26th Birthday Celebrations

Bell’o my lovely tiny chickariniis! 

As you can hopefully tell, I'm super happy on this gloomy Monday afternoon.What's up with this crazy hurricane weather? It's still summer don't you know Mother Nature - chop chop! 

I had a wonderfully busy weekend, full of cheeky adventures and non stop shenanigans and I was even up at 6:00am this morning and at the gym for 6:30am! Check out that dediciation!

Maybe I'm so happy through lack of sleep...am I high right now?

I’m currently chowing down on a homemade wrap with red peppers, mushrooms, lettuce, Mexican cheese and some delicious soft French garlic and herb cheese, yum! But I thought I'd take a few moments out of my lunch break to write a little, cheery blog post. Aw, how nice.

Last month was my 26th birthday and I did post a wonderfully depressing, yet somewhat hopeful post here http://blessedbymeow.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/getting-on-bit.html, but today’s post is just going to be a collection of photos (cos’ you know I love a good photo) and some of the adventures I got up to (and by adventures I mean, all the food I ate!)

When the time draws closer to my birthday, I find myself splurging on the items I’ve been yearning for, for some time, but never had the excuse to buy them.

Looking back, I didn’t go too crazy (I’m not including the £70 spend up in Primark though) but I bought a few cheeky bits I definitely didn’t need, but I really wanted.

I headed to a not so local Poundland as I knew stocked a wide variety of nail varnish and nail accessories that I've been looking for. I do not, in anyway shape or form, need any more nail polishes (I think I have around 64, below is only part of my collection).

But I couldn’t hold back any longer, my varnish addiction was calling and I needed to get a fix, so I decided to buy these beauties. 

I also bought some nail decorations, 2 packs of different coloured bows – I cannot wait to use them!

But I didn’t stop there, oh no. 

I then headed to Boots and to buy some Barry M varnishes on offer for 3 for 2. I have wanted the teal, pearlescent one from their Aquarium collection for some time, so that was a given! I also love their silk range; the finish is slightly matte feel, but has a tiny shimmer - it’s gorgeous! And of course, I had to stock up on some hot pink for the summer time.

I then bought the Revlon Colourburst Mattebalm in 210 ‘Unapologetic’. The Boots I visited didn’t stock every colour that was available, so it took me a while to decide which one I wanted. But I'm over the moon with this one and I'm so happy I picked it. I love matte lippies and this has great staying power and the pigmentation is fantastic. I thoroughly recommend this beauty; I will need to invest in some other colours very soon.

I then treated myself (I do a lot of that) to this absolutely wonderful little bit of kit. I love Sleek products; I've been raving about them for years (I'm such a hipster). Whilst I was at university, many eons ago, I spent all my free time watching Youtube makeup hauls and tutorials and yearned for the high end goodies that so many had and swooned about. But I was broke student, living Portsmouth, which isn't exactly the hub of the latest beauty trends. But up popped Sleek to save the day; a small, cute little brand tucked away in my local Superdrug, with packaging that reminded me of the wondrous Nars, but stocked an assortment of products in a multitude of shades, I was hooked.

I've seen this beauty around recently and heard wonderful reviews about the staying power and pigmentation, but I was overloaded with bronzers and blushes at the time that I just couldn't justify buying it. But low and behold, I decided to smash my favourite bronzer (I use bronzers more than blushers) so I obviously ran out to buy this gem and I was not disappointed.

The contouring section is lovely and matte (just how I like it) whilst the blusher is a warm, almost salmon shade, with a slight shimmer to it (something I usually don't like) but it's not crazy glittery and I think it adds such a nice dewy glow, which is divine during these summer months. The highlighter is light and lovely, it's something I wouldn't usually use but I have found it gives great results.

Overall, this is a product that every single man, woman and child needs in their life. I'm not over exaggerating! 

OK, maybe I am a tiny bit, but I am so genuinely pleased with this, I swear Sleek cannot do any wrong with any of their products?! They have stunning shades of individual blushers, bronzers, lippies and don't even get me started on their array of gorgeous eyeshadow palettes. Sleek - you have done it again, kudos, you bunch of beauty wizards.

I also bought two hair saving products that I love/need:The Toni and Guy heat protection mist (which I subsequently spilt everywhere and now have zero left!) and Lee Stafford’s Dehumidifier spray. Both these products are perfect for my hair, which is long, wavy/curly and quite frizzy. They tame my locks and keep it under control to the best of their abilities.

My hair takes an awful long time to blow dry but I always find the heat protection spray speeds up my drying time without leaving my hair feeling brittle or dry. 

The Dehumidifier is a necessity for anyone who experiences frizziness because of the weather! Hot, cold, humid, foggy, misty, rain, you name it, all weather can cause my lusciously perfectly straightened hair to recoil in horror and frizz up like no one’s business! This product also reduces static after styling it. If you do want to try this, you can purchase it in a travel size if you’re unsure and want to have a little experiment.

I then bought some new makeup brushes from Wilkinsons, which are obvious dupes of Real Techniques brushes. I absolutely love RT brushes, but they are little bit pricey and I really wanted to see if I could find some cheaper alternatives. These bad boys only came in at £3-4 a pop so I think that's a great bargain! I’ve been using them all for a month now and I am very happy with them, their soft, with no shedding of bristles and really sturdy. My only niggle is that the eyebrow brush seems to becoming a bit loose (like many do) and I think it may pop off soon but only time will tell.

As I mentioned, food was a huge factor in my birthday (in my life as well) so I was eating out for nearly two weeks straight! Here are a few cheeky snaps of the various places and dishes!

The day before my birthday I visited Westfield’s with my sister and we went to eat at Wahaca – a nice little Mexican restaurant I’m sure you’ve all heard of. If you decide to visit, make sure you try the hibiscus water – it is like crack and you will not be disappointed with the sweet and sour dry taste (I may not be selling it but it is so refreshing).

The best Guacamole in the world 

On my actual birthday, I went into London and visited MeatMarket. The reviews were blinding  so I was highly intrigued by the gorgeous photos of their burgers. I just had to go. I’ll be honest, they were nice burgers but not the best I’ve ever had, I did expect them to be something spectacular because they look so bloody lovely, but they were still very delicious none the less. 

I also visited my favourite place in the world - Bubbleology.

My sister then organized a surprise meal on the Saturday evening for me and my close friends and family; it was lovely and a complete shock!

What am I doing here?

On the Sunday, I had another meal out at Wagamamas in Windsor with my Mammy and middle sister. It was a lovely day out, the sun was shining and it was very warm, but there was slight cool breeze lingering in the air, which helped walking up and down the hills in Windsor town!

After our dinner, we took a stroll through the town and then walked down along the Thames with our ice creams (I got my fav – a Mr Whippy with bubblegum sauce and a chocolate flake! Heaven). After which, we took a boat ride down the Thames like proper little tourists and got a pleasant history lesson on the surrounding areas; it was all rather quaint!

My work colleagues were even nice enough to celebrate my birthday, and were super kind to get me some vouchers to Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium in Bethnal Green. I've wanted to go to this magical place for some time now (which I think they knew about) so this gift was just perfection for me.

I got lots and lots of cat birthday cards this year, which I think is just splendid. I love birthday cards in general, they really mean a lot to me and this year I got some fantastic ones!

My best friend even baked me a chocolate and peanut butter Grumpy Cat birthday cake, it was divine!

I had a fabulous 26^th birthday and I just cannot believe that I’m going to be 27 next year…I can't deny that I'm super scared and super worried, but I’m sure it’ll be ok...maybe?