Birthday Celebrations

It was my birthday last week and I had such a great time! I can't believe the love and effort my friends and family put into the celebrations they held for me and the gifts and cards they gave me. 

On my actual birthday morning I woke up and went downstairs to find the breakfast-bar in the kitchen covered in pink heart post-it notes with wonderful words written on them. Everyone had written what they loved about me or a little memory they had of me - it was such a surprise and I've kept them all as keepsakes!

Andy had got me my favourite ever chocolate cake from a little local farm that I constantly obsess over and dream about. He somehow convinced the owner to give him the cake even though it was only supposed to be sold per slice in the farm's cafe.

I had really wanted to go for waffles for my birthday breakfast, but after weeks of researching, my Mum and Sister couldn't find anywhere decent nearby that did any. My mum bought a waffle maker and I woke up to fresh, homemade waffles with little bowls of fruit and chocolate toppings - heaven!

Once we'd finished breakfast and I'd opened my insanely generous gifts, my Mum took my Sister and I into town to get our nails done. I got some cute baby pink acrylics as I'd bitten off all of my nails the week before due to stress. The lady in the nail bar thought I was 16!! I definitely don't think I look as young as 16, but I guess when I'm older I might appreciate that youthful look a bit more!

After a yummy Chicken Caesar Salad and glass of Prosecco at Prezzo's, we drove back home so that I could quickly pack an overnight bag. My Uncle and I share a birthday; he lives in Texas and was here in the UK so we were able to spend our first birthday together in 24 years. My cousins live in Surrey and my Uncle had gone to stay with them. They had arranged a party for us for that night and we had booked ourselves into a nearby hotel. It took us longer than normal to drive up to the hotel, but once we arrived I was able to get ready for the evening's festivities in peace.

At the family birthday bash we drank lots of champagne and indulged in some chocolate and banoffee cupcakes. I think everyone had a fun time and it was so good for the whole family to get together as we are rarely even in the same country at the same time!

The Saturday after my birthday I had arranged for a few friends to come over for a barbecue. Quite a few friends were busy and said they couldn't make it, so when all these faces that I wasn't expecting turned up, I was shocked!! 

My Sister made cute '25' letters for the party and put flowers from the garden in a few glasses. My Dad hung these cute lanterns from the house to give it a country-summer feel (they are from Ikea in case you wondered).

We made copious amounts of Pimms which we filled this cute keg-like decanter with. We had to top it up several times as people were loving the traditional British beverage!

Once we'd all eaten, my Sister had bought a hilarious unicorn piñata which she'd filled with sweeties and hung from a tree. We all thought we were a bit too "grown-up" to play such a childish game, but once we started to play everyone seemed to have a fabulous time!

My third and final birthday cake (yes, third!) was this amazing creation my family had had made for the BBQ. The chihuahuas on top are supposed to be my boys, Bambi and Rio. I thought the cake was absolutely adorable and I think all my guests did too!

Looking back on the pictures, I feel so lucky to have been so spoilt this birthday. Everyone really tried hard to make it the best birthday ever, and it really was. I won't forget this birthday ever!


Love and Kisses,

Vicki xoxo

Easter Weekend

It's been a few days now that we're all back to work after the long Easter Bank Holiday Weekend, and I thought I'd share a glimpse of what my weekend looked like.

Cute Lindt Chocolates {Easter Day - 2015}

Easter Treats!

Friday wasn't too eventful for me; I went to the gym and had my hair trimmed by my trustworthy hairdresser. 

By contrast, Saturday and Sunday were long and busy days. After gymming again (had to pre-burn some Easter chocolate calories!) on Saturday, Andy and I went shopping for a few last minute ingredients and to stock up on soft drinks and alcohol for the next day's festivities. The afternoon consisted of peeling, chopping, slicing, dicing and mixing. We had driven to Andy's parent's house to help his Mum prepare some of the dishes for Easter Day. It was nice to give her a hand, but I was definitely pleased to see the knives and peelers go into the dishwasher at the end of the day! With tired eyes we painted a few boiled eggs and then made our way back home to go and watch some Netflix in bed.

Andy, Bambi and I {Easter Day - 2015}

Andy, Bambi and I {Easter Day - 2015}

My Sister and I {Easter Day - 2015}

Lindt Chocolates {Easter Day - 2015}

Bubbles {Easter Day - 2015}

Late Sunday morning we headed to my Mum's for an Easter brunch with my family. It was relaxed and easy-going - with lots of chocolate, of course! Towards the evening we drove back to Andy's parent's house with my family in tow. We had a 4-course European Easter Feast with family and friends of many nationalities - Lithuanian, Russian, German, Italian, Irish, Ukrainian and Latvian! We played a few games with the hard-boiled eggs, as we do every year with Andy's family. The evening was busy, loud and joyful. Everyone seemed to have a really wonderful time and we all left with our bellies full and big smiles on our faces.

Easter Nests {Easter Day - 2015}

Amazing cake that my Mum made {Easter Day - 2015}

Cakes! {Easter Day - 2015}

Bank Holiday Monday was another chilled-out day for me. I went on a walk with my Dad and did some gardening, but mainly relaxed.

