Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Best. Birthday. Ever.

For my birthday yesterday, the boy got me Season 1 of 30 Rock, which I love but keep missing on TV, and a copy of Steig Larsson's The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. For some reason he thought I was a Larsson fan, though in fact I've only ever watched the movie that was made from his first novel.

TLM picked out a very pretty Oriental-flavoured birthday card, and decorated the wrapping paper too, with some nice domestic scenes (am I worried that she's demonstrating such girlie behaviour? No, because it's balanced by her love for Ben 10 and Clone Wars).

The boy made me my favourite meal, butter lamb, which was followed by a very yummy berry-topped cake from Floridita's.

I was supposed to get the day off work, but as we've a plethora of Librans in the office I offered to work on my birthday and take today off instead.

And what a good choice! The weather was absolutely fantastic, compared to the exfoliating winds and bracing wintry throwback of yesterday. Needless to say, I had a load of washing up on the line as soon as my toast was in my belly.

While TLM was at school, the boy and I went into town and bimbled (apparently an English colloquialism for strolling around town with no particular aim in mind). We bought magazines and read them over lunch at Astoria. Just like the old days.

Also, I bought myself Bill Bryson's At Home. That guy could take a parliamentary transcript and turn it into something funny, informative and clever.

Then, just before we headed back home, we stopped off at Atticus, the boy's favourite shoe shop where I very nearly bought me some cherry Doc Martins.

Yes, I did wear Docs back in the 90's when they were last the hottest of the hot.
And I wonder whether they are the second most predictable fashion statement for 40-something women, after dyed red hair.
But I will wait until next Autumn before getting them anyway, because it's almost sandal season.

13 comments:

Amanda said...

Happy birthday! Sounds like a lovely day!

Violet said...

thanks! Yes it was great - what a pity I don't get every Wednesday off.

april said...

Bryson is great, let me know how this one is!

Also, you really should try the Steig Larsson books. I know they're very "popular" but they are also fantastic, and I really liked the movie but the books were so much more complex. Please please don't try to start with Hornet's Nest though. You'll lose the best parts of the story. :)

happy birthday! glad you had a great one!

Antoinette said...

Happy Birthday! I dusted off my Docs two years ago, as the global economic recession hit the front pages, as a kind of reference to the previous big recession, during which many of us wore docs and flannel shirts. I didn't keep any of the flannel from the early 90's though, BTW.

Watson Woodworth said...

I still swear by Docs. Just replaced my ten year old brown pair with black ones.
I wish I had the budget for an oxblood pair on top of that.

Anonymous said...

Happy belated Birthday! Sounds like you had one very good day.

Anonymous said...

Ray assures me there's a very trendy 40-something lady around here with dyed red hair, so it's okay ;-). Glad you had such a lovely birthday! You probably should read the other 2 Stieg books first so you know what's going on? Cause by book three it all gets a bit confusing (I can't remember who is who). It's probably the least interesting of the three books....

Violet said...

thanks for the advice about the Steig Larsson book. I guess I'll have to get the first 2 out of the library before starting this one then.

I saw some sale Docs today, but they were in patent leather which I don't like because looks a bit plastic, plus they were in hot pink or plaid, which also looks a bit plastic...

Sage said...

Ahem.... Over 40, used to dye my hair red until I stopped rationalizations about toxicity in that crap. But I still only own three pairs of shoes (pairs, not brands); Tevas, Converse, and Docs. Don't knock the Docs!

Am I at all redeemed for also loving Bryson?

Sage said...

Ahem.... Over 40, used to dye my hair red until I stopped rationalizations about toxicity in that crap. But I still only own three pairs of shoes (pairs, not brands); Tevas, Converse, and Docs. Don't knock the Docs!

Am I at all redeemed for also loving Bryson?

Violet said...

Only 3 pairs of shoes eh? I have several pairs more than that - but probably only wear 3 of them on a regular basis!
Yes, if you are a Bryson fan then all is forgiven...

Anonymous said...

Oh, so glad I found your blog.

I was thrilled when I discovered one could have blue in her hair and still work as a professional in NZ.

I went for Fleuvogs instead of Docs in the 90s and still have them!

Violet said...

anonymous - I haven't come across any denigrating opinions about blue hair, unless of course it is a blue rinse you refer to, in which case, you could probably do with some fierce-looking footwear to add much-needed edge to your look.
I haven't heard of Fleuvogs - they sound Dutch. I must Google 'em.