My 25th Birthday: Fantastic Beasts, Churros, & Paleo Cake!

Wow, 25 huh? 

My twenties so far have included me getting an honors degree in classics, traveling to America each year, getting tattoos, becoming a fitness-nut, and working tirelessly on turning Hello, Steph into some kind of business. Nothing turned out the way I thought, but I couldn't be happier about it. I do what I love every single day and even though I'm not in the position I'd like to be, I'm on the road to it. I'm making the most of these years to be a little selfish, have adventures, and make some memories. 

I know I should have done something special for my 25th, but since my back account said no to a weekend away in Italy, I decided to keep it simple and do it in a very typical-Steph way. I celebrated with good friends, amazing food, and the best family.

Get a tattoo

You've probably seen me posting my newest addition on Instagram/blog and how could I not? I apologize for the spam, but I love it! I gave my tattoo artist Kieran a simple design of a lion's head and he managed to turn it into this beautiful piece of art. I'm going to be posting about all of my tattoos with their meanings next week, so I'll explain it more then. This was my birthday treat to myself, just like my jaguar that I got on my ribs last year. A very painful way to celebrate my birthday, but I couldn't think of a better gift to myself.


Time with my girls

Adult life makes it hard to spend enough time with good friends, so of course I had to have a catch up over coffee and cake. It can be very therapeutic to talk about anything and everything with the girls I grew up with. I had to cut it short by working a shift, but we met up later in the night to go see Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them. I loved it so much the first time that I was dying to see it again. Luckily my friends felt the same and we all enjoyed it. Newt is definitely my favorite character from the HP universe and he makes me proud to be a Hufflepuff.


Lunch at my favorite restaurant

Christchurch has quite the food scene, but there's one restaurant I keep going back to called Mexico. It's located in the centre city surrounded by empty lots and buildings being held up by supports (so basically earthquake ground zero.) But this place has done exceedingly well and I came here for my 24th birthday too. The make the most amazing range of margaritas and the food is incredible. I eat something different each time because they make menu changes regularly. Today I went for the prawn tacos with mango salsa and a plate of guacamole. I also stole some of my Dad's spiced squid because I was dying to try it. I couldn't leave without one of their cold brew coffees and churros! They don't do them as well as Disney (an impossible task) but they're pretty darn good.


Paleo Birthday Cake!

I didn't expect any kind of cake this year, but I was surprised by my Mum who found a great recipe for paleo chocolate cake. Isn't she the best! It's all made the things like spelt flour, almond meal, coconut oil and cacoa powder. It was delicious and don't have to feel guilty for eating it!


Beautiful Gifts 

I feel very spoiled this year by my loved ones. I received quite a few lovely things that have been on my wish list, but could never spare the money for myself. The first was a new pair of training shoes, CrossFit ones to be exact! I usually just recycle my old running shoes for training, but that's not always a good idea. I went for Reebok since they are THE ultimate brand for CrossFit and knew they would serve me well.

My lovely friend Sarah gave me an Ecoya candle (the best you can buy!) in the scent "Guava and Lychee Sorbet." I promise you that it smells as amazing as you'd think. I actually picked this up while shopping with Mum the other day and reminded myself to buy one soon. My room is going to smell so good!

My other beautiful friend Haley brought this incredible Time Turner necklace for me. It feels like the real thing and I put it on immediately after opening it. She got it at a convention for me since she knows how much I love all things Harry Potter. When I'm not wearing it, I will place it next to my Hermione wand.

My parents surprised me with two more gifts: a super-comfy dressing gown with ears on it, and the Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them Screenplay! I have seen this book floating around Instagram for weeks now and have been dying to get my hands on a copy. The cover and illustrations inside are just stunning, especially the creatures at the start of each scene.

A big thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes, I really did have a lovely day. Twenty-five years certainly have gone quickly, but each year seems to get even better. I'm still not sure how I feel getting older, but I'll just keep doing what makes me happy and see what the years bring.

Steph x.