Is it too late to still be reflecting on last year? Maybe…but I’m doing it anyway! Last year was big year for me and I would like to share my top three moments of 2018.
1. Kimber Joins the Family
I grew up in the country so we always had different kinds of pets, but I’ve never had an animal for which I was the sole caretaker. Last January my boyfriend became obsessed with the thought of a Bengal cat. While I agreed they were beautiful I couldn’t wrap my head around getting one. I didn’t feel ready for the responsibility and I knew we were eventually planning on getting a dog. However, he convinced me and before I knew it we were driving home with my sweet baby Kimber in my lap.
It’s hard to believe that I didn’t initially want to get Kimber because of how happy she makes me now. If you ask anyone who knows me they can tell you I am obsessed with her. You can call me a crazy cat lady, I don’t mind.
I have learned that Bengals are full of personality and quite a vocal breed. Since bringing Kimber home my life has absolutely been changed for the better.
Did I mention that we taught her to sit and shake? How many cats do you know that can do that? She’s the best.
2. Buying a House
At 23 years old I was in a good spot in my life. Luke (my boyfriend) and I both had good jobs and didn’t like the idea of renting. Our apartment was over an hour commute to Luke’s work and it was a half hour trek for me. When we began looking for a new place we began to wonder if we should buy instead of rent so we could start building some equity.
We wanted to get a house with a yard but as recent college grads we weren’t finding anything we loved in our price range or in the location we wanted. Then we discovered a little community of townhomes in our ideal location. We considered renting one of the homes if we couldn’t find anything to buy but then one came up for sale.
We did some calculations and realized our mortgage would actually be cheaper than renting a unit so we took the leap and bought it.
Purchasing a townhome was not what we originally wanted but I am happy with the decision. The townhome was significantly less than the homes we were looking at so our mortgage reflects that. The size (1,056 square feet) is challenging for me with my slight hoarding tendencies but it is forcing me to live with fewer things – which is probably a good thing. Unfortunately, the biggest downside about having a townhome is that if we get a dog he/she won’t have a yard. But on the bright side I don’t have to shovel snow!
3. First Visit to Cape Cod
The first two items on my list were decisions that changed my day-to-day life. The third and final item on my list is just fun.
Cape Cod always seemed idyllic to me. My mom subscribed to Coastal Living magazine when I was younger and I would look at it and dream of living somewhere where nautical decor was appropriate.
Luke’s grandma happens to live on the Cape so we decided to visit her last summer. It was so fun exploring the area and spending time with Luke’s family. My favorite part of the trip was grabbing a cup of coffee and taking a stroll to the beach. I also enjoyed walking around and looking at all the houses. Almost every house could classify as my dream home.
This was one of those trips that was truly relaxing. I feel like when I travel I am always so busy that I don’t have time to rest. This was not the case with this trip and it is a big part of why it has made my top three of 2018.
I am looking forward to the rest of 2019 and hope it is even better than 2018. Thank you for
