Usually by the time New Year rocks up I feel as though it was only yesterday that we were pulling party poppers and eating our own body weight in Celebrations to welcome in the previous year.

But last year was different. It’s not often I say this, but 2015 felt like a long year. I’m not sure exactly why that was; maybe it was because it was a year of big change in the grown up gap year household, as Mr A and I got married in May.

Becoming Mrs A

In the crazy busy-ness that such an event entails, we seemed to lose the first half of the year to wedding planning and spent the next half of it trying to catch up with all of the family and friends we’d been neglecting.

However we did, of course, manage to squeeze in some travel, including our amazing mini-moon in San Sebastian, where we stayed in a cosy little apartment, went hiking, laid on the beach and stuffed ourselves with the most glorious food every single day.

Food, glourious food

We also took time to explore more of the UK, a promise we’d made ourselves at the beginning of the year, enjoying weekend visits to Haworth, home of the Bronte sisters, and Lewes, for the crazy spectacle of the Lewes Bonfire celebrations.

Weekend breaks are the best

In 2015 I managed to get more involved in the blogging world, attending Traverse in Kingston and Blogstock for the first time. It’s been so good to get to know other bloggers and spend time discussing our travel plans and getting some fantastic recommendations to add to the ever-growing travel list.

Getting my first taste of Blogstock

For Mr A and I, 2015 was a very good year. It was a time to cement our lives together and begin to think about the future. It was a year filled with fun and adventures. But unfortunately for a number of our friends it was a very difficult year and that brought with it its own sadness as we tried to find ways to support them.

So after two amazing Christmas celebrations with our families, I was more than ready for 2016.

I’ve always been a fan of New Year. Unlike Mr A, I love the feeling of setting new resolutions and feeling a renewed sense of resolve, that may have been flagging in the previous year. For the fourth year running we rented a cottage with friends, this time in Dorset, to welcome in the New Year.

We always have a big feast on New Year’s Eve, each couple preparing a different course, and spend the evening talking, laughing and eating – my perfect celebration! After a delicious dinner of French Onion soup, beef Wellington and crème caramel, we were so full we could barely stand long enough to belt out the words to Auld Lang Syne.

Unfortunately the weather wasn’t great and New Year’s Day was a complete washout. But on January 2 we braved the elements and drove to Portland on the coast, where the sun finally managed to break through.

A blustery day at the seaside

I don’t know whether it’s something about growing up at the seaside, but I find the sea incredibly calming, even when the tide is rough and the waves are stormy like they were during our visit. It was amazing to stand looking out at its vastness, being battered by the wind and feeling the troubles of 2015 being blown away.

A bright start to the year

We’ve already got lots of exciting plans for 2016 – including our honeymoon to Japan in April – and I’m more than ready to get going. I hope that you had an amazing start to the year, wherever you are in the world, and that it is filled with love, happiness, fun and adventures.