Can you believe that its the end of a decade! 2020 will be here very soon. I saw a blogger I follow doing a review of the past decade and thought it was such a nice way to reflect so thought I’d do my own (see here for Steffy’s review!)
In the past decade so much has changed including me as a person – I graduated from Uni, lived in Southampton, London and Birmingham, got married and brought a house! What a decade its been!
2010
In 2010 I was still at Uni doing History. At that time I still wanted to be a lawyer and didn’t like maths at all… I wouldn’t have believed you if you’d told me I’d be an accountant 10 years later! I was living in Selly Oak in a house I wouldn’t dream of living in today but you gotta do what gotta do as a student! I made some amazing friends at Uni including one of my best friends Laura and Tim of course! The 3 of us did basically everything together at Uni and are well and truly friends for life. History at Uni was a bit harder than I thought it might be but I loved it! Doing a History degree you don’t have many contact hours so I spent a lot of my time in the library researching or writing essays. I also found a love for Early Modern History including the Tudors – I did my dissertation on Henry VIII – such an intriguing King and the Tudors were fascinating… I won’t bore you with any more of my History talk… maybe another day 😛
This year, Tim and I also went to Spain with his parents and stayed in a friend of the family’s amazing apartment. Look how young we look below! Sure these were taken on my turquoise blue digital camera – days before iPhones and taking your camera out everywhere.
2011
This was the year I graduated Uni and after lots of job searching I got an internship at a Big 4 firm doing Audit of all things. It was based down in Southampton so I commuted down to Southampton every day for 2 months and loved it! After the internship I had to wait a year to start the grade scheme so I went on some nice hols with the fam and then started work the following September.
2012
2012 I finally started working for a Big 4 Firm down in Southampton. Looking back on it I found it really hard especially as Tim and I were well and truly into a long distance relationship as his grad scheme saw him go between Leicestershire, Warrington and Leeds while I was in Southampton. I’d gone to Southampton knowing 1 person but I stuck it out and met some great friends I’m still in touch with now. Working at a Big 4 Firm was definitely hard but I learnt so much during my time there. Its so intense working long hours especially while doing your ACA exams.
We had another trip to Spain to that gorgeous villa – look at that view ❤️
2013
I can’t believe it was in 2013 that I first downloaded insta – doesn’t feel like it was 6 years ago! Most of my posts were all about the food and drinks with lots of filters and borders. Thank goodness I’ve now stopped with all those extreme filters 😂
This year Tim and I went on our first ‘big’ holiday together to The Big Apple and had my 23rd birthday there – it was so hot but lots of fun!
This year Tim and I went on our first ‘big’ holiday together to The Big Apple and had my 23rd birthday there – it was so hot but lots of fun!
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| Found a love for Toms and haven’t looked back! |
2014
Tim and I moved in with my parents in London and I started a new job in central London. It was nice to move back to London. Southampton was a nice place and I met some great friends down there but London has always felt special to me and I love how everything is on your doorstep. It was great to move back, make some new friends at work and reconnect with school friends. Moving home also meant that we could save up for a deposit to buy our own place. Finally being in the same place meant that Tim and I started to do some more travelling and found a love for it! We went to Bruges, Spain and Rome. As you can see from the pics below I still loved filters and borders…
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| A cold Feb in Bruges |
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| Summer in Spain |
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| Roaming through Rome |
2015
Now this was a year! I finally went to a specialist consultant about my tummy troubles and was put on the FODMAP diet to figure out what the problem was. Turns out it was wheat, onion and garlic but stress was definitely the main trigger. I got much better at cooking this year as I tried to find some yummy gluten free options. This year I found a love for running and did my first 10k – it definitely helped having a park at the end of the road with a 5k loop! It definitely helped with the stress.
With Tim and I working at different times and Tim working 2 out of 3 weekends we made time to get away for a long weekend and going on a few hols. We went to Bath and got an upgrade to a suite – it was my first proper time in Bath and ignited my love for the gorgeous city! We went to Spain again, away to the Peak District with some friends and went to a couple Rugby World Cup games while it was in the UK.
The best bit of 2015 was definitely our trip to Dubai and getting engaged!!! Omg it was amazing and out of this world – a holiday I’ll never forget! We went on a desert safari and also swam with dolphins which was insane! It was so much fun celebrating with friends and family when we got back too.
With Tim and I working at different times and Tim working 2 out of 3 weekends we made time to get away for a long weekend and going on a few hols. We went to Bath and got an upgrade to a suite – it was my first proper time in Bath and ignited my love for the gorgeous city! We went to Spain again, away to the Peak District with some friends and went to a couple Rugby World Cup games while it was in the UK.
The best bit of 2015 was definitely our trip to Dubai and getting engaged!!! Omg it was amazing and out of this world – a holiday I’ll never forget! We went on a desert safari and also swam with dolphins which was insane! It was so much fun celebrating with friends and family when we got back too.
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| Rest stop in the Peak District |
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| A holiday I’ll never forget… |
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| Engagement celebrations ❤️ |
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| Supporting England at the Rugby World Cup |
2016
This year we moved up to Birmingham and it was the first time Tim and I were living together just us. We loved it! It was so nice having our own space and we started looking for somewhere to buy! Tim was travelling around the UK for work as part of a project so for 4 months I lived by myself and Tim would pop back at weekends. In August he changed jobs and became an accountant! In 2015 I finally qualified as a chartered accountant and now Tim wanted in on it as well!
