Mid 20s are scary! Firstly, it's only a few short years away from 30. Secondly, we are finally at that age where it is actually feasible to do all the things we've always dreamed about; getting jobs, buying a house, getting married, having babies - and it's terrifying! But, whether these things are happening to us or our friends and family, they are life changing moments.

Photograph taken by Meredith at one sheepish girl blog

Well my bestist northern friend, Emma, is making a big deal about turning 25, and I don't blame her! But she has a big heart and loves her even bigger family. So for her 25th birthday I chose to buy her a 'one line a day' memory journal from Amazon. This is a 5 year journal to record all of the amazing things she is going to do in the next half of a decade (and knowing Ems, there will be a lot!) Also, I hope that this will be something amazing for her to look back on her 30th birthday and re-live all of those life changing moments.

I also bought her an apple scented candle from IKEA; I bought her one for her birthday last year and she loved it so much she's never been without one since! I also got her a couple of little magnetic frames for her desk and drew some little illustrations to go in them.

Love you Ems xx

We all decided to go out for lunch and give Jenna her birthday gifts! A bunch of us chipped in and bought her a special edition lomography camera and film for her to enjoy while she's on holiday. The camera is wrapped in various deck chair fabrics, with the cloth cut from a different angle each time, so you can be sure that the camera is one-of-a-kind. This camera offers a wide angle lens, multiple exposures and easy to use focusing. It also takes ordinary 35mm film that you can pick up and develop in your local store.

I also bought her a child's sized Disney princess mug. It's horrendous quality but its part of a little in joke we have to do with ASDA, a bargain isle and a teenage girl in distress.

Happy Birthday Jen!

They say 'the best things in life are free', but it seems a bit tight not to spend anything on your friends' birthdays! But you don't have to spend much to give someone a really special gift. These cakes and cookies were given to me for my birthday by the fabulous Anisha and Nicole. Not only were they packaged beautifully but they were mouth watering-ly delicious!

These are the chocolate cupcakes (Hummingbird Bakery recipe) and brownie based cheesecake (Blissful Brownies recipe) I made for my parents for their birthdays.

And this is me having a great time using the giant cake cookie mold Lucy H bought me for my birthday!

But it doesn't always have to be sweet treats! One of my favourite gifts this year was a lovely long letter from my friend Krystin Dean, who lives in Georgia, U.S.A. We haven't spoken for a few months and I was very excited to see this little letter drop out of my post box.

I was literally showered with gifts for my birthday! My awesome friends from the studio gave me a range of beautiful and quirky gifts better than I could have ever dreamed of! So here they are...

The lovely Lucy S bought me this adorable little notebook by illustrator Debbie Greenaway. Debbie graduated in the summer of 2008 with a BA (Hons) in Illustration. Since then she has continued to keep a daily sketchbook using observational work and developing them into limited editon prints on fabric, paper and ceramics. This gorgeous little 'bird and feather' illustration has been screen-printed onto a Moleskine plain journal.

My friend Liisa got me this great tote with my initial and Paperchase notebook. The tote was bought from Selfridges but designed by Alphabetbags.com. Alphabet Bags is an accessories brand creating lovely items with an emphasis on simple, bold and cheerful designs. Alphabet Bags started out with the simple alphabet tote pictured above, available in every letter from A to Z. Now, however, they sell a whole range of apparel including initial coin purses (previously sold in Topshop), colourful summer themed totes and wash bags. They also run a sister site called Keep Calm Gallery; a stylish site that sells beautifully designed prints, post cards and tea towels.

Meg, indulging my quirky side, got me these great trinkets; a gorgeous bow headband with an vintage style deer print, a panda coin purse from new look and this awesome cat pen from Octopus in the Queens arcade in Leeds city centre.

 

My sexy, feline loving friend Lucy got me this giant cookie cake mould (as I love to bake on the weekends) and this brilliantly quirky face ring from Topshop (which is really great as I'm really into bold rings at the minute).

Jenna & Abbi G had the same great thought of buying me something nautical. The earrings Abbi bought are from a little treasure trove in Leeds called Culture Vulture. This little shop has everything from cards and gifts, to hair dye and fancy dress costumes!

And the stunning make up bag from Jenna is not only a perfect gift for me, as I spend a lot of time travelling back and forth from the North to the Midlands, but also because I love the bold print and attention to detail on the embroidery on the inside of the bag.

And last, but my no means least, my bestist northern friend, Emma, bought me this lovely rabbit top which features 3 of my favourite things - rabbits, glasses and cupcakes! I also received this tiny teapot necklace which has been handmade by jeweller and clothing designer, chung-rowe. This great gift will be a constant reminder of our friendship - as it is mainly based on drinking tea!

Thank you guys!

 

Today is the birthday of my super sexy and fellow cat loving friend, Lucy. And as she is the owner of a stunningly handsome feline called Albus, I decided to theme her birthday around him! It all started when I stumbled across this great second hand cat plate with gold trim. It was incredibly lucky as the resemblance to Albus in uncanny! Then I found these great ball point pens. These cute kitties are called Choo Choo cats - the charaters originate from Korea and are avaiable as greetings cards, postcards, notebooks, pens, phone cases, wallets, you name it!

Happy Birthday Lucy! xxx

Yesterday was a very special day for me; it was the day of my 24th birthday - and so far, it has been not too shabby! Firstly, I enjoyed a pre-birthday celebration at Jamie' Italian in Leeds with my closest friends, where a bountiful (and a slighty slurred) feast and a wonderful night was had by all.

Then, the day of my birthday started off in sunny Greece! My wonderful parents treated my boyfreind and I to a fabulous week long holiday to the Greek island of Kefalonia for our birthdays this year. And, in perfect timing, we flew back that afternoon and I was able to open all of my cards and presents back home in not so sunny Yorkshire.

These inlcuded; Gemma Correll's latest book 'What I Wore Today'. Part sketchpad, part journal, this is a totally customizable record of how you like to dress, what you love to do and who you really are. This book is not only full of handy fashion tips and gorgeous illustrations but also a brillaint way to while away the hours doodling great little characters. This was a lovely and incredibly personal gift from my friend Amanda (literally the loveliest person you will ever have the pleasure of meeting), as Gemma Correll is one of my all time favourite illustrators and as I am really into character illustration myself.

I also recieved a goregous Diamond Jubilee cake stand from my Nana (as I love to bake cupcakes), a lovely long hand written letter and a cute badge from my wonderfully creative friend Amy Hill, and a fantasic sailor jerry style mug from my talented friend Mickey Richards (the master baker-ess!) Most people know I really enjoy a good cuppa, and, in my opinion, a huge part of that is the mug you drink it from. This will certainly be relacing my current 'work mug' at the office.

 

And to top it all off, my amazing boyfriend bought us tickets to see The Lion King on stage in Manchester! AMAZING! 

Thank you so much to everyone for making my day so special.