The Birthday Post

Well, it was my birthday yesterday, I won't say how old. I woke up to a small pile of cards and a few presents from OH which was lovely.  Plus a small birthday cake.  (There's only three of us so a big cake just isn't necessary)

I should be okay for chocolate and spirits for a little while now. Perfect presents for me.

Anyway, by about 9.45am we were ready to go out for my Birthday Day Out (we wanted to miss peak commute times on the train due to having the dog with us) and headed up to the local train station.  Here's the dog sat patiently waiting for the train.

A quick 20 minute train ride and we were 2 minutes walk from Hampstead Heath. 

We walked up the infamous Parliament Hill to see the amazing views of the City and Central London. It was a bit hazy, but you could still make out he major landmarks such as the BT Tower, St Pauls, the Gherkin, the Shard, etc. etc.

Some of the foliage on the trees was starting to turn very autumnal.  In a few weeks I imagine they will be even more colourful.

After a walk back down and over the lake, we headed into Hampstead itself.

We stopped for lunch at a local restaurant and I had a lovely (but very overpriced) salad. Hampstead is a lovely part of London, with it's high street full of very expensive shops and boutiques, but it is way too expensive for us to afford to live and shop there.

I took the opportunity to visit a local branch of the charity shop I work for and had a good chat to the Manager there, who I've met before. It's always interesting to see other shops in our group and see how they are laid out. This particular shop was very boutique like which impressed me. Very different to our shop.

I bought a few bits whilst I was in there. 

Firstly, and a great bargain at £4.99, was this wicker Christmas Tree skirt.  These cost quite a lot more in John Lewis, so I was happy to carry this all the way home on the train at that price. I'm looking forward to trying it out this Christmas.

Secondly, I bought two packs of these Christmas gift bags at 99p for 3.  These will be perfect for my homemade selection boxes/bags.

Finally, another jigsaw came home with me, which was priced at just 99p because it hadn't been checked, and was a steal.  I don't mind if there's a piece or two missing, it's more about having something to concentrate on to wind down after work, than actually completing it. Sometimes, I also find some jigsaws don't actually appeal once I get started on them, so if this were the case with this one, I've lost very little money by trying it.

After a cup of tea and a cake we headed home, but had a bit of a disaster on the way back. OH left his phone on the platform and we didn't discover it was missing until we got off at our local station. Luckily, I called it and someone had handed it in to another station further down the line, so OH headed back to collect it, grateful that he wouldn't have the hassle of buying himself another one. It was reassuring to know that there are still plenty of honest people in London.

Later that night we headed out for supper with LB to a local tapas restaurant, which was a nice treat. We called in at a bookshop on the way home and OH bought me a book I've wanted for a while called A Life Less Throwaway by Tara Button. I think it may have been recommended by one of you guys.  I'll let you know how I get on with it.