Celebrating 22: Time with Family and Dinner outdoors

I had a great time celebrating my 22nd birthday yesterday. Took my study day as a cheeky opportunity to head home for the day to celebrate with the family. I am really glad I did as I had a lovely relaxed day with the family, especially since its half term so my sister’s are home. You don’t need to have a massively exciting day in order to celebrate well, sometimes something as simple as a day with the family dog and relaxing with a cup of tea.

We went out for dinner in the evening to celebrate and went to the Coppa Club in Sonning to try out their outdoor igloo dining experience. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by how warm I was on a particularly windy evening. Even when the doors are open for a few minutes whilst you have your food delivered, the tiny heating keeps up well with the need to be warm. It was a nice experience and something a little different to try when having a celebration. 

The dinner experience is certainly a great place for a photo shoot, both at night and at dusk. My mum and I got some really good photos. The food is good for the money and came out at a reasonable pace. My family is super picky when it comes to food and we were all happy with what came out. My sisters loved their three course meal and had great fun with their babyccinos. Though Verity was extremely unhappy with her humous when it turned out to be made of peas!

Going out for dinner is usually what we do when celebrating in our family; we are deep rooted in the food world and so having different culinary experiences is how we go out as a family. I really enjoy going out for dinner with the family, mainly for the sarky comments about the food quality from my dad, the orders for a family photo from my mum and the chaos of trying to get my sisters to order something other than spaghetti or Mac and cheese for dinner.  You have the weirdest conversation with the staff when you understand what you are going through. There was a amusing conversation about whether they sell the crockery and mugs because they are made for the Coppa Club and we really liked them. 

Birthdays are a great opportunity to change behaviours about yourself, and as someone who has been flaking out on their new year’s resolutions, it’s a great opportunity to get back on the horse.  I am looking to get back into running and am also using this new found sunshine to (attempt) to get back on my bike and start cycling again.  I am really trying to get back off the slump of the last ten days… I want to get back into blogging and really improve my organisational skills pre-easter revision. I want to make 22 a good year… each birthday I end up with a pile of things I wish I had done, things I started but never completed or was to afraid to do. Committing myself to coming back to uni the day after my birthday when I could have easily sat at home and done nothing has really helped this mindset and given me the positive first step.