Oh hi friends! Happy new year! I know I’ve said it before but I guess this week is probably the time to stop saying it so I thought I’d get it in there again! And since the new year has actually been with us a little while now, I hope it is turning out to be a happy one for you!
Since I took the opportunity to have a little blogging break over Christmas (honestly, I was too busy eating!) I thought I’d bring you up to speed with what I got up to over the holidays!
I broke up from work on the 19th December, which was amazing! We had a work fuddle (like a pot-luck if you’re from the US!) which was full of delicious foods. I brought along my Millie’s Cookies and everyone raved about them! My workmate had made homemade Mince Pies. I loathe mince pies, but they were homemade and did smell really good so I tried a little bit. Nope – the pastry was delicious but I definitely still hate mince pies!
The next day we went out to Southwell, a really quaint little town north of Nottingham for a low-key holiday party at our friends house. I ate so much cheese and have no regrets. Raclette is amazing, isn’t it? I love stinky cheese so much.
Next I headed home to my parents house for Christmas! Before I left I made some florentines for my mum, using Mary Berry’s recipe. I was really surprised by how easy they were, and blown away by how easy they were to remove from the pan! I used my secret weapon – silicone baking sheets from Lakeland – and they literally slid right off when they’re usually notorious for getting stuck!
I left the cats and Lee at home as Lee was planning to host Christmas for his mum and brother at our house and then for them all to head over to join the party at my parent’s house on boxing day. Sadly that didn’t end up working out as Lee got super ill (in fact he’s still ill now!) with a lovely seasonal illness!
At home I baked, made cocktails and tried to stop Murphy from sleeping on my bed! I can’t believe I don’t get to continue to eat these delicious soft gingerbread bars with cream cheese frosting on a daily basis!
We also went for a tasty Afternoon Tea at the Vintage Tea emporium (stop by if you’re ever in Uttoxeter!) which is a great little place.
On Christmas Eve we went to the nearbly farm shop to pick up the turkey and other meats, plus veggies for Christmas!
The queue stretched around the whole shop! Now I know what you’re thinking, and don’t worry, I didn’t let a single brussels sprout onto my plate! Vile things.
Later on on Christmas Eve, we went for a curry at a local curry house. I’m not a fan of curry at all (apart from thai!) which is why I don’t normally blog about it, but I do LOVE a peshwari naan – they’re so good! I had a veggie shaslick which was pretty tasty (and very pink!).
We finished off Christmas Eve by watching Die Hard in front of the fire – perfectly festive!
Then it was Christmas! I woke to find a Reese’s snowman and some cute festive socks in my snowman stocking. I got some awesome gifts including Emma Bridgewater mugs, a cat brooch, a pretty necklace and a food processor!
I watched The Gruffalo for the first time this year – it was awesome! I really enjoyed it.
Some pictures of past Christmases (who knows how you spell that) – I miss these guys.
Christmas dinner was delicious! I eat turkey / chicken a handful of times a year (I’m normally pescetarian). We were far too full for dessert (I don’t even know how people have a starter too!) and my pjs went on at 4pm.
Over the holidays we played many games of the card game Blocks and runs, which is a seven-round game using components from rummy. I was the champion with the most games won, which is very unusual as I normally lose!
On boxing day we had a gathering with more family! We enjoyed leftovers, like my epic turkey, stuffing and cranberry roll dipped in gravy. And I baked nutella duffins (plus some with salted caramel) which were delicious.
We also played the popmaster (from BBC Radio 2) quiz, which got a little contentious. I was quizmaster for a while which was good but then I was forced to join a team. My knowledge of music is not wide-ranging!
That night we got SNOW! It was a little late for Christmas, but still so exciting and pretty to see.
This is one of my Christmas presents – a cute customised stamp for me to use when I make food gifts for friends!
On the 28 December I came back to Beeston to see Lee who was still poorly! I baked my blueberry muffins for y’all (only 205 calories!), plus some cookies with a secret ingredient.
On New Year’s Eve we went for a walk at Wollaton Park, a lovely big park not far from where I live. The snow stuck around for so long!
It was soo cold and the lake was completely frozen over! There were so many kids going crazy sledging down the hill.
Later on New Year’s Eve we went to a local pub for drinks and food – The Malt Shovel in Beeston. Their veggie burgers are pretty good!
