Today’s the start of a new series: “Coffee Conversations”. I wanted to create this series to give myself the ability to write with a little more freedom. My inconsistencies with writing stem from my innate need for everything to be perfect before I hit “publish”. The writing has to be clear and meaningful, the graphics have to be beautiful and polished, and the timing has to be just right. While I value all of those things, they prevent me from showing up here because if it’s not “good enough”, it’s not making the blog.

Coffee Conversations opens up a casual space for me to post things that are outside of my niche, or at least outside of my normal content. It gives me the opportunity to discuss things that I would, say, with a friend over coffee. So today’s Coffee Conversation is just a little life update, because a lot has happened since we spoke last…

It all started with a Vision Board

In January I made a vision board for my upcoming year. I focused on things like Home Ownership, Gratitude, Family, Friends, Writing, Career Clarity, Hygge, and Money. I understand that I’m putting myself in a vulnerable space by showing you what’s on my vision board, but I’m showing you because many of the things I put on it have come to fruition.

Here are some life events that have happened since I was here last:

1. I wrote an article for a small Veteran Magazine, and they weren’t able to publish it.
   I poured my heart into an article about how the Hygge Lifestyle could benefit Veterans. Due to covid and funding, they weren’t able to publish it. Maybe I’ll post it here sometime. This was a huge lesson for me in disappointment and bouncing back.
   
2. We lost our dog Nana, after 7.5 wonderful years with her.
   The most unexpected and devastating thing to happen. We were blindsided by losing our sweet girl. It’s been a little over 4 months and it still seems unreal that she’s gone. People aren’t lying when they talk about the deep, painful grief that comes with losing a dog. As time goes on, the reality that she’s truly gone sets in and we try to create a new sense of normal, but I’d be lying if I said life wasn’t a little bit empty without her around.
   
3. We found our potential dream home, 4 days after we lost her.
   Another incredibly unexpected turn of events. You know how they say “when one door closes, another opens”? This was one of those moments. In the midst of our pain and grief, we got a phone call that a home in one of our favorite neighborhoods was going to go up for sale in the next few months. If you know anything about the housing market in Kalispell, MT, you know that finding that type of sale situation is pretty much the ONLY way for lower-income people to buy a home right now. We were in absolute shock, and completely conflicted on this new sense of hopefulness in the middle of the hardest time of our life. We reached out to the seller and he scheduled us to come look at the house the following day, which just so happened to be my 26th birthday.
   
4. We BOUGHT our dream home.
   If you were waiting for a happy ending, you’ll find it right here. We fell instantly in love with the house. We went through the process without a realtor, which proved to be slightly difficult. But after two months of documents, paperwork, inspections, and a TON of patience, we moved into our first home on…. drumroll please…. April 6th, a.k.a 4/06, a.k.a “Montana Day”. If you don’t believe in receiving signs through dates, symbols, and numbers, you should now.
   
5. I photographed my best friend’s labor
   I had the absolute honor and privilege to attend and photograph my best friend’s third and final labor. It was intimate, beautiful, and then very, very scary. And although it was slightly traumatizing, it somehow made me feel more prepared for when my time comes (maybe soon?).
   

There were so many incredible things that happened between all of these major life events. We’re 6 months into this year and it has been one of the most intense, surreal, memorable years of my life. If you refer back to my vision board, you’ll notice that I was able to accomplish multiple things on it already. Which has just proven to me that manifestation, gratitude, and hard work pays off. But it also proved that some of the most incredible things in life come in the most unexpected moments, and that our most valuable and cherished things can be ripped from us at any moment, too.

Wow, that chat got deep. I hope you’re still with me, and I hope you enjoyed catching up like ol’ pals. Please keep checking back for some valuable content coming soon, like hygge summer to-do’s, date night ideas, how to make a hyggekrog in your home, and so much more. Thanks for being here, friends.

Let’s catch up again soon.