Not me! Just yet ;)
Nik's birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks and this weekend we had a wonderful time in Edinburgh celebrating with his family. His parents travelled up from Durham and his brother and girlfriend came up from London (his brother is going to be away when it's Nik's actual birthday which is why we celebrated early!)
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| Very lucky lovely weekend with lots of sunshine! |
So to celebrate we headed to Edinburgh. Nik and I have both always wanted to eat at Martin Wishart's restaurant since we lived in Edinburgh (where we met) and have never actually been. Luckily I thought of this far enough in advance and managed to get a booking for the 6 of us on the Saturday night. I have to say it was TO DIE FOR! We all absolutely loved it, even Izzy's vegetarian menu looked amazing! We all went for the tasting menu and had 6 courses of absolute deliciousness!!! PLUS haggis bon bons when we arrived and a scrummy selection of amuse bouches! Unfortunately I was so busy drooling and enjoying these delectable treats I only remembered to take photos from course number 3!!! Oops! So here is a wee sample of what we enjoyed!
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| Langoustine with parsnip and white choc puree with smoked butter sauce and chopped shrimps |
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| Crab, white radish and some other yummy stuff :) |
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| Almost forgot to take another pic! This was my favourite - Roe Deer loin with white asparagus gratin and goats cheese gnocci |
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| Rhubarb assiette of desserts including a really gorgeous rhubarb and ginger beer sorbet! |
On Sunday we had a lovely walk around Edinburgh in the sunshine before everyone headed home. Had some very nice smoothies from Hula following a rather large cooked breakfast at our hotel.
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| Me enjoying my smoothie - peach, banana, apple and strawberry! YUM! |
Nik is currently busy researching his present online. I couldn't wait any longer to give it to him and as we were celebrating it this weekend I decided he could get his pressie early too! (Impatient, moi?!) As it is a year of big important celebrations - him turning 30, our wedding and his graduation (I am marrying a very clever cookie who has just completed a 2nd degree, this time in Medicine!) I decided to get him a large present to cover all 3 - as I was running out of ideas!!! He has been putting up with his ailing PC for about a year now - it frequently just shuts off with no warning, takes about 5 minutes to boot up and often shows the 'blue screen of death!' It is also at least 6 years old which I think in computer terms is pretty ancient! Rather than choose him a replacement which he might not like ( could be an expensive mistake) I made him up a voucher....
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The small print says '(and wedding and graduation!)'
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The look on his face was priceless and I was literally shaking with excitement when he opened his card to find another envelope inside saying 'Surprise!' I also knew he would like researching and choosing which to get and being a previous PC user he might not even want a Mac, although it seems I would have chosen well as he's most likely going to get the one on the voucher! :)
I did also want to get him something he could keep forever (as inevitably this computer will at some stage fail/need replaced as well although hopefully not for a looong time!) And I found this Ted Baker watch online and had it engraved as a special keepsake of his 30th birthday.
Admittedly green is my favourite colour and not his (he doesn't even have one) but it's a stunning, unusual watch anyway and as he doesn't have his own favourite colour, I've let him adopt green as his as well ;)
I was planning on stopping there but then I accidentally found these GORGEOUS and super cute Mulberry cuff-links when browsing John Lewis for Dad/usher gift ideas and I just couldn't resist (hmmm, shopaholic tendencies anyone?) as I knew he'd love them and he does!
Besides, you only turn 30 once and presents soften the blow! Hint Hint..... ;)