On New Year’s Day I started the new year right with a delicious healthy breakfast! I also committed the ultimate January cliche by joining a gym! A new 24 hour pure gym has just opened in Beeston and it’s only Β£11 a month including fitness classes so I thought I’d give it a go. I also went shopping and get some new gym wear from Primark – it’s such good value! I love these leggings.
On 1st Jan I also started filling out my five year one-sentence journal. I’m hoping it will help me capture and remember the next five years!
Last weekend we headed to Leicester for a day trip. It was raining pretty hard the whole time so we found a nice pub to keep warm in!
Things I miss about Christmas: eating cheese for all meals. I’m a huge fan of cornish brie with the apple chutney my friend made me for Christmas!
On Saturday we headed over to our friends to watch They Come Together – a rom com parody with Amy Poehler. You should definitely watch it – it’s really funny! We recently got Netflix so have been watching loads of films and TV shows over the festive period! You HAVE to watch Bojack Horseman and The One I Love – both excellent!
One of my resolutions for 2015 is to read more, so I just finished Eleanor and Park which was excellent! Plus I got a bargain pretty print skirt from Primark that’s bright green and blue (a little hard to tell from the picture!). I’ve also decided that the fairy lights in the lounge which I put up at christmas aren’t going anywhere – they just cheer the place up so much during the dark nights!
I’ve been making good use of the food processor I got for Christmas (this is the one I got and I love it! It doesn’t take up much counter space and is easy to clean and use). This week I made homemade black bean veggie burgers (using this recipe with added sweet potato and cheddar cheese) which were really tasty.
That was a long one! Please tell me – how was your Christmas? Do you have any book recommendations for me?
x Kerry
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Sounds like you had a FABULOUS Christmas! I LOVE that stamp you got…too cute!!
Joanne recently posted…Pistachio-Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies
I’m loving these photos Kerry π It looks like you had such an enjoyable holiday season.
Such an adorable little stamp to use for your baked goods. What a great gift!
As for books – definitely Attachments by Rainbow Rowell (as mentioned on Instagram) and I highly recommend anything by Jhumpa Lahiri (particularly The Namesake.) I think you’d also enjoy anything by the author Liane Moriarty.
Diane @ Life of Di. recently posted…Oh, New York.
Ooh thanks so much for the recommendations Di! Will check them out π
Loved your post, it looks you had a great holiday season! Happy New Year!
Amanda recently posted…Lemon Cheesecake Braid
Thanks so much Amanda! Happy 2015 to you too!
Hi Kerry ……’Happy New Year’!!! Thank you for a very lovely and comprehensive post! You certainly had a good Christmas.
Kerry, the recipe you posted (or at least the link to ) the black bean burger is one that I too would like to make …. I started to read the comments ..,,,. But there were so many I gave up!!!, Hundreds it seemed! but did you follow exactly the quantity of ingredients given, and just added the sweet potato and cheese? Did you grate in raw or cook the sweet pot first?
Thank you very much and keep posting!!
Hi Kerry, apologies for ‘nagging you’!! But I wonder if you missed my question yesterday?? it’s about the black bean burgers …. I loved the recipe and wish to make next week, this coming week …. And I wondered if the sweet potato was cooked and mashed up or raw?? I am not very good at improvising …. And I liked the addition of cheese …..mI started trawling through all the comments on original recipe, but gave up cos there were so many!!! Thank you in anticipation ….MMMM!!xx
Hey Maggie! Sorry for the delay getting back to you – I added sweet potato that I’d chopped and microwaved for 3-4 minutes until it was soft, plus about 50g cheddar, then I just added them to the food processor and blitzed them with everything else! x
Wow! You did have a busy Christmas didn’t you!!! I hope Lee gets better soon π I too was ill all over Christmas (just over a month in total) so ill feel his pain!
Also “Things I miss about Christmas: eating cheese for all meals” totally sums me up right now hahaha
As for books I could recommend LOADS
The Crimson Petal and the White,
The Unbearable Lightness of Being,
Kaka on the Shore,
Master and Margarita,
The Third Policeman, and
The Shadow of the Wind are all good books π
Em x
Emma (SitS) recently posted…The Ultimate Baked Potato with Cheese
beautiful photos as always. Loved having you home for Christmas :))))