a Southern lady in London: 29.

So I turned 29 last Tuesday and it was pretty awesome. I had a week long celebration with friends from all over the world and I feel incredibly lucky to have all these fabulous people in my life!

Sunday was a very fun start. Mike was over visiting from NYC so Ali, Paul and myself took him to Pizza east in Shoreditch for lunch. The day quickly escalated into lots of cocktails and seeing some of the best views London has to offer at Duck & Waffle and Sushi Samba. We made our way back to Shoreditch House before calling it a day. I think we showed him a pretty good time!

the views from up top

On Monday I was barely holding on for life after having way too much fun. So after I made it through the work day, I made my way back home for a well deserved rest. Drinking is hard, people!

Tuesday was my birthday (HOORAY!) but it was business as usual for me. I stopped by Caffe Nero (my fav) on the way to work for a latte and strolled in not expecting much of anything. My sweet co-workers got me flowers and chocolate and cake and wine! And my students sang me happy birthday. Ah it was just lovely. I couldn't have asked for more.

After work I made my way to St Paul's to meet Ali for a birthday drink. We went up to Madison's, on the top of One New Change, for some more great views and Prosecco. We decided we were too cold after a while and went back down to street level. We popped into a place called Bread Street Kitchen. I am definitely wanting to try this place out for dinner last night - it's beautiful inside and the menu looks damn good. Anyways, Ali had to leave to go to a Game of Thrones premiere event (lucky b) so Adam came to meet me and took me to a birthday dinner at Barbecoa. This is one of Jamie Oliver's restaurants and it was SO good. Should I post pictures of all my food? Okay…twist my arm...

dessert

adam's bloody mary (with bacon and a pickle)

fried pickles

calamari (with guac)

lamb skewer

Wednesday and Thursday nights were both very relaxed. I worked out, cooked dinner, and just got things done. And seriously thank God I did because I had a very busy weekend ahead of me!

Last day of school was Friday and we decided it was reason to celebrate. After work we all went to the Big Easy on King's Road. After a massive dinner and a couple margaritas, we went to Ciara's new flat in Battersea. We stayed there for a couple hours and then made our way to Bunga Bunga. Oh man it was a fun night (especially for birthday girl Ciara!).

I had a lie in on Saturday morning and did a few things around the flat. I had an appointment at 12 to get a Thai massage in West Hampstead at a new place called Siam Sanctuary. For that 1 hour, I was in complete heaven. This is not something I often indulge in because let's face it…massages are expensive and I'm a teacher. But good lord this woman made me want to spend every pound I own on massages!

After my massage, I made my way to Bond Street for lunch, shopping and strolling. I got a few cute things, had a lovely pizza at Mayfair Pizza Co and ended it all with a Ben's cookie (duh).

After my lovely afternoon out, I made my way back home to get ready for my big birthday celebration! A big group of us girls (and a couple guys) went to Piano Smithfield to have a proper sing-along, drink yummy cocktails, and enjoy the company!