My Birthday Wish List

It’s my birthday in 10 days and I keep on being asked what I want. I’m incredibly lucky that there isn’t really much I want, not things which can easily be gift wrapped for my birthday anyway. I’ve thought long and hard and come up with 10 things I would love for my birthday if money was unlimited and reality flexible.

A child free night away in a hotel 

With a 3 month old who is exclusively breastfed I don’t really get alone time. It’s that weird combination of wanting a break and not wanting to be away from my dependent baby. It would be lovely to spend a relaxing afternoon, possibly with a champagne afternoon tea, followed by a night in a big bed in a posh hotel where I knew I wasn’t going to get woken up.

 
An afternoon tea in a posh london hotel

Some yummy mummy clothes

Most days I wear my maternity jeans and a nursing top. I worked out a few weeks post birth that clothes wise I can wear my size 12 maternity jeans which are too big for me or my size 14 normal jeans which are too tight. Guess which ones make me feel more attractive? I would love it if someone could select and deliver to me a range of stylish clothes that fit and flatter me.

A new Camera

I love my Canon 700D and I probably have all the lenses I need right now (although there are a few over £1k I wouldn’t mind playing with). Having said that I would rather like to get the Canon 100D as well. This is the smallest and lightest Canon DSLR. With one of my smallest lenses it would take up so little space in my bag I could take it out all the time.
Of course I would also love an upgrade to my 700D e.g. to the more expensive 7D or a full frame one.
A photograph of a camera

Studio kit

Light is probably the most important ingredient when you are taking a good photograph. You could take a picture of a safety pin and with the right lighting it would look great. I have a LED light which I use for indoor pictures, but I would like at least one other light so I can use shadows better. Improved lighting also means I would have more options around aperture and shutter speeds.
I would also like a nice white backdrop which doesn't require me moving the sofa to use the wall!


A printer

Staying on the photography theme it would be great to have a wireless printer with a stack of photo quality paper and a never ending supply of ink. This would mean I could print out some of my hundreds of thousands of photographs instead of keeping them all digital.


Family photo

Now that we are a family of 4 I would like some shots of us together. I take a picture each month and while they are a lovely record of us I haven't yet been able to get a good capture of us all looking at the camera and smiling. Using a tripod and remote control means I have less control over the timing of the snap and I miss good moments. A professional photographer who has photoshop stands a better chance of a wall worthy end result.

Photograph of a family of 4 with a new baby all pulling silly faces

A clean car

My car rarely gets cleaned and is a complete mess, I have to be careful which of my friends I offer lifts to. There is a really highly recommended local guy who comes to your house and cleans your car inside and out, but I need to empty it first so I can sort the crisp packets from the kinder toys, tiaras (yes multiple), prized nursery artwork and very important sticks and stones collected on our travels. Unfortunately I never seem to have time to do the clearing out.


A weekend in Barcelona

I went to Barcelona years ago and it was a city that I love and want to go back to. Great weather, food and atmosphere, with beach and city plus all the Gaudi art nouveau. I would love to spend a warm weekend chilling in this fabulous city, but 2 young children would make it a very different type of holiday to the one I'm thinking of.


A new kitchen

We've been in our new house for 4 months and are working through the urgent stuff. The kitchen is functional and fine, but could do with replacing at some point. This means it wont be done for at least a year or two, but I like a pretty kitchen and it having a makeover is definitely on my ultimate birthday wish list.


More time with my partner

My partner is funny, kind, generous and wonderful in many ways. I love the days we have together. I also love the (rare) nights when the children are asleep and I’m not exhausted so we can spend some quality time together talking. I also love it when we go away together so we get longer than just the weekend. Unfortunately as my partner is a contractor he isn’t paid when he’s not working. This means going on holiday not only has the expense of the holiday, but the loss of income too. Any time I want us to go away somewhere I really have to weigh up if it’s worth it and if we can afford it. I feel guilty asking him to spend more time with me. The most perfect birthday present would be not to worry about money and just to be able to be with him.


1 comment

  1. Early Happy Bornday! I've tried to take a photo of a safety pin and my lighting was challenging to say the least. There is nothing like having enough light. As for a portable back drop we grabbed some cotton duck from the fabric store's upholstery section and stuck one edge to a cheap broom handle. I hang it with a couple of loops of thin rope from any of curtain rods or drape it from table top to floor. For a black back drop we went with black cotton velveteen on the same curtain rod arrangement.

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