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! 

Birthday haul #1 - gifts I can gaze at!

I turned 30 a few weeks ago and I've already blogged about my lovely birthday weekend. I've been completely overwhelmed by all the thoughtful gifts, cards and surprises I've received from various friends and family members so I thought I'd write a few blog posts to share these gems with my readers.

Although this birthday seems to have gone on for weeks as I've had lots of presents, cards and meals at different times, here's the haul I opened on my actual birthday morning...

Having to arrange your presents neatly before you tear into them is such a #bloggerproblem, isn't it? Not to mention photographing everything after you've opened them... I just tell myself that it'll be worth it when I've published all my posts! 

I'm going to start this mini series by blogging about the birthday gifts I received which I could happily gaze at all day long. It won't surprise you to discover that this post is almost entirely Disney themed...

Chip and Dale Disney Traditions figurine from Neil,

and a Bambi figurine from my nephews. Very cute, I think you'll agree.

A Belle figurine from Nicola. How beautiful is this?! 

Jungle Book canvas from Chris. I can't wait to hang this up!

In addition to these beautiful gifts, I certainly had something to gaze at when I went out for a belated birthday meal with Nicola and Sarah (my best friends from school) last week. I was spoilt rotten with a giant balloon, birthday badge, more presents and a surprise cake - my eyes were like saucers! 

I need to tear myself away from gazing at these gifts to write my next blog post at some point... check back soon to read my post on birthday gifts I can wear! 

The Disney Book

I bought myself The Disney Book on Amazon a few weeks ago after a serious case of Instagram envy... it was bound to happen when I follow so many fellow Disney addicts. Although I already knew the book would be of an excellent quality like all things Disney, I was seriously impressed when it arrived. It's a chunky book (I definitely don't advise packing it in your suitcase for your next holiday), and I absolutely love the front cover. A visual summary of Disney magic!

My new treasure is a beautifully presented hard cover book which achieves more than I ever thought it could. It starts with a timeline of key Disney milestones which includes every Disney film ever made and iconic events. The book also contains an in-depth description of the origin, conception, characterisation and filming processes for lots of highly celebrated classics, including my beloved Jungle Book and 101 Dalmatians. 

The book goes into a lot of detail about Disney's live action adventures as well as its many animated triumphs, and you get a real insight into Walt Disney himself and his hopes and dreams. I'd never realised how closely he was involved with the nitty-gritty of the different filming processes before reading this book... if I could go out for dinner with anyone (dead or alive), it would be Walt Disney! 

The book also describes all the Disney theme parks across the world and the inspiration behind each one, including insights into each location's focal point - the fairytale castle. It also takes the reader on an enthralling journey through the concepts of the parks' most popular attractions and world-famous parades. I want to visit all the parks more than ever after reading this book!

Are you a huge Disney fan like me? If so, I urge you to order this book if you haven't already. I promise you won't regret it! 

My top ten Disney songs of all time

I've been listening to my 'Now that's what I call Disney' CD in my car for the last few weeks as it really is one of my favourite CDs in the world. It brings back childhood memories of watching some of my most dearly loved films and also reminds me of our three (and counting) lovely Disney holidays.

I thought I'd try to compile a list of my top ten favourite Disney songs, then realised that this was a much more difficult task than I first thought. There are a LOT of excellent Disney songs. In order to make the task more manageable, I've narrowed the list down to just songs from Disney's Animated Classics (which means I can't choose any songs from Pixar films), and I'm also not allowed to choose more than one song from the same film. I had to implement this rule or most of my top ten would have been from The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast. As you can tell, I'm taking this whole thing very seriously.

Drum roll please.... here's the unveiling of my top ten classic Disney songs of all time!


I see the light - Tangled

I absolutely love this song, particularly as we chose it as the song for our first dance at our wedding last year. I get goosebumps every time I hear it.

Beauty and the Beast - Beauty and the Beast (obviously)

This has been one of my favourite films for as long as I can remember, and this has to be my favourite song from its amazing soundtrack. I'll never get bored of listening to it!

Circle of Life - The Lion King

I think everyone must have a song from The Lion King in their top ten... I love so many songs from this film but Circle of Life has to be my all-time favourite. It's just so epic!

Part of your world - The Little Mermaid

Although The Little Mermaid isn't one of my favourite Disney films, I absolutely love this song. Yet another Disney song which I could listen to over and over again (and have been known to do so at top volume in my car).

A whole new world - Aladdin

Surely this song is in everyone's Disney top ten? Such a beautiful song. When did you last let your heart decide?

Go the distance - Hercules

I always forget about Hercules' amazing soundtrack until I watch the film again. Although most of the songs from this film are featured on my Disney CD, they left out the best song of all!

I wanna be like you - The Jungle Book

Another one of my favourite childhood films. I'll always have fond memories of this song as my mother used to sing it to herself all the time when I was younger. She still loves it to this day!

Reflection - Mulan

Mulan isn't a film I'd watch again and again like some of the others on this list, but I really love this song and its thought-provoking lyrics.

Colours of the wind - Pocahontas

Yet another Disney film with a beautiful soundtrack! However, Colours of the Wind is by far my favourite. 'You think the only people who are people, are the people who look and think like you'... very indicative of today's society.

Heigh Ho - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Not one of my favourite Disney films, but I've always loved this song and the seven dwarfs. I love it when it randomly pops up when I'm on my way to work!

Do you agree with my song choices? Have I made any glaring omissions, in your opinion? Let me know what you think!