My Birthday Wrap Up: 28 Moments of Gratitude for 28 Years
I almost didn't celebrate my birthday this year. Which, for me (and my family will attest to this), is quite out of character. I kind of felt like: oh you know, it's just 28, it's nothing special... It's all a bit much isn't it? I'll just do something for my 30th (yikes!) in two years time...
And then - thankfully - I snapped out of my momentary weirdness and decided to celebrate my 28 years on this planet by surrounding myself with all the things I love!
Celebrating your birthday (or someone else's birthday, or any day of the year for that matter) is all about celebrating LIFE. And as you know, I'm wild about Life. I'm ALL for expressing gratitude for those who brought you into the world, for those who make your life amazing and for the fact you're still here, living, breathing and (hopefully) happy, healthy and beaming with LOVE.
So I thought I'd share with you 28 moments of gratitude from my Birthday Week(end) and I hope to inspire you to celebrate your special day, whenever that happens to roll around.
1. Robbie Williams: Ha! Yes. Robbie Williams. One of my beautiful clients gifted me with a double pass to Robbie's concert here in Perth on Friday night, which was the perfect way to bring in my birthday weekend!
2. Farmer's Markets: Our Saturday tradition felt even more super special and I took home yummy cheese and dips for that afternoon's lawn bowls festivities!
3. Sunshine: Oh yeah, Mother Nature turned it on! GORGEOUS birthday weather.
4. Lawn bowls: So hot right now, right? I gathered my nearest and dearest here in Perth for an afternoon of lawn bowls overlooking the river and it was FAB.
5. Chocolate cake:This one, to be specific.
6. Champagne: Enough said.
7. Soul sistas: Bringing in my birthday with a few of my favourite ladies made the day SO super special. I feel incredibly blessed to have landed here in Perth amongst these babes!
8. My man: Being almost 5,000km away from my family for my birthday is definitely a little tough. But my fella made me feel all super special and spoilt and I can't really express my gratitude for him in my life enough!
9. Beautiful gifts: To me, a beautiful gift is one that expresses just how much your loved ones really know you - and care about you. From market baskets to chevron printed scarves, cute-as-pie jewellery, giant tea cups, exercise gear, an ABUNDANCE of flowers, a new bikini and even a baked buckwheat loaf - my crew definitely know what I love!!! :)
10. Flowers: They deserve their own moment of gratitude. Particularly the delivered kind, when the come from your Mum and best friends on the other side of the country!
11. Delicious food: Particularly the amazing dinner (and Sunday afternoon drinks the next day) we had at the very cool Samson's Paddock in Mosman Park - my new favourite haunt for sure! The stuffed calamari? Amaze.
12. Cheese: Brie, camembert, gouda, swiss, vegan brazil nut... It all happened. You know I love ze cheese.
13. Sundays off: Sunday was my first official SUNDAY OFF in Perth since quitting my casual job and taking the leap into self-employment!
And. It. Was. Sweet.
14: Perth's beaches: Seriously, this part of the world has got to be one of the prettiest places on the planet and right now, they are GLITTERING. We spent a helluva lot of time exploring the coast over the weekend.
15: Our pup: Our dog Zuma is seriously the light of our lives! We are obsessed with him (as you can probably tell if you follow me on Instagram) and I am totally OK with that. It's actually his 2nd birthday this weekend! #staffysarethebestdogsever
16. Birthday mornings: Seriously, is there a better feeling (other than Christmas) than waking up on your birthday and having that inner knowing that OMFG IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TODAY!! EVERYONE!! IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!
17: Birthday morning cuddles: Perhaps the only other thing better.
18. Birthday croissants: OK, maybe another contender. Particularly with melted ham and ah, cheese.
19. Kayaking: Truly! My housemate recently bought some kayaks, so my man and I leapt into them (with a hot thermos of coffee each) for a cruise around the river on Monday morning. So blissful!
20. Floor picnics: A birthday afternoon highlight!
21. Can I express gratitude for my dog again? I'm going to. Seriously, look at that FACE! *melts*
22. Skype: To be able to Skype my Mum, Dad and bro on Monday was pretty rad. I already LOVE Skype's magic for my work, but seeing their smiling faces really made my day.
23. Sunsets: There's something magical about watching the sun go down on your birthday... Particularly when it's setting over the ocean, you're sipping on a cold glass of white and eating oysters. Not bad.
24. Facebook: Come on, who doesn't love turning their computer on at the end of the day and reading the bazillion Facebook birthday comments you've been sent! The best!
25. Birthday flash sales: I decided last week that I'd love to give something back to you, by holding a 50% off flash sale on my eBook She Is Radiant! It was fun to shake things up a bit and it was received really well - yay!! Thank you!
26. This past year: Falling in love, finishing my studies, building my biz, creating this eBook and this eBook, hosting (sold out!) live wellness workshops, getting out of debt (finally), two trips to Bali, self-employment, WOMEN (soul sistas and amazing clients) and SO much more. This past 12 months has been pretty freaking special.
27. This next year: BIG travel adventures, biz goals, exciting new projects (!!!) and a commitment to PLAY more; making my way to 29 is already looking fine.
28. For you: Last, but certainly not least; oh my, all the birthday LOVE you showered me in! Emails, messages, comments - I was blown away by all your beautiful birthday vibes! Thank you SO much! You seriously know how to make a lass feel loved.
So there you have it - my BIG birthday wrap-up. Getting older is actually quite lovely. I'd love to hear from you in the comments - do you go BIG with your birthday celebrations? And please, feel free to share this post with your friends and followers. Have a GREAT weekend!
Claire x