Hold up, how has it been five years since Chris and I started dating?! Plus, today is the five-year dating-aversary since we made it official. It's crazy to think that a little college crush turned into my forever. On our five year date-aversary, we went to the fair where we had our first date. There's just something about reliving that day that makes it feel extra special.
The only main difference between our first date and five years later is that we weren't afraid to tell each other we can't ride the rides. haha! During our first date, we were both secretly feeling sick after riding the fair rides, so now that we've learned how to communicate and be open and honest, we stuck to the Ferris Wheel like the old people we are.
Of course, it wouldn't be a date night without a photoshoot. I mean, I got all dressed up and ready to go, I just had to do a photoshoot!! The photoshoot was actually my husband's idea this time. I received the awesome dress that's in today's post from Chicwish (affiliate), and it simply belongs at the fair. I literally matched the Ferris Wheel, and yes, I was living my best life in this dress.
I think the most fun part about walking around the fair after being together for five years knowing that's where it all began. Not to be super sappy and all, but I knew I was gonna marry that kid one day from our very first date. Maybe it was the perfectly timed Ferris Wheel ride at sunset, or maybe it was the way Chris treated me differently than anyone ever, I just knew. I couldn't keep from smiling, and still to this day, even when I'm angry as ever, his one and only goal is to make me laugh.
I thought it would be fun to share five facts about us--especially as I'm reminiscing the past five years in my head, and have this huge, cheesy smile on my face. The people in Starbucks probably think I'm crazy. haha!
One // We have the same personality type: ENFJ
Yep. We have the same personality type. We are both among the rarest personality type because we're all kinds of somethin' special. We are both crazy extroverts, but the kind of extroverts that also like to be hermits at the same time...together, of course. Our personalities are deep and complicated, and at first, I thought it was crazy that we had the same personality type, but it works out perfectly because we just get each other.
Two // Chris is 1 year and 11 months older than me, but I graduated from college the same year as he did.
You could say I'm a bit of an overachiever. I skipped a year in college, which allowed me to graduate a year ahead of my original graduating class, putting me in Chris's class of 2014! The craziest part is that we actually sat near each other at graduation. I was right behind him, and the even crazier thing is that we got our cap & gown pictures taken right after one another. I was actually supposed to go right before him, but I told him to go before me because I had to fix my hair. I kid you not, that was our first interaction...I told him I had to fix my hair before I could take a picture. If that wasn't a foreshadow of the rest of our lives, I don't know what is. haha!
Three // We're both really good with finances.
Can I just say, THANK GOD. Often times with couples, one is good with money, and the other is well, just not. When we first started dating, we both sucked with money. We were both spending way more than we should and racked up an alarming amount of credit card debt. I mean it wasn't tens of thousands, but it was close to ten grand that we ended up having to pay off. Thank God all of that is gone, and we just have a little left on our student loans to pay before were are debt-free (aside from our house).
Learning to be good with our finances came at the same time for both of us. We both just got angry enough at our debt at the same time, and it catapulted us into a debt-killing frenzy. We paid off over $25K of debt within the first six months, and we have continued to chisel away at our debt--even while saving up for our dream house.
If you're in need of a little financial advice, check out my favorite financial blog post that I've ever written--plus, it has a FREE resource for you to get your budget and financial goals in order to make your dreams a financial reality. Do I sound like Dave Ramsey yet?! That man is a genius.
Four // We planned our wedding in seven weeks.
Yep, you read that right. We planned our entire wedding in seven weeks. To paint you a picture, the year was 2017, I had just quit my job without having another, and Chris and I got engaged on February 22. We knew that we wanted to have a barn wedding--it had been my dream, but everything for the next two years was booked and/or way out of our budget!
I reached out to one of my friend's at church who lives on a family farm with the most gorgeous barn to see if it would even be possible to have our wedding there. After we gave her and her husband time to think it over, they agreed to be part of our crazy adventure. The only catch is that we had to have the wedding in April or the first week of May because they would need to barn for hay season during mid-May.
I think when I face-timed my parents telling them we were going to have our wedding in seven weeks they thought I was crazy and had ten heads, but let me tell you, it was the most gorgeous day of our lives, and we are kick-booty when it comes to making decisions together.
Both of our parents and Chris were all amazing through the seven weeks of planning (and well, always), and helped with my crazy DIY wedding plans, traveled to help me pick out my wedding dress, the suits, and were there every step of the way. I couldn't ask for a better husband or family to share life with.
If you want to see any details of our DIY wedding or to read my most read blog posts, check out my wedding tab here!
Five // I'm the dreamer and Chris is the realist.
A few weeks ago at work, I had to take a new personality test that tells you your top five strengths. My top strength is futuristic. I thrive on planning for the future and working my butt off to get us there. The only problem, is sometimes I want the future to be now. That's where Chris comes in, because let me tell ya, he will set that timeline straight real quick, and I am so thankful for it.
Looking back at our marriage and the years before when we dated, I am so thankful for the times he said wait, or not yet, our time will come, because living in those moments now that we waited for feels so much better now than they would have back then.
Right after we got married, I thought that we had to be in our own home, but that dream got quickly shut down when we couldn't afford anything. It was we either get an okay house in the bad part of town, we get a condo in an okay part of town, or we stayed in our apartment. We chose to stay in our apartment for the first year of our marriage, and then right after our first anniversary, we moved into our friend's house to save money for our house and to try and get ourselves out of the crippling debt we were in.
We will forever be grateful for this family, because they truly are our family, always & always. During the last year and a half that we've lived with our friends, we have been able to pay off all of our credit card debt and over half of our student loans. We still paid rent and helped out with things around the house, but our expenses were cut in half. We did, however, live in one bedroom + a bathroom during this time, but gosh it was so worth it.
We are now about one month away from being in our first home, and that is literally giving me chills typing that. I legit could cry over moments like this, and I'm sure as soon as I step into that house for the first time when we're handed over the keys, I'm going to ball like a baby. This house is a sign of hard work, sacrifice, and love, ah, so much love.
I dreamed of the moment building a home with my husband one day, and I married a man that made that happen for me. We worked our butts off, both have a full-time job + a side hustle, and this season in life is the greatest, and I know what's to come will be even greater with Chris by my side.
I can't wait to share our home with you once we move in. For updates, be sure to check in for home decor blog posts to come, and our Home Sweet Jonestead Instagram page where we've shown our building process!
Now that I've successfully smiled like a dork, legit laughed out loud, and started tearing up, I'm going to end this post. All in all, find someone who loves hard, laughs hard, and will never give up on you--I was lucky enough to find that in Chris, and our life is like a fair. Bright like the Ferris Wheel and as sweet as the funnel cake we get every year. 💕💑
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