

But I've come to a point where I see ALL of those experiences as positive experiences that I can look back on and learn something from, no matter what it was. For example, gaining weight has taught me that I had a really unhealthy relationship with food and the amount I was eating was not enough to sustain me, once I started eating the recommended amount of calories it was inevitable I would gain weight - duh! I have now learnt so much more about food, nutrition and fitness and I feel happy in the knowledge that if I don't attend the gym I won't gain a stone overnight...(unless I eat that whole dark chocolate bar...and maybe that cake) anyway, although I'm not where I want to be physically or fitness wise I am content and I am starting to go a little easier on myself, and its a lesson we all need to take on board. 

It's horrible when you don't get the job you want or the promotion you long for but, think of it like this...another knockback means another chance to do your best, a chance to show another company what talents you can demonstrate. If you don't get the promotion you can either work harder to show you can cope with a more demanding job role or if you feel that the company doesn't appreciate you look for a new job and show them what they're missing out on! 

Although this new can-do attitude is beneficial there will be down days where I get low and feel like the world is against me, but as long as I keep on trucking and the good days outweigh the bad then I'm happy with that! 

My Birthday Day

8am - Gifting & Cards

The fact is, I have come to expect very little from birthdays as they seem to get less celebratory the older you get, which is fine with me, I wanted a relaxed day to myself. However, this didn't really happen at all, I woke up and spent the morning with my mother and sister opening a few presents (some jewellery and body shop smellies!) after that I did some drawing with my sister, obviously, I was trying to regain some of my youth. It worked.  

2pm- Le Garrick (Covent Garden)

Then, when my mum had gone out I headed to the gym for a quick session before meeting my mum and sister in Covent Garden where we went out for a lovely lunch in a quaint French restaurant called Le Garrick. I only wanted something small as I was planning on going out for dinner with my boyfriend, so I chose the salmon that came with ratatouille. My sister had the glazed duck and my mum, the beef bourguignon. It all looked and tasted delicious, I also had a cheek Kir Royal with it...it was my birthday after all!

Salmon and Ratatouille

Honey glazed duck

Beef Bourguignon

Sister & Mother

So, after this, we picked up a cake my mum had reserved for me and I rushed back home to 'sign on' (on my birthday, I know) it was a close call but I made it!

I decided to wander around the town and treat myself to some sale items which included a lovely yellow top (I always wear black) which I wore in the pictures below. Then, I got back home, got changed and waited for my boyfriend to arrive, he brought me some lovely presents including an 'Angel' gift set (the perfume by Thierry Mugler ), a handbag, a teddy and a bunch of flowers (roses & carnations). And the card he got me was spot on....

💅💁 truuuuu

7pm - Miller & Carter Steakhouse

After the present exchange, we went out to dinner at Miller & Carter steakhouse in Muswell Hill. It was so delicious. We shared the chateaubriand and had sweet potato fries and green veg on the side. I had the beef dripping sauce and my boyfriend has the peppercorn sauce, they came in cute little metal pans, and the piece of food on the corner was a fried onion square.  

Chateaubriand sharing platter at Miller & Carter

My boyfriend had a couple of strawberry daiquiris and I had a couple of proseccos, it was my birthday! 

Birthday Drinks!

We decided not to go for a dessert as I knew we had a cake waiting for us back at home, and it may have been my birthday but I didn't want to overdo it...too much! I mean, look at this cake: 

9pm - The Cake

My GIANT birthday cake

So we went back and did the cake ceremony 🎂 🍰 🎉🎈!!

Here are some delightful pictures of me, smiling, they are rare so soak it all up, haha!

It was an amazing day and I felt so grateful to everyone who messaged me and made my day extremely special. For once I'm a happy girl and I want to stay like this. 😁🙏

Happy Birthday to anyone who shared a birthday with me or has a birthday coming up soon!

Bye for now!