This has honestly been the best year of my life.

✊🏻

It’s the end of December already. Where has the time gone?! To end this year, I wanted to look back and write about 2018. This year has been the best. I achieved so much and my life changed in so many ways. It’s crazy how this time last year I was sitting with my family thinking if I’ll ever spend Christmas with someone special and here I am, doing that with the most amazing man.

I remember talking to my friend Ivana and telling her that I had a good feeling about this year. It’s weird but it’s like I knew that my life was going to change big time this year.

I didn’t know what was going to happen of course, but I had a deep gut feeling that something big was going to happen.

Ok, so starting with the first big that that happened this year. As you might have read in my About Me page, I started lifting weights. Lifting weight is something that I have always wanted to do and I’m super proud and happy that I got into it and took it seriously.

I feel so good in my own skin right now. Granted I am not where I want to be, but I’ll get there eventually. It’s all about consistency. 

While I was writing down my resolutions, I decided to name this year as the ‘Year of travel and pictures’. And oh boy, I did travel and take a lot of pictures!

My first destination was the Highlands in Scotland. I have Scottish heritage from my Dad’s side and it was nice to visit our other motherland. Me and my sister flew to Manchester and spent a day there. The day after my Dad flew in and we drove to the highlands.

We stayed in this gorgeous inn in Ardgour. You need to get on a ferry to get to it and the views from my bedroom window were simply stunning.

We decided to go to the Isle of Skye. The first place we stopped at is Fort William. Then, we went to the Old Man of Stoor. That was my favourite place ever! The walk to go to the very top was brutal but it was so beautiful and it was worth it.

Our next stop was the Eliean Donan Castle which is also known as the most photographed castle in Scotland. 

The original clan, the Mackenzie Clan still own the castle. Fun fact: the Mackenzie Clan and my family’s clan, the MacKay clan, were enemies back in the day!

We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the castle but I managed to take a sneaky picture of the kitchen!

Our favourite thing to do was to stop and take pictures of the amazing scenery while we were driving. The views were out of this world. That is me and my sister by the way!

My next big achievement is writing my Bachelor’s thesis.

We had to write a 15,000 analytical thesis titled: ‘The case of an independent Scotland in the European Union: from a legal perspective’. I discussed how the Scotts voted to stay in the EU but they’re still being dragged in the whole Brexit process. I also discussed the EU Accession treaties and International Law and came to the conclusion that yes, the will of the people has to be heard and yes, Scotland can become independent. 

this photo was taken after spending the whole night editing and going to print it early in the morning. I was so proud!

A couple of days after I finished writing my thesis, I sat for my driving test and passed!

I knew how to drive before but I had to take lessons and sit for the test to officially get my licence and I did it! This was one of my goals this year and I’m so happy we achieved it.  After that, I had my finals in June and those were my last University exams.

My next destination was Italy. I have family living in Italy and I decided to visit my aunt and roam around and explore Tuscany a little.

My first stop was Lucca. Lucca is a small quaint Tuscan town. I wanted to visit this town for the longest time and I was so glad that I managed to do it. I hopped on a train and spent the day walking around and taking pictures.

My next destination was Vicenza. I had Vicenza on my list for the past two years and I decided to just go there, stayed the night and explore the city and that’s exactly what I did.

Yes, I did go out with my hair looking like that haha!

While I was in Italy, I started talking to Luis. He was planning a trip to Malta and reached out to me on Instagram to give him a list of places to visit.

I gave him the top spots to visit in my tiny island and he said he’ll take me out for dinner as a thank you when he gets here. On the 23rd of June, I decided to go out for dinner with him. This was my first proper date in two years and I was so nervous. However, I am super happy I said yes because look at us now: we are in love, living together in a beautiful home and making beautiful memories together.

I wrote multiple posts talking about my experience in Germany so far. Click here to read them!

So from June, my life completely changed. Me and L started dating and we planned our first trip together. In the meantime, I flew to Palermo in Sicily with a few of my classmates and Malaga, Spain with my best friend.

