A little Life Update

Oh man, where to start?

It's been 6 months since my last post and a lot has happened. I will probably forget some things but i'm going to try to update you on the happenings of life these past couple of months.

But first, let's talk about the present. It's been June for a few days now and i think this might just be the best month of the entire year. Tom's birthday is in a few days and i can't wait to celebrate him. I've got a few crafty plans up my sleeve in order to give him a great 27th birthday!! 27 is crazy to think about, we met at 22...Has it really been almost 5 years?? So crazy!! I mean look at us, we were babies!!!! Remember skype dates..Ha! That was so long ago!!!

If Tom's birthday weren't enough excitement, we're also travelling back to the UK this month. This is the first time I've been back over since my 6 month rendezvous back in 2014. TWO THOUSAND FOURTEEN!! I hadn't realized it had been so long. That's a little upsetting. I guess it makes sense though, Tom spent time here in 2015, then we saw each other again in Jamaica in 2016, where we got engaged. Then we got married almost 1 year ago. I have to refresh my memory because even though i lived it it's all very spread out and i often lose track of the when and the where. So it's been a while for me and i can't wait to get back. To be fair it's been a while for Tom as well. He's not been home in over a year thanks to a little thing called green card. You're pretty much stuck until the green card is delivered to you. More on that later...

I can't wait to get back to the UK. I'm so ready to see all of the friends and family that we've been missing. I'm also so excited to eat some Wagamama and pack my suitcase full of my favorite sweets and clothing from my favorite shops. It's going to be so magical.

But seriously, Wagamama needs to hit me up for a franchise in Dallas. Even if no one else ate there i would personally keep it in business!

While we're in the UK we will be spending a full week in Wales and a few days in Liverpool. I've never been to Wales so i'm excited to cross that off my list. We wish we had more days in Liverpool but we are planning a return trip at Christmas so we'll be back over very soon. Also Tom's family will be over here in August. They've rented a little house with a pool...so that's where we'll be while they're here!! I forsee glorious tans and delicious barbecues in our future.

Next on the list of exciting June moments is our one year anniversary. I cannot believe we've been married for a year. It has easily been the best year of my life. Getting to share it with Tom without worrying about when one of us has to leave to go home. It's been a dream and it's a dream that continues on because.. drum roll.. Tom has a green card.

The green card is one of the BIG things that's happened in the past couple of months. If you remember from the last post i was talking about how we dropped the ball. We didn't send the USCIS enough evidence and we got a letter back saying they needed more. Well we sent them a lot more, we probably went overboard but it doesn't matter because it worked.

We received the card in April and it's good for two years. We will need to reapply before it expires but we're not thinking about that just yet. So if you look back and think about this process, it's taken us about a year and a half to finalize everything. We started the process in November of 2015. A year and a half of paperwork and sending money to the USCIS. A year and a half of nerves because you never know if it will actually work out or not. That year and a half was rough but so worth it.

Tom can now work here and travel out of the country without having to apply for a visa to get back in. Life just got a whole lot easier and we are loving it.

Speaking of working, Tom changed jobs in late February. The bookstore job wasn't keeping him on since it was only a temp position. He quickly found a job at a little garden center nearby. He really likes it and it's not a bad gig while he tries to study for the history certification test. Teaching is still the plan he just needs time to study before he tries to go after the test.

Another newer plan is starting to take shape for both of us. As you know i've always loved the entrepreneur lifestyle. I think i've got Tom hooked on an idea and we're looking at making it happen.
We will fill you in on the blog if anything comes from it. :)

As for me, I'm still working for The Container Store. My job role has changed and is changing a bit at the moment but for the most part i'm still designing closets. One of the cooler things I've started doing is PR designs for blogs and magazines. There are some things in the works and if i ever see the final product i'll post it here for y'all to see.

Let's see...what else is there. We are still in an apartment. I don't love apartment life but with that being said we just signed on for another year long lease. We're hoping to figure something else out next year. At least we'll definitely be moving from this apartment. Not that it's bad, it's just so expensive. We could live in a small house for what it costs to live in this apartment. But the apartment is close to work, for both of us..We just happen to work in an expensive part of North Texas where all apartments cost basically as much as house payments. Meh...rant over!

I'll finish it up with some exciting news. Tom got his learners permit for driving back in February. He has his driving test this Tuesday!! So wish him luck and send good vibes his way that he passes with flying colors. Right now he doesn't need a car. We live so close to his work that he can bike there in under 5 minutes. But it has been really nice to hand the wheels over to him. I'm no longer the sole driver and it's pretty amazing! ;)

I think that's all for now, i've probably forgotten loads of things but i'll try to do another update sooner rather than later.

Hope y'all have a great weekend!

Emily