Happy 2015! I’ve decided to take a look back at the year just gone, before jumping into the new one. I’m borrowing the idea for this post from a friend and fashion blogger – I wish I could wink. I like the idea of looking back over the last year and finding 14 things to be thankful for. It’s been an interesting year, a lot has happened, mostly good but some bad, and the last couple of months have been quite stressful for me, so I think looking back and remembering the good could be a useful, positive exercise! It’s a departure from food for a moment (mainly), but indulge me. In no particular order…

•  Starting this blog! It feels like ages ago now but I only started blogging in June this year – even if no-one reads it, I’m quite proud of it and it makes me more creative with food and writing, which I think is a good thing. It makes me (a bit) more disciplined too.
• Turning thirty: I didn’t approach this milestone with much trepidation (although plenty of people made me feel like I should) – it’s quite a nice feeling being in your thirties, older and wiser but not old…
•  All the amazing travelling i’ve done this year: What with the milestone birthdays and a holiday and a couple of mini-breaks, 2014 was a bumper travelling year 🙂 Morocco in February, Cornwall in April and August, London in May, Italy in June, Spain in September, and Edinburgh in November… Good times.
• Going to the 2nd best restaurant in the world (I really need to finish the last post on this!): For the OH’s birthday I took him to El Celler de Can Roca, the only slight issue was that when I booked it, it was number 1…
• The support of family and friends: During a couple of difficult months, feeling supported by people close to you is really important, and valued more because I know some are going through difficult times too.
• Getting a promotion: Moving from Assistant Manager to Manager hasn’t been a smooth ride but i’m hopeful it will be worth it and thankful people believe(d) in me.
• My nephew! Watching him grow up into an inquisitive, bright, funny little boy is a real joy – and now he’s 3, it’s great to be able to have a chat with him and (almost) understand everything he says 😉
• Realising I really enjoy photography: I know I’ve got a lot to learn, but I really enjoy taking photographs for my blog, and just generally in life. One day I’ll own a DSLR but I’m happy to play around with my little Nikon Coolpix for now…. (Unless someone wants to buy me a DSLR of course).
• Realising I’ve kept most of my New Years resolutions for a change: Reading more (working in a shop with a floor dedicated to books helps), being more creative generally (blogging! although my sewing machine is getting a little dusty…), singing/dancing more (I was in a choir for the first half of the year and have been tap-dancing the last few months), being healthier (overall I think so, although the Bake-off challenges scuppered that resolution a bit!)
• My OH – always supportive, always finding a way to make me smile…
• New experiences – particularly hot-air ballooning and rock climbing!
• Starting Tap-dancing again after 20+ years – Ginger Rogers here I come…
• Living somewhere surrounded by beautiful countryside so I can escape when the buildings and traffic get too much.
• Häagen Dazs Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream: OMG it’s ridiculously good – thankful that my mother-in-law pretty much always has it in her freezer, but I also have to be thankful then that it’s not sold in my corner shop otherwise I would be the size of a house.

Here’s to an amazing 2015!

Normal service will now be resumed…