Friday, July 10, 2020

Celebrating the Big Six O ............ (Part 1)

Greetings dear friends & readers & Welcome to July
I have been away from blogland & have somehow lost the past 3 weeks.

Hello July - you Wintery Old Month !!

I celebrated a milestone birthday when I turned 60 on the very last day of June.
A decade ago, The Mr put on a 50th birthday party for me as I had never had a birthday party in my entire life.
I well remember us outside struggling to erect a marquee in the wind & the rain & wondering to myself if perhaps we were both a little bit insane.
I decided not to repeat the performance this birthday. 😉

A handful of my close girlfriends had asked me to celebrate with them so I decided to put on an impromptu finger food lunch & invite them here.
I enjoy being home these wintery days with the fire roaring & the house cosy.
The Mr ordered my favourite cake in the whole world - Carrot Cake 💗
The Mr organised a surprise birthday cake for me from our local Bakery.
When it arrived in its grand box & we unpacked it - it read "Happy 60th Birthday Julia "
I quickly grabbed my long doll needle & my tweezers & refashioned the "a" into a "e"


I kept all the food on a separate trestle table which meant the girls could help themselves & graze as they pleased 
& I wasn't running around waiting on everyone as I am inclined to do 😉

Alot of it was pre-prepared ahead of time - easy slices & balls & fudges

There were platters of savoury food too but I have forgotten to photograph everything

We had a lovely time together chatting & laughing & drinking tea & bubbles & toasting to the second half of 2020 hopefully being better than the first half !! (Pandemics & suchlike !!)

(My friend Sally snapped this pic)
The entire time we were at the dining table Miss Pip sat at this door with her sour face on ... she would not come in but just wanted to ensure we felt guilty about her being out in the cold & starving 😟

Dinner time was a very casual relaxed event with my sons & their families sharing it with us.
We ordered gourmet pizzas & tapas from this local Restaurant & the food was divine & almost everything got eaten - even by the little ones.

Books, Choccy, Wine & relish & tea gifts .... a beautiful Flower Carpet Rose & even a pot of chalk paint !!!
I was thoroughly spoilt this birthday by dear friends & family & received some most special & wonderful gifts - such an assortment of goodies - it has been like Christmas for me 💕

The pansies top left have grown since I took this pic

Gorgeous soy Candles, face scrubbers & a possum duster !!  Room diffusers & a wonderful knitting book

My neighbour dropped me off a dozen fresh eggs from her chooks & my dear friend Carolyn, who travelled up for my birthday - crafted me this stunning mosaic garden ring which reads "Life is a Garden"
(My photo is not doing it justice this grey overcast day)

Eldest son & his family gifted me an old fashioned Lilac Tree which I have always wanted in my garden


Beautiful cards including handmade ones from the grandsons


Although we had my celebrations on the Saturday, my actual birthday fell on the Tuesday.

This package from my dear friend Leeanne - had sat in my wardrobe for a few days & when I opened it on my actual birthday  - I must confess I shed a few tears (happy tears!!)
Leeanne had created the most beautiful 16 patch quilt for me - a full bed size in gorgeous fabrics & then custom quilted it & posted it all the way down to me !!

The quilt has a flange binding, which I love & the cutest label on the back from a vintage doiley


When I put it on my bed to take some pics, Miss Pippi immediately tested it out for me for "comfort & snugability" 😉
She informs me it definately passed the test !!!
I shall treasure this quilt for the rest of my days - Thank You So Much Leeanne.

I consider one of my greatest achievements in my 60 years on this earth is the special dear friends I have acquired 
& hold dear to me  💗

I have been away down to my Mum's so I will write a "Part 2" catch-up post in a couple of days,
Thanks for stopping by today - wishing you all a wonderful weekend dear friends,
With much love & friendship to you all,
Julie & the furry ones x0x0x0

29 comments:

  1. How absolutely wonderful. I am glad that you had such a wonderful birthday filled with love and happy moments. You are clearly so well loved. The quilt is just beautiful, what a special gift. Belated birthday wishes. xx

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  2. Belated Happy Birthday wishes. It looks like you celebrated in style.

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  3. Happy birrhday and many happy returns Julie. Its lovely to see your pics of such a special day, you have many people who love you! Your borthday gifts were all so thoughtful and of course the 16 patch quilt is pretty amazing and something to keep in the family as an heirloom.

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  4. Oh! My Goodness! Julie! What an amazing post..! :).
    Look at ALL that lovely food..looks good enough to
    eat! Bless!x
    A very..very..very Happy Burfday..and sixty, but then
    l always say, yer age is between yer ears..mentally!
    That's ALL lovely..this has made my day, it's still
    seven in the morning over here, first lemon tea of
    the day..and a wonderful post to open up to...Great! :o).

    Ah! And poor Miss Pippi..Bless!x She certainly has a
    sour face on..! HeHe! :).
    But..at least she help out and tested the quilt..Lovely!
    And..l expect Blackie has gone AWOL..hope he's o.k. :).

    Best get on..Suns out in ALL it's glory..first time for
    a few days, nice hot weekend forecast..! Hooray! :).
    Oh! l had my first haircut last Monday, first one in
    eighteen weeks..bit better now, so, l dyed it pink
    yesterday..HeHe! I'll say no more..! :o).

