Yer A Wizard Harry - A Tour of the Harry Potter Studios

Yet another birthday themed post (come on Jenessa, it's June now, give it up!), but I couldn't resist sharing the last brilliant bit of my big day. When I turned 21 I really wasn't expecting anything other than a Chinese takeway and maybe a few cards, so I was super excited to go out for lunch in a lovely pub with my Mum, Dad and Brother, plus my Aunt and Uncle. Imagine my surprise when my Dad's 'nice countryside drive' after ended up here.

Seriously. Anyone who knows me can attest that I am a massive Harry Potter fan, and after seeing endless friends visit the studios, I was tres jealous. I practically skipped from the car to the entrance, ready to collect my birthday badge and immerse myself in the wonderful world of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

I shan't write too much more so as not to spoilt it for anyone who hasn't yet been, but it was definitely worth every minute. To read every plaque, take in every piece of handcrafted design and really immerse yourself in the experience, you could be there all day, which really surprised me as I initially had my suspicions that it might just be a bit of a money spinner. What a lovely way for a legacy of stories to live on.

Have you visited anywhere fun recently? 

H&M Lust List

Happy Saturday! Whilst I was thoroughly spoiled by all manner of lovely gifts for my 21st birthday, you can't beat a good gift voucher. Kev's mum was kind enough to send me a £10 card for H&M and as a shop where I have picked up some great bargains in the past, I'm looking forward to getting down to my nearest branch and having a good old rummage. H&M's basics are always really good quality which is important to me at the moment as I'm really trying to introduce some more plain staples and sedate colours into my wardrobe to break up all the mad patterns! Here are some of my top picks that I'm contemplating at the moment, all currently under £15...

What have you got your eye on at the moment?

Bank Holiday Bliss

Hello readers! I know it's only wednesday but I'm exhausted! I'm currently in my second week of placement at NME magazine in London, and as amazing a time as I'm having (you can read my first article here!), the commuting is really taking it out of me. Luckily I had a Bank Holiday weekend to recharge.

Which my 21st birthday coming up on the 11th, I was well and truly spoilt over the three-day weekend. Firstly on the saturday, I finally got to visit the Cath Kidston factory shop! Anybody who knows me knows I love a floral and a bargain, so where better to visit that the discount store of the absolute godmother of prints. It's not too far from us in St Neots so we had a sneaky peek, and I was sold. Ignore the rubbish phone picture: I wasn't too sure whether taking my SLR was a bit cheeky in a shop so these ones were my best pap efforts.

I was in absolute awe, there were so many goodies on offer! Nothing was really crazy cheap, but if you had your eye on something from last season it was well worth a look: my mum bought a beautiful day bag for £22, reduced from £50. I decided to be good and snap up a few cheaper buys: a pretty pink travelcard holder for £3, and a passport holder for just £1, because it had a bit of a stain on the front. Lots of the more reduced things had slight faults, like bags with broken zips or chipped crockery, but most damage was fairly superficial. I could have gone mad in that homeware section....

In the end, with my birthday coming, my brother decided I might as well have something I really wanted, and bought me this lovely backpack from last season. At first I wasn't too sure if the colour was a bit too rowdy, but having had it in my room for a couple of days I'm ready and raring to pack it with my summer essentials and hit the beach.

My brother's treats didn't stop there - what a spoilt sister I am! On Monday he took me to Jamie's Italian in St Albans for a three course dinner which was seriously impressive. I rarely eat three courses so was stuffed by the end, but it was so worth it!

My Tuscan Bean and Mozzarella on Sourdoughbread toast - poshest beans on toast ever!

Look at the size of Taylors burger!

Prawn and Fennel linguine... I'm now seriously considering adding fennel to every meal I ever have.

Topped off with lemon meringue pie with pistachio crumb - serious food baby.

Every single mouthful was incredible, and the service speedy and polite. Even the apple juice I had with my meal was freshly squeezed and delicious. Would thoroughly recommend.

