2017 was a year of crazy personal changes. To say it went by in a flash is an understatement. This year of chaos was entirely self-induced and very much wanted, but I'd be lying if I said it was smooth and all hunky-dory. But now, having a few minutes to reflect, I am ridiculously thankful that all of this change has happened. It was quite a life reset of sorts, and I'm optimistic that 2018 will bring about some peace, calm, and joy.
Let's go through the crazy changes of the past year:
- January – Steve and I had decided we were going to move in together, and that this would mean leaving me leaving Lexington. It was an easy decision for me, but he had some guilt. He didn't want to take me away from my friends and life there. I didn't want that either, but knowing that I could work from anywhere and he loved his job in Louisville, it was a no-brainer for me. We spend so much of our lives working that it just didn't make sense to have him try to change jobs/companies for me when he is already happy. So decluttering and a lot of spreadsheets and calculating how we'd make this happen consumed January. I knew I'd need to do a good amount of work on my house to get it ready to sell, so that was really stressful. Eyes on the prize though! I also got to take a fun trip to NYC to work with Gwynnie Bee.
- February – I spent February about to have a breakdown after getting multiple quotes to replace 2 HVAC units, and paint the interior and exterior of my house. A lot of back and forth with my Lexington realtor, Shaun Ring of East of Elm.
- March – Every weekend was spent changing out light fixtures in bathrooms and continuing to churn out the list of updates to the house. We also painted a half bathroom in my house and for about 24 hours thought our relationship was on the rocks after that project, haha. Why are home projects so stressful?! (Part of the answer: I'm a crazy perfectionist who likes everything done MY way. I'd like to think I've made major leaps since March in this department.) I also explained on here why I was making the move.
- April – I celebrated my birthday by being surprised and loved and generally a sappy mess between renovation chaos and moving emotions, and the 10th anniversary of my mom's death.
- May – The paint on the inside and outside had dried (post about the colors and process here), faucets were updated, handyman tweaks were finished, and I listed my house for sale. It was my haven and sanctuary through mom's death, divorce, and pup's death. It looked beautiful, and it was time to let someone else enjoy it.
- June – My house went under contract, and it was stress city while I waited for it to go through.
- July – My house closed and I made the first move of the year to Steve's Shelbyville house. We had it staged in 2 weeks after me moving in, and we listed it at the end of July.
- August – His house went pending immediately, so we scrambled to put in an offer on a house in Louisville. A trip to Montana to shoot with ENELL sports bras.
- September – Move 2 of the year (2 months after the last one) to our Louisville house. Collapse into a physically and emotionally exhausted state.
- October – Got engaged!
- November – Hosted our first Thanksgiving in the house with Steve's parents coming to visit.
- December – Got a dog, Ruby! Bought a new car. Went to NYC for another Gwynnie Bee shoot. Caught up on sleep from the past year.
So let's recap:
- 1 house renovation
- 2 houses staged
- 2 houses sold
- 2 moves
- 1 house bought
- 1 new cohabitation routine
- 1 new fiance
- 1 new dog
- 1 new car
- 2 shoots in NYC
- 1 new city to call home
What I am looking forward to in 2018:
- Stability and routine
- Renewed focus on my business
- More time to write
- A wedding
- Exploring my new city
- More movement and physical activity
Here are the best nine photos from 2017, as seen above. It seems you all really like Steve, hahaha.
- Engagement announcement
- A gushy love post from October
- My favorite blog post of the year, “This is Me Existing.”
- Steve's surprise on my birthday
- 1 year anniversary
- Merry Christmas, with Ruby! (She'll get her own post here soon.)
- Candid by Steve in my red lace Kiyonna dress – this is the night the old car broke down on the way to Lexington and we learned shortly thereafter I'd need to move my planned 2018 car purchase up a bit.
- Behind the scenes of my shoot with Gwynnie Bee at the beginning of December
- The incredible ELOQUII green sequin dress – full post here
I'm really proud of all the things we accomplished in 2017, but can't wait for the calm, fun, and joy that 2018 will bring. If you would have asked me 2 years ago where I'd be entering 2018, it would have been so much different than this. Amazing how quickly life can change, and how we have the ability to heal and move forward in a way that was once unimaginable. A million thank you's for reading and following along.
