Birthday treats 2014

 So it was my boofday again recently. (I know, again! It seems to come around quicker every year!). Unlike most years, I don't have a list of smaller bits to show you and make you jealous. My big treat this year is a new engagement ring.

A new engagement ring? But haven't you been married for years, you ask? Well, yes I have, but I very sadly lost the diamond from my engagement ring earlier this year. (Note to self: make sure settings are checked by a jeweller every year).

I debated for ages about whether to get a new ring or replace the diamond. Lots of research and searching led me decide on a new ring and eventually to find 'the one'. It's a lovely mid-blue round sapphire surrounded by diamonds to make a flower-like pattern. Lucky me!

I also feel really blessed in my friends and family. I had a lovely day beginning and ending with phone calls from family, punctuated by lunch with my lovely husband and dinner with a group of friends in the evening.

There's a Maori proverb which I really identify with:

He aha te mea nui o te ao?
He tangata! He tangata! He tangata!

What is the most important thing in the world? 
It is people! It is people! It is people!

Jewels (and presents generally) are lovely, but the best thing is the feeling that people care and are thinking of me. I know that sounds a bit pious and trust me, I do love presents!

A brilliant South-West day out

We have a small flat so my lovely husband didn't want *stuff* for his birthday. I scouted around the internet for an experience to give him as a birthday present and settled on a Hawk Walk with West of England Falconry. Spoiler alert: it was amazing!

We lucked out with the most gorgeous warm spring day (after a week of grey, drizzly cold weather). We managed to navigate our way out to the the falconry centre located in a ridiculously beautiful Somerset village.

Jay (who runs the place) was friendly, relaxed and obviously knowledgeable.

We admired some of the various birds in their aviaries then got kitted out in falconry gloves and vests with bits of meat in one pocket. There were plastic gloves for the squeamish, but having brought up on a farm, I was comfortable picking up the meat with a bare hand.

We followed Jay and Mogwai the Harris Hawk on a short walk up a pretty woodland track to a field where we took turns to hold out food and have Mogwai swoop in from a tree to our glove.

As you can see, he is such a beautiful bird and such a gentleman (gentlebird?) that I never felt worried about having a bird of prey inches from my face. I even got to stroke his breast feathers. We probably over an hour in the field, enjoying the sunshine, admiring the beautiful rural views, chatting about local history and interacting with Mogwai as he got his lunch and some exercise.

Once back at the falconry centre, we were invited in to met Arthur, the young burrowing owl. Isn't he just the cutest thing?! Evidently he snuggles up on the couch with Jay when he's watching TV. I kind of really want a baby burrowing owl...

We left our car parked in the village and had a short scenic walk up the Bristol-Bath cycle path to an excellent local pub for a well-earned lunch.

It was a brilliant day out and best of all, it was much more reasonably priced than many other falconry experiences (which are also usually in groups).

So, if you're in the area, I recommend you book well ahead and experience an incredible day out!

Lovely birthday presents!

Well, I've been rather serious here at Birdy Begins of late so it's time for some frivolity! It was my birthday this week and I got some lovely bits I want to share with you. (And by 'share' I mean show you so that you're jealous, not actually give you some of them!)

First up, smellies! I just love little sets of make up and fragrance so when I spotted this set in Penhaligon's, I sent my lovely husband back to the shop with clear instructions. Penhaligon's shops are dizzying wonderlands of scent and prettiness but he managed to get in and out unscathed. And they did beautiful gift-wrapping!

In this little box, I got good sized miniatures of Lily of the Valley, Ellenisia, Malabah and Artemisia (slightly different from the picture). Some of the scents are a bit too sweet and powdery for me, but I adore the dinkiness of the little box of beautifully presented bottles. The Lily of the Valley is eau de toilette, the others are eau de parfum but there doesn't seem to be much difference in how long they last. They need reapplying after four or five hours, but the little bottles can easily be slipped in a handbag. It's nice to have a range of scents to chose from each morning.

Another lovely birthday treat is from Woolovers. I've been searching for reasonably priced wool cardigans in England for some time. I do find it really quite odd that England gets quite cold, but most of the reasonably priced knitwear is acrylic. In New Zealand I was used to fine knit merino wool being everywhere in winter. In England the done thing seems to be paying huge sums for cashmere. Well, I have a solution!

I got this little beauty in the mail this morning and I love it already (in fact I'm wearing it now). It's soft and snug fitting (but doesn't gape), lightweight but warm. I foresee a few more of these little beauties in other colours coming my way but I must resist the urge to buy more than I need!

I also handily got a pair of rose quartz and garnet earrings in the same mail this morning from someone else. They go beautifully with the cardigan. Thanks, present-givers!





One last birthday treat out of the many that I was spoiled with... I spotted this one online last time I was planning a trip to London. The Tower of London didn't have a particularly fabulous little shop, but the online shop on the Historic Royal Palaces website yielded this slightly macabre beauty.

In case you can't see it has a broken heart to signify divorce, a cute little axe to signify beheading, a tombstone for death and a crown for the one poor woman who survived being married to Henry VIII. In case you're interested, the details are:

Broken heart – Catherine of Aragon (divorced)
Axe – Anne Boleyn (beheaded)
Gravestone – Jane Seymour (died)
Broken heart – Anne of Cleves (divorced)
Axe – Catherine Howard (beheaded)
Crown – Catherine Parr (survived)

The bracelet is gold plated with tiny diamantes on the base of the crown. I love the surprise of how pretty it looks contrasted with the rather miserable charms. It tickles my fancy (and looks nice with my gold coloured watch).

I also got a stack of lovely CDs to while away my long commute, but music reviews are boring in my humble opinion so I'll refrain. Anyway, these are some of the things that have been perking up my busy, rainy week.