11 Things in 11 Years

Soz guys, it’s another Valentine’s-esque post. If you read my last post, you’ll know that Valentine’s Day marks mine and Liam’s 11 year anniversary. My last post was all about how we met and what’s generally happened over the last 11 years, but today I thought I’d put together something that looks back on my favourite moments of those 11 years. Some of them I’ve already written about in previous posts, but some you probably won’t have heard before. So, here’s 11 of my favourite moments from the last 11 years.

1. Going to University Together

Going to university together has to be one of our biggest milestones. While there were a fair few tough times throughout those 3 years, it was our first home together and we were bloody lucky to have found it. On top of that, we had so many laughs along the way.

2. Getting Engaged

We got engaged on Christmas Eve 2010 after watching Peep Show (to this day the Christmas episode will always be my favourite for this reason). After forcing me to go downstairs to make him a cup of tea, I came back into my bedroom to find him waiting for me, with a load of candles lit. It’s weird to think that it was now 9 years ago!

3. Seeing Russell Howard

My Russell Howard obsession started long before Liam and I got together, and after I bought him Dara O’Briain tickets for his 18th, he surprised me on mine with tickets to Russell Howard’s Right Here Right Now tour in Birmingham. We’ve seen his shows a few times since then, but that first one will always stick with me, as seeing Russell Howard live was VERY high up on 17 year old me’s bucket list. 

4. Seeing Avenue Q

Back when I was 15-16, I discovered what is my absolute favourite musical: Avenue Q. It was a rather strange obsession for a teenager to have, but I loved the music, I loved the overall story, and I especially loved the characters (sweary Jim Henson style puppets are and always will be awesome). Another thing on my bucket list was to go to see the original show on Broadway, but when I found out it had closed, I changed it to going to see the London production. I think at one point as well I may have even wanted to audition for the part of Kate Monster because I fucking smashed the songs on the soundtrack. Anyway, the show was actually touring in 2011, and I was buzzing when Liam got me tickets for my birthday. I’d seen a crappy version on YouTube that filmed at the back of the theatre in New York so I knew most of what happened in the show, but seeing it live was something I’ll never forget. Also, while we’re on the subject of puppets, another memory that gets an honourable mention is Christmas 2012, when he bought me my very own puppet…meet Kerms (because he’s not quite Kermit).

5. Graduating

I guess couples graduating together isn’t such a rare thing, but most of those couples meet at university rather than beforehand. Not many of them can say they were together at the start and stuck together for the whole three years! We were lucky to have our graduation ceremonies on the same day meaning we could get a picture in our gowns together. Bearing in mind it was the hottest day of the year, my ceremony was in the morning and his was in the afternoon – you could return your gown pretty much any time after your ceremony. I kept that stupidly oversized fabric oven on for a good three hours longer than I needed to for that picture – but it was totally worth it.

6. Getting a Cat

I was so happy when we moved into our house that – despite being a rented property – allowed pets as it meant I could finally get my fur baby! Enter Tilly. We brought her home in November 2013 and she’s been covering our stuff in cat hair ever since. While he doesn’t like to admit he’s a cat dad, he definitely is.

7. Getting Married

Hands down, my favourite memory in our 11 years together. Just the most perfect day with our family and friends, loads of laughs, loads of food and loads of booze. I wrote a full post about the day not that long ago, which you can read here!

8. Barcelona

While our first trip abroad didn’t exactly go to plan, there’s still some fabulous memories associated with it! It was the first time I’d got on a plane, and he looked after me the whole time (including me screaming my head off during the world’s worst turbulence on the flight home), we had a whole day on the beach which had the most gorgeous weather, we stayed in a lovely hotel, and we saw some beautiful scenery. We also had a brilliant first night where we got ridiculously pissed on cheap wine. However, it was said night that caused us to write off pretty much the next 24 hours where we were so hungover. Cue a day in bed, watching The Big Bang Theory on his laptop while I dry heaved on and off for 90% of the day.

9. Gran Canaria

A much more successful holiday than Barcelona, Gran Canaria is probably my favourite holiday we’ve been on. We actually went there twice, once in 2017 and again in 2018 – literally to the exact same area and the exact same hotel, but it was worth it! We knew all the good restaurants and things to do, and we actually knew our way around which is always a nice thing when you’re in a foreign country. While they were both amazing, I think my favourite trip has to be the 2018 one, as where we knew where to go and what to do already, it meant we made the most of our time there. Plus, where it felt slightly more familiar for me anxiety wise, it meant more alcohol was consumed too!

10. Madeira

Our most recent holiday was last year’s trip to Madeira, which you will have read all about already so I won’t go into too much detail. You’ll be aware of the rather horrible start we had to the trip, but all in all it was a fab holiday and we enjoyed some amazing food and stayed in the most Instagrammable hotel. It’s such a pretty holiday destination all round!

11. OCD Support

Okay so it’s not exactly a full on memory, and the times when my OCD has been at is absolute worst are ones I’d sooner forget, however, during those times Liam has been there to take care of me. He’s looked after me during some of my worst moments, especially over the last few years, and let’s be honest, he puts up with A LOT from me generally, let alone when I’m at the height of an anxiety attack. He’s there to cheer me up when I feel down, whether it’s through telling me a filthy joke I’ve heard hundreds of times before, or sending me various animal videos (including one of a tortoise eating lettuce and a duck falling asleep), or sending me a picture of Tilly napping on him, he always manages to crack a smile out of me eventually!

Happy 11 Years, Husband!