birthday!

This birthday came around in a sort of bittersweet way. I didn't have any family with me this year, which is a change from the past 3 years. I also really wanted to get out of London and get to a beach, but for some reason, I felt like I should hold off on that trip. Instead, I gathered a very VIP group of my London people and planned a fun evening. 

The birthday started at 12AM exactly. I stayed up just so I could be excused in FINALLY opening the presents my mom and sister had so thoughtfully shipped over. The bag of gifts literally sat in my room for over a week, and I did not open it until the clock hit midnight. It was good to get cards and cute gifts that they thought about/made. 

I woke up the next morning bright and early and made my way to Central London to wait for day seats for Singin' in the Rain. After that, I met Dev, Michelle and Jeremy for breakfast and then I headed off for my interview with the London International Festival of Theatre. My interview went really well and I actually had an offer for their marketing internship by 3PM.

At 5PM, I met Dev, Jeremy, Michelle and Michael at Wahaca in Covent Garden for a delicious birthday dinner, and then we headed off to see the show. I absolutely loved Singin' in the Rain!

Overall, it was a good birthday, and I was glad to have my friends celebrate with me. I still haven't blown out any birthday candles, but at least I did get a fun birthday song from Michael and Alex.

Photographic evidence. Midnight indeed. 

Mom kept saying I couldn't open them for another 5 hours (EST) because 

I wasn't born in this time zone. I didn't listen.

Mom made this with some of the glass beads I bought her in Prague! 

I love this one! I spent soooo long digging through bead bins to find the cutest beads, 

and she combined them all into one bracelet.

Earrings also courtesy of mom.

My new Betsey Johnson courtesy of my sister.

GOTTA DANCE! Not only was it a perfect day, the sun was out in London!

KCL friends Devin and Jeremy.

Devin, Jeremy and Michelle! (we were missing our 4th, Brand). 

They were really sweet and not only agreed to come to the show (which was a bit pricey),

 but they also got me an adorable Oliver Bonas charm bracelet.

With Jeremy

With Michael

Excited to sit in the splash zone! It literally rains on stage, 

and if you sit in the first 3 rows, you WILL get wet. 

Our feet on the stage. We were in row 1. We got COMPLETELY soaked. FUN!

I loved seeing such an iconic show on my birthday. I had been looking forward to it for quite some time and was not disappointed. Adam Cooper, who plays Don, is stellar. I could literally watch him dance all day. Scarlett Strallen (who I had previously seen as Mary Poppins) did a fantastic job as Kathy Sheldon. The book is a little weak, but the choreography and lighting make it a pretty magical thing to see. 

Here is a clip from the Royal Variety show. Adam sounds a bit breathy at the end, but wouldn't you be too if you had just danced like that for 5 minutes?