Birthday

So my birthday was quite recently. I had an adorable little birthday party that involved pastries, rose lemonade and a wonderful card game. And through the magic of snail mailed gifts I also celebrated with a dear friend from overseas.

Let's start with cake! Since I had a little party I decided to go with fancy pastries... One of the best decisions I've ever made. I got these adorable pastries with red fruit and chocolate mousse. They were as divine as they were adorable!

But my day started with opening some amazing birthday mail that was beautiful inside and out, so let's take a peek.

I received these amazing animal hair pins and brooches. The three cats I've had in my life so far have been black, grey and kind of white, so it seems this set was pretty much made for me! I also adore the wooden bobby pins.

This amazing owl package held an Alice in Wonderland coloring book! I already did one page, which I posted here.

I also received a gorgeous monogrammed journal I'd been eyeing. And some pencils that are a perfect match for it!

This golden package held a stunning book called the Vintage Tea Party Treasury; which I'm sure I'll show you soon.

One of the friends at my party gave me these adorable stamps. There's an owl, a penguin and a cute little heart. I also received an ink pad in one of my favorite colors, so I'm good to go and can start stamping whenever I want.

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse of my birthday! There are actually still a few more things I hope to show you later...

Late Birthday Recap

Even though I should have done this many weeks ago, I'm only sharing my birthday gifts and pictures with you now. It was quite a relaxed day and I also had a lovely little party a few days after. Anyway, here are some pictures!

If you're a long time follower of my blog you might have seen a very similar cake before. They had green ones in spring or for Easter or something, but when my birthday came round they had the pink again. Not complaining though, it is absolutely gorgeous! And it actually looked much better in my pink home than the green ever would have.

Tofu was a little disappointed he didn't get his own slice though. But he did enjoy the gift ribbons a lot! Anyway, I received some beautifully packaged items from a very dear friend. The bunny box in the first picture was hers too.

I didn't really mentioned this to anyone I invited to my party, but I was really hoping for gifts that didn't take up too much space, were useful or even edible.  Somehow they all picked out perfect things anyway. Like these chocolates!

Another edible gift was this awesome jar of cookie ingredients. I look forward to using it up, but I also enjoy the way it looks in my kitchen. So I'll keep it as decoration for a while longer... until the cookie-craving becomes too strong.

The same friend gave me an amazing notebook that has cute tabs, a zipper pocket and even little folders to hold pictures and loose papers. She also included some magnetic bookmarks that actually match the notebook very well.

These gifts were wrapped in a gift bag with a beautiful crocheted butterfly (which is now gracing my door). And inside I found not only the quirkiest knitting book I'd ever seen. But also an invite to a Burlesque Show! (Which I've always wanted to visit!)

Next up was another dream come true, or maybe more accurately… a nightmare averted. Growing up I just adored Joan of Arcadia. I had always remained sad about it getting cancelled, and I was also afraid I'd never get to see it again (because the DVDs weren't released here). I now have both seasons to watch over and over and over again. I'm so happy!

The same friend also gifted me this amazing owl shirt. I actually blogged about it a while back. It looked so pretty on the picture online, but it's even better in real life. The fabric has such an interesting blend of colors and it's super soft.

Lastly I got my first ever Lush gift box. It contained mostly items I had never tried before, and I'm loving all of them. The shower jelly smells amazing! And the shampoo will probably be a re-buy for me once I finish this bar.

I also got a few items that aren't shown here… some amazing Japanese cookies, a remote for my camera, and I'm actually still getting a nice new water boiler from my mom, but we haven't been able to go shopping for one yet...

In the Mail...

As I mentioned in my birthday gift post, there were still some late gifts to arrive, some of which arrived just now! Amy from I Am Adorkable sent me a parcel filled with loveliness! Let's start off with this pretty woodland kitchen set.

I was actually in dire need of a spoon rest, but every time I was in a store it slipped my mind. Amy saved the day! And a barn owl spoon rest? It can't really get any better than that! And I adore the hedgehog and mouse items too.

I really like the style of these illustrations. They're still cute, but also quite grown up and they look good everywhere. The spoon rest will find a permanent spot on my counter, but the others will probably switch between the kitchen and the living room. I'm already envisioning using them for tea time. With cookies of course!

I also got this cute magnet set. The quote is definitely something to live by! Can't wait to use them on my magnetic board. And finally, yet another beautiful and very handy gift, I was sent this adorable owl hook!

