I don't know about you...

...but I'm feeling 22! Okay I'm sorry Swift-haters but I couldn't resist that one seeing as I'm going to tell you a little about my 22nd birthday earlier this week.

I didn't have much planned for my actual birthday- if I'm being honest I felt a bit 'meh' (for lack of a better word) about the whole thing, but I ended up having a lovely, if rather chilled, day in the end. I actually opened my cards and presents the night before, as if not my parents would've tried to wake me at the crack of dawn before they went to work the next day and if my 22 years on this earth have taught me anything, it is that I am not a morning person. I was lucky enough to receive a couple more of my beloved silver knuckle rings, Foals' 'Holy Fire' on vinyl, a lovely new leather purse and a MAC lipstick- nothing extravagant but it doesn't take much to make me happy.

I'd arranged to meet one of my best friends, Gaby, in Leeds to take advantage of Pizza Express' annual free bottle of birthday prosecco. She just came back from working in Marbella all summer so a pizza and prosecco was exactly what we needed- I went for the rustichella which is basically a Caesar salad on a pizza, need I say more?

Once we'd finished our food we met up with another of my friends, Susie, to head to Belgrave Music Hall's roof terrace, which I think it's now fair to call my favourite place to go in Leeds. We had a lovely leisurely afternoon drinking Amstel (just a little less sophisticated that prosecco) in the sun, only popping back inside to take advantage of resident Dough Boys' half price slices; because apparently one pizza wasn't already enough..

Like I said, it was nothing too exciting and most of my friends were either back at uni or working, but it was a good day with a few good friends nonetheless. Really I just wanted to post a few higher-quality photos on here as I remembered to take my DSLR camera out for the day- seeing how much better these photos look than iphone snaps makes me really keen to do more lifestyle-y restaurant-y posts. Watch this space!

Birthday wishlist: edition 22

My 22nd birthday is just around the corner and between settling in at my new job and various preparations for my older sisters wedding (in 10 days!) I'd almost completely forgotten about it. I've accepted that I'm heading into legitimate 20's territory now and I'm okay with it- plus I have an excuse to sing Taylor Swift for a whole 24 hours. There isn't much I'm coveting this year but I thought I'd show you the few things I have on my wishlist.

1. I haven't bought a new lipstick in what feels like forever and I look at this one (Russian Red) pretty much every time I'm near a MAC stand. I think it's about time I actually owned it.

2. My current purse is a Cath Kidston number and while it is still perfectly functional it has gotten rather grubby and, while I still appreciate that it is loved by many, I feel I've outgrown the twee patterns somewhat. The above purse is from & Other Stories and is exactly the kind of thing I'm after- black, simple and leather.

3. I've had this moon ring from Shop Dixi bookmarked for ages and I'm always on the hunt for more simple silver rings to add to my collection.

4. Now, I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before but I don't like tea. At all. I don't understand the point of it. You may wonder then why I'm after this mug from Anthropologie; actually, I have quite a penchant for eating cereal out of mugs. It just tastes nicer than out of a bowl. Plus ever since my first trip into an Anthropologie shop earlier this year I'm dreaming of being able to buy the whole dining collection- this would be a nice beginning to that.

5. This Bumble & Bumble Surf Spray is something else I've had on various wishlists for years but always wondered if it was worth the money. A few weeks ago I had my hair cut for the first time in 3 years and while everyone else insists it's still long, I'm finding it quite hard to style. After reading Kate's recent post, I've been convinced that a good salt spray will be helpful in my constant attempt at creating waves a la Olsen twins.

So there we have it- nothing too ground-breaking but I think as you get older it's less about having tons of presents to open and more about receiving a few little things that you'll really get use out of. I haven't really thought about what I'll do on the day but I'm sure a night out in Leeds will be on the cards!

What do you think of my picks?

Eat, drink and be merry

Christmas has been and gone for another year; though this year I haven't really been my usual festive self. In previous years, I have been known to begin weekly viewings of The Muppet Christmas Carol halfway through October and to be counting down the days until the german Christmas markets arrive in town. Obviously, and sadly, it can never really be the same as being 7 and eagerly anticipating the arrival of Santa, but for some reason I just wasn't feeling that excited.

Nevertheless, I had a great day with my parents and older sister, rounded off with a four and a half hour (yes, you read that right) game of Trivial Pursuit. I'm not sure whether we can blame that on our sometimes very questionable answers or the rather strong cosmopolitans I'd been mixing all day..

Despite not really knowing what I wanted this year, I was lucky enough to receive some lovely presents.

Rabbit slippers from Accessorize, Jon Ronson 'The Psychopath Test', crystal nail file from Leighton Denny, earrings from Wue, Chanel Coco Mademoiselle, Moleskine small ruled notebook, opal stacking ring from gingerpickle.co.uk, Bobbi Brown Long-wear gel eyeliner in Black Ink, Morrocan Oil

Close-up of my lovely ring

I also received a reindeer onesie, a blouse from Ark, a dress from Urban Outfitters...and a micro-pig calendar. Slightly less glamorous but greatly appreciated.

I haven't yet looked at any sales and to be honest it's unlikely I will; even if I wasn't so depressingly far into my overdraft (counting down the days until my student loan comes in), sales just stress me out. I have been the person working in retail at 8am on Boxing Day dealing with rude, greedy customers and I would hate to be that person for another poor sales assistant. Though, maybe the asos sale could tempt me..online shopping can't hurt anyone, right?

What did you get for Christmas?