Recap of my year

Dear Diary… Before I get back into the swing of things, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the past 12 months. 2018 was an incredible year, there were some pretty big milestones in my life that made it a year to remember. After 2017 brought its fair share of difficulties, I felt like I really found my happiness in 2018. It’s a year I will never forget!

In honour of never forgetting my journey, at the end of each month I sat down to write a few words about what I had been up to. By the end of the year, not only did I have quite a tale to share but also many wonderful memories to reflect on. Without further ado, here’s what I have been up to in 2018!

January

January is my birth month but it can also be a challenging month for everyone. The glow and excitement of Christmas has passed and the enjoyment of being cosy, has been and gone. Aren’t we are all just wishing for spring? It’s freezing cold and no one is looking forward to going back to work. But my January was pretty great overall. My boyfriend and I put an offer on a house before Christmas and we spent most of January planning, dreaming and filling-in form after form, ready to buy our first home.

At the end of the month was my Birthday, but this Birthday was going to be extra special, as instead of heading to work like I normally do, we would be sunning ourselves in the USA.

We left for California on the 27th of January, a trip I was extremely excited about (how could I not be?). K and I weren’t able to go on holiday in 2017, as our plans were interrupted by my operation, so it was our first trip in almost two years. We had been to California once before and if anything that made us even more excited to go back.

Dolphin & Whale watching in San Diego, what an incredible experience to watch them swim along side the boat.

February

For the start of the Month we were still in California. It was a truly wonderful two weeks away. If you would like to read more about what we got up, to you can read my California post here. We spent days relaxing in the sun, strolling along the beach and sipping coffee in cute cafe’s. It was warm, dry and utterly perfect. Most of the trip was spent with my family in a big shared beach house, but at the end of the trip my boyfriend and I split off to spend two days at Disneyland alone. Not long after we checked in, my Boyfriend asked me to Marry him. I of course said yes, and although it wasn’t a complete surprise, we were both over joyed.  The next two days were absolutely perfect, I honestly think they were the happiest two days of my life. We spent one day in Disneyland and one in California Adventure. Just the two of us, in the happiest place on earth. I will remember them always.

It was not easy to say goodbye and return to England. However, I was missing home and after the jet lag settled, I was glad to be back.

The rest of the month was a mix of working late nights at work, trying to get organised and back on track and waiting to hear more information about our house.

Mickeys Fun Wheel at California Adventure as we waited for the World of Colour nighttime spectacular to start.

March

At the start of the month, most of the UK was hit with an unprecedented amount of snow. So called the ‘Beast From The East’ the polar vortex hit hard. Where I live, we were hit with at-least 2 feet of snow spread over 4 days. Walking to work everyday was exhausting and frustrating and I was a bit disgruntled at the fact I didn’t get a snow day, to appreciate how beautiful it was. Luckily, it melted a week later and we had a small window of normality before the mini Beast From The East hit again, in the middle of March. It’s safe to say most of my month was shaped by the weather.

We received our deeds for the house and spent many a weekend, filling-out and reading copious amounts of paper work. I spent most evenings working late and didn’t have much time to myself. My first cold for over year left me feeling rough and looking it too. I felt largely anxious and exhausted for most of March and struggled to keep my momentum going.

Trudging through the thick snow on my way to work.

April

The sun started to make an appearance and I felt my mood elevate again. We finally got some details about our house and the realisation that it was actually happening and we had so much to do sunk-in!

We spent a lot of time planning, packing and trying to get organised. My anxiety was at an all time high, having our home disrupted and not being sure when we could move, made me feel like I didn’t have a space to relax-in. I spent more days on the phone with the estate agent and solicitor then not. Plans changed daily and the boxes rose around us. We quickly realised moving in April wasn’t an option and we would have to pay another month of rent. Frustrations were at an all time high and we didn’t know when we would be moving and if we would ever finally get the keys.

A few days before the end of the month, we got the news we had be hoping for, we would be getting our keys at the beginning of May. Suddenly everything we were frustrated about; having to pay another month of rent, people in the chain messing around the dates, and not being able to find anything because it was packed, became worth-it, because we had a plan and a date at last.

