My best northern friend is turning 26 this weekend,  and as she set the bar so high with everything she did for me for my birthday I had a lot to live up to.

Meg came up with the great idea to get a few of us to chip in and buy her something really special. Firstly, she had remembered that Emma mentioned her purse was becoming a bit 'worse for wear'. So that was a great start. Then, after a little more digging, we found out she was also after a new handbag.

After we found the perfect set, we also decided to treat her to a lovely silver bunting necklace and a box of Jaffa cakes, as they are her favourite. She was chuffed to bits!

And as she knows how much of a baker I am, I couldn't miss the opportunity to make her an erray of delicious delights. I donned my favourite apron, headed to the kitchen and prrpared her a lemon and poppyseed loaf from the Hummingbird bakery cookbook, and a jar full of tea bag shaped biscuits dipped in lemon icing. This recipe was adapted from one in the Women's Institute tea time cookbook. I even tied little branding tags to each biscuit to really make them look like tea bags.

And as I wouldn't be seeing my best friend on her birthday (because she was lucky enough to be flying off to sunny Portugal), I decided to rush over to the Trafford centre and surprise her on their way to the airport with lunch at Selfridges - just like when she surprised me on my birthday!

It was my 25th birthday last week and my fiends and family made it the best birthday I have ever had!

Firstly, as my birthday is within the same week as both of my parents, we decided to make a whole weekend of it. We jumped on the train and spent a lovely day out in the city of York. Here we spent the day visiting the National Railway museum and the York Chocolate Story. My dad and I are quite geeky when it comes to trains and I have to say the National Railway museum was an amazing day out. If you haven't been I would definitely recommend it, especially as the entry fee is only a suggested donation of £3 each. And if you find yourself getting a little peckish while you're there you should defiantly try one of their lovely eateries. The Dining Car restaurant, located in the Station Hall and right between the royal carriages, is a unique experience. Your tables and chairs are set out like a Victorian inspired dining car and serves lovingly presented lunches and home baked cakes.

Or you could also eat in the 'Mallard Cafe' located within the Great Hall amongst their magnificent locomotives, including Mallard itself. You can indulge yourself and enjoy a delicious menu filled with locally sourced hot and cold deli food and bakery treats. The staff were lovely and extremely accommodating with us on our visit.

The York chocolate story was also very good and I learned a lot about chocolate, but, in my opinion, it was far too expensive. It was £9.50 entry per adult and you only got a free chocolate lolly at the end. I was expecting to eat chocolate constantly around the tour for that price. You can book in advance for a discount but it only takes the price down to £8.50 per adult, so still quite pricey.

Then, on our return journey, we decided to stop off in Leeds for a bite to eat. My friend has highly recommended a Mexican called Las Iguanas, and as none of us had ever had Mexican before we decided to give it a try. The food was delicious, filling and their cocktails really packed a punch. And, as an added bonus, my Mum, Dad and I were all treated to a free cocktail because it was our birthdays! Winner!

After a wonderful weekend with my family I returned to work to be showered with tonnes of gifts from my friends. This included; a selection of miniature soap and glory products (perfect for my travel bag as I'm often travelling up and down the country), a beautiful set of summery ice cream pyjamas, a lovely set of stationary including cat shaped paper clips, mini notebooks and some adorable animal rubbers, a delicious bag of home made dark chocolate cookies, an old fashioned wooden pencil box, a book called 'how to train your unicorn' and a big pink helium birthday balloon! Even at 25 you can't beat a balloon! My bestist northern friend Emma also made me this amazing 3D paper sculpture of a rabbit's head on a plaque in brilliant neon paper. I couldn't wait to put it up on my bedroom wall!

Another great idea from one of my friends who had recently holidayed to Scotland, was to get me all Scottish themed gifts. She bought my a girlie tartan flower broach, highland blend tea bags and a gorgeous pair of silver thistle earrings.

But the best present of all was defiantly my Cath Kidston train print weekend bag! As I already mentioned, I do a lot of traveling and I am a bit of a geek when it comes to trains. Steam, diesel, old or new, I love them all. And one thing I love as much as trains is Cath Kidston. So you can imagine to look on my face when my bestist friend, Emma, got everyone to club together to buy this beautiful bag for me! I absolutely adore it and I can't wait to use it next weekend! In fact, it was a good job they bought it for me as I needed it to carry all of my presents home from work!

And that evening, just when I thought my birthday couldn't get any better, my boyfriend told me he was going to treat me to dinner at The Botanist in Leeds. So I put on my glad rags, headed off into the city and into the restaurant. To my surprise, my best friend and her boyfriend were there waiting for me! And as if that wasn't enough, she got the waiter to put sparklers in all of my drinks! She even got them to bring out a birthday cake she had bought for me, covered in sparklers and candles. I think the real surprise was that we didn't set the fire alarms off!

And in a few weeks time I get to enjoy my final present from my wonderful boyfriend, Pidge - a trip to Chester Zoo! I can't wait.