Prepping for Happily Ever After

This past year was a rollercoaster of events. There were moments that were the highest of high, some that were the lowest of low, and everything in-between. The most exciting moment by far was getting engaged to my Fiancé Jordan after knowing each other for the past 10 years.

After getting engaged, I truly understood the feeling of “Being on Cloud Nine.” For weeks after the proposal I was floating above ground, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much, and there was no raining on my parade. But, ya know…getting engaged also means planning a wedding, the merging of two families, and SAVING for big purchases. Getting engaged made me feel that much more grown up. It wasn’t just about me anymore it was now so much bigger than me. All of my decisions were now for the both of us, for our near future, and for our future family.

Eight months after getting engaged came the lowest moment of the year, let alone one of the lowest moments of my life. Within two weeks I lost my beloved grandfather who so bravely battled Melanoma for the past four years (wear your sunblock every day!) and the closing of my business, The MPulse, which I feverishly worked to build for the past three years. I never felt such loss and heartbreak in my life. However, with each loss I gained new perspective professionally and socially.

Losing a loved one is never easy, but it became so clear that I was way too far from the people I loved most. Both Jordan’s family and mine are located on the East Coast and for the past three years we were living and working in California. It became so clear after MPulse closed what next step we needed to take for our brighter and better future together. We both agreed that we needed to cleanse ourselves of everything to reset, reboot and come back stronger and more inspired than ever. So, we put our townhouse in CA on the market, we sold our cars, vaccinated our two cats, purchased a one-way ticket to FL, and made our way back East.

Once we arrived in Florida we prioritized our finances so that we can just LIVE a little. Don’t you find that we are all so consumed with work that we really forget to LIVE, especially live in the moment? We outlined our monthly budget, wedding budget, and our savings plan so that we can eventually afford new cars and our first home.

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We have now been back on the East Coast for one month and I am actually writing this article as Jordan and I make our way to Sanibel Island for the week. I am LIVING! We are slowly finding our new rhythm in this next chapter. Although my heart is still sore I see the light for a very exciting future. There are so many wedding events to look forward to between the bachelorette trip, bridal shower, the wedding weekend, and HONEYMOON!!!!

Without the bad we would miss out on so many vital learning lessons. Without the bad, we also most certainly wouldn’t appreciate the good times as much. CHEERS to the good times ahead. Time to make Lemons into Lemonade!

*This blog is sponsored by Capital One