Happy New Year!
Hey guys! I’m bacccck!
Firstly Happy New Year to you all and I hope you all had a nice Christmas too 
(seems like ages ago now hey?!) I decided to take some time off blogging to spend my week concentrating on having a nice time with my family.
My festive period was nice but a week is definitely long enough! It was lovely though and my anxieties about going back were maybe more than they should have been. Although there are many bad memories from home I am able to live in the present and see how amazing and happy things are now.
As soon as I got back home my Dad had decided that he wanted to take me to a new raw cafe that had opened and I had been raving about! I had been planning on going by myself as I know raw is definitely not my parents style given that they are meat eaters and show a look of disgust at the food I eat sometimes! My Dad has recently had a health scare though just before I came home so he’s having to change his lifestyle in terms of eating. I’m sad that it’s taken something to scare him into finally listening to me about what kind of things to eat, but a part of me is glad that he is okay and has decided to change. So he decided that he and my mum would come with me!
The recently opened Pure on Raw was just perfect. The woman who runs it definitely has a great talent for raw food and was lovely. It was great to see that she started raw living to help her husband and son with their asthma and has turned her passion into a business. I hope they do well but I know raw food is still quite unknown. It was also great as a raw foodie to talk about it with someone else who is passionate about it and give her a bit of advice on a new recipe for a caramel chocolate orange cheesecake she let us takeaway for free! Anyway, for my lunch I decided to order a raw pepper soup with some raw crackers and breads.
The soup was amazing and creamy from blended cashews. I’m not a fan of hot soup at all but this cold raw one just hit the spot even in the cold weather.
And the breads/crackers were amazing! She’d made all different kinds; a sundried tomato focaccia square, raw breadsticks, cheesy crackers and an onion bread all with the most delicious cashew cheese.
Both my parents got the soup too but with half a raw pizza on a dehydrated base with cashew cheese and tomatoes. My Dad wanted to try his hand at photographing his food to go on the blog of course 
There was loads of the menu I’d like to try though so I will definitely be back! For dessert we shared a raw strawberry cheesecake and I was sent away with my caramel chocolate orange one (for after dinner!) and also bought some amazing BBQ kale chips!
So yeah, my Christmas eating got off to a great start! Christmas day was lovely and I was spoilt rotten this year from my Dr Dre headphones to a Kindle HD Fire, lots of kitchen gadgets, clothes, jewellery and designer bags. A particular fave was a personalised pendant which I can’t stop wearing!
Christmas day was of course filled with chocolate right from when I woke up!
Another thing I love about going home is that I do miss my cats. I so wish I could have them here in my apartment in Newcastle 
My pretty girl chilled out lots with me on my bed Notice the black dots in her eyes? They’re birthmarks!
And my handsome little man was treated to the last bit of my brother’s yogurt on Christmas day! He loves yogurt and gets it all over his face…
And thennnn on Boxing Day we have a tradition in our family of having a homemade curry so I made different curries for everyone
Shortly after all of the festivities there was then my birthday! I seriously hate my birthday being so close to Christmas but my parents always make sure to give me separate presents like anyone else’s birthday! This year they were just incredibly generous.
They’d specially ordered some gluten free vegan cupcakes for me! It’s fair to say I was feeling sick by the end of the day ooops! 
And then along with lots of lovely presents, they surprised me at the end with my first car!!!!
And not just any car, a Gucci Fiat 500 a.k.a. the car I’ve been wanting for like forever! I was totally not expecting it as I haven’t passed my test yet and my Dad has been saying that he wanted to go car shopping with me once I’d passed so I can try them out to be sure but there it was sat on the drive with balloons on! I was incredibly happy but could only have a quick drive in it as I’m not insured yet. Need to pass my test ASAP!!!!
New Year’s Eve was a quiet one with my family after we out for dinner and drinks for my birthday so my head didn’t want anymore alcohol!
And here I am back in my little apartment getting back to my routine after a week of indulging and being totally spoilt. I’m glad it’s back to normal in a way.
As for New Year resolutions? Well, I don’t personally believe in them. I prefer to make goals for myself as and when they are needed throughout the year anyway. For now I just aim to get back into my routine of exercising and eating how I normally do, and get back on with my goal that I had in December to increase with my strength work and cut back on body fat whilst maintaining my weight. No crazy diets for me thanks..it’s all about balance in life and we are allowed to indulge sometimes knowing that once we get back to what we normally do, our bodies will get back to how they should be too!
Do you believe in New Year’s resolutions?
Did you get anything special for Christmas?
