Our One Year Anniversary!

Is it weird that it actually feels like we have been married for longer than a year? This year has really just been such a whirlwind of changes, that for some reason I just can't believe its just been a year.

2018 was definitely the most crazy year of our lives. Between still doing long distance, to buying a house, fixing up Mike's old one, getting engaged, selling his house and getting married, we had a LOT going on.

This year, we wanted to be more mindful of this and just take it easy. We worked on the house (and when I say we, I really mean Mike guys LOL), but just did things as they came. We didn't set any deadlines, and we tried being flexible about things.

We also did our best to see more friends, keep in touch with friends and family better, and just be more present with the people in our lives. I felt like last year we were running around all the time, going back and forth from Massachusetts to Delaware that we really didn't get to see other people.

HOW WE MET

So how did we even meet? Well, its a funny story. For those of you who have been following along with us for awhile know that we actually met at the gym. Yup. Somehow we managed to go a year seeing each other every morning and didn't mutter a word to one another.

I had made a decision to move back to Massachusetts (I was living in Philly at the time and our gym was in Wilmington, DE, where Mike lived and I worked). It was my last week that I was living there. Some of the people at the gym had mentioned to me that Mike was a really great guy, but I was in that time in life where I didn't want to be talking to a guy, let alone a relationship! I was moving back to be closer to my friends and family.

It wasn't until that week that Mike had came up and introduced himself to me. We chatted for a few minutes, and I remember thinking that he was a really impressive guy. He told me that he was an engineer and he was working on fixing up his house. So, we immediately had something in common with construction.

We chatted for the next couple of days at the gym, and he ended up asking if I wanted to go out that weekend. I was kind of taken back, I was moving! I told him that I was moving to Boston, but he asked if he could still get my number. I remember talking to my best friend, telling her about what happened, and questioned why he would even want my number. My best friend, being the romantic at heart, encouraged me to just be open. She said "A guy that is willing to drive 400 miles just to take you out to dinner is a guy worth going out with."

That really stuck with me. I gave him my number, and over the course of the next couple of weeks we would text. Two weeks later, Mike drove up and we went on our first date. It was such a great date. For one, we went to a tapas place and basically ordered enough for 4. We also couldn't stop talking and ended up being in the restaurant for three hours.

And that was the start of it all! It was really hard, but we made the long distance work for the entire three years we were together before we get married. I've said this a lot, but I really feel like the long distance was really great for us. It really showed us how much we carried about one another so quickly, and made us be very intentional with our future. I knew from just the first few weeks that he was going to be the guy that I was going to marry. I think he took longer, but I can't blame him, I'm a handful to say the least...

OUR RELATIONSHIP

Mike is such an amazing guy. He's patient, kind, ambitious, and funny (for an engineer that is :) ) I feel so lucky to be with such a great guy. He really makes me feel like the most important person and treats me so well.

I love that we have so many things in common. Between our hobbies and our values, we really compliment each other. It's always fun designing stuff and working on things around the house with him. I'll do the initial design, and he will take his engineering skills to really make it come to life.

We also are both in love with the outdoors. I'm more into hiking, and he's more into camping. So, we like to do both when we can. It's been even better having Kona around to do all the fun outdoor activities together.

THE LAST YEAR

Like I had said, I can't believe its been a year since we got married! We haven't had too many life updates, but we have started settling down more for sure.

We've painted just about our entire home, minus the hallway and the upstairs bathroom (which we will be redoing soon!). Mike installed a steel fence around our backyard so puppy Kona can run around as much as he wants. We've updated a lot of the decor in our home, too. I've been vintage shopping and have been mixing in some older pieces with our more modern furniture.

As for trips, we haven't done a lot of hiking. Between Mike traveling a lot of work, me not getting the time to go away, and taking care of our pup, we haven't gotten up to the White Mountains as much as we would like. But, we have been on two bigger trips this year between California and the trip to Montana and Washington! (Which reminds me I need to write a blog post about our last trip!)

I really can't stress how great this last year has been being married to Mike and I can't wait for the rest of the years together!

-Han

#2019updates #longdistancerelationship #NewEnglandFallWedding