    Great! Look forward to Pt2 Julie..Will you still be
    sixty..? Well done you..God Bless! :o). Take care! :o).
    ✨ 🎼 ✨ 🎶 ✨ 🎼 ✨ 🎶 ✨ 🎼 ✨ 🎶 ✨ 🎼 ✨

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  5. Lovely celebrations and gorgeous gifts. That quilt is amazing! xx

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  6. Beautifully written post with such gorgeous presents for the birthday girl on display. You have been given some wonderful presents. That photo of Pippi is hilarious......"sour puss"......May the second half of the year be dull & boring, but it won't because it's election year!

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  7. Hi Julie, I have been away from blogland too...10 months!!!...but I'm back and popping in to all my dear bloggers on my blog list to say say Hello and also invite them to my Fresh Start craft giveaway that I have on my blog. What a fabulous birthday party you have had..... happy belated 60th birthday wishes :-) Oh! goodness that quilt is wonderful, such a marvelous gift. I yearn for a quilt like that :-) keep well Amanda x

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  8. Belated happy birthday, Julie! I so enjoyed your blog today. What a nice celebration with wonderful pictures, good food, friends and family.

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    1. Thanks so much for your lovely kind comment Carolyn. xx

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  9. HAPPY belated BIRTHDAY!
    what wonderful gifts all your family & friends gave you, so much thought went into all of those am sure, so glad you had a wonderful day!
    thanx for sharing

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    1. Thanks so much Selina ... yes I really enjoyed my celebrations & the day was just perfect. Have a great week Selina xx

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  10. What a wonderful birthday celebration! Thank you for sharing in the photos of the mouth watering foods,
    and your gifts. Glad you were able to visit your Mum. And Miss Pippi looks like she approves the quilt,
    but it is so lovely, who wouldn't!

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    1. Thanks so much for your lovely comment Lynn. Yes Miss Pip must've told Blackie that the quilt was comfy as I see he has plonked himself down on it today!!! Arrrggghhhhh .........

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  11. Congratulations it looks like a lot of fun was had by all, except Miss pippi of course:) And what an absolutely smashing quilt.

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  12. Wow what a beautiful celebration and that quilt is lovely. Happy Birthday my friend.

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  13. Happy belated birthday from hot and humid NC in the USA. What a celebration you did have and the cards, presents and quilt were just wonderful. I had to laugh when I saw the pic of Miss Pippi and her sad face wanting to be at the party. At least she loved your new quilt.

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  14. A very happy birthday to you and what lovely celebrations.... so wonderful to spend it with family and friends.... beautiful quilt and other gifts...
    Hugz

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  15. Beautiful post Julie, so nice to see you had wonderful birthday gatherings and great food. You deserve to be spoilt. Being a great friend brings you great friends I believe. Your quilt from Leanne is stunning, so good Miss Pippi approves after her sulking thru your birthday lunch 😁😁. Enjoy your lovely presents and that lilac tree.

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  16. What a wonderful celebration with friends, food and gifts! I think I like that lilac tree the best! Pippi is too cute with the guilt trip maneuver! :-)

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  17. It appears that you were treated very well by family and friends. You are obviously well loved, and it is for good reason. I am glad to hear you passed that milestone in good company. So many fun and lovely gifts!
    I saw the quilt on Leeanne's blog and thought the recipient was very lucky. It is gorgeous. Happy to see that recipient is you!

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  18. Happy belated birthday Julie. What a wonderful day you had good foods yummy food,great to see you having so much fun and receiving so many beautiful gifts xx

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  19. What a wonderful celebration and gifts. Your quilt is beautiful! Love the lilac tree too...a gift for years to come. Everything looked wonderful. So very glad you had a lot of spoiling xxxx

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  20. Sweet Julie! I"m so glad you had such a nice birthday celebration! Happiest of 60th!
    You're so great! I'm so glad I know you!

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  21. You have a lovely family and friends Julie, my hubby turned 60 in may, but because we were in lockdown and still are we couldn't do anything for him, not that he wanted a celebration, miss pippi does look mad in that photo lol cats you gotta love them, I adore your quilt, take care Chris xoxoxo

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  22. Happy 60th Birthday to you, beautiful Julie♥ How wonderful to share this fabulous milestone with loved family and friends. Oh my, you received gorgeous presents but oh 'that' quilt! How beautiful it is and how lovely of Leanne to fashion it for your special day ; so, so very special. You are indeed blessed, dear Julie.

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  23. Hi Julie, this is Faith from Instagram. ( A Rose by and by) I thought I would stop over and visit your blog, and follow you along here too, I spend a little bit more time here visiting and posting. I enjoy your blog and looking at all your beautiful quilts and lovelies.

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  24. Happy belated birthday Julie. The quilt is beautiful. I understand the reluctance to have a fuss made of you in your birthday - I am the same.

    Julie and Poppyq
    Xxx

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  25. Happy belated birthday! Mine is coming up on the 12th, and I'll be relaxing with a movie and a good book, I think. Hugs, RO

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