In the evening, he had planned a nice dinner with my friends. Only Aaron and Lauren came, so it was a nice dinner of besties and boy. We went to Marche 27 for dinner, where I had the fish platter, a selection of six fish-based tartares, and west coast oysters. It was delightful. For dessert, we headed to Juliette & Chocolat, who sadly could not make me a trifle with gluten-free brownies, but the brownie on its own was gf, and it was fantastic. Melty and chocolatey and delicious. To cap it off, we headed to my favourite pub, Ye Olde Orchard. I couldn’t have asked for a better day.

Onto the pressies…

Everyone spoiled me this year, everyone. It was ridiculous and awesome! We’ll start with Julie, because he went all. out.

Those are gold shoes. Can you imagine? Sparkly, beautiful, perfectly fitting shoes. The man knows me.

Next up, a camera (!!!) and turquoise g-shock. The watch is probably because I stole his and refused to give it back, and I fell in love with the turquoise one when I saw it a while back. It’s super awesome. The camera is because I managed to destroy mine (one of those waterproof-shockproof-freezeproof jobbies from Olympus) while we were on holiday in NB. I cried when I opened it.

Also from the lad, but not photographed: BATSOCKS, kitty slanket, Leonidas chocolates, and pink poms. I make a big deal of my “birthweek”, so in the days leading up to my birthday I demand pressies (small ones). He refused that this was real, but somehow I found flowers and a card on the bed, and chocolates and a card under my pillow. 😀 (I’m spoiled.)

Next up… Lauren! Lauren knows I am soon to be unemployed, and gave me the gift of shopping! A sephora gift card.

I went ahead and exchanged this gift card for a lipstick: Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick in Canvas. It’s really awesome – coverage is fantastic, and while it’s immediately sticky, that feeling is replaced by smoothness as soon as it dries. There is absolutely no kissing transfer, and the colour stays for hours.

Because it was my birthday, Sephora also gave me a Sugar Kisses Mini Lip Duo, and I traded in some points for an MUF lipstick.

Shiovawn found the perfect things for me, as she does, also!

An amazing fascinator from Chantilly Lace Designs – I actually think I have this on my Etsy favourites list. Maybe this exact one. It’s exquisite.

With it, the Smoked palette. I think UD make the best eyeshadows. I have the Naked Palette and a few of the individual shadows, and the pigment and staying power is fantastic.

Finally, nails inc Special Effects Sprinkle Polish in Sweets Away. I’m wearing this today and it really does make me think of cupcake frosting! She and Lucy also brought me birthday cupcakes at work, from Viva Vegan.

So. Spoiled.

Mina went all-out as well. Due to financial considerations, I’ve had to cut down the number of monthly boxes I get, so she created me a ‘Bina Box’.

I cried when I opened it. Each item was individually wrapped and had cute little notes. Laughter through tears is pretty much the best feeling ever – and when I read the inscription “Shower cap – FUCK YEA!” I laughed the hyuk-hyuk laugh I do. The box is full of goodies, including a Burts Bees h2t kit, an octopus jewel holder I ogled while we visited, and …

Deborah Lippman’s Let’s Get This Party Started collection. The set includes Happy Birthday, Candy Shop, and Forget You and they’re all PACKED with glitter. I have Claire’s dupe of Candy Shop, and there’s no comparison. Here’s DL Candy Shop:

As I write this all out, I feel very loved and very,very spoiled.

In a complete surprise, Julie’s mom got me a beautiful modal scarf from m0851:

I’d never heard of Modal before, but it is evidently from Beech trees! It is very, very soft. Feels luxurious.

Another friend brought me Omaha Steak beef jerky, which is the BEST Beef Jerky. No photos of this because I ate it.

If my birthday is any indication, 29 is going to be a wonderful year. I know it will be a year of change – I made the decision recently to leave the company I’ve been with for seven years, and while I’m very sad, I’m also looking forward to seeing what else is out there.

I hope that 29 will be a year of newness, discovery, & exploration. Earlier in the week, I even got on a bicycle.

If nothing else, I know I’ll spend the year surrounded by my amazing friends. Thank you guys, I love you.