I had really cut down on all my spending for the past few months to ensure we had enough money to move. It had been tough but I knew there would be unexpected expenses. We paid our deposit and fees, (the most nervous I have even been about a money transfer) and sat and waited for the phone to ring.

Still one of my favourite posts! sharing my thoughts on these Caudalie skincare products. Click here to read if you missed it.

May

I booked off a few days from work and we got ready to move. When we first opened the door to our new home, it hit us. A lot needed to be done and we had 5 days of  to do it in. Every room needed to be painted (the walls were very marked) and we needed to move as many boxes as we could, before the removal van came to get our furniture. A lot of trips back and forth and 5 solid days of painting, left us with a new house full of boxes and an old house empty!

It took us a lot of evenings and weekends, to get fully unpacked and organised. We constantly found things we needed to do, or get in order to get settled. By the end of the month we were pretty much there and couldn’t have been more pleased with our new home. The stress lifted and I felt on cloud nine. Everything was coming together. Click here to read more about buying our house.

Relaxing in our new bedroom, we still need to sort some lamps and something to hang above our bed but our room was really coming together.

June

At the beginning of June, the sun seemed to disappear and didn’t resurface till the end of the month. We were back in the swing of things and feeling settled in our new home. Work kept me busy and the month seemed to pass in a bit of a blur.

As it was nearing the end of the month, we felt ready to start tacking the next big event in our lives, our wedding. We had a pretty clear idea of what we wanted to do right away, but hadn’t made any plans. As we wanted to get married the following year, I knew the clock was ticking. So I started a wedding inspired Pinterest board to get some ideas down. A few weekends of googling and we had what we wanted to do pretty much down. All that was left was booking, saving and organising everything! Just small jobs….

Off to a wedding, but not before I did a little outfit of the day.

July

The sun was out in full force and I had forgotten what sweaters look liked.  Since the day we got the keys, there was only one thing on my mind and that was a dog. After looking every day at local rescue centre and contacting reputable puppy sellers. We found her. It was a long drive to Essex but holding that little puppy in my arms, it was love at first sight. We had already decided to name her, Rossi but it was another few weeks before we would be able to take her home. That gave us the perfect amount of time to prepare for her arrival.

My fiancé had to go to Italy for a week for work, so my mum came to visits to keep me company. It was the first time she had seen our new house and it was great to get her opinion on our place.

We decided to dedicate our week together to sorting out our garden, which was in a very sorry state. The previous owners weren’t too keen on gardening and I wanted to make sure it was puppy ready. The weeds were waist high and if there was any grass, it was nowhere to be seen.

After a lot of digging, weeding, planting and several bags of stones, it was coming together. My grass is still in a very sorry state, as once all the weeds were pulled up, there wasn’t much left but plenty of mud. But still, it was moving in the right direction and we had picked out some cute terracotta pots and small trees to give it some life. It was a lot of work but I’m glad I got some help and before I knew it, my other half was on his way home.

Our garden was slowly but surely coming together and I was getting my green fingers.

August

The day had finally come! It was time to get our little pup. Although she wasn’t as tiny as when we had first seen her, my heart melted all over again when I saw little Rossi at 8 weeks old. She weighed 1.7kg and was a little scrap. She slept in my arms the whole way home and settled in well right away.

I have written a whole post about our pup which you can read here if you missed it. Needless to say, puppy’s are a lot of work and August brought many a sleepless night. It was hard to do much else, as we were so besotted with her and she required a lot of attention. And so August passed in a happy, sleep deprived blur.

Rossi at 8-10 weeks old. She could fit through the bars of the baby gate and liked to fall asleep on my shoes.

September

How was it September already?! I proclaimed. Every year seems to feel shorter and shorter and little Rossi wasn’t so little any more. She had had her injections at this point, which meant we were able to start taking her for walks and socialising with other dogs. Her training was going well but we still wanted to take her to puppy classes, to get some added help and allow her to meet more pups. Every Tuesday after work we bundled her in the car, and pretty much everything you can think of (blankets, toys, harness, bowl, treats) and went to join 5 other pups in their pursuit of perfect behaviour. Honestly, I think I enjoyed it more then she did, especially as we always picked up a MacDonald’s on the way home.