What did you get up to over Easter? I hope you all had a lovely time!


Love & Kisses,

Vicki xoxo

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day, beautiful people! Whether you are single or in a relationship I hope you've had a lovely day celebrating love and all the people you care for most!

This year, like the previous two years together, Andy and I decided to not do anything big for Valentines. We love and cherish each other 365 days a year, and whilst it's nice to go 'all out' for one another sometimes, we felt we shouldn't as we've just come back from an extravagant trip to South Africa.

This morning Andy presented me with a beautiful bouquet of roses from our favourite local florist and the most amazing love letter. I will treasure that letter for the rest of my life. We went for a small lunch in a cafe and then wandered around a Garden Centre. In the afternoon we dropped by Andy's parent's house to give his Mum and Grandmother some flowers. Whilst we were there, Andy's Mum decided to make some Valentine's heart cookies which we enjoyed helping her bake. This evening we treated ourself to the Marks and Spencer 'Dine in for Two' deal. A starter, main, dessert, bottle of Cava and some chocolates for £20. Nothing too fancy, but incredibly tasty.

Here are a few pictures of our third Valentine's Day together!

Valentine's Day Selfie

My beautiful flowers 

Best friend and partner in life  

Who doesn't like a glass of bubbles every now and again?

Smoked Salmon Heart

Chicken and Leek Pie, Potato Rosti Cake and Vegetables. 

Millionaires Shortcake Dessert and a Salted Caramel Brownie slice 

Cava, Chocolates and Roses

Remember wherever you are in the world, whatever your relationship status, somebody loves you!

Love & Valentine's Kisses,

Vicki xoxo

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope everyone had a fun and safe New Year's Eve! 

We were terrible at organising NYE plans this year and did not know what we were doing until the evening before! We went to a friend's house with quite a few familiar faces and enjoyed a casual but fun countdown. 

What did you do this NYE? I'm loving seeing all the blogger's pictures on Instagram - it looks like everyone had such different, but such fabulous nights!

I hope I can get my act together a bit more this year with my blogging ... but we'll see! 

Love & New Year's Kisses,

Vicki xoxo

Birthday Blog

It's my Biiiirrrrthddaaaaayyyyy! :D Today I turned 24 years old and I've been having lots of fun celebrating.

Look how yummy my birthday cake was! Covered in sweets and candy ... Definitely worth a day off of the diet and fitness routine!

Obviously the dogs wanted some cake, but I only gave them a little nibble of the sponge part. I love these little cuties and their puppy-dog eyes.

My Sister obviously pays close attention to everything I say I want or need! I wanted a rucksack for when I go on walks to hold my water bottle, sweater, doggy poo-bags etc. I've wanted a chihuahua figurine for AGES. I liked this sweater in Primark when I went there the other day, and the clear make-up storage trays I've been eyeing up on other people's blogs. I got all of the things I wanted! How lucky! :) 

I love my chihuahua figurine and dog coaster - definitely a crazy dog mom! Andy bought me such a beautiful bracelet from Tiffany & Co. I truly am spoiled and very blessed!

We went to a hotel for a full afternoon tea, which was lovely. We had to bring some of it home in doggybags though, as there was far too much for us all to eat in one sitting.

This last photo is from last night, before Andy and I headed out for a meal with a couple of close friends. We had a great laugh with good food and good company.

Andy and I are going to a Spa Hotel tomorrow as a gift from my Mum, which is nice of her! (Thank you, Mumma!!! I love you!) I will try to take lots of photos whilst there and do another bday blogpost.

Wishing you a beautiful day!

Love & Kisses,

Vicki xoxo

Easter Weekend

I'm late as usual ... but here are some pictures from my Easter Weekend with the family. I hope everyone had a lovely long weekend, ate lots of chocolate and spent good quality time with their loved-ones! 

Frohe Ostern 

I had a lovely long Easter weekend, which I spent with both my family and Andy's. Lots of tasty food and good company!

Bambi and Rio on Nicki's lap as she does her make-up.

Rio is such a little poser!

Chocolate Bunnies!

Cute 'Bambi' PJ top from my Dad for Easter.

Some of my Mum's Easter decorations.

Swans just outside my Mum's place.

Easter Napkins.

Yummy homemade chicken roast dinner.

Easter Cake!

Me and my Sister.

The boys in their cosy sweaters.

Rio decided that it would be fun to jump in muddy puddles during the Easter day walk. He wasn't so happy when he had to have a bath when we got home!

I love these beautiful flowers in my Mum's house.

The egg that I painted at Andy's house. (Yes, a small child probably could have painted it a million times better!)

I wish I had seen this before Easter! So cute! Must remember this for next year! (Image not my own. @makeandcomigo)

Andy's family take part in several Lithuanian Easter Traditions, similar to those of the Germans. We painted boiled eggs beforehand, and on Easter Day we played different games with the eggs. 

Does your family have an Easter Traditions? I love to find out what others do to celebrate special occasions.


Love & belated Easter Kisses,

Vicki xoxo