Who says birthday celebrations have to be one day? Ever since I was a kid I’ve celebrated birthday week; Halloween, my birthday a couple days later, then bonfire night. It’s my absolute favourite time of year. 🍰
GRATEFUL BYTES 03
Welcome back to Grateful Bytes. 👾 This is a byte sized post of things I’m grateful for throughout the week in a bid to be more mindful. I hope it inspires you to think about your own highlights of the week, whether you share it in the comments or jot it down in a journal. ✨
Last year was a special one for my 40th and we spent the week on La Palma island at the exact time the volcano was erupting! That is something I will never forget. This year I wanted to do something a bit more chill. The whole of October I’ve been in full spooky season mode with scary films, games and decorations which carried on until my birthday.

On my actual birthday, E made me breakfast in bed, I opened the card from my parents and read texts from friends and family. Then it was present time. E had had my present delivered in a HUGE box weeks before and it had been hidden away. Despite guessing, I had no idea what it was going to be….
It was a freaking PlayStation 5!
As I ripped the outer cardboard box and realised how heavy it was I was amazed. In disbelief that he had managed to find one at all and the fact that it was my birthday present. It came with 3 games, Horizon Forbidden West, Spider-Man Miles Morales, Gran Turismo 7 and 2 DualSense controllers. I was stunned. It was the most perfect and thoughtful gift and of course we will share it. 😉
After downloading my faves including Fall Guys and a few other games I’m playing from the PlayStation Premium+ library, I tried out Astro’s Playroom which really showcases the features of the DualSense controller and I was blown away.
Like I mentioned, I just wanted a chill day so we went out for coffee and birthday cake, followed takeaway from our favourite Indian restaurant. I almost cried when I saw the carrot cake with the heart decorations and candles, we shared it as we wanted to leave space for our curry. It was just so lovely, exactly how I wanted to spend my level up day with the most special and considerate person in my life. 💕
Aside from my birthday and my amazing Fiancé for making it the best day, here are some other things I’m grateful for this week:
- Having siesta on our roof garden with Chester and Cooper.
- That extra hour! I always feel much more in sync with myself when the clocks go back an hour in October, it just feels right.
- Fresh bread. Mmm!
- Spooky Sunday morning cheese toastie and Harry Potter movie marathon. Bliss!
- Coffee, coffee and more coffee.
- Listening to the sound of the birds and parrots just chirping away outside.
- Getting stuck into decluttering our home office again. Since embracing minimalism it’s something I chip away at when I have spare time, and since quitting social media I feel like I have more time for these kinds of projects yay. We have so much paper clutter and we’re both stationery nerds so it can be challenging. I really like taking before and after photos as a motivator to make progress. Super grateful to be in a position to donate a few bits and bobs to a local charity shop as I go through stuff.
- Early morning beach walks. So peaceful.
- Texting with my Mum about the homemade Halloween costume she made me in the 80s/90s. She made me a neon green tutu which I would wear with my black leggings, a bin bag as a cape, complete with crooked witch’s nose, nails and hat. 😅 Not forgetting a plastic carrier bag turned inside out for all my sweets.
- Starting a new month of fitness gaming and adding Yoga with Adriene back into my routine.
✨ What are you grateful for this week? ✨
Thanks to all of you that sent me birthday wishes by email and YouTube Community. 🌸 Appreciate you all!
Below is the vlog version of issue 03 of grateful bytes, please susbscribe to Cuteek on YouTube, it really helps me out. 💖