As the snow piles up in Baltimore, I finally have a chance to sit down and write.

I haven’t updated this blog in forever. There’s been so much going on, thinking about writing or updating it hasn’t even crossed my mind.

Ken and I got engaged earlier last year, a week before Valentine’s Day, to be exact.

Then we bought our first house together in May. It’s split into two apartments, so for several months we dealt with inspections and permitting issues, as well as finding renters for the second apartment.

We actually went on vacation together for the first time in years, to Cape Coral, Florida, with some friends of ours.

This was me every morning, reading Lord of the Rings poolside.

Then there was our housewarming party to plan, a friend’s wedding in Michigan to attend, and now there’s our wedding to plan.

We took in a cat some of my coworkers found. My family in Delaware ended up taking him.

Herman. Very cute, and very grumpy.

Then Ken found this sweet guy after work one night and brought him home, so we had him vetted and took him to a no-kill shelter in D.C., Fancy Cats. If you’re looking to adopt a cat, I highly recommend them. They make sure all their cats are fully vetted, and they also run a lot of events, two to four every weekend, at pet stores in the area. Deemo got adopted just two days after we dropped him off!

Sweet, cuddly Deemo.

We also took in Ken’s mom’s dog. She moved and travels a lot for work, so we were happy to take Angel. She doesn’t bother the cats, and her and Charlie get along great. I think they’re both happy they’re not only dogs anymore.

Aside from that, work has certainly been keeping me busy. I got a promotion and a raise this year, moving from a copy editor up to a managing editor, and I’m currently training my replacement.

I’ve also been crocheting a lot, and have even been making up my own patterns. My newly started crafting blog is Scarves by Marie, and I even opened an Etsy shop after selling a few scarves to friends and family. I’ll probably be updating my crafting blog a bit more frequently than my personal blog, so please check it out!

So far today, I’ve shoveled some snow, made some delicious brownies, and am working on making myself a cozy hat to wear next time I go out in snow.

What’s everyone else doing this weekend?