What I Got For My Birthday: 27

If you saw Wednesday's post then you'll know I celebrated my 27th Birthday this weekend just gone. And today I thought I'd share with you what I got for my birthday, not to show off but to share the amazing gifts my family and friends got me. Especially since I'm so hard to buy gifts for this year.

Both my mum and my nan struggled with what to get me, something they're moaned at me constantly for. However as I've gotten older all I really want is time off to spend with friends and family and some good food to fill our bellies.

Mum was originally going to buy me a book voucher as she knows just how much of a bookworm I've become this year but instead I asked her for a couple of books I wouldn't have brought myself just yet. The first is Elton John's new autobiography Me. I'm a huge fan of Elton John and Rocketman holds a special place in my heart but I really wanted to read Elton's life journey through his own words and not via a scripted piece of media. This has sections packed with pictures of Elton's life from when he was very small to now with his husband and two children. This is the next book I pick up once I've finished the book I'm currently reading. And the second book is another I'm dying to dive into. Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo is the newly released, extremely hyped from this much loved YA author. Ninth House is Bardugo's first adult novel, a thriller with a little fantasy thrown in to the mix aswell. I'm not too sure what it's about apart from it follows the main character Alex as she mixes with the secret societies of Yale. The cover alone had me hooked when I first saw it but when everyone on BookTube started hyping it up, I knew I had to get it. This is a Waterstones exclusive cover which is even more beautiful than the original is and is in fact signed by Leigh Bardugo herself. I can't wait to dive into both of these books.

My nan bless her really struggled to find me a gift so she gave me money instead so I could buy what I wanted. I think I'm going to put it towards a few bits from Marks and Spencers that I've had my eye on, The first is a Rosie For Autograph bra as I can't help but by all the of the stunningly patterned numbers she releases. I've also got my eye on these coated jeans from M&S as well. They are the same style of jean that I already wear but they have a semi matte coating on them to give them a faux leather look. It's just a case of if I can pull them off now. And I did think about putting it towards a tub of Emma Hardie's Moringa Cleansing Balm but I'm still on the fence about it.

My step dad is another that always struggles with buying gifts for me so usually he just goes halves with mum on anything she's brought. Yet this year he went and surprised me with a chocolate bouquet. It is a literally a bouquet made of a ton of different chocolates. I certainly won't be needing to buy chocolate for a while. And he also got me a Primark gift card as he knows how much I love a good shop in Primark. I may or may not have already spent it all. Ooops.

And I've left the best to last. Jasmin very kindly took me to the Harry Potter Studio Tour to see it in all it's Halloween glory. We went last year and I was blown away by it and even this year I was still blown away by the more minuscule details that I missed. I took over two hundred photos, a ton of boomerangs and spent a good bit in the gift shop. But none of that mattered as I just enjoyed having a full day with my best friend, relaxed and laughing after a stressful few weeks.