This year I got back into my running again and completed my first half marathon with Tim and some friends. I hated it and went off running afterwards and have been trying to get back into running ever since.
The hours we started working ramped up so holidays were still very important to us. We went to Italy and visited Venice and Florence and also went to Lisbon where we had some super tasty meals out. YUM!
This year I got back into my running again and completed my first half marathon with Tim and some friends. I hated it and went off running afterwards and have been trying to get back into running ever since.
The hours we started working ramped up so holidays were still very important to us. We went to Italy and visited Venice and Florence and also went to Lisbon where we had some super tasty meals out. YUM!
2017
Now this was a year to remember! We not only brought a house right at the beginning of the year but got married too. Wow it was an expensive year but so worth it.
One of the reasons we moved up to Birmingham was because it was more affordable than London and we could get on the property ladder. We love our house and our garden – perfect for summer days! Its so nice to have your own space and somewhere you can really make your own. It isn’t our forever home but is perfect for us at the moment.
We did a lot of saving for our wedding and honeymoon the first half of the year and did lots of wedding planning. When the wedding came around it was just perfect! (See here for a post on our wedding day and here for a post on my hen do in Bath)
We went on honeymoon to Cancun and simply chilled and enjoyed all inclusive living!
One of the reasons we moved up to Birmingham was because it was more affordable than London and we could get on the property ladder. We love our house and our garden – perfect for summer days! Its so nice to have your own space and somewhere you can really make your own. It isn’t our forever home but is perfect for us at the moment.
We did a lot of saving for our wedding and honeymoon the first half of the year and did lots of wedding planning. When the wedding came around it was just perfect! (See here for a post on our wedding day and here for a post on my hen do in Bath)
We went on honeymoon to Cancun and simply chilled and enjoyed all inclusive living!
2018
A lot happened in 2018! By the end of the year my IBS had gotten much better and out of the blue I was able to eat wheat again for the first time in just over 3 years – I honestly have no idea why it got better all of a sudden – some people have said my stomach had reset itself (not sure what I think of that!) and then I could handle my stress a bit better. I made a line for all the wheat to make the most of it! When I’m stressed it comes back but it is no way anyway near as bad as it was. It was so nice to be able to go out and not have to worry about if I’d need to rush off to the loo all of a sudden. I still carry imodium around just in case but my goodness its a relief to be better!
My sister had the cutest little blonde boy in the US and I got to meet him after a work trip to Houston which was perfect!
I got promoted to manager at work which was great and, as I love to do, we celebrated with afternoon tea.
I was also doing some calligraphy and had started up an etsy shop to sell wedding bits and pieces and handed painted quotes. I did stop it before the end of the year as I was no longer enjoying it but love to do little bits and pieces for friends every now and again.
Tim and I went on the most amazing California road trip. What a trip it was! We absolutely loved it and can’t wait to get back to California – hopefully in 2020!
Off the back of our road trip I finally got around to starting my blog! I can’t believe that was nearly a year and a half ago! (see my first blogiversary post here for a round up of my first year blogging)
My sister had the cutest little blonde boy in the US and I got to meet him after a work trip to Houston which was perfect!
I got promoted to manager at work which was great and, as I love to do, we celebrated with afternoon tea.
I was also doing some calligraphy and had started up an etsy shop to sell wedding bits and pieces and handed painted quotes. I did stop it before the end of the year as I was no longer enjoying it but love to do little bits and pieces for friends every now and again.
Tim and I went on the most amazing California road trip. What a trip it was! We absolutely loved it and can’t wait to get back to California – hopefully in 2020!
Off the back of our road trip I finally got around to starting my blog! I can’t believe that was nearly a year and a half ago! (see my first blogiversary post here for a round up of my first year blogging)
2019
This past year has flown by. A year where I finally started a new job and left external audit for the world of industry! What a change and atm I’m loving the change in focus and putting myself first. Atm the hours are better and I have more time for me and I’m stressing much less.
I travelled lots for my old work and went to Houston, Buffalo and Italy. Then we did some travelling for ourselves – we had a week in Florida and then long weekends in Copenhagen, Ireland and Malta. We finally went on the most amazing trip to Australia which we’ve just gotten back from. Omg it was out of this world! Don’t worry, posts will be coming in the next few weeks!
We also ate lots of amazing food and visited some out of this world restaurants – my favourite had to be Le Manoir!
I travelled lots for my old work and went to Houston, Buffalo and Italy. Then we did some travelling for ourselves – we had a week in Florida and then long weekends in Copenhagen, Ireland and Malta. We finally went on the most amazing trip to Australia which we’ve just gotten back from. Omg it was out of this world! Don’t worry, posts will be coming in the next few weeks!
We also ate lots of amazing food and visited some out of this world restaurants – my favourite had to be Le Manoir!
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| Sunsets in Florida |
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| Colourful Copenhagen |
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| Le Manoir |
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| Gorgeous nights in Malta |
What a decade!
It’s been good fun going through all my pics from the past decade and you can tell when I got my first iPhone! Over the years I got a bit better at taking a pic and taking more and more as the years went on. I’ve been taking pics of my food since 2013 and I definitely won’t be stopping any time soon! Looks like I haven’t changed too much since 2010 (well maybe a few more wrinkles!) but I’ve most definitely grown as a person. If I could tell my 20 year old self anything it would be not too worry so much and have more confidence in myself.
What does 2020 hold for me? More holidays of course, more tasty food and enjoying myself for sure!
Happy new year everyone and see you in 2020!
Until next time,
Cathers xx
