Project 365: A week of change

There's been a real sense of change in the air this week. Spring has started to appear, with daffodils popping up everywhere and warmer, sunnier days becoming more and more frequent. There have been three big birthdays, with both N and my sister turning 21, and my dad turning 50, and Mum and I have been getting ready to leave our home of eight years and make a new one. As with any change, there's a part of me that's sad to say goodbye to old ways, but for the most part I'm excited for the new chapters that are beginning and the sense of fresh starts and possibility that comes with them.

Monday 28th March :: Monday was N's 21st birthday. I'd planned to sneak downstairs before he woke up to take his presents down and put up a banner and some balloons, and like a child at Christmas I woke up from excitement in the very early hours of the morning. After a few attempts to go back to sleep, I crept down around seven, set everything up and patiently waited before waking him up with a cup of tea and hour or so later. It was set to be grey and drizzly outside until the evening so we stayed in for most of the day, watching films on the sofa, drinking more cups of tea than I can count and watching the rain fall on the windows. We then booked ourselves a table at Jamie's Italian for dinner, which turned out to be a very good decision indeed. We shared bread and olives to start and toasted N's birthday (with local ale for him and rosé prosecco for me, which felt very girly indeed), followed by delicious mains of tagliatelle bolognese (for N) and harissa-roasted aubergine (for me). For dessert N opted for a raspberry sorbet, while I indulged in a molten chocolate praline pudding with salted caramel ice-cream, which I can assure you is as dreamy as it sounds. After dinner we stopped for a drink at The Birdcage, then wandered over to The Bicycle Shop, which, having been there three years in a row now, is becoming something of a tradition for N's birthdays. The Bicycle Shop has always been one of our favourite places, and being there again reminded us exactly why. Decorated with plants, candles and knick-knacks galore, with the smell of incense drifting through the air and old books and board games stacked in every corner, it feels more like a cosy bohemian home than a cafe/restaurant/bar. It was lovely and quiet inside, and we cosied up on a sofa downstairs for our last drink of a truly wonderful evening, feeling very content indeed.

Tuesday 29th March :: We couldn't collect N's cake until Tuesday morning, so we extended his birthday another day. After driving into town to collect the cake, we wandered around a few shops, stopped for coffee, and picked up some tapas for dinner. We ended up going to Toys R Us not only for a bit of nostalgia, but also to look for a Monopoly board. We had the idea a few weeks ago to start a collection, with special editions and ones for everywhere we've lived (I've got my eye on the Christmas edition next), and N's Dad very kindly bought us the original set to get it started. We then spent most of the afternoon playing, stopping in the evening for dinner followed by cake, champagne, and another toast to N's birthday.

Wednesday 30th March :: On Wednesday N and I continued our Monopoly marathon, with tea pretty much on tap and Ratatouille on in the background. No matter how many times we do it, I don't think I'll ever tire of these cosy, quiet days in, when we have nothing in particular to do and the freedom to just laze the day away over board games and good conversation.

Thursday 31st March :: Thursday saw another big birthday, with my sister also turning 21. She lives in Scotland so sadly I wasn't able to see her, but I'll be seeing her next month for something exciting which should make up for it. I made my way home from N's in the afternoon and spent the evening catching up with Mum, watching rubbish but oh-so-good TV and making homemade pizzas for dinner, complete with vegan mozzarella and caramelised onion.

Friday 1st April :: My dad and step-mum are going on holiday to celebrate their birthdays this year, and with Dad turning the big five-o next Sunday we wanted to see each other before they went, so I spent the weekend with them and my grandparents in St Albans for some pre-birthday celebrations. We ordered a mountain of Thai food, toasted everyone's birthday with a glass of wine, and spent the evening looking through old photos, which was such a lovely way to catch up after not seeing each other for a couple of months.

Saturday 2nd April :: After breakfast and a dog walk in the park with my grandparents I caught the train back home, stopping at King's Cross to grab lunch and sneak a peak at Platform 9 3/4 which, had there not been a queue or had I not been on my own, I definitely would have taken a picture with. Mum and I then spent the evening planning for the new house, sourcing inspiration and picking out bed linen, getting ever so excited to move in in just a couple of weeks.

Sunday 3rd April :: I'm not really sure where Sunday went. I did plan to wake up nice and early for a morning run around the park, but with a phone with no battery and a broken charger I didn't have an alarm, so the early start didn't really happen. I did pop out in the afternoon to pick up some groceries and a new charger, though, and it was such a beautiful day that I didn't even need a coat. I'll admit I did feel slightly naked without my usual coat and chunky scarf, but really it was kind of liberating. Despite the grey and rainy days we haven't quite shaken off yet, Spring is really trying to pop its head up, and I'm very much enjoying the sunnier weather it's bringing with it.

Next week is my last week at home before N and I head back to uni, and although I'll be sad to leave it's only another seven weeks before the semester finishes and we can come home for the summer, which I'm so looking forward to. I think this has been one of my favourite updates yet, mainly because it documents some big changes that I'll want to be able to look back on in the future. I hope you're all well, and I look forward to catching up again with the next update.