If you told me that your 2011 was crazier than mine, you’d probably be incorrect. Now, this doesn’t mean that your life isn’t crazy, because we all know it is… this just means that if I had taken on one more major life-changing load in 2011, I’d burst. I’d literally burst. You’ll see why:
First let’s start with Baylor graduation—December 18, 2011. I moved to Dallas right after (to be close to my boyfriend, Franklin) and got my first job. This job—as a recruiter at a public accounting firm—required that I travel 3 out of 5 days a week. Needless to say, I was all over the place. The deep freeze of February in Dallas mixed with taking two 10 year olds and an 8 year old to Disney World for a weekend (ultimate birth control!) left me and Franklin both exhausted! This gets us to March, and you’re probably thinking—“Wow.
That’s not crazy at all, Chandler… That’s life.” Well…
On March 12th, Franklin proposed. It took me no time to say yes! It was the most special, wonderful day of my life (to that point!) He surprised me with all of our closest family and friends—so of course Cassie Jo was there! From that moment on, I was whisked away into wedding planning bliss!
Franklin and I at The Driskill Hotel--where he proposed!
My reaction when I saw Cassie at the party afterwards!
By May, I realized that my job situation was not ideal. Between planning a wedding and working this job, my life was an emotional rollercoaster, and I knew I needed to get a new job… so I did. I became a recruiter at a recruiting firm, and while this position had no travel requirements, it did require that I work 12 hour days—not ideal during full-blown wedding-planning season! During this time, Franklin and I were in the midst of house hunting, but decided not to buy a home quite yet, even though we wanted to.
My mom had surgery, so during the 2 weeks between jobs, I went home to take care of her—it was the best break I could’ve asked for (Well, when you’re planning a wedding, there really are no breaks!)
I started a full body cleanse on July 1st. I wanted to get back to equilibrium and focus on myself—this was the best thing I did! Self control and healthy living made SUCH a difference!
At the end of July, Franklin and I noticed that a home we had been considering had dropped by $50K… It needed A LOT of work, but was now a steal, so in a split decision, we bought the house and began remodeling immediately.
The remodeling was extensive, a ton of things went wrong and it ended up take 2 months longer than expected, but the house looks AMAZING and it's the perfect little abode for Frank and I to begin our life in!
Here we are with Pudge in front of our new home on closing day! (I’ll do a before/after blog post about this!)
At the end of September, Franklin and I rescued an Alaskan Malamute puppy… a 100 pound Alaskan Malamute puppy. In mid October, when the adoption was final, we sent her to a month-long training puppy camp, fully expecting to pick her up in mid November and take her into our new home, right? Wrong. Meet Keira!
September, October and November were one big blur of work, showers, parties and planning. I was wedding-consumed! In mid October, an opportunity at an international law firm came up. I interviewed (6 interviews total) for the position of Legal Recruiting Assistant! They offered me the position with the contingency that I would start after I returned from my honeymoon so that I was completely focused on the job—amazing, right? I accepted immediately (then cried, because I was so happy)
I quit my second job, packed up my one-bedroom apartment (with the help of my sweet friend, Caroline), put all my stuff in storage and moved to Austin to begin wedding planning full-time! All I had packed was a suitcase to live out of for 2 weeks because we were supposed to move into our new house November 1… right?
Cass and Me after wedding dress shopping in Dallas!
Wrong… But that’s okay! My bachelorette party was coming up and we were headed to Mexico. So Franklin took me to the storage unit, where I opened boxes, searching for my summer clothes! After frantically packing, I flew out to Mexico with 20 of my closest girlfriends!
When we got back, we were in the threshold of Thanksgiving and only 3 weeks away from the big day! This was probably when I was the most stressed out. Trying to put together the details—my brain doesn’t wrap around tiny details, rather big pictures, so I was blessed with my wedding planning team (My mom, her best friend, Aimee, and Barbara—The wedding coordinator.) They did the whole thing—I really can’t take any credit at all!! We spent our family Thanksgiving in Dallas, where we shopped and went to the Dallas Cowboys football game—a nice break from the insanity… Then it was wedding week.
We were married on December 3, 2011 in Austin, TX!
It was the most perfect day of my whole life!
I’ll do a whole blog post about the wedding, I promise…
Then the amazing Honeymoon—Napa Valley, California. Once again, it will be its own post.
We arrived home from our Honeymoon on Friday, December 9th and I started my new job at the big law firm on Monday, December 12th! (Once again, Franklin had to take me to the storage unit so I could pull out some work clothes!)
Then, Christmas. I made the Christmas dinner this year in Beaver Creek, Colorado, where Franklin and I spent Christmas with my amazing family! The house wasn't complete until December 30th. Keira had to be boarded from the end of her training until this time—almost 5 weeks! We moved into the new house over New Years Eve and started 2012 as a married couple in our brand new home!
And that’s why I say I had the craziest year of my entire life!
Beat that! (Maybe you can!)
So here I am—one year later. I’m 1 year older, a college graduate, married, mom to TWO dogs now, a homeowner. I have longer hair, I’ve lost weight (but I know I’m gaining it back now that I’m married) and I’m not even .0001 inch taller! A lot has changed, but one thing that hasn’t is that I’m still so incredibly blessed by an amazing LORD! I’m surrounded with love and friendship and I’m so excited to share it all!!
—xoxo, Chandler
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