The 13 Days of Birthday...

The 13 Days of Birthday are like the 12 Days of Christmas. Except, instead of starting with a partridge and ending with twelve drummers drumming, the 13 Days of Birthday start on my birthday (July 6) and finish on Will's (July 18).

We weren't smart enough to realise our birthdays book-ended a 13 day period last year (it was the year we thought living on two separate continents was an okay idea, we were delusional, obviously!) but this year we really smartened up and realised we could turn two individual birthdays into almost a fortnight of celebration. And celebrate we have!

Here are some of the highlights:


Day One: My birthday! Will gave me a cute succulent plant named Albert, we had International Food Day at work, and we had the entire Salon Lounge to ourselves on the account of it being State of Origin Night. We drank cocktails and ate yummy food and Will didn't even gloat when Qld beat NSW.

Day Four: Will spoilt me with a romantic morning horseriding through the beautiful Mooloolah Valley. We made new friends in Alabama and Grizzly Adams, rode through an abandoned train tunnel and I only rode into a tree once. In my defense, it was Alabama's efforts to avoid walking through mud that landed us in such a predicament - who knew horses didn't like dirt?

Day Six: We had a gorgeous picnic in the park and finished the day with a Fraser family dinner - for my birthday and Jeremy's last night in Brisbane before he moved down south. Things got a little crazy when Father Fraser pulled out a personality test for us all to complete, but Will passed with flying colours and, thankfully, still wants to marry me. Cue some Meet the Parents jokes now.

Day Seven: Unrelated to Birthday week, but a big day in both families. Jeremy flew out early in the morning, and Paul and Lauren announced Baby No. 2 early in the afternoon. Bye bye brother and hello new nephew or niece!

Day Eight, Nine and Ten: I wound up in bed for three days with a nasty fever/cough combination. Will brought all my favourite things - a punnet of strawberries, a packet of pork crackle and an interior design book. He's a keeper.

Day Twelve: We had Swanson family lunch to celebrate 28 years of William. The food was delicious and the company was lovely! Will joked with facebook that he felt awkward with all the birthday kisses I gave him, but I know he secretly loved them.

Day Thirteen: Will received birthday balloons, birthday chocolates, a birthday card with a special birthday voucher, and more birthday kisses after work. We had Pizza Capers, snuggled up on the couch and watched a movie. A very fitting end to a wonderful 13 days.

Only, it wasn't the end! As Brisbane seems to shut down on Monday nights, we postponed Will's birthday dinner to Wednesday and treated ourselves to a delicious feed at Blue Smoke BBQ and a selection of sorbets at Freestyle Tout. We turned 13 days into 15, adding a little extra birthday cheer to a very happy fortnight.

Happy Birthday us!