2017 - The Highlights

2017 has been a momentous year for me. So much has happened that I never expected and there have been times that have severely tested my mental strength and resolve.

I'm actually quite sad that this year is over, but looking forward to what 2018 brings.

1. We bought our first house!

This is obviously the biggest and most important thing that has happened to me this year (just in case I haven't gone on about it enough yet on this blog). 

Owning my own home has been my number one goal for a very long time, so to finally achieve it feels amazing. I've written quite a lot on here about how it hasn't really sunk in yet that this space is now mine and I can do what I want with it, which I wasn't expecting to feel like. I thought it would me immediate and I would instantly feel like it was mine but its actually taking a long time.

I am loving buying all the little bits that make it ours (my bank balance is probably loving this a lot less) and seeing it start to come together. 

Without a doubt this is one of my proudest achievements ever as Jared and I have done this by ourselves after a lot of hard work. 

It is nice to finally be able to enjoy that hard work and sit back and relax in our own home.

2. I started a new job

I started 2017 determined to find myself a new job where I could push myself a bit harder and learn more about the industry I work in.

It took me a while to find somewhere that was the right fit, but I absolutely love my new job. My new role is more challenging and the company I now work for is keen for me to develop professionally which is all I ever wanted.

While it was a steep learning curve initially I feel that I have started to find my feet now and am looking forward to continuing this next year.

Timing wise, my new job wasn't brilliant as I signed the contract just days before we had our offer accepted on our new house. This complicated our mortgage application but it all worked out in the end so it was worth chancing it. 

3. Visiting Norway

It's hard to believe that this trip was already almost a year ago but I absolutely ADORED Norway. 

I've never visited a country before and thought 'Yep, I could live here pretty happily'. It was such an  incredible family holiday and we still talk about it all the time. 

Seeing the Northern Lights, going snowmobiling and husky sledding... all things I've always wanted to do. Not to mention Norway's incredible landscape. 

Now I want to go back and kayak under the Midnight Sun, see more of the fjords and experience the landscape in a different season. 

4. I wrote my first sponsored post

This year I wrote my first sponsored post as for the first time I was offered a collaboration that I was genuinely interested in. 

I've been writing this blog a long time and it was nice to see it finally pay off in some small way.

5. Completing our redecorating project

Buying a house has meant we have had to learn how to do many new things and that includes decorating. When we got the keys we decided to repaint the vast majority of the house.

A pretty ambitious project for two 23 year olds who have never done anything of the sort to complete on their own. 

It took us three weeks of every evening and weekend (plus a few days off work for Jared) to get it done but it was so worth it. 

The house now looks how we want it to and although we have a tight budget we have made it our own.

I'm really proud of how it looks and can't wait to continue improving the remaining rooms and garden next year.

6. The support from family and friends 

I have been absolutely blown away this year by the continuous support we have had from our family and close friends. Buying this house was the most stressful thing I've ever done and I could never have done it without their help.

My parents especially deserve a huge thank you as they supported me through all the ups and downs that happened over the six months it took from viewing the house to getting the keys.

On top of that they have very kindly donated to us all sorts of furniture and appliances, which has dramatically reduced how much we have had to buy.

In fact, all sorts of people came out of the woodwork to donate or very kindly buy us useful gifts for our new house. As a result we have bought hardly anything new and we are incredibly grateful to everyone who has helped us. 

If any of these people are reading this, thank you so much. It really has made all the difference to us and we've been overwhelmed by everyone's kindness. 

To quote Bridget Jones: An excellent years progress.