Hello friends and family (and all random strangers reading this!) Happy New Year!! You may have noticed I took a 2-month long break from blog writing, and all for good reason! So much of my life has changed this last quarter of the year since we last spoke, from day to day activities to my love life to my career. I was giving so much to everything else happening in my world that I didn’t have the energy to sit down and blog about domestikated things.

When I started this blog just over one year ago, I was looking for an escape from my life and an outlet to express myself and creativity. My mom had passed away that summer, Nick was working long hours and I desperately missed writing. So Life Domestikated was born. It was so nice expressing myself through recipes I enjoy, sales and steals I found and how a young 20-something was figuring out this new domestikated life in the real world.

As you keep reading below you’ll learn all the things that have changed in my life the past three months and why I haven’t put much focus on this blog. With all that being said, I don’t want to give up on this space and outlet of creativity.

Instead, I am going to look at 2020 with less pressure to post consistently or frequently and to not worry about being P-E-R-F-E-C-T all the time. My goal for blogging in 2020 is to treat it like a journal (but more generalized and less personal) and just have fun seeing where it goes!

To wrap up 2019, here’s a look at this year’s highlight reel:

Getting Engaged

2019 will always be an unforgettable year because it was the year Nick and I got ENGAGED! Yes, you read that correctly. Nick and I got engaged on October 20 (our dating anniversary!) at the Grand Canyon. Both of us had the Grand Canyon on our bucket list and randomly decided to make it our adventure this year. Little did I know that as we were booking the trip back in the spring, Nick was planning a special engagement and purchasing a gorgeous ring!

We landed in Arizona on October 19 and decided to celebrate our anniversary in the Grand Canyon the next morning. Nick was acting suspicious since we left Philly, keeping his backpack away from me and asking me strange questions like “What are you wearing when we go hiking?” (He never cares about what I am wearing, especially when hiking!) After exploring the South Rim of the canyon, he found a secluded overlook area that he led me out onto and proceeded to get down on one knee, changing my world forever.

Words cannot begin to describe how ecstatic I am to spend the rest of my life with my best friend and start this next chapter of our lives. Wedding planning is in full swing and I’ll be sure to share details here on the blog!

Buying a House

If you recall, Nick and I bought our first home this past summer and moved in September! There’s nothing more satisfying than purchasing your home and seeing your hard work pay off with each and every renovation and decoration.

If you’ve been following along, you know that we did a lot of projects from the get-go. Since moving in Labor Day weekend, we have renovated our kitchen with new painted cabinets and appliances, replaced 75% of the flooring with new carpet and luxury vinyl, installed a fence, and of course, unpacking, decorating etc. I’m happy to say that there shouldn’t be any projects in 2020 (we’ll see how long that lasts ha!) so we can enjoy wedding planning, being engaged and our home just how it is.

Adopting Sadie

To add to our chaos, Nick and I made one of the best decisions of our life and decided to rescue a lab-mix puppy, formally known as Autumn. We have been talking about adopting a little sister for Molson since we started looking at homes but wanted to wait for the right pup. Nick and I both wanted a female Golden Retriever or yellow Lab mix, whatever we could find so long as she was a rescue. After weeks of looking, we came across The New Jersey Misfits Canine Rescue in Frenchtown, NJ. They recently rescued 12 lab puppies from a kill-shelter in Texas that were all in need of a furever home. After scrolling through pictures of 3-month old puppies named Apple and Autumn, we sent in our application and were on our way to see the litter one week later!

On November 16, my mother’s birthday, we rescued and welcomed Sadie Wilder to our family. With her came a lot of sleepless nights, pee accidents, chewing and best of all, so much love. I honestly cannot imagine life without her now and love watching her grow both in size and personality. And as silly as this sounds, I sense my mom in her. Since they share a birthday (well, gotcha day) I can’t help but think that my mom sent her to us on one of the hardest days of the year when I miss her most. Now when Sadie snuggles in my lap or gives me non-stop kisses, I stop and remember my mom’s hugs and her constant love.

My Career

I’m not going to divulge too much on this topic but I’m really happy with where I am in my career at this point in my life. I’ve worked for the same advertising agency since I graduated college in 2016 and feel so confident in my role this past quarter that I cannot wait to see what 2020 has in store. I know there’s still so much I have to learn in my position and that a person can never stop growing/advancing their career, but I know I’m taking the right steps towards accomplishing more and providing our clients more value.

Volunteering

This year I made more of a conscious effort to volunteer and give back to my community. While still minimal compared to others, I got involved with an incredible organization called Lily’s Hope that “that supports babies, children, and their families with unexpected and urgent needs due to premature birth by providing families with essential items since they have been unable to prepare for their child’s early arrival.” Each month they host “packing parties” where volunteers help create these care packages. It’s an organization I hope to get involved with more seriously in 2020!

Another great volunteer opportunity in the Lehigh Valley is The Perfect Fit, an organization that provides women entering the workforce free clothing and toiletries, as well as resume assistance. Once they are offered a position, the organization provides them 1-week of clothing so she doesn’t have to spend her first paycheck on appropriate clothing. Even if my involvement is simply donating clothes, I’m grateful I found this organization and know that my hand me downs can impact someone’s life greatly!

Last but not least, I will always be involved with the American Heart Association of the Lehigh Valley in honor and memory of my mom. This involvement may be limited to just events and walks at this point in time, but it’s another organization I want to be involved with in any capacity possible. If my fundraising and personal marketing can educate just one person on heart disease and stroke, then I know I made a difference.

Thanks to everyone who followed along in 2019 on this adventure I call life. I cannot wait to share 2020 with you all!