I spent 4 days in Sicily where we attended some conferences and at the same time, we explored the city and had the best time. I love the people I travelled with and miss them dearly every single day.

Palermo is the capital city of Sicily. We spent three days exploring and eating delicious food.

Malaga is a seaside town in Spain. We spent a week there and we also went to see other places such as Torremolinos. If you love the beach and the sun, then Malaga is the place for you!

A couple of weeks after coming back from Malaga, I flew to Germany to see Luis and after a couple of days, we flew to Portugal on our first vacation together.

We spent 4 days there and it was the most relaxing and fun time with him. I love travelling with him. We both love doing it and we get along so well together. Luis and myself, flew to Faro and spent a night there and then we drove to Lisbon where we spent three days sightseeing and having the most amazing time together.

I was due to fly to Malta on the 8th of September, go back to work and move to Germany later but on the 7th, I decided to stay. I didn’t go on that plane and I never looked back. Now, our life together was starting and I couldn’t be more excited and happy.

It was a challenge of course but I never regretted it for a moment. We both love exploring so we got on a few adventures.

A few days later, I decided to start this blog! I used Blogger for a short while and then I moved to WordPress and having my own domain and I am having so much fun!

Now back to our adventures..

The first place we visited was the Bad Durkheim Wine Fest.

We drank one and ate Bratwurst. That’s a very good combination if you ask me.

Trier was our next stop. Trier is Germany’s oldest city and it is a very beautiful place.

We spent the day sightseeing and my favourite spot is the Porta Nigra. Our final stop in Germany was this amazing Burger joint called Louisana. 

The first castle I visited here in Germany is Burg Eltz.

It is truly a magical place to visit. The castle is still owned by the original family and it is surrounded by acres and acres of forests.

Perhaps one of my favourite places I’ve been to so far is the Pumpkin Festival.

I found out about this festival from another Air Force wife. She uploaded some pictures on her blog and it looked stunning. I’m a sucker for all things fall so this was perfect for me!

After that, we took a small break from travelling and focused on our relationship and our home. In the blink of an eye,  it was time for us to fly to Malta for my graduation.

My best friend took these pictures for us and they turned amazing. This one has to be my favourite.

I also experienced my first Thanksgiving and my first snowfall in Germany! I was so excited to wake up and see our backyard all white and sparkly!

And then before you know it, Christmas was upon us!

We drove to Luxembourg and that was when I experienced my first Christmas Market. 

After that, we went on base and a store called Nanu Nana to get our Christmas decorations for our home.

Apart from grocery shopping, shopping for Christmas decorations is my favourite kind of shopping. I get so excited and kid like when I see Christmas stuff!

An exciting thing that happened on my blog was that I created my first ever printables!! I am so excited to keep my blog growing and create more free stuff for you guys!

Another exciting thing that happened is that my parents came to visit me the weekend before Christmas.

We spent the weekend going to Christmas markets and eating delicious food. I couldn’t stop crying when they left but it’s time for me to fly the nest. I am making new memories and traditions now with the person that I love.

On Christmas Day, me and Luis met with some friends of ours and we ate some good food. Then we went out for a walk and spent the rest of the day chilling and enjoying each other’s company. Oh, and we also opened up our presents that we got for each other too!

Here’s a picture of the frosty leaves that we found on our walk ❤️

And now, today, as I am sitting on my sofa writing this post, I can’t help but think how much my life has changed this year. For the better.

My plan was to apply for Masters in European Law and keep working. I wasn’t looking for a relationship but life is funny and unpredictable sometimes.

I am super, super grateful for everything and everyone who made this year the best year of my life. I am grateful for Luis and all that he has done for me. I can’t image my life without him in it. He brings so much happiness and peace. 

And I am grateful for you readers who continue to read my posts and leave sweet comments. Without you and your support, I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am now.

I am looking forward to 2019. I hope it will be a good year and I hope it will be another good year like this one has been.

I also can’t wait to grow this blog and make it worthwhile for you readers. I can’t wait to connect and see you next year!

Oh and, keep your eyes peeled for the next post because I’m planning on posting more freebies for you all!