Happy New Year and more importantly did you have a good Christmas?? I'm kind of sad it's nearly over already, it's been so so heavenly being up at my parents for about five days. So nice to just switch off from the real world and boring things like going to the supermarket or having to think about anything. Just lots of time with family, friends, eating a lot of cheese, turkey, coca cola ham and chocolate - with the odd few grapes thrown in for health. We had lots of long sunny dog walks, films, sofa time, really chilled, really lovely. And now it's the last day of 2014 already??? Aka the best year of my life. I'm in a reflective mood today, so here's a little {oh ok it's actually pretty big} look back at some of the highlights and a few of my favourite photos from the past twelve months.

{Painting your nails in sparkly silvers or a festive red} This post is the last of the Christmas series and possibly the last post of 2014. I will be back though, all refreshed with lots of exciting new posts starting in January. Might change things around a bit, I think I've covered all the exciting makeover parts of our house and you're probably bored of our wedding by now? But definitely lots of exciting things to come and as always requests welcome. Have you enjoyed this Christmas series? I think I've covered the majority of the festivities with posts from baking to days out to wrapping and decorating to name a few. You can click here to see all of the posts if you missed any. Of course you can still find me on Instagram posting away lots of photos of this year's Christmas {@rvk123}.  I'm so glad that I took the plunge and finally starting blogging at the end of August this year, about three years after I kept meaning to get started. I've loved sharing everything from our house to our travels, recipes, wedding projects and special places and I'm so grateful for all of your lovely comments and feedback along the way so far. Thank you for reading! I hope you all have a wonderful, wonderful Christmas and New Year if I get too distracted watching Christmas films, seeing friends and family, baking and eating too much turkey {or gingerbread} to come online before then.  So, a final few photos of some Christmas Essentials from years gone by. And finally, enjoy the festive season - the most wonderful time of the year! Only three weeks left of this year and chapter, so thank you 2014, definitely the best year of my life.  Rebecca <3 xxxxx

How do you cook your ham at Christmas? I was sceptical of trying Nigella's famous method, cooking your ham in coca cola, thinking that it would be too sweet. But a few years ago there was a lot of debate around it on Twitter {I think it was India Knight discussing it}, people who had tried it said they would never go back to cooking their ham the conventional way, just boiling it and then glazing. I'm a long standing Nigella fan anyway, I love her TV shows so much. So back in 2011 we decided to try it and honestly will never go back to conventional ham cooking again. The coke doesn't make it sweet but gives a rich, depth of flavour and keeps your ham more moist. A dry ham is not a tasty ham. The glaze, which goes on after cooking your ham in cola, is delicious. Over Christmas, apart from the big turkey dinner, we stuff our faces with copious amounts of ham and cheese. {January is for detoxing so make the most of it} Mmn I can't wait. Last year we did two hams, my Mum has an irrational fear of not having enough food for leftovers and we had a lot of family over for Christmas Day. And once you start eating this famous ham, you won't be able to stop.