JANUARY
We got engaged!!! You can read all about that here. We spent the next week celebrating and getting take out because I don’t think I could’ve boiled water at this point. I was way too excited. We got our first real snow storm and my mom and stepdad came into town to do a walk-through on their soon-to-be home. I fully converted my blog over from Wix to WordPress and coded most of it by myself. I changed up the office a little bit and made it more functional for both businesses.
February
We celebrated our 3 year anniversary and we picked our wedding date! Our besties came to visit us and we spent 5 days celebrating with them and exploring. Shaun and I went to a Pistons vs. Hornets game and sat right behind the Pistons bench. I re-did the master bedroom and got all brand new furniture. You can see that post here.
March
Shaun and I went to Atlanta to pick out our wedding bands. You can read about our quick trip here. We bought a nice camera and decided to take my blog up a notch. We saw Kevin Hart live in Charlotte and cried tears of laughter.
April
My mom came into town, we went dress shopping, and I said yes to the dress! I celebrated my 27th birthday by spending the whole day with Shaun and then doing dinner with my mom and stepdad. I went for a tattoo removal consultation and ended up starting with my first session that day (ouch). We had 3 more visitors this month and spent the last few days of the month spring cleaning and recovering from a busy month.
May
We went to Vegas for a long weekend. You can read about that trip here. I got really bad vertigo from our trip out there that lasted about 2 1/2 weeks so May was pretty slow for us. I’d never experienced it to this level of nausea and it crippled me. I could barely stand up or get out of bed. 🙁 My mom and stepdad officially moved here to be near us which was really exciting because we had lived in different states for 7 years. I said goodbye to 3 toxic people in my life which was the most difficult thing to do but the best thing for my soul.
June
We went to NYC, we finalized some wedding plans, and we started the one year countdown until the big day! You can read about our trip to NYC here.
July
I finished our outdoor project with Shaun’s help. I stained our entire back deck, front porch, and side porch by myself in 110 degree heat. Shaun helped me go through and paint all the spindles which was an absolute nightmare. Now I know why they charge so much for this type of service, ha! We also did some new landscaping and got new furniture for the deck. I prepared for the N Sale, got hand-tied extensions, and said yes to a second dress. We had a huge family party here with family from Florida and Michigan and I gained a brand new nephew!
August
Our besties came to visit again and we celebrated Pat’s 30th birthday. I re-did the laundry room with a small makeover. We got a concrete patio poured (twice…due to rain), and we celebrated Shaun’s 29th birthday. And the fact that our patio didn’t wash away the second time after a torrential downpour. Family came into town to surprise my stepdad for his birthday and I got to meet my nephew for the first time in person!
September
Shaun and I went on our first boat ride here on my parent’s boat. We celebrated 2 years of being in Charlotte! We had a wedding we were supposed to attend in West Virginia and Shaun was supposed to stand up in but Hurricane Florence hit. We didn’t have to evacuate but we ended up not going because it was predicted that our highways would be flooded. We didn’t have any damage but the prep for the storm was exhausting and extremely scary. If you’ve ever prepped for a hurricane or been through one you’ll know what I mean. We went to Michigan at the end of the month for Shaun’s cousins wedding and I got to see his family who I hadn’t seen since before we moved 2 years ago. We had a few game nights with my cousin Mary and her boyfriend Kevin and we were named Godparents (haha) to their kitty (see above pic!)
October
My dad came to visit us and looked for a home to buy here. He helped me AKA I dragged him with me to Home Depot 62 times while Shaun worked all weekend so I could pick up pumpkins and mums by the boatload. Hurricane Matthew hit and it was 10x worse than Florence which they said wouldn’t be the case. I flew to Michigan to surprise my bestie for her bachelorette party in Traverse City. My vertigo started acting up again and I was sick mostly all weekend which was a bummer but I tried to make the most of it. Shaun and I went on a tour with Mary and Kevin to a haunted plantation and tried to communicate with ghosts (no luck).
November
Shaun and I flew to Detroit for my bestie’s wedding! We had a blast even though we froze our butts off. We got to see his family again for dinner which was great! Then we came home to celebrate Thanksgiving. Even though it was only a small group of us we had such a blast playing games. This was the first Thanksgiving I’d spent with my mom in 7 years. 🙂
December
This month was really exciting for me. Shaun and I drove to Raleigh to see Polar Express (my favorite event of the year) and explored. Both of my dresses came in and I got to go to the boutique to do a first look. I decided on which dress I’m wearing for the big day and I’m going to sell the other one. Shaun and I have spent this past month coming up with 2 new business plans and exploring more of Charlotte. Hopefully these businesses will launch in 2019 because I can feel that this is going to be a big year for us. We celebrated Christmas twice with family which was great because the past two years we’ve spent it by ourselves. Now we’re just prepared to wrap up 2018 and make new goals for the new year.
I hope everyone has a happy and safe New Year’s Eve!
