It’s been a minute, and a lot has been going on.
I have not been good at blogging, I know. I guess most of my good stories were from my Singleholic days, so now I’m trying to find out what my new *niche* will be… travel? Beauty? Lifestyle? All of the above? We’ll see.
Until I figure that out, get ready for a lot of mismatched posts that may or may not go together. Honestly, I just miss writing. So, for now, let’s just do a little catch-up session, shall we?
Relationships
Well, the biggest update from the last few months is that I got engaged! Yes, I was surprised (kind of), and I absolutely love the ring – but not as much as I love the guy who made me no-longer-a-singleholic. Who would have thought that a last-minute decision to rejoin Hinge and go on one last date (and on my birthday, no less) before leaving Boston would lead me here? Not me.
He spent his Christmas in Florida, followed me to Arizona – giving up basically his whole life in Massachusetts – and helped me weather that craziness out there, and then moved to Florida with me so we could be closer to my family. He is the best dog dad and has taught me so much about myself. I have never felt so loved, appreciated, beautiful… all the good things. So, about a year after we started dating, he asked, and I said yes! You might think that’s fast, but my parents got engaged after three months of dating and celebrate 36 years this year! Plus, he and I moved in together basically after four dates, so moving ‘fast’ is kind of our thing. We are so excited and have been enjoying wedding planning. It’s been fun!
Other than that, it’s been really nice to be closer to my family. I get to spend more time with my parents, which after so many years of living far away, I definitely love. I see my nieces and brother and sister-in-law often, and overall, I get to enjoy a lot of family time. Plus, everyone loves Florida, so we anticipate lots of visitors!
I got involved in the Junior League here, so I have been able to get a bit of that community feel yet and hope to make some friends there! I need friends. While I have gone on a few walks with our next-door neighbor and made friends with a couple a block down, we haven’t actually “hung out” with anyone yet – but we are working on it. So, friends are in order!
Career
When we first moved back to Florida, I immediately started as a substitute teacher. I’d already applied and gone through most of the training in Arizona and just needed to do the background check portion. I subbed in quite a few different public schools in our county, plus once at my nieces’ school. It was… a lot. I love kids so much, but school is just so different from when I was there. The administration in a lot of the schools is clearly lacking. It makes me realize how lucky I am to have gone to school when I did. The kids all loved me – I was unanimously voted the class’ favorite sub on multiple occasions – but it was often sad.
On top of that, I was also working part-time at Pure Barre – something I’d wanted to do for years! Unfortunately, the phrase, “You shouldn’t shit where you lie,” is very true. Seeing behind the scenes of a place that used to be my happy place absolutely killed the magic. Preparing for classes could be incredibly time-consuming. The management was nonexistent (no, literally, our manager was rarely around or reachable). Not a lot of support overall. And the last-minute schedule changes were stressful. I was also waking up at 4:50 am two to three times a week to teach the 6 am class, and then I couldn’t sub that day because I wouldn’t make it in time. The pay is not worth it – I did it for the free classes while I could, but I was happy to get out of that when I did.
Luckily, I found an incredible job doing something I love at a company that ticks off so many of my boxers – remote, flexible schedule, work-life balance focused, and fun! I’m doing events for a tech company and absolutely love it. I like my team a lot, I love the flexibility I have, and I’m so happy to finally be able to hang out with Lottie all day and eat lunch outside when I want.
I’m still working towards opening my own business someday. Originally, I was thinking about doing something with House of Colour – I went and had my colors done with my mom and LOVED the experience. Then, I spoke with someone, and she said that I could really make a great path working in real estate. So, I’m looking into both paths. Maybe there’s a way to do both? We shall see!
Wedding Planning
Wedding planning has been so much fun! We have gotten so much done and are well ahead of schedule. I found my dress at the first shop I went to, and it was such an amazing experience. We’ve set a date, picked colors, booked our venue, found all of our vendors, and ordered our invitations!
We are starting to get more into the ‘details’ side of things – the rest of the decor, music, and all of that. There are a few things that we’re doing that I love! For one, I’m walking down the aisle to a string quartet version of what will later be our first dance song. We also really want to incorporate Lottie into our day! We are thinking of ways to do that. I’ve already written my vows… to be honest, I started writing them well before we were even engaged.
My bridal shower and bachelorette party in New Jersey are coming up in just a few weeks. We are doing a disco theme, and I cannot wait to look like a full-on disco ball. Our tasting and my hair and makeup trials are all in July, so that’s the next big excitement to look forward to!
Honestly, I just can’t wait to get married. I already feel like we are, but knowing that I get to officially marry my best friend in less than six months and start the next chapter of our life together is so exciting. I really feel like the luckiest girl in the world. Recently, I heard someone say that you and your partner need to be on the same page about marriage – is it the finish line or the start line? We see it as the start line – and the best is yet to come!
Home Life
We are currently renting a house, and it has been an adventure. To be fair, we got a great price for the area we’re in and the space we have, but we have already dealt with our fair share of home improvement projects, appliance issues, and a few other curveballs! It is definitely preparing us for home ownership.
We finally got a dining table after five months of sitting at a fold-out puzzle table! Thanks to my mom for finding it and my parents for restoring it. We were very fortunate to have been gifted a lot of furniture and then got good deals on a lot of the other furniture we did purchase.
Our neighbors are all very nice, it’s safe and so convenient to get to pretty much anything and everything! We like the area we live in a lot and hope that when we do buy, we’ll find a place near here. Our must-have is a pool for Lottie! Especially in the summer, she needs a good spot to cool off (okay, we do, too). Having enough rooms, of course, too for us, home offices, and any future needed bedrooms.
Hobbies + Such
Other than the big things, I’ve been working on getting back into a fitness and healthy eating routine. Right now, I’m saving money on gym memberships and boutique studios and mostly doing YouTube videos (which I love). I’ve been cooking a lot which has been fun, I’m trying out lots of new recipes!
Lottie has turned into a different dog, pretty much. She has mellowed so much but is still just so sweet and so good. I take her to as many places as I can. She loves having a yard and has made some little friends in our neighborhood.
I’m getting back into tennis, which I really missed in Arizona. I’m also going to start lettering again soon and am even thinking of starting a little Etsy shop for some of the things I create out of it.
We don’t have a ton of travel planned, which for a travel-loving Sagittarius feels WEIRD. But, last year, we had so much travel between the two of us. It’s been nice to actually allow myself to feel settled. We obviously have to start planning our honeymoon. We’re leaning towards St. Lucia! I would love that – beach, yes, please! We also would love to plan some trips to Scotland and Switzerland. I may be more okay with not flitting off every other week, but I will always need some element of travel in my life! I think once the excitement of the wedding, plus looking into buying a home, and getting settled in new jobs, has all died down, we’ll work on adding more travel back in. There are still so many places that I want to go!
So that’s been the past few months of my life in a nutshell! It’s been keeping us busy, and we’re slowly finding our groove – though we do need to find a good trivia spot!
I know this was not one of my more poignant or exciting posts, but I am trying to get myself back in the habit of writing again. I missed blogging – but finding the motivation, energy, and inspiration has been hard! However, I’m making a promise to myself and you to make it a priority again. The next posts will have a bit more substance.
But until then, thank you for checking in with me, and I can’t wait to tell you what’s next!