Birthday haul #2 - gifts I can wear

Following on from my 'gifts I can gaze at' post, this next instalment of my mini birthday haul series focuses on gifts I can wear.

Firstly, let's focus on one of my biggest loves... jewellery! I received some really lovely jewellery for my birthday and I've worn every item quite a few times already. I had three exciting bags to open on my birthday morning...

The beautiful Tiffany & Co bracelet is from Neil's parents and came all the way from New York. They bought me the matching 'Tiffany Blue' necklace a few years ago so this is a great addition to my collection. I love the elegance and simplicity of this bracelet and took great pride in wearing it all day on my birthday. 

The surprise in the Clogau bag was a very thoughtful gift from Neil. I bought a forget-me-not necklace from Clogau a few weeks ago in memory of my grandmother who passed away in February, and Neil bought me the matching ring for my birthday. It's very dainty and detailed... I'm now saving up for the matching earrings as it's such a pretty collection! 

The Pandora charm pictured above is a pretty four-leaf clover from my Irish colleague, Edwina. It's so sparkly and fits in perfectly with the springtime charms on my Pandora bangle. Staying with the Pandora theme, my parents gave me money for my birthday which I spent on the beautiful 2016 Pandora Club charm. You can see the four-leaf clover on my bangle below, as well as the intricate heart-shaped Club charm. It has '2016' engraved on it so I thought it was the perfect thing to buy with my birthday money. 

When I went home to celebrate my birthday with friends and family last week, I received another Pandora charm from Nicola - this one will also fit in perfectly with the charms on my bangle! 

In addition to my jewellery gifts, I also received a pink Fiorelli bag from Neil. I fell in love with it when I saw it on a recent trip to Clarks Village but, as I'd also fallen in love with a yellow bag, Neil said he'd buy the pink one for my birthday so that I could have both. This is my fifth Fiorelli bag... I just can't help it, they're so pretty and come in such beautiful colours! 

And, of course, no birthday would be complete without some Disney pyjamas. As my birthday is at the beginning of the summer, it's the perfect chance to stock up on new summer pyjamas. I had the Jungle Book pyjamas from my parents and the Little Mermaid pyjamas from Neil. I can confirm that both pairs are very comfortable!

So, to sum up, I love receiving gifts I can wear. Check back soon to read my last blog post on my birthday presents - gifts I can use! 

New thing every week in 2015 #1

I decided to unashamedly copy Liz at the beginning of last year by doing one new thing every week during 2015 (read Liz's first post here). There were admittedly times when I forgot to record something new for weeks on end which meant I had to rely on my Instagram updates to figure out what new things I did... this is why there are so many food entries!

I've split last year's 'new thing every week' posts into five instalments as I seem to be a big fan of splitting up my posts at the moment.

Here are the new things I did between 1 January and 11 March 2015... enjoy!

Week 1 (1-7 January) - Changed my name on my passport due to getting married in 2014.

Week 2 (8-14 January) - Fake Christmas with university friends in Milton Keynes for the first time.

Week 3 (15-21 January) - Started this challenge!

Week 4 (22-28 January) - Had a wisdom tooth out, hopefully for the first and last time. 

Week 5 (29 January - 4 February) - Bought a red bag (and a yellow purse). 

Week 6 (5-11 February) - Ate churros in this country during a visit to Chimichanga - I've only had them in Florida previously. 

Week 7 (12-18 February) - A bird did its business on my head... I didn't have much choice in this one, and I definitely haven't got a photo!

Week 8 (19-25 February) - Went to Wahaca.

Week 9 (26 February - 4 March) - Went to Llanerch Vineyard as a surprise for Neil's birthday. 

Week 10 (5-11 March) - Went to an engagement party.

So, as you can see, I ate a lot during the first quarter of 2015. The next ten weeks will follow in a few days! 

An Instagram summary of the last month...

I've had a crazy few weeks which has resulted in no blog posts whatsoever. Most of my recent blog posts seem to start with a similar apologetic sentence, so I really want to get back into blogging regularly.

I thought I'd kick off my return to the blogging world by summarising the last month using my Instagram photos. It turns out that I've managed to fit in quite a lot! On that note, you'll ALWAYS know what I've been up to if you follow me on Instagram as I insist on updating it daily.

So here goes... feast your eyes on these photographs!


1. Four weekends ago, we walked to Cardiff Bay on a sunny day and had a lovely meal and cocktail in Signor Valentino. I love living so close to such pretty places!

2. I got promoted... I'm now a Communications Manager! It was a stressful few weeks leading up to the interview and official confirmation but I'm so excited about this opportunity. As you can see, Stitch was VERY excited for me.

3. I went for a work night out and had some tasty cocktails in Las Iguanas on a sunny Friday evening. Perfect end to a busy week.

4. I went to see my parents to celebrate my father's 70th birthday. I had a tour of his beautiful garden then we went to one of his all time favourite places... the Harvester!

5. We had a lovely evening at our friends' new house with lots of food and drinks. Sophie made me an amazing (and very aesthetically pleasing) glass of Pimm's!

6. We ventured into Cardiff city centre a few times during the last month. It's looking so beautiful at the moment with lots of pretty flowers and trees in full bloom.

7. We've done lots of work on the house over the last few weeks which has taken up a fair amount of time. Two of my very important contributions were buying this stunning orchid for the living room and re-arranging our bedroom.

8. I went to Southampton to celebrate my youngest nephew's first birthday. Both my nephews are so handsome!

9. I bought the most beautiful new Fiorelli bag... yes, that is important news in my world and definitely warrants an Instagram post (or two).

10. I went to the Smoke Haus and ate (most of) this beauty. Messiest burger I've ever eaten. I had to eat the entire thing with a knife and fork!

11. I enjoyed a relaxing sunny evening in the garden with a cocktail, some light refreshments and my Kindle.

12. I had my first ever personal training session at the gym! It left me ever so slightly exhausted but I'll definitely be continuing the programme over the next six weeks. Operation 'tone up for Florida' is ON.

13. We went to see Inside Out at the cinema (and bought a new Yankee Candle for the living room). Amazing film! You all just have to see it.

These photos pretty much sum up everything exciting I've been up to over the last few weeks. Posts like this make me realise how lucky I am to have so many things to enjoy and to look back on with fond memories. I might start writing a similar post every month as a reminder of what I've got up to... watch this space!