Great gifts, aren't they?! I love them all so much and they look amazing in my apartment. Thank you very much, Amy!

Birthday Gifts

More than three weeks after the fact, but here I am, finally ready to post about my birthday gifts. Believe it or not, but there are still some late gifts to be received, so I might even have to do a smaller second post. But first...

This pretty pastel pile was sent to me by a wonderful friend from overseas. She's the sweetest person with the best taste! Every gift is, without exception, wrapped like a dream and always holds something absolutely amazing!

All the wrapping paper was designed by Natalie L'Ete. I think every single gift had a different design. There was a lot of gorgeous stationary inside, including one planner by the same artist and some notebooks from Rifle Paper Co.

I also got some things that I'm sure will make -or already have made- an appearance on the blog. Book post will follow! But I just had to show you these adorable mints as well. They are so incredibly delicious, I could hardly believe it!

During the weekend my friend came over with a cute Easter floral arrangement, which happened to match her outfit perfectly! Anyway, it brightened up my living room for quite some time and I'll see if I can revive the bulbs next spring.

A little while ago I had a tiny nail polish party with another friend, so on my birthday she surprised me with some lovely OPIs. These colors hold so many possibilities as far as combinations and designs go...

Onto my mom… She gave me something totally unexpected, but completely amazing! I think I literally screamed when I saw this little suitcase. My dad sat there utterly confused by my reaction. It was pretty funny seeing his face like that.

In it were a couple of lovely little gifts. Including dvd, some kitchen utensils -that sounds horrible, I know, but they were pink and I'm really happy with them!- and some fun post-its. Also, she helped me out with a microphone! Which deserves a post of its own...

So yeah, that's my big birthday post! I'm really happy with all the lovely things and sweet notes I received. And if you're reading this and recognize something you gave me. Thank you very much, yet again!

Current Nails

After quite a long nail polish-hiatus, I've gotten back into the routine again and I'm loving it! I'm especially excited about the gorgeous Butter polishes I got for my birthday. I can't praise this polish enough actually!

I was already in love the moment I saw the colors, even more smitten when I read the names (esp. "Artful Dodger"), and a complete convert when I tried them on! It goes on so smoothly, dries quickly and one coat really is enough.

P.S. If you're very observant and are noticing some bubbles on my nails and are put off by it… that is the topcoat -or maybe my impatience to quickly put that on over it- and definitely not Butter's fault.

Happy Yawnday?!

As much as I wanted to keep up my daily blogging routine, I just couldn't for the past few days. I've been tired, sick and had my birthday too. Unfortunately the latter was pretty uneventful due to the first two, but I'm sure I'll post some pictures of my gifts soon. Anyway, I'm off to bed. Again.

Birthday Wishlist

As I mentioned at the beginning of the month, my birthday is coming up very soon! Within two weeks actually. So I thought I'd do a longer wishlist post than I usually do. And I promise it'll be cute!

I just adore these beautifully illustrated polka dot mugs!

This awesome reusable cat pouch is full of lovely stickers. The best thing about? The back of the pouch actually shows the back of the cat's head, not the front again -like most would-!

Is it just me, or does the color mint stop any design from getting childish? Either way, I'd definitely wear this bag! Other colors are available too by the way. As is an amazing backpack.

These little journals are amazing! They even have some colored pages in them as well. Also, 3 bucks and no shipping. Can't beat that, right?

Words can not describe how wonderful these creamers are! I love both of them! Yes... there is a bunny too. Just click here.

These silver pendants stole my heart! They are Chinese zodiac signs and thankfully mine -the sheep- is one of my favorites.

The other I really adore is the rabbit. It's so pretty! But they're all adorable really, just take a look at all by clicking here.

How cute is this shirt? And I love how it's almost up to scale too, so everything falls were it should be. Threadless never fails to make me reach for my wallet smile.

And last, but definitely not least, are Laura Frisk's amazing pillows! So many creatures to choose from and you can even pick the colors of the fabric and the ink.

Is it weird that everything on my list is some sort of animal or creature, or at least has a face? Perhaps so, but I guess those just make me smile the most. And isn't that what birthdays are about?

Owl Things Considered

Here's one of the amazing gifts I got for my birthday this year. It's a beautiful jewelry stand with a fantastic owl! I love it's Amelie-like colors and appeal. It makes me smile every time I see it!