Singing Happy Birthday...

Louis & Louise in fine voice...

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Dress: Anthea Crawford taffeta

Necklace: Samantha Willis

Cuff: Wallace Bishop silver

Ring: Inkuku lapiz lazuli

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Finally posting pictures of my 30th birthday karaoke evening with family & friends at Sunnybank. After devouring delicious sushi & deep fried ice-cream from my favourite restaurant, we headed to karaoke to sing our little hearts out - in the soundproof privacy of the individual booths, of course...

The electric blue taffeta dress with cascading ruffle was the perfect choice - classic enough to stand the test of time (watch out 60th birthday bash!) but with shimmer just made for celebrating this birthday milestone. I particularly loved the way it seemed to "glow" under the disco-style lights in our karaoke booth, pictured above. 

Deciding to go for maximum impact on such a special occasion, I mixed it with suede heels of the same hue (sadly not pictured) as well as chunky items of jewellery including a striking Samantha Willis silver ball necklace & a lapiz lazuli ring from a store called Inkuku at the Ipswich Flour Mill. In the same vein as Oxfam, they sell tribal & Fair Trade toys, statues, crockery, fashion & unique jewellery items. What is great about this particular ring is that it is one piece of solid stone that has been hollowed out in the centre, so there are no joins to interrupt the shape's "flow," meaning that it looks as natural as possible. 

Why karaoke?

Brian Eno of Roxy Music once said:

"I believe that singing is the key to a long life, a good figure, a stable temperament, increased intelligence, new friends, super self-confidence, heightened attractiveness & a better sense of humour." (It's like all of my birthday wishes rolled into one!)

Crawling into bed later that night, throat hoarse & eyes blurry from reading the lyrics off the flashing screen, I can only hope the above sentiment is true of the next 30 years...

And for those of you who may want to start belting out the hits for yourselves, here is a list of Franny's Top 5 Karaoke Favourites - with a nod to the 1960s & 1970s (surprise, surprise!)

#1 Dancing Queen - ABBA

#2 Fortunate Son - Creedence Clearwater Revival

#3 Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen

#4 Paperback Writer - The Beatles

#5 Nights in White Satin - The Moody Blues