As I mentioned in my last post I was feeling a little down about my Birthday and hadn't really made any plans due to my anxiety being quite bad.  Nevertheless, I was determined to have a nice day and to just relax and enjoy it.

If you follow my blog or my instagram you'll know that I'm an avid baker and I'm always busy baking everyone else's birthday cakes that I've never really had a fancy one of my own, so it was lovely to wake up to this surprise cake that my mum had had made for me.  Isn't it beautiful?!

I had a nice relaxing morning with my mum and boyfriend opening presents and then, seeing as the sun decided to make an appearance for my birthday, me and my boyfriend decided to take a nice little stroll around the village with Riley.  I love spring walks and all the pretty flowers blooming down the lanes.  Then we spent the afternoon eating yummy snacks and watching a movie.  In the evening we had a Greek takeaway and then a few friends came round for drinks.  All in all it was just the kind of birthday I needed this year.

Finally, as I got some lovely gifts from friends and family, and here goes the obligatory I'm not bragging statement but I love seeing the gifts other people get for their birthdays, so I thought maybe you'd like to see what I got too.  Or maybe I'm just nosey.

Off for a nice long soak in the bath now and to use some of these Lush goodies.

It has been no secret that this year I have really struggled with my anxiety, so over Christmas I took a little blogging break so I could spend some time focusing on myself and really trying to enjoy Christmas as anxiety free as possible.  I have to admit that it was a little hectic and overwhelming at times, and I enjoyed it as much as I possibly could but have been left feeling a little mentally exhausted.  But, before we start the new year, I wanted to share with you what I got up to this Christmas and some of my lovely presents from all my generous family and friends.

Dress - H&M

Necklace - New Look

On Christmas Eve we all went round to some family friends' and had a thai takeaway, which was super yummy, and spent the evening just chatting and getting excited for Christmas.  Then we came home and me and my boyfriend got into bed and fell asleep watching Arthur Christmas.  A perfect start to Christmas if you ask me.  

Christmas morning was lovely and relaxed.  We woke up and opened our stockings in bed before coming downstairs, where my nan was already waiting, and waited for my mum and dad to get up so we could open our presents altogether.  Just like every other Christmas I was well and truly spoilt and feel so fortunate to have such an amazing boyfriend and family.  I would be lost without them and as much as I love opening presents, I love nothing more than giving them and making others happy.  The look on my boyfriend's face when he opened his Xbox, which I had by some miracle managed to keep secret from him for the past month, was priceless!  In the afternoon my sister and nephew came over and we had a lovely Christmas dinner before round two of presents with them.  Then in the evening our family friends whose we went to on Christmas Eve came round and it was time for round three of presents.  In case you haven't noticed I like to draw Christmas out for as long as possible, ha ha!  I only managed to get pictures of the first round of presents from the morning, but I'm sure many of them will be featured on the blog at some point or will pop up on instagram.

All of my lovely little stocking fillers.

January will definitely be a month of pampering with all these Lush and Soap & Glory goodies.  And how cute are these pyjamas?!  They are so comfy, I have been pretty much living in them since Christmas.

Lots more goodies from my parents and boyfriend.  How beautiful is that book?!  I can't wait to read it whilst tucking into those yummy Hotel Chocolat chocolates!  I also got another one of these books full of Jane Austen novels from my sister.

My mum and dad also bought me this Spiralizer which I can't wait to start using in the new year and get back on a healthy diet.  If you have one or any great recipes to share then do let me know.

Finally, I got this beautiful little package from my boyfriend, but I feel like this gift is one of the ones that deserves a post all of it's own so you'll have to wait and see what's inside this pretty little box.

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and if you've done a post on what you got for Christmas be sure to leave a link in the comments because I love seeing what lovely things everybody got for Christmas.

Happy New Year!!

1. Sleek Make Up Silver Gift Box, £25 from Superdrug - This Sleek gift box contains a mascara, lip gloss, brow kit, eyeshadow palette and an eye and cheek palette.  It is currently reduced from £40 to £25 at Superdrug and would make a beautiful gift for any makeup lover.

2. Deer Print Pyjamas, £25 and Cosy Bunny Print Pyjamas, £25 both from Next - I think pyjamas make a great Christmas gift, who doesn't like to get all snuggled up by the fire on a cold and dark winter night in a nice set of pyjamas?  Next is one of my favourite places to shop for nightwear and I'm loving their woodland themed collection this winter.

3. Soap & Glory Belle Of The Ball, £12 from Boots - I love how this Soap & Glory gift set looks like a giant girly bauble and what girl doesn't love a good pamper?  This set contains some of their Smoothie Star range including two of my favourites; Hand Food and Breakfast Scrub.

4. Classic Christmas Sleekster, £22 from Hotel Chocolat - I absolutely love Hotel Chocolat chocolates and this box of Christmas inspired flavours such as Mulled Wine, Mice Pie Brownie and Brandy Butter would make a great gift for any chocolate lover.

5. 70's Saddle Bag, £20.30 from Accessorize - One of my first stops when looking for Christmas gifts is Accessorize they always have a great selection of bags and jewellery.  I tend to buy a bag as a gift for someone every year because what girl couldn't do with another bag?  It will always go to good use.

6. Christmas Melt Warmer Gift Set, £18.99 and Twelve Melts Tube Gift Set, £15.99 from Yankee Candle - I'm obsessed with Yankee Candle's Christmas scents and would be thrilled to receive any of them at Christmas.  This little Christmas warmer gift set is so lovely and comes with a beautiful little warmer covered in snowflakes and reindeer and 3 christmas melts.  I think the melts are great for someone like me who likes a change of scent rather than burning their way through a whole candle, which makes this tube of christmas melts the perfect gift.

7. Candy Cane Necklace Gift Card, £16 and Gingerbread Man Necklace Gift Card, £16 from Johnny Loves Rosie - These little Christmas themed necklaces are so cute and make a lovely little gift or stocking filler.

8. Brown Bunny Ballerina Slippers, £12 from Next - Another gift you can't go wrong with in my opinion is slippers.  Everyone needs a good pair of slippers in the winter and this little bunny pair from Next are just adorable and inexpensive.

9. Silver Foil Print Beanie, £16 from Topshop - Woolly hats always make a great gift for Christmas and this one ticks all the boxes with its fluffy pom pom and Christmas sparkle.

I've seen a lot of people do posts on what they got for Christmas and I know that is a bit of a hit and miss subject, but I personally don't see the problem.  So I'd like to enter the usual disclaimer here that I am in no way bragging about what I got this Christmas, if I'm being honest my favourite posts to read are haul posts and Birthday and Christmas gift posts.  Maybe I'm just a tad nosey, but I love seeing what other people have been given and it's great for discovering new things that I may not come across during my ritual online browse.  So I thought I would give you a little peek at what I got this year.  I'm not really going to go into too much detail on my gifts, as there are some that I'm looking forward to trying out and doing more detailed posts on.

As you can see, it is a bit of a well known fact amongst my friends and family that I have a bit of a sweet tooth.  I think my sugar cravings are pretty much covered for the next few months at least!

As you can see I got some lovely things and I am so grateful to my friends and family for spoiling me rotten.  I am so happy with all my gifts, but special kudos have to go to my amazing boyfriend for surprising me with my gorgeous Rebecca Minkoff bag and Macbook Air.  I had been eyeing them up all year and it was the last thing I imagined to find under my tree.

Hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year and were just as spoilt as I was.  If you've done a post on what you got for Christmas this year be sure to leave a link in the comments below, I would love to have a little nosey.