How to Milk A Birthday

Hi dear readers.  Hope you are having a super weekend.  Some of you may be tearing around in pre-Thanksgiving  preparation, some may be taking a breather before Christmas prepping starts in earnest.  Whatever you're doing, hope your staying warm and healthy.

I've been enjoying some nice times.  Like a birthday!

Exciting presents to open.

The anticipation of discovering what's inside a prettily wrapped package.

An "oooh" as I recognise Clarins red.

Look, a super Clarins 12 days chest filled with goodies!

Another package revealed a beautiful long silver necklace from two very special little people!

These are just a snapshot of the lovely presents I received from loved ones.  Birthdays ain't bad eh?!

Birthdays are fun.

I don't care that I'm a year older if this is how it feels.

I wore a Zara top.  Zara calls it a dress, albeit a very short one.  On dinky old me, it's a very long shirt.  Here I am showing you another of my lovely presents, a very special locket.

This pic is fuzzy, taken with a smart phone.  I must take some better pressi shots shortly.

I was so lucky and grateful to receive such beautiful cards, presents, phone calls and messages from the lovely people I am so thankful to have in my life.

#feelingolderbutgrateful

Next day on my Boxing Birthday (oh yes, my family knows how to milk a birthday!), I was invited round to a friend's house for coffee and scones, and yes, more pressi giving :-),

I wore a grey jumper/dress - yes, intriguing eh?  More on on that in an upcoming post.

And I pulled out a few more of my Last Chance Salon items.

These grey trousers are a beautiful hanging weight with cute leather-trim pockets, but they are boot cut and boot-cut stumps my dumpy legs.  So I don't think I've worn them during the 7-8 years I've had them.  They are now part of the LCS programme and I'm going to see how I get on with them.

Of course, I couldn't wait to wear my silver necklace from the GKs.  It's so perfect, just the right length. Yes, I don't just layer pearls; layered here with my brand new silver necklace and an old leaf pendant; more on that in another post too.

Don't know where you're at colour-wise right now, but I'm very happily stuck in a grey and wine groove.  Here a wine-coloured leather bag from 2002.  Have you been trying out wine with grey?  And I'm not talking spillage down your jumper, okay.  I'm talking real wine colours, deep burgundy through to light Beaujolais Nouveaux.  Basically, any red that looks drinkable.  So rich-looking for this time of year.  I'm liking the combo with grey, with black ... I'm even contemplating brown and green!

As Janice of The Vivienne Files told me, I picked the right season to fall in love with this rich colour.

What do you like pairing wine with?

And I know I'm laying myself open to the "cheese" response!

I bought the shoes at the same time as the bag, for an autumn wedding.  Only fitting I pull them out now during LCS season.  Oh and they're pointy, something I'm seeing a lot of online right now.  Yup, keep 'em for 15-20 years and they'll be back on-trend again.

A friend at coffee suggested taking in the trousers.  Despite seeing lots of boot leg and wide leg trousers and jeans around right now, I'm not a slave to trends (as is blatantly obvious!) and if the trousers just plain don't suit my body shape, they really should be for the chop, eh.  Agreed?

Threw over a grey/black/mauve poncho - yup, this is to autumn what the cardi is to summer.  Totally unnecessary.  This poncho stayed in the car whilst I coffee'd and chatted with my friends.

And there you have it, dear readers.  What I did on my Birthday ... and my Boxing Birthday.

I didn't like having a November birthday when I was a child.  I felt I'd drawn the short straw.  All the summer birthday children had fun parties on the beach with swimming and rounders and picnics.  Mine was not a birthday that reaped many parties.  I made up for it when I got older 🎂🎈🎉.

No matter which time of year birthdays are celebrated, no birthday is complete without the blowing out of a candle.

And an added bonus, you get to hear me speak a snippet of Portuguese!

So, how to milk a birthday.  Give yourself a Boxing Birthday, oh and we sneak in Birthday Eve too!

Birthday photos by a Guest Photographer, a.k.a. our lovely granddaughter x.

A la perchoine.

(How am I doing, Vronni?!)