My Favourite Moments of 2018

31 Dec 2018

My Favourite Moments of 2018
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G and I are heading to the pub (where else?) tonight to welcome in 2019, and celebrate a whole year of being engaged. I’m planning on dressing up but have a feeling all the cheese/chocolate/mince pies are going to come back and haunt me when I attempt to put my dress on. Pray for Kate.

The last time I sat down to write this post – on 30th December 2017 – I wrote ‘admittedly there’s still some of 2017 to go so if my absolute favourite moment happens in the next 24 hours, I’ll let ya know’. 

And then, the next day, G proposed.

So I’m going to try and avoid any accidental premonitions this year, for fear I may trigger an unexpected pregnancy or summin’.

I started the year with a brand-new fiancé, planned a wedding, scribbled away in cafes and travelled more than I thought possible within 27 days annual leave. From the most northerly point of mainland Britain to the southernmost point of continental Asia and everywhere in between, you’ve been a ball 2018. Here’s my favourite moments from the last 12 months:

Waking up on New Year’s Day and remembering the events of the previous evening. Holy shit we’re engaged. 

All the little exciting moments in January when we booked our wedding venue/photographer/band and particularly the day we chose my engagement ring. It’s a sparkly beauty and I bloody adore it. 

Celebrating three years with G by chilling on the sofa, drinking wine and planning a wedding playlist.  

Spending my 26th birthday in Singapore. It was our first day there, after booking the trip just a few weeks beforehand, and we were unbelievably hot and jet lagged. And yet, what a birthday. We tried local food, saw the Supertrees (which have been on my bucket list for so long), tried a Singapore Sling cocktail and generally soaked up the wonder of the whole bay area. It was a fabulous day. 

Seeing the supertree light show and then the Spectra light show in Singapore and everything feeling a little bit magical. 

Drinking mango lassis on the streets of Little India in Singapore just before flying home and feeling pretty darn lucky that I got to visit such an amazing place.   

Seeing one of my oldest and best friends get married surround by a snow-covered landscape. 

Sat in the Prae Wood Arms garden with G in April eating posh crisps and enjoying the little preview of summer. 

The many, many moments I giggled during our trip to Ireland, particularly the moment we propped up an empty bar at 2 in the morning and knocked back the baileys. 

Watching the most epic lightning storm over St Albans cathedral. 

Sat on a secluded beach in Dartmouth, Devon enjoying the peace and chatting to a guy about where his dogs came from. 

Discovering the town we’re pretty certain we want to move to in 2019.  

Going to my Grandma’s house for the final time before she moved; it was bittersweet but I’m glad my final memories of her house are being sat in the sunshine watching the youngest member of our family totter about. 

Coming across a zipwire stretched high above a beach during our North Coast 500 road trip and spontaneously deciding that, hell yes, I was going to do that, and five minutes later flying through the air. 

So many other moments from our NC500 trip – the most wonderful gin tour, eating pasta on a picnic bench in the evening sun with chickens running around us and a view of the sea, highland brie pizzas, the endless amount of stunning views we saw day in and day out, and so many more.  

Finding my wedding dress and the whole experience being lovely, proving all my doubts wrong.

Seeing Baby Wants Candy at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival – a completely improvised comedy musical based on a title the audience shout out at the beginning. Ours was ‘Haggis, neeps and titties’ – it was hilarious. 

Panicking that we were going to run out of wine whilst in the Peak District with my gals and deciding we were going to walk to the local pub down the pitch-black country road. In the pouring rain. With the very real possibility of being hit by cars…. And then banging on the door of the pub after it had closed. I mostly remember a lot of hysterical laughter. 

Sat in the square under the bell tower in Split, Croatia, drinking wine and eating cheese with G in the most unusual bar and just watching the world go by. 

Seeing the beautiful Nyhavn in Copenhagen after imagining it for so long; I insisted on going back a few times a day. My favourite time was probably when we were there really early in the morning when it was practically empty and the light was beautiful.  

Wandering around Kew Gardens and seeing all the Christmas lights whilst reminiscing about the first few weeks of uni with Alice. 

Playing the Friends edition of Heads Up with my sister on Christmas Day and laughing so hard that a) I couldn’t say the word ‘Yemen’ and b) a little bit of pee came out. 

Every little every-day moment with G, family and friends that one is unlikely to remember specifically but that made the year, and life, that bit more joyous. 

Happy new year folks – and here’s to an excellent 2019. 

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