I'm Back + Long Overdue Life Update!

Wow. I cannot believe it has been over a year since I last updated this blog. I mean, I knew it had been a while, but I had no idea it had been sixteen months! All I can really say on the matter is that I've been super busy, and when I'm not super busy I've been resting.

Fortunately, or not so fortunately I should say, I've had a lot more time to rest lately due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so I thought what better time for me to jump on and update the old blog that I used to enjoy sharing my life on so much.

For those of you who have been around since the beginning, you will notice a few changes I have made to the blog. The first change being that I have purchased (and then tweaked) a new design for my blog. I know, I'm shocked too. One of the things I used to enjoy doing so much so that I created an entire business off of doing it was designing my own blog. As the saying goes though, all good things must come to an end, and for me my love (and patience) for designing fizzled out quite a few years ago. Since then I have become even more of a minimalist and perfectionist than I was previously, and so I just haven't found that drive within myself to redesign the blog from scratch. I haven't lost my love of writing though, so I finally decided to bite the bullet and purchase a pre-made template that I could easily tweak to my current aesthetic. What do you guys think?

The second change I have made is that I deleted most of my old blog posts. Once again, this was the perfectionist in me. I still have them all saved as draft posts however, so who knows, maybe I will re-share some of the oldies but goodies one day!

As for what I've been up to since my last blog update, if you follow me on instagram you will know that quite a lot has happened. The main thing being that D and I got married. That's right, I am now officially Mrs Clarke! We got married on the 13th of April 2019 at Parkwood International Golf Course. It was a relatively small and simple wedding, exactly as I had imagined. We ended up going with a very natural and rustic woodland theme, and for the most part the wedding was relatively stress free. I always thought I'd be sharing endless blog posts when it came to planning our big day, but between working full time, exercising and staying up until late at night organising everything, this blog was the last thing on my mind. We were so very fortunate to have our friends and family assist us with various things, from altering my wedding dress, to doing my hair, to organising all of our floral arrangements.. I don't know how we could have pulled things off so seamlessly without everyone's support. It truly was the best day of my life so far, and I am so lucky to be able to call D my husband.

We didn't end up having a honeymoon immediately following the wedding (how anyone can afford to do that after saving up for a wedding is beyond my comprehension), however we did end up going to Bali at the end of October for our friends' wedding. This was my first ever time going overseas, and although I'm not rushing to go back anytime soon, I did really enjoy myself. As there were so many of us who went over there we all put in to stay in a gorgeous villa in Petitenget where we were pretty much waited on hand and foot. It was out of this world luxurious and I enjoyed every minute of our time in the villa. We were also staying right down the road from the infamous Kynd Community, so I made sure to head there a time or two before we left. Their mushroom schnitzel burger blew my mind. I only wish they had a restaurant here in Australia.

Interview ready!

Shortly after arriving back in Sydney, I received some amazing news that I had been offered a promotion back up in Brisbane. This wasn't exactly a shock to me as I had flown up for the interview before leaving for Bali, but it was definitely a huge surprise nonetheless. D and I had always said our end goal was to move back up to Brisbane when the time was right, and so I had just started applying for roles I felt would be worth the move back.. I just didn't realise I would be offered the first role I applied for. As D was not in a position to move back at that time we decided that I would move back on my own as the position was too good to pass up, and would hopefully set us up for long term success as a couple. So at the beginning of December I moved back to Brisbane and started living with my mother-in-law. Four months later and I am still living here. I have settled into my new role quite wonderfully (still the same sort of thing I was doing previously, but in a senior position with more responsibilities) and have adjusted better than expected to being back in a long distance relationship with D. I guess the fact that we started off long distance has made the whole thing a little bit easier for us. The timing was also kinda perfect because I had recently found out that my Mum had breast cancer again (she is fine now, the mastectomy was a big success) so this allowed me more time to visit her.

I am crossing my fingers and toes that D and I will be reunited again properly soon, but for now I'm at least taking comfort in the one positive to COVID-19 which is that D flew up just before they closed the borders so that he could work from home with me. It all happened so quickly, and they almost cancelled his last minute flight, so I am feeling like fate is on our side and wanting us to be together as a family. So far the three of us have been living in self isolation for the past 7 days, only leaving the house for our daily walk around the park with the four dogs. We have been getting our groceries delivered and basically doing anything we can to avoid leaving the house. D's mother is in the 'at risk' category due to her age so we are refraining from leaving the house for anything considered non essential.

The only other big thing I really have to update you guys on is my hair. I had been planning on letting it grow out and be totally natural, and had already cut out most of the blonde that was previously in my hair (as you can see from my job interview photo), but the short blunt bob trend that has been super popular lately kept calling my name and so I finally gave in back in February and had the chop.. along with a new splash of blonde to lighten things up a bit. As much as I love it I am already dreaming about growing it back out again (always wanting what I don't have haha!) and considering we are all going to be isolated for goodness knows how long, it looks as though this may just happen. My only concern is what will happen to my fringe. I suppose I will just have to grow it out and get it trimmed again once this all blows over.

Oh, I almost forgot, I have also lost 4.5kg since the beginning of February after taking part in the F45 eight week challenge. This has actually been a huge part of my life recently and something I am so glad I took part in. I have found a new love for exercise and a whole new understanding on nutrition that I never really cared to have before. I honestly feel like a whole new person and can't wait to see where this new outlook takes me.

So tell me, what exciting things have happened to you guys in the last year and a half?

How are you guys handling the COVID-19 restrictions?

Until next time...

 Felicity ♡