HOW I CELEBRATED MY 60 BIRTHDAY PART II

Last week I started sharing with you how I celebrated my big milestone birthday.  For those who missed the beginning of the story, here is a quick recoup.  The celebrations were split into two parts:  Part I - just the two of us went away for the weekend and you can read about it by following this link.

When we returned back to Sydney, the festivities continued.  Originally, I was planning to throw a big party for my family and friends but since the regulations about party gatherings did not allow us to have more than 20 people, we had to settle on inviting just my close family for dinner to a restaurant called China Diner.  We had dined there a few times before and like their take on cooking traditional dishes of South East Asia and China but with a contemporary approach and they serve their dishes in a relaxed stylish environment.  

They were kind enough to locate my party in a nice cosy niche away from the madding crowd where we could have some privacy.  And my dear husband even managed to sneak in some party balloons behind my back to make it look festive. But all this nonsense didn't dampen my spirits to have a good time. And boy, didn't I have a dress to do just that.

You see, last year while I was browsing through the “Sale” aisles of David Jones department store looking for a dress that I could wear to a New Year bash, I caught a shimmering silver dress out of the corner of my eye, hanging on the rack labelled By Johnny.  It looked outrageously shiny but it was exactly what I was looking for so I bought it right then and there. 

Truth be told, I have never worn it ever since that night and couldn't imagine if I would ever be able to wear it ever again but then I thought, it's my 60th birthday and life is too short and if I don't wear it now, then when.  And so I did.  I deliberately avoided wearing any other accessories as the dress has it all except my nails which I painted in sparkly silver polish to match the dress 👍😃.

We kicked the night off with a glass of bubbly on arrival followed by the banquet menu tweaked according to the array of dietary restrictions in our group.  We had one vegan, two vegetarians, one person who doesn't eat shell fish and three people who don't eat pork.  But the kitchen took it in their stride without batting an eye lash. The staff were extremely helpful and accommodated us in every way, even allowing us to bring our own cake despite the fact that they have their own dessert menu.  We all had a great time, it was the first time since the March lockdown that the family got together and we all rejoiced to be together again. 

Until then,

Anna

xoxo