10 Months Living Abroad (a very belated update)

First off I just want to say that I hope everyone had a merry Christmas and a happy New Year despite all the crap 2016 threw at us. We personally had a lovely, quiet Christmas just the two of us in our cozy home, and we managed to rearrange our schedules and take time off to fly over and surprise Stuart's family for a week just before New Year's Eve!

So 10-month update, here's what's happened since my last post in... June. :P I actually wrote a few posts that I immediately forgot about and left sitting in my drafts. It's been really busy, what can I say!

July/August/September were really more of the same - job hunting, weekend adventures with Stuart, still finding my way. I started going to a knitting group in the city at some point. I didn't really click with the group but I did make one friend!

October was BUSY! My parents came over for ~10 days which we split between Dublin and Northern Ireland. My dad bought a new camera for this trip, took thousands of photos, struggled with the food, and was very ready to head back to sunny NC at the end of 10 days haha, it meant so much that he came though - he's very much an indoor cat and he did enjoy several parts of the trip! My mom had a much easier time since she's a globe-trotter like me. She started planning her next trip before this one was even over and has already booked her (and my niece's) tickets for summer 2017. Stuart's parents came over for the weekend and we all got to spend some time together. We didn't do much for our first wedding anniversary (Oct. 17) because we had so much going on, but it was nice to have our families together in our first home. <3

And as soon as my parents went home, I started working! Finally, finally. Too many months of #housewifelife and I was so ready for a new beginning. I applied for a permanent, full-time position; got hired for a seasonal, part-time position; still ended up working full-time hours though. Such is the way of retail no matter where you are! It was a good, eye-opening experience. My boss was really nice and my co-workers were excellent! I got my National Insurance number sorted out (like a Social Security number - it's mine for life and I never have to go through this again) and I got some contacts I can use for references. Not really that different from retail work in the states, but I learned a lot about how people speak here - different words for things and where they put inflections. My mom says I talk a little funny now, my accent's still the same but my voice goes up in different places than before. I'm excited to hear how it changes when I've been here longer.

All in all it's been a great success settling in to life in the UK - not all sunshine and roses, but nothing I can really complain about too much. Job hunting in Scotland has begun in earnest now that the holidays are over. We're hoping to move sooner rather than later, so we certainly have our work cut out for us. I'm going to try and keep a better record of this new journey, and our belated honeymoon in April! 2017 is going to be a great year, I'm sure of it. :))

If At First You Don't Succeed.. Or Why We Did Two Engagement Shoots

I don't think I posted many photos from either (fixing this today!) so it might surprise some of you to learn that before we were married, Stuart and I actually booked two engagement shoots. One happened in Scotland just after Stuart proposed and the other only days before we were married in Raleigh.

In Scotland we did our research, looked extensively through our photographer's blog before we booked, picked a meaningful location, and went shopping for new outfits. Our photographer spent time talking to us beforehand, but didn't give us any direction after we started shooting.

In America, I found an ad on Craigslist, looked at his blog once before emailing him, let him choose the spot, and we wore our comfiest (but not t-shirt quality) clothes. Our photographer didn't chit-chat much, but he guided us into shots and even posed himself to show us what to do.

Now I'm not saying either photographer is better (though one was certainly better for us), but it is interesting to note that what we THOUGHT we were looking for was actually exactly what we didn't want! While we liked the laid-back feel of our first photographer's work, I don't think we were comfortable enough behind the camera to really get great shots.. plus my hair is unruly and covered my face in most of our photos.

It was an expensive lesson but honestly, if you're not happy with the way something turned out - it's worth it to try again. Our second shoot captured some really lovely moments and since photos mean so much to me I know they're something I'll always treasure.

The New Mr. and Mrs. McGhee

It's been less than two weeks since our big day and I'm still sorting through photos and feelings. I thought I would be more nervous the day of, I wasn't; I thought I would feel different afterwards, I do and I don't; and I thought I would finally be able to relax, but thank you cards don't write themselves!

What I am sure of is that I am incredibly happy and October 17 was one of the best days of my life.

Thanks to everyone who made this a reality! Special thanks to Katie who came in from Boston and took on jobs with very little heads-up - what a star! And of course my eldest sister Allison who we literally could not have done this without! She officiated our ceremony and mixed the perfect amount of humor with romance - it was breath-taking.

And thanks to you! Everyone has been so supportive of our journey! It's not over yet, but we are steadily moving closer to permanently settling in the UK. :))