Fun Birthday Celebrations!

I am a firm believer in celebrating anything worth celebrating and right at the top of that list is birthdays! Everyone has one so at least once a year, everyone should have the day dedicated to them and make the most of it! I certainly did this year with a weekend away with family and friends to glamping site Suffolk Yurt Holidays (which was so good it needs its own post – coming soon) and I was super lucky to spend time with so many people we love! We drank, we ate, we laughed and celebrated with a singer entertaining us as we went. It was superb!

So, here are some of the things which made my birthday pop this year. Was it a special one I was asked a lot? YES! 43! Just as special as any other birthday and VERY!

So… Top of the agenda for any birthday celebration is, of course, the drinks! As we had a bar at our disposal for our personal use on this mini break it was cocktails all the way for me and I had two signature glamping birthday cocktails both made with generous amounts of Vodka. People think Vodka doesn’t matter, that it’s flavourless and buying any old brand will do but not so. The roughness of a cheap and nasty voddy would really ruin any drink and for refined cocktails such as passion fruit martinis (I use the BBC Good Food Guide recipe but switch in a really good vodka like X-Muse and a vanilla syrup instead of a vanilla vodka). We also had Traffic light cooler cocktails which again need a really good vodka to mix them at their best – try this recipe here!

Other things which definitely made me feel great on my birthday celebrating with friends were the dress that I wore (a gift from my Dad and step Mum) which is one of the William Morris X Next collaborations and I LOVE it!

To go with it I chose minimal make-up (as is my summer wont) and with just a hint of mascara I added a dash of Jane Iredale’s lip and cheek stain in Forever Pink. It doesn’t feel like a stain and more like a plump gloss with a texture of thick moisturiser. It really blends well on the cheek and though it begins quite subtly, it does go on to raise in pigment, not so much that it looks unnatural but it provides a glow and I like that. A dewy, minimal look!

The look, the drink and the food (BBQ from Intwood Farm) were all mega drivers to making it a birthday to remember but it was Ben Goble Music coming to play and getting the kids and a few guests (including Jonny) to sing with him which made it perfect!

And then what do you need on the morning after the night before (weekend before if truth be told)? A good strong coffee that’s what?! I mean, I personally don’t really drink coffee unless its of the iced variety but for the rest of the gang 39 Steps coffee was put through its paces and everyone welcomed it beautifully!

Coffee beans ground before we left and taken with us to bring up everyone’s mood after sore heads from those cocktails and it was extremely welcome! Jonny swears by good coffee and absolutely loved both of these blends which I, of course, butchered y making them into frappe ices because, well… Why not! It was blooming hot this weekend! I make a cafetiere of goodly strong coffee (these blends are pukka) and then chill it in the fridge before adding full fat milk, more of that vanilla syrup doubling from cocktails to coffees in uses and a tiny bit of good quality chocolate powder then blend it with ice before topping with cream! Oh goodness me, you’ll never go to Starbucks again!

It hits the spot!

Collaboration.