New Years

New Years

Way back in 2010, I had met this pretty cool guy I went to school with called Ben. Being of the clueless persuasion, we remained good friends for 7 years until my trip back to NZ in 2017 when he was finally able to get it into my thick skull that maybe we should go out. Excellent plan Ben! Why didn't I think of that one myself? 

Obliviousness aside, with Christmas over, the date was fast approaching when Ben would fly over from NZ and our epic New Years would begin. Having been almost a year since we had seen each other (10 months, but who's counting!) I was dying of a mixture of nerves and excitement, taking the bus to London and waiting at the airport, he FINALLY (only an hour delayed) arrived! 

The adventure was about to begin, and what better way to spend an New Years in the UK than in a little stone cottage in the Peak District, complete with a fireplace!

 We had some bumps on the road as the trains were delayed, altered and broke down and told everyone to get off no less than three times (it was starting to turn into musical carriages by the end) but we finally arrived in the little village of Glossop, and ordered a taxi (hurrah for countryside and not owning a car!). The cottage was even more adorable than I expected.

 The views of the surrounding countryside weren't bad either

 It was bitterly cold, but there was still a Christmas festivity feeling, making it feel incredibly cosy. This is how winter is meant to be spent!

We settled in and decided to go for a wander, exploring that beautiful countryside before getting the fire (and dinner) started for the night. Typical Peak District scenery, we were surrounded by mountains and streams and waterfalls.

It made for beautiful walking, and even though it was freezing, we were lucky enough to have no rain. The area has a long history, from Roman occupation to medieval castle building. But from the 1600s onwards it was held by one family, who passed the land down to the second son - this and the fact that it was too wet and cold for any agricultural practices aside from keeping sheep makes me think it wasn't the most sought after gift!

We thoroughly enjoyed it however. On New Year's eve we had a chill evening playing board games and celebrated with a bottle of bubbly.

And the fire of course!!! Though lets not talk about how long it took us to get it going. Survive in the wilderness we would not.

Christmas 2017

December 2017

Before I knew it, it was Christmas time, my favourite time of year! The UK (or Europe) is the best place to be in December, with the streets strung with lights and decorations, Christmas markets around every corner, mulled wine, hot fires, and freezing weather, the festive spirit here is the best! I was especially lucky this year, as I was able to have a triple Christmas, starting out with a little party at my flat before my friends all flew home for the year. 

I secured myself a tiny Christmas tree and decorated it with over-sized baubles, just to get into the spirit of things!

We cooked up an epic spread, and had a lovely afternoon with friends playing games and eating all the food.

For my second Christmas, I hung out with Yannick and Necia, as was our tradition. A quick hop to London, and I was sipping prosecco on the couch! We had planned a roast chicken, as we usually do,  but then two days before Christmas their oven went kaput! 

A handyman was sent over to fix it, and though the entire experience was highly dubious (he poked live wires with a metal screwdriver, leaving Necia and I to watch in terror, waiting for him to be electrocuted - somehow he escaped) the oven was fixed! 

On with the show!

We finished off with Necia's incredible Christmas cake, a recipe originally from mum, and the best Christmas cake I will ever have. 

For my third Christmas which finally occurred on actual Christmas day, I was spending it with my best friend Joy and her little family, and we were able to unleash ALL OF THE COOKING.

Also they had two Christmas trees, one in the dining room and one in the living room, so it was pretty much my dream come true. 

We started the night before, pre-cooking the ham and potatoes as Jamie Oliver recommends (did you know he has an entire recipe book devoted to Christmas? And yes, I want to buy it).  This was also my first time cooking a ham, and it was a roaring success, basted in marmalade and cooked to sticky perfection. 

We decorated the dining room accordingly, and had a rather jolly time doing it!

The centerpiece was my favourite and something I would love to try to replicate one year myself.

Harvey was also very excited about this apparently, as he stole the kitchen oven mitts, wore them like a penguin and ran around the room flapping. I assumed this was normal behavior and shamelessly took photographs.

























We started off with prosecco and a lovely cheese plate, soon followed by wine and ham and potatoes and vegetables (including brussel sprouts - why England, why!?) and by the time we got to dessert, we were too stuffed to eat it! (This is of course the joy of boxing day).

What an awesome December, family, friends and good food, I couldn't ask for more (except, maybe, Joy's partner Greg not accidentally killing the Christmas tree, but that's another story).