20th Birthday Weekend

Hello my lovelies I have a Day In The Life post for you all today. You are probably unaware but it was my 20th birthday last Sunday - 20 I know. I don't know why but 20 just sounds like a big jump from 19. No longer a teenager but a sophisticated and mature adult in the making. 

Over the weekend I have definitely been spoilt and I thought I would share some of my adventures.  

I was definitely spoilt by my family and friends. I'm not sure who was more excited to open presents me or my cat. Some of the amazing gifts that I was treated to included money, tokens, chocolates, candles, autobiographies, a DVD, recipe books, beautiful tulips, pink champagne, pyjamas, nail polish, a coconut gift box from The Body Shop and a Pandora bracelet. I feel so lucky to have been treated to such gorgeous gifts and I cannot believe I am lucky enough to have a Pandora bracelet I feel very grown up all of a sudden. A Pandora bracelet alone would have been an overly generous gift. They are so special and I can't wait to start my life long adventure of collecting beautiful charms. Very special indeed. Can we all take a moment to appreciate how pretty the wrapping paper is, well done Mum you did good!

I felt very spoilt just with the gifts alone but to find out that I was then treated to a trip to London with Mum was incredible. We do love a London outing. 

As a combined birthday present my Gran and Grandad had treated me and Mum to Afternoon Tea at The Ritz in London. Incredible. A once in a life time experience and definitely something on both our bucket lists. It didn't just end there. Mum had paid for us to stay in London overnight but not just at any hotel, The Hilton. Yes, the Hilton. Wow. Incredible. Let me just say this it certainly didn't disappoint. 

After a lovely breakfast,  Nespresso coffee and a whole lot of squealing we packed and set off for the train station. Fuelled with my favourite of an Amaretti Latte from Cafe Nero we were London bound where we then headed off to the Hilton at London Bridge. 

The hotel room was the nicest hotel room that I had ever seen. I loved the bohemian and minimalist design. It was really quiet yet you're amongst the hustle and bustle of London yet you could of easily been in the middle of no where in the countryside. The room was accompanied by the best mini bar that I have ever seen, a massive wide screen tv, a beautiful ensuite, a kettle, free snacks and an iron. It's the small things in life that please me. We chilled out and unpacked before getting changed for The Ritz. 

What I wore:

Dress - Topshop

Blazer - New Look

Black coat with white fur collar - Miss Selfride

Heels - Asos 

Black Tights

Bracelet - Pandora

Silver Hoop earrings - New Look

Silver Necklace - Topshop

Black Bag - Topshop

Nail Polish - Kuala-berry by OPI

We headed off in our traditional London taxi - how sophisticated. This meant we could turn up as two  classy, sophisticated women who weren't wind swept and slightly red and sweaty from dealing with rush hour on the London underground in heels. It's also something you only do once in life so we thought if you're going to go to The Ritz you might as well do it properly and in style. 

As we arrived at The Ritz we walked up the red carpet. Afternoon tea was served in The Palm Court which was absolutely stunning. The design and architecture was beautiful, cream and pink walls, roses, chandeliers it is hard to describe just how beautiful it was. Definitely a must see and a once in a life time experience. During our visit there was beautiful harp music being played which was so calming and relaxing. All of the guests were dolled up in all of their finery it was just incredible. The tables were all immaculate with the poshest cutlery and china I have ever seen. Words really cannot do it justice. I'm still gobsmacked and in ore of the whole experience. Throughout our visit I kept saying to Mum 'I hope I'm sophisticated enough for this' but luckily there were no spillages, fires or scenes so I can say I coped in high social formalities.

I'm not really a massive tea fan, in fact I don't like it at all. The only tea that I will tolerate is Peppermint or mint tea so I plumped for Peppermint. I was actually pleasantly surprised as I really enjoyed it and ended up drinking two and a half cups. It went really well with the food as well so i can highly recommend it. Mum opted for her favourite of Jasmine tea. It's so posh, the waiters even pore the tea for you, the only work you have to do is lifting the cup to drink your tea.

