Today I celebrated my first ever birthday in Newcastle so it was a bit of a special one. Simon and I both took the day off work as birthdays are best spent eating lots and hanging out with your best friend rather than sitting at your desk in the office.
My day started with lots of pressies and I was completely spoilt by my family and friends. Mum and Dad bought me the Oasis Parka and Zara City Bag with Zips (more on both those another time) I've had my eye on for a while, one of my sisters bought me a pretty daisy print dress from Dorothy Perkins and the other got me a Primark voucher so I could treat myself to another haul.
Simon completely spoilt me, firstly by ordering me a surprise toblerone cheesecake made by Simply Cheesecake, a local lady who makes delicious cheesecakes in a variety of flavours. If you're local I'd suggest you pop down to Tynemouth Market on a Saturday and grab yourself one. It tastes absolutely gorgeous and is so huge I think we'll be getting a lovely after dinner treat for days to come.
As those of you who follow me on twitter and Instagram will know I was also lucky enough to get a beautiful little blue box. Simon didn't quite get why I was getting so giddy about a box, but I think us ladies all know how special a gift from Tiffany's is. I got a gorgeous little bracelet of silver beads with a delicate Tiffany's charm, it's perfect.
I'd like to point out that my nail varnish matching the Tiffany's box is a very happy complete coincidence!
The other present I have to mention reduced me to tears. Simon bought me my very own domain name for the blog. I was so touched by how thoughtful the gift was and am so excited that very soon my little space on the internet will become newgirlintoon.co.uk.
Once the presents were all opened we had a nice walk into Newcastle and popped by Quay Ingredient for brunch. Quay Ingredient has been voted the top place for breakfast in Newcastle on many occasions and is usually found sitting at number one restaurant in Newcastle on Trip Advisor. Being very cosy (it has only around 6 tables) it can be hard to get a seat, especially on weekends so a Wednesday seemed the ideal time to treat ourselves to some brunch. It's such a great place and I highly recommend it, the people are so friendly and the food is perfect. I went for eggs benedict with crispy bacon and it really hit the spot.
The rest of the day was spent with me charging around the shops spending all of my birthday money with Simon being Mr Wonderful, following me around, carrying my bags and waiting for hours outside changing rooms. He didn't complain once and I'm so lucky to have bagged myself a true gent. He spent the entire day treating me like a princess.
I had a wonderful time with a bit of an H&M haul and yet another Primark haul but I'll tell you all about those another time because they are worthy of their own post. I've spent quite a lot of the day lusting over clothes in mint green and turquoise (maybe that Tiffany box went to my head!) and am now on the hunt for the perfect mint green Spring skirt so if anyone knows where I can find one please let me know!
To complete a perfect day I obviously needed some cake so we popped into Olive and Bean for afternoon tea. They only serve afternoon tea on week days so I've never had the chance to try it before. We opted for the "Afternoon Tea for Two" costing £15.99, such a bargain. The sandwiches on the bottom layer were probably the best I've ever had on an afternoon tea, the bread was so fresh and soft and the fillings were really generous, they cut chunks of cheese the Chloe way (ie huge wedges) and the tuna was spilling out there was so much of it. We were a bit more disappointed with the scones as they were a little dry but the cream was lovely and the fresh strawberries were a nice added touch. Unfortunately we didn't get to try many of the cakes as there was a bit of a mishap with our order but the staff were so wonderful in dealing with their mistake it wouldn't put me off going back, it was just a bit of a shame.
I can't believe the day is almost over already, this evening's plan is to eat some pizza and snuggle on the couch with a DVD, of course the Birthday Diva will be picking out something suitably cheesy and naff whilst she can still get away with it.
