Friday, August 11, 2017

Looking Forward

So 2017 has been a pretty banner year for us with the wedding and all. And while I like to look back at pictures from that amazing day and our honeymoon, my sights are mostly set on the exciting things we have to look forward to in the final 5 months of the year (but seriously, how are there only 5 months left??). Here's what I'm looking forward to!

This month I am looking forward to our first camping trip! We registered for some camping equipment for our wedding and I can't wait to break it in on our first trip. We are going to a state park off the shores of Lake Superior. There are lots of beautiful hikes in the area so it will be an active vacation for us. We are going with our good friend Amber who is a veteran camper. It's nice to go with someone who knows what she's doing! We met last week to plan out the meals and what all we will do. It's going to be so much fun! Fingers crossed it does not rain!! This trip also coincides with Phil's birthday so it will be a fun way to celebrate his birthday!

In September I'm looking forward to the 9th annual Julia Child Night! It's kind of mind-boggling that we've kept this tradition alive for all these years. And if anything, it's grown and become an even bigger event through the years. This year Julia is going to Asia! I got together with my aunt and uncle last weekend and we tested 4 different recipes (spring rolls, Korean short ribs in a lettuce wrap, a zucchini salad and pork & shrimp fried rice). It's going to be such a fun event!

In October I am looking forward to our trip to Asheville! Phil has never been so I can't wait to show him an area that I absolutely adore. I traveled to a lot of beautiful places when I lived in Charlotte, but Asheville stands out as my favorite. Phil and I love to hike so it will be an active vacation for  us as there are so many great hikes in the area. Plus it should be a gorgeous time to visit as the leaves should be turning. I'm also excited about ALL THE FOOD!  I have so many favorite restaurants in Asheville. I am glad we'll have about 3 days to check them out! We'll also be spending a night in Charlotte at the end of the trip so I can see some of the friends I made when I lived in Charlotte for a year in 2013/2014.

This fall I'm looking forward to starting to look for our next home. While we love where we live, it's a bit small (~1,100 square feet). There is extremely low inventory in the area where we want to buy. We want to stay in the same area of the city and are very particular about which neighborhood we want to be in so we are going into this understanding that it could take over a year for us to a find a home. But I'm hopeful that the right house will come on the market within the next year or so. In the meantime, we'll be doing a couple of things around our house (some painting and replacing the carpet upstairs) so it's ready to put on the market as soon as we find a house we want to buy. Phil bought his house 3.5 years ago so it feels like 'his' place. He's definitely made me very welcome there and people comment on how different it looks now that I live there (like there are actually things on the walls!). But I'm looking forward to picking out something together that feels like "ours."

What are you looking forward to these days?

9 comments:

Marlys said...

So much to look forward to! I hope your camping trip goes smoothly, and be sure to check to warnings for rip tides as a father & 10 year old daughter drowned there yesterday! You will enjoy it, I am sure!
Have fun searching for a new home! Exciting!

San said...

Love all the things that you have to look forward to.... I'd love to go camping sometime (J's not a big fan), but I have a lot of respect for camping here in the US vs. camping in Germany (because there is so much more wildlife that you could encounter here in CA than in Germany!).

So exciting that you're going to look for a house! I can understand that you feel like your current home is " Phil's home" and that you'd love to pick out a house together as a married couple to make completely "YOURS". :) Good luck on the hunt!

Amber said...

So fun! I should do another looking forward post soon. Right now I'm looking forward to a week off with Eric the week after next, one more trip down south for a baby shower in September and of course the arrival of Baby H in November!

Can't wait to hear how camping goes! You guys are going to have a blast!

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

Your first camping trip - Yay!! I hope you end up loving it :-)

You have a lot to look forward to, and it's exciting that you're going to be house shopping!

I agree with how fast this year has gone be. Seriously, it's going to be Christmas before we know it. I am always a little sad when summer comes to an end, but truthfully, I know another summer is right around the corner, and will likely be here in the blink of an eye.

Stephany said...

I'm also looking forward to my trip to Asheville! Still bummed we will miss each other by a week, but so it goes. :) I'm also looking forward to taking a long (5 day!) weekend at the beginning of September around Labor Day. Apparently, I have all of this unused PTO that I didn't know I had, so I'm putting it to good use.

Jeanie said...

You will love having your own together-home. Sounds like a wonderful and busy time -- and a good time to look and be prepared to buy, especially if properties are in short supply.

Looking forward to Quebec this week!

Carolina John said...

Good luck house hunting! You can find some real discrepancies around what people want when you are diving in like that. At least you both already know what you want. That was a real point of discourse for us.

Have fun in Asheville!

Leigh said...

I really wish that I liked camping. I don't mind it if it's not too hot and isn't raining- not to be too picky or anything ;) Hope you guys have fun!

I'm looking forward to seeing my family next week. Not looking forward to Brian going back to work :(

Charbelle said...

So much to look forward to!!! The Asheville trip in October will be amazing!!!