I hope you are all enjoying the last few days of 2012 - wherever you are, whoever you are with, and whatever religion you may be. I had a lovely Christmas day with my boyfriend and his family. They absolutely spoiled me, which was so kind and extremely overwhelming! I really didn't expect it. We had spent Christmas Eve at his parents hotel too with all our friends having dinner and drinks, and it was made extra special with it being our year anniversary ♥ John and I nipped out to my Mums on Christmas day before dinner, then I saw my Dad's side of the family today. Lots of good food, banter and lovely gifts were had. Feel blessed to have such generous and generally quite hilarious people in my life :)
A new year for me always starts with a new diary. This time I have opted for the Frankie Magazine journal, which I bought online and it is like a gorgeous, bound book. Quite different in look and layout to Moleskines which I have been used to using every single year. One of the very first things I will be writing in this journal is where we will have spent New Year...
Iceland! :) I've had this planned for months so it feels amazing being able to finally tell people! For Johns Christmas I am flying us out to Reykjavik for a week, and you should have seen the look on his face when I told him yesterday. It was priceless ♥ We fly out from Glasgow tomorrow and return on the 3rd of January. He has one more surprise waiting for him at the airport, but I will keep that final thing under wraps for now. Neeearly there! Had to come home quite sharpish from my dads today so we could get organised. I've had about three months but John only had a day! I can't thank his friends and family enough for keeping it quiet and helping me sneak around getting his passport details and making sure he got some warm clothes for Christmas. It has been crazy with work and trying to get it all organised on my own, including getting John booked off work too etc - but it was all so worth it and it was SUCH a relief telling him yesterday. Have you ever had to keep a big surprise like this from a loved one? It was harder than I thought it would be! If you have been before and have any last minute advice or recommendations for me then please do share.
I started looking out my clothes a couple of weeks ago but finally got them all ironed and packed tonight. The major thing I was missing was a jacket, but luckily I had hinted to John about a parka from Drop Dead Clothing which I had my eyes on, and then I got this faux fur coat from Motel last week too. Will get better pictures when I'm in Iceland but it is so thick and cosy - I love it! Jumpers seem to be taking up most of the space in my case, so I'm wearing my fur lined docs on the plane and only taking one more pair of boots with me. I have also done myself proud by just taking one handbag. This black satchel from Brand Village is sturdy (more so than my trusty Mulberry, sowwy) water resistant and has plenty of space. Will be perfect for day and night too. Alas, it is the chosen one...
Such a happy end to 2012. Words can't explain how I feel having my year anniversary with John. I got a bit mushy about it on my facebook to family and friends, but all I'll say here is that he was a shining light out of the darkness of what was one of the worst years of my entire life. Restoring my faith in people, learning to build trust again, and realising my own worth and that I deserve to be loved. We all do, right? Don't let anyone tell you (or make you feel) any different.
I won't be around to do my usual new year post, so I'll leave now with saying I hope that the symbolism of a new year and a new start gives you the faith and confidence to look fondly on the past but be ready to move forward with no emotional baggage - no matter how many regrets you feel you may have. I think it's good to be excited and ready for what lies ahead, but never dwell on it too much. Focus on the now and make the most of every minute in this present moment. Once I consciously started making an effort to do that, I really felt like I was living rather than just constantly waiting for my life to 'begin' (like, I'll be happy once I have X, Y and Z. And once I reach THIS point I will stop worrying about THAT) I really do believe the quote that happiness is the journey, not the destination. If anything, it's something short and sweet to live by. Anyway, that's all the soul searching you're getting out of me for this year... I've got a bloody plane to catch! See you on the other side :)
Ayden x