30: Take Two

I do like to stretch my birthday out for as long as possible! The big day isn't actually until tomorrow, but on Friday night I headed down to the Westcountry for a couple of days of pre-birthday pampering with my parents. And I had the best time!

On Saturday Mum and I went to Exeter for a bit of shopping, and we went to Herbie's for lunch. It's apparently a famous veggie restaurant, but I'd only just heard about it - can't believe we've been going to Exeter for years and years and we've only just found it!

We thought we'd go for 'something small', so we chose tortilla wraps - I went for one stuffed with marinated tofu and vegetable satay. The portions were HUGE, though, and the wraps came with a gorgeous raw root vegetable slaw, a green salad and a potato salad with spring onions and cashew nuts. It was fab!

Somehow we still managed to find room for a three-course meal at our favourite pub in the evening - Mum and I shared a bottle of Prosecco (Dad was on the Merlot) and I had smoked salmon with dill sauce, then gurnard fillets with lemon mash, prawn sauce and runner beans, and then the most beautiful apple tart with a cheeky glass of Calvados.

And then on Sunday, we went down to Lyme for a sunny seaside walk and another gorgeous lunch!

Just look at my seafood platter! It had a massive prawn, a pot of smoked mackerel paté, some crab meat, a little portion of potted shrimp, a herring, marinated anchovies, a huge portion of smoked salmon and a salad with red pepper, prawns and mussels (the mussels were the only bit I didn't eat!) as well as bread, coleslaw and green salad! And I had a massive scoop of ice-cream afterwards!

Then when we got home, we Skyped my sister in Finland and I did some early present opening! I got some seriously amazing things, including...

...this fantastic hardback book with (often totally hilarious) family photos from the last 30 years in it...(and the eagle-eyed among you might also spot that Monsoon jumper I've been coveting!)

This A-MA-ZING Le Creuset teal shallow casserole/frying pan (I am completely in love!)

And, just when I thought I'd done incredibly well with my presents, this utterly incredible ring...

Isn't it beautiful? It's my birthstone, opal, with tiny little diamonds in the little leaves on either side, and it's from the 1930s. Unfortunately I can't wear it yet because it needs to be resized, but I love it!

And I haven't even actually turned 30 yet! Tomorrow I'm off out for lots of gin and lots of cocktails!