I can’t say much else happened in September, work was fine, the chores were being done and everything was moving along nicely.

Me and little Rossi when she was three months old, how she has grown! This is still my favourite photo of the two of us.

October

The weather was quite unpredictable, sometimes warm and dry, sometimes icky winds and rain. The spooky season was upon us.

I adore Autumn, the changing colours, crunchy leaves and cosy nights are such a nice change of pace. This was our first Halloween in a more family friendly neighbourhood and I was fully prepared for trick or treaters. To my delight we had well over 60 kids, so the massive pile of sweets and chocolates had disappeared by the end of the night.

I didn’t make a conscious effort to do a no-buy but I did have a bit of a word with myself about not buying any makeup until the New Year. In an effort to save, use what I have and spend my money on others. I managed to get through the month (and rest of the year!) without breaking my makeup no-buy (as you can see I did buy a bit of skincare and bodycare, but still a low-buy!).  A little victory.

Lastly, October marked my two year braces anniversary. It was a bit of a frustrating time, as my treatment time was expected to be two years and yet they weren’t close to coming off. I know it’s worth getting right but I’m getting anxious now to get them removed. If you would like to read about my adult braces, click here. 

My annual Lush Halloween Haul! Nothing gets me more ready for Autumn and the spooky season then these festive treats. Click here to read the post if you missed it.

November

November felt like one long weekend. Maybe it was because waking-up in the dark and coming home in the dark, meant I kind of had forgotten what the sun looked like. Or maybe, it was my record high number of dental and orthodontic appointments, that made me feel like I never left the waiting room. Either way, I felt burnt-out and even took a week-off from posting on Instagram, something I haven’t done since I started.

I was making good progress with Christmas shopping, a little mountain was forming behind me as I ticked people off my list. Black Friday had been non-stop for two weeks and I felt quite relieved when my poor inbox wasn’t being so flooded with deals and offers. Every year, I forget to wait until Black Friday to start shopping, as many of the things I had brought, lowered in price over the coming days. A rookie mistake. I managed to resist a lot of the fabulous deals and stick to a single order from Ren to pick up some essentials and grab some freebies. I felt pretty proud of myself, I hadn’t gone spending mad.

At the end of the month, was the beginning of the Christmas party season for me. I dusted off my sparkly frocks and joined in the merriment. Christmas, my favourite time of year, was fast approaching.

Feeling Autumnal and showing off my Jord Watch. Click here to read if you missed it.

December

December is easily my favourite month of the year. Yes it’s cold and at this point I’m feeling pretty exhausted but there is so much to look forward to. Delicious food, seeing my family, putting up the tree and sitting in my PJ’s guilt free, for days on end. As I binge every film I’ve been waiting to watch on Netflix. I managed to see quite a few close friends and family members but it did result in not to many free nights. Before I knew it, it was nearing the end of the month and it was time for my work Christmas party and to say goodbye to my colleagues till the following year.

On the 22^nd we made the long drive to Dorset to spend Christmas with my fiancé’s family. Rossi was a bit unsure of staying in someone else’s house and wouldn’t leave our side for the days we were there. It was so nice to switch off and really relax. We had a lovely relaxing Christmas and Boxing day, it was truly perfect. Rossi loved ripping up the wrapping paper and she even had a few presents under the tree herself. On the 27^th it was time to make the 5 hour drive home. My mum came to visit for the remaining week. We had another Christmas and did some more relaxing and shopping. Before I knew it we were shouting Happy New Year and ushering in 2019.

I didn’t manage to post much in December but I was really pleased with my Skincare favourites post, click here to read if you missed it.

What a year it’s been…

Getting engaged, moving into our first home and getting our gorgeous puppy Rossi were certainly my highlights. It’s been a hell of a year and I’m excited to see what 2019 holds.

What were your highlights from 2018?

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