Happy new year! 2019 was such a big year for me and the Brit! That’s why the blog has been quiet. But I’m here with an update, looking back at 2019 and my favourite moments of the year.
LIFE
Loads happened this year, and you’ll have seen the highlights if you have followed the blog and my Instagram!
>> I got married to my Brit! Twice as well, in St Andrews, where we met, and in my hometown, Montreal. People keep asking how it is to be married and I’ve got to tell you, it’s changed nothing (Except people keep calling me the wrong name. Not changing my name is the hill I will die on…especially in traditional Britain.). We’re still the same good ol’ couple, except I get to call him my husband. In a world where so much shit is going on, it was wonderful to celebrate with all the most important people in our lives.
>> In June, I turned 30 as well. It was a big milestone that I don’t believe I celebrated appropriately, so I put the Brit on throwing me a badass 40th – he has 10 years to plan it haha!
>> In October, I renewed my spouse visa. I’m good for another two years. ILR coming up in February 2022! And hopefully citizenship shortly thereafter.
TRAVEL
This was a very quiet year in terms of travel for us. The weddings and visa application took the majority of our budget and holidays. But we still managed a few adventures!
We discovered more of Scotland this year. First, we marked the coming of the new year in Aberfeldy in Highland Perthshire, a region I absolutely love. I finally visited the ‘granite city’ of Aberdeen with the Brit, P and J for a race. We also headed back to Pitlochry with them to attend the Enchanted Forest event, which I 100% recommend. And with my parents we did a big trip up to the Isle of Skye.
In February, March and July, we took trips to England. It was truly lovely to discover more of our neighbour to the south! We spent a long weekend in London to go see the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play. We headed down to Durham for the Brit’s mum’s birthday. And in July we met in York, which is by far my favourite place in England to date!
We went to Canada in June and July. I was so excited that we got a day layover in Halifax on the east coast and we got to discover this city a bit. We then spent the rest of our holidays in Montreal with family and friends.
And our only trip of the year to a new country was Belgium! We managed a short weekend trip to Brussels to visit my college best friend in early December.
READING
My Goodreads goal for the year was 40 books, based on the fact that in 2018 I only managed 40. I didn’t think I would manage this year as I was only at 35 with two weeks to go. But as I went on holiday at that time I was able to blitzed through 5 books in those 15 days. Seems 40 is my number!
My top recommendations are:
- How to Stop Time. Matt Haig.
- Let me Tell You This. Nadine Aisha Jassat.
- Inferior. Angela Saini.
- This is Going to Hurt. Adam Kay.
- Everything I Know About Love. Dolly Alderton.
- The Goldfinch. Donna Tartt.
BLOGGING
It’s mad to think that in 2018 I posted 50 times and thought that was very little. Well I beat my own record with having posted only 16 times in 2019. I had hoped for at least 2 posts a month, but didn’t quite manage. It does mean I have loads to post this year to catch up on myself.
If you want to read them, my most popular posts of 2019 were:
- Money Diary: A Week in the Life
- Our Scottish Wedding | Morning & Ceremony
- Afternoon tea at Gleneagles | Is it worth the price?
- How planning a multicultural wedding brought me closer to my roots
FITNESS
I didn’t do as much this year with all of our other big life events, but did continue to push myself. Since running the 10k at the Edinburgh Marathon Festival in May, I’ve been running weekly (working my way up to a half-marathon this year). My friend P and I also took part in our second aquathlon (and still finished last!).
I also took part in a dance bootcamp for two days at DanceBase in Edinburgh and learned to surf in Dunbar on the east coast. Yes in Scotland, yes during the worst weather I’ve known for a summer in Scotland. But it was worth it and I’d do it again!
MY FAVOURITE MOMENTS OF 2019
There were so many amazing moments this year. From being reunited with a friend from university that I hadn’t seen in 8 years to my hen do with my best Scotland gals. My favourites were:
- Marrying my man in the town where we met 6 years prior.
- Reuniting with my BFF as she flew to Scotland to be my maid of honour.
- My brother’s speech at our wedding.
- My mum visiting Scotland for Christmas.
- Both of our weddings and sharing those fabulous days with our families and best people.
How was your 2019? What was your favourite memory of the last year?xx
