Happy New Year everyone! Globally, 2016 has been a shockingly hard year, hasn’t it? I think most are glad to see it well behind us. It’s also seen some pretty big changes in my personal life, albeit positive ones. Sam and I got married, and we moved away from London.
So here’s a taster of just what some of this year held:
January
After submitting my application pre-Christmas, last January I made it through the later stages of the Great British Bake Off audition process, and even though I didn’t get chosen it was still an amazing thing to do for its last BBC season.
February
A lot of January and most of February was spent getting ready for the renewel of my partner visa. Waiting for the Border Agency to tell you if you’re allowed to live with the person that you love is stressful to say the least. Especially since they base 99% of this decision on how much money you two have and we permanently flutter around the cut off. Plus it literally cost us all our savings. We could have gone on multiple trips to different countries for the amount that my visa costs. Hence the lack of foreign travel this year.
March
We ventured outside of London again to stay with some friends in their (gorgeous) countryside home. I spent the rest of the month insanely busy (and super stressed) with work but we got some serious life admin done in March.
April
We went to Edinburgh for a weekend break and had an incredible time. It was one of my favourite trips ever and I fell head over heels for Edinburgh. I’d move there in a heartbeat. Plus I got to see a panda which was pretty awesome. Then back in London, I tried my first freakshake and I am a huge freakshake lover.
May
At the beginning of May, we made our last trip up to Yorkshire before the wedding to do as much wedding admin as possible. Later in the month, I turned 28 and we rented an airbnb on the water that was stunning. It was a little isolated cabin, and it was the perfect birthday. We sat on the waterfront porch for hours playing games and eating delicious food.
June
I luckily was able to have a quick 24 hours with my best friend when she had a layover in London. I had always known that I was going to see her this summer, as she was my Maid of Honor, but getting an extra session with her was a massive perk since some years I don’t get to see her at all! Then the amazing Emma threw me a surprise hen-do which was probably the nicest thing that anyone has ever done for me.
Thanks to the lovely Emma, Kate, Frankie, Angela, Danielle and Katy for making it such a special day.
July
All of July was surrounded by wedding prep, and of course, getting married. I can honestly say that we kept the wedding stress to a minimum and just had a great time. The 23rd of July will always be one of my favourite days of the year now. Having my entire family with me in England was incredible, as was having my family and friends together with Sam’s for the first time. Plus we ended up getting married during the heatwave, and since the whole thing was outside for the most part, I couldn’t have hoped for better weather!
August
At the very beginning of August we went on a mini-moon to Margate (specifically to go to Dreamland) and Broadstairs. It was fabulous and we managed to be there during an unseasonably hot weekend. My hair had been really short when Sam met me, and I’d been itching to go short again but had resisted thus far as I’d been growing it out for the wedding. As soon as I had some down time, I cut it into a lob and was super happy with it. We received our wedding photos back at the end of August which was super exciting!
September
We had long talked about moving out of London and had decided that we’d wait till after the wedding. In September we went up to York and stayed with Sam’s family to look at some properties. We didn’t find anything on our initial trip out, but we narrowed down what area of the city we wanted to be in.
October
I got to go on a press trip to Berlin, and that was incredible. Every moment of it was amazing: from my trip to the theatre to dinner at the Reichstag that evening. We also spent some time with Sam’s dad out on the other coast of England, played some excellent rounds of pub quizzing, and celebrated Halloween with candy and scary movies.
November
We actually moved out of London. Our offer was accepted on a rental place in York and we quickly made the move up North. My brother started a job working with refugees, which is pretty amazing.
December
My best friend got featured in an article for being an inspirational teacher (which she most certainly is!) Most of December was geared towards the holidays. Even though I hate the cold and winter in general, I love Christmas. Sam and I had an amazing Christmas just the two of us, and it definitely goes up there in the “top Christmases” category. Partially because Sam let me shoot him with a Nerf gun all day. We also booked our honeymoon as something to look forward to in the new year! Sam found out that one of the weddings he shot will be featured in a magazine in 2017!
Here were my most liked photos on Instagram in 2016:
These results taught me that Instagram LOVES weddings and flowers
This Year’s 10 Most Viewed Blog Posts:
Why We’re Leaving London
Wedding: The Ceremony
Pig & Pastry in York
We’re Moving To…
House of Minalima
Wedding: The Morning Of
My Advice to Future Brides
Trying to Make Sense of This Election
A Harry Potter Fan’s Guide to Edinburgh
The State of Family Immigration in the UK
With two runners up:
Molly Bakes Freakshake Review
How to Wear Ankle Boots Two Ways
For me, it was a year of some really great things in my personal life.
I read a fair few books (57 to be precise.) I quit a job that wasn’t right for me anymore. I worked with some brands that I really love, and had some opportunities that I thought were incredible. I baked along to the Bake Off for the 3rd year. I got to spend lots of time with people that I love. I ate some incredible food and I am looking forward to a new year.
Has 2016 held any bright spots for you?
