Family
Ten years ago, my husband Martin and I went on our first date – an Indianapolis Indians baseball game. Ten years on, we’ve been on hundreds more dates, adopted two rescue dogs, gotten married, and moved a quarter of the way across the world. In those ten years, we’ve grown up together, supported each other, taught one another how to be better people. We’ve taken this week off of work to travel to a remote cottage on the North Sea to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of our first date. Just us and the dogs, we’ve pared…
Maintaining a long distance friendship can be one of the hardest parts about moving away – whether that’s abroad or just an hour down the road! For this week’s blog post, I invited my best friend Audra to join in on the blogging fun and share how we’ve kept our friendship alive over the last fifteen years. Nicole: Welcome Audra! Will you tell the readers a bit about yourself? Audra: Oh I hate this question! It feels like a dating site question. Is that what’s really happening here – you’re setting me up a dating profile disguised…
Today marks the second anniversary of the day we landed in the UK to start our new adventure living abroad. It’s like my own personal New Year’s. You may recall I summarized Year One with “Seven Lessons Learned in a Year Abroad,” so I thought I’d do something similar to mark Year Two. While this one isn’t titled by lessons – instead, I’m using events and occasions – there are hundreds of lessons that presented themselves this year. Let me tell you, I’m in agreement every other expat blog, living abroad changes your world – and your…
Today, Martin and I are celebrating our second wedding anniversary. In some cases, it feels like the time has flown by; in others, it feels like we’ve been together forever. We met in a motorhome in the middle of Ohio at one of Martin’s races that I was attending with a friend, and at first, we completely wrote each other off because of baseless stereotypes. But the more we interacted over the weekend, the more we clicked. Looking back, we both say that early on in the relationship, there was an uncanny sense of comfort around each other…
One of the biggest stressors when we relocated to the United Kingdom was figuring out how to move our pets. Grace and Tucker are our two rescue dogs and are basically our children, so there was no chance we could ever leave them behind, and we were diligent in doing our research into how to move both dogs to England. Hopefully our experience can help give you a better idea of the process of moving your pet and what to anticipate before your move. Contact Your Vet If you’re considering moving your pet internationally, I would suggest contacting your…
It feels a lot like jealousy, but with a heap more anticipation. Maybe it’s the feeling of missing out? Or maybe it’s homesickness wrapped in a blanket of Hoosier pride. Whatever it is and whatever you call it, I miss the Indianapolis 500. It didn’t hit until just this weekend when the sun came out (as did the shorts and t-shirts, #sunsoutgunsout) and my friends near and far posted photos online of them at Carb Day, at the parade, at the Snakepit Ball, and any of the tens of other festivities throughout Indianapolis this weekend. But…
Our Wedding Vows Martin, of all the blessings I’ve been given, you are by far the best. The last six years, four months, and fifteen days have been the greatest adventure of my life. We’ve celebrated the highest of highs, consoled each other in the dark days, and encouraged each other as we’ve pursued our dreams. We’ve traveled the world, and we’ve found our home. I believe at the very core of my soul that God created us for each other. As your wife, I promise to respect…
My favorite holiday – hands down – is Christmas, and I’ve been day-dreaming about what Christmas at Holly Tree Cottage will look like. If it’s anything like what’s in my brain, I may never leave that home for the holiday! This year, we all once again traveled down to St. Petersburg, Florida to celebrate the holiday season in the sun. My parents drive down from Indiana with their dog; Martin’s parents, grandmother, and “Uncle Slap” fly over; and we pack up our dogs and the trailer and drive the…
One of my favorite Christmas traditions is decorating the Christmas tree. For years, I had a cheap $20 tree from Target, and while it did it’s best, that little tree didn’t hold up to our peaked ceilings! This year, Martin and I got our first live tree! I rarely decorate for Christmas because we used to travel so much during the holiday season, but we decided that we just had to decorate for our last Christmas in this house. I mean, come on. Doesn’t that fireplace just beg for a Christmas…
Yesterday was the first major snow of the season! Snow always makes me feel so warm, cozy, and a bit nostalgic. I love the excitement I felt as a kid, waking up in the morning to find snow on the ground in hopes of a day off (or at least a two-hour delay!). Martin and I took full advantage of the festive beauty by heading over to the Carmel Civic Plaza and the Monon Trail to enjoy the Christmas tree. We stopped by the Kolache Factory to fill up on kolaches, which are the most…