We were then served an amazing first course which featured six sandwiches each:
Ham and Mustard
Egg and Cress
Cucumber and Dill
Cheese and Chutney
Chicken Mayonaise
Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese

The sandwiches were beautiful and so precise. Each sandwich was served on a different type of bread and equally delicious. Some of the sandwiches were ones I wouldn't normally choose yet they were all so delicious. Apparently these were only a taster and then another plate of sandwiches also arrived which were accompanied by freshly baked scones. They were the nicest scones I had ever eaten. I usually think scones are going to be quite dense and heavy yet these were so light ad fluffy. They were served alongside clotted cream and strawberry jam and the jam was the nicest jam I had ever eaten I could have quite easily just eaten a bowl of it on it's own.

The final course was the cake round, I mean you have to have cake on your birthday it's the law in my eyes. They were so beautiful and delicate. We took lot's of photos to remember them but then tucked straight into:
Lemon Macaroons
Chocolate and Hazelnut Mouse Torte with a Salted Caramel Sauce
Winter Berry Vanilla Fruit Tart
White Chocolate and Amaretti Choux Bun

If these weren't enough, one of the waiters popped by with his trolly full of wonders and provided yet more cakes:
Orange Madera Cake with White Chocolate Icing
Rhubarb Frangipani Tart

The cakes were so delicious and baked to perfection I don't think I could pick a favourite. Being a baking lover this was right up my street. As we left we were given The Ritz 'party bags' well that's what I like to call them anyway. These featured a box each of The Ritz handmade chocolate truffles which were presented in a chocolate box in the shape of a top hat I mean wow. My birthday was full of never ending surprises.

After checking out the poshest toilets in the world we headed back to our hotel room feeling totally stuffed but with two mahoosive smiles across our faces.

Mum further surprised me with a little outing up The Shard as you do. I still can't believe how close our hotel room was to it, it was just perfect and literally round the corner. Neither of us have been in the Shard before so following on our motto, if you're going to do it you might as well do it properly.

What an experience. The views were breathtaking. I'm so glad we visited in the evening when it was dark as London looked so beautiful all lit up. When you get to The Shard it is very sleek and swift and you are whisked up to the 68th floor instantly where you can walk around and even treat yourself to a glass of champagne. January isn't famous for the best weather so if you visit The Shard in the winter I would definitely recommend visiting in the evening. It's funny as we were walking to The Shard we were amongst the crowds and the hustle and bustle yet when you are up the top London looks very still and peaceful. Like The Ritz this is a once in a life time experience for me and what a very special way to end a very special birthday. I feel so touched and spoilt.

After The Shard we walked back to our hotel where we treated ourselves to some cocktails in the bar. I love cocktails I think they are really fun, pretty and delicious and there are so many mad combinations that you can create.

The next morning I woke up and enjoyed a coffee in my bed watching the tv, heaven. Why is it socially acceptable to have a kettle in your hotel room yet if you had one in your bedroom at home people would think you were really weird. Personally I think this would be a great idea. It was so special to wake up in London, something that I have never done before. The weather was gorgeous, it was warm and blue skies it was the perfect way to wake up.

We headed out for breakfast where I requested Bill's, a personal favourite of ours. We seem to be working our way through visiting Bill's restaurants across the country. Even though we were in the middle of London it was a really calm and peaceful walk to Bill's where we were treated to stunning views of The Shard, London Bridge, Tower Bridge and the Thames.

I love trying new things so we both plumped for breakfasts we haven't tried before. I chose the scrambled eggs on toast with smoked salmon and Mum chose the Eggs Royale. Both of which looked delicious and they tasted even more delicious then they looked.

After a stressful journey back from brocken down trains, train diversions, train delays and even train cancelations we made it back and went for a walk on The Downs. We both love walking on the Downs I find it so peaceful and it was the perfect way to end the perfect weekend.

Yesterday Mum baked the most incredible birthday cake for me: Chocolate Sponge with Coconut icing topped with White Chocolate.
Heaven on a plate, imagine a bounty bar in cake form. I absolutely adore chocolate and coconut so what more could you ask for?

I had the best weekend ever, I never dreamed I could be so spoilt and treated so much in one weekend. I feel so lucky. I can't stop smiling when ever I look back at the pictures and remember all of the crazy adventures.

XXX