What. a. year... 2021 has been the most stressful, yet most rewarding year of my life. I said goodbye to LA after 7 years - moved back to Orange County - We bought a house and visited almost everyday until completion - Got married - Changed my last name - Achieved my dream car - And finally had our first Christmas in our first home. While we had many ups, there were many, many downs... but I wouldn't change a thing.
We started off the year thinking we'd be moving into the house we waited 5 months for, to then lose it after working with a fraud lender. We were devastated. We woke up everyday for nearly 5 months - thinking everyday would be "the day" we'd sign our closing doc's - to beginning our search for a home all over again, including our savings that we lost in the deposit of the previous home. My apartment lease had ended the week before we lost the home, so we had to move EVERYTHING to my parent's house for the time being. (my worst nightmare.) The night we lost the house, I started a search on Zillow and we had that "AHA" moment. We found the home that was meant for us. THIS was why God would not allow anything to align with the first house. He had something so much better. We so desperately wanted to get into a house, that we settled with one we didn't truly love. So, while we were heartbroken when we lost it, it truly was just not meant to be. We put a deposit on a home we fell in love with, but it was going to take 8 months to build. We agreed to just stay where we were, with parent's, and save. My depression took a hold of me again. Having a space of my own brought me peace. I loved, loved, loved sharing decor content, and now I wasn't going to have my own space with my furniture, "vibe," etc, for 8 months? After 5 months, we found out the house was going to be delayed for another 3 months. (This would mean living at home for 11 months.) For my mental health and even the healthiness of Daniel & I's relationship, we needed to get into an apartment. We were in the middle of planning a wedding and there was so much going on, that being able to come home after work and just BE with each other ... was 1000% worth paying rent for. We moved the very beginning of June and then by August, we got the news that the house was being delayed AGAIN. This time until December. We did the best we could to stay positive, but after what was now a year of disappointment and after disappointment, it was hard not to get into that negative mentality.

We were also planning a wedding during this time! (Buying a house and having wedding in the same year: 10/10 do not recommend.) This did give us things to look forward to along the way - I had the most perfect Bridal shower, a Bachelorette Party, got married, (wedding post coming soon,)  had an amazing honeymoon in Tulum, and changed my last name. (Geer to Dohoda.) After this, we were at our 3 month mark countdown for moving in. Within this 3 month time frame, I turned 30, I achieved my dream car. A Range Rover. I seriously could not believe it. I had dreamt of this car for nearly a decade, and I finally got one all on my own... and then I had a miscarriage. I didn't share this on social media and really only told my co-workers and a few family members. It was a sad day, but but I wasn't very far a long at all. While it was short lived, it truly was one of the best moments Daniel and I shared together.

Finally, on December 15th, we moved into our home. This was actually a surprise for us. We originally were told we would close on the 17th, but our realtor texted us saying we needed to sign off on one more thing from the walk through, and to meet her at the house after work. We went over and we walked up to the second floor where my mom and Bri, our realtor had set up our Christmas tree. The home was finally ours!! All we wanted for Christmas was to be able to spend Christmas in our home and being able to do that was incredibly surreal.

Now that we are settled in our home, I can't wait to start up new content and spend more time catering to my blog. I've missed it. Here's to the best year yet!