What did you get up to on your Bank Holiday?

 

Not Nineteen Forever - My very spoilt birthday!

This weekend I made the exciting voyage out of teenagerdom... that's right, I turned 20. Can't say I was too thrilled about it- being 19 means being cool and partying and all the rest of it, whereas 20 just seems, well, like you're on the path to proper adulthood. Scary stuff. But anyway, I wasn't intending on making much of a fuss so was amazed by the lovely gifts my friends and family bought me.

My birthday really started on the Friday night, when boyfy Kev and I went to Manchester to see Beyonce. I had bought my ticket as a birthday present to myself months before - there was no way I was missing out on seeing my ultimate icon live. Without getting too far into the feminist debate, I've always found Beyonce to be a great role model, particularly to young mixed race women, and it felt like such an honour to see her perform in the flesh. I would have liked to have heard a few more Destiny's Child songs, but to be honest, I was too in awe of how beautiful she is to mind too much.

I was pretty content to leave my birthday celebrations there, but ohhhhhh no. I woke up on Saturday morning to A LOT of post, and lots of pretty cards.

Cards from my mum and dad, my aunt, my housemates Will and Snowy, my friend Laura and my old housemate Charlotte. Look how amazing Charlotte's card is!

Foxes AND bows - surely the best combo ever!

So I opened up some of my packages, and here is what I got -

Simply Knitting Magazine from Willl and Snowy, as well as NME and Take A Break magazine (bit of  an inside joke, I'm hopefully going to be doing some work experience for them)

The history of NME from my Mum and Dad - can't wait to read this, I've heard so many great things. They also sent me a lovely little Owl necklace, which my Mum confessed was an absolute find at just 25p! I love a good bargain - I'm a firm believer that presents don't have to be expensive to be thoughtful. Here is a close up of the little guy.

My best friend Anna also sent me a very exciting package, marked up with the Cadbury logo...

 I opened it up to find one of every cadbury item, beautifully packed up with a little card. Anna Walker, what a legend. Birthday gifts from Anna always remind me just how fast time moves - I've been getting birthday presents from this girl since we were five years old!

And the gifts kept coming...

A lovely jar of handmade lavender and olive oil bath wash from my friend Laura, who came up to stay for a few days last weekend. Having already tested it out, it smells divine, I shall have to ask her for the recipe!

And a little girly Owl Watch from Charlotte, perfect as my old watch completely combusted a little while ago. It's so dainty and old fashioned, I love it. I completely forgot to take my own picture but here is a stock one from River Islands website so you can see the design

So I was feeling suitably spoilt, but then Kev took me into town and bought me this. Words cannot express how excited I am to be the proud owner of my very first sewing machine.

It's so, so pretty. Yes, it was pretty expensive, and I feel pretty guilty, but I have since given Kev back some money to ease his burden! Bless him, he knew how much I've been lusting after one and he said he wanted to get me something useful. I've been uhmming and aahing over one of the little John Lewis coloured ones for ages but this one was only a little more expensive and does so much more, plus buying it from an independent shop meant 2 years warranty and the promise of free sewing lessons whenever I needed them. My head is literally bursting with all the things I want to try out on it.

So that was the pressies, but Kev insisted on taking me out for dinner as well. He'd managed to bok a table at Discovery Bay in Huddersfield, an entirely Carribbean restaurant. I'd never been before, but spotting Saltfish Fritters on the menu was enough to convince me. Check out this food! 

Saltfish Fritters with Pineapple sauce!

Brown Stew Chicken (Kev had Jerk Chicken and Rice and Peas)

Free birthday Cocktail - whats not to love!

Beer in Hand Drawn Monkey after - Cherry beer is crazy delicious

So that was my birthday! I'm still drowning in all the love. Thanks so much to everybody who wished me a good day or bought me a gift, I feel so popular!