The last week has been a bit of a whirlwind for us. With all our recent travels, we’ve been out of town since April! This said, we decided that it was most important to stay in town and enjoy the benefits of London in springtime for a while.
We caught up with local and visiting personal friends: my old friend Krista from undergrad visited from California, G met up with his good college (and German Club) friend Andy in Berlin and they traveled back to meet up with me in London. And we have also had a bit more time to reconnect with our local friends, as well.
I traveled for business this week and reconnected with my “business friends’. All agency and client-side marketing staff working on the account in EMEA met up in green and homey Newbury just west of London for a few days of meetings and fun. Our client likes to party, I was exhausted upon returning home!
This weekend we’ve enjoyed catching up on rest, have done a few chores around the house and soaked up our share of sunshine on Primrose Hill. Ahh…Spring! Finally.
We’ve also taken a few minutes to regroup on our “plan”. Probably 5 years ago by now, we found a curious book at the local Cary library. Called “Smart Couples Finish Rich”…we were feeling smart and wanted to be rich, so we decided to pick it up for a quick read. It was chock full of good models and frameworks to help new and old couples prioritize their spending based on life goals and dreams. The premise is that wealth isn’t about hoards of cash in the bank…that’s a part of it, but it’s really about living a happy and full life while making smart financial decisions that will prepare you for the future. A balance between spending on what matters while saving for the dream basket. It fit with our personal philosophies and we’ve been sold ever since.
We’ve tried to fill it in every couple or few years–this will be our third time. It’s helped us to stay current on each others’ priorities and development so that we can grow together instead of apart. We owe our move to London, in part, to this book. Not to mention our travel budget and other key decisions. So, we’re working out our priorities for the next couple years. Hmmm…what’s next? We’re not yet finished, but I hear the Hill calling our names on this gorgeous sunny day to continue working through the frameworks. It’s amazing how much we change and grow over such a short timeframe. And eventhough G and I are inseparable, it’s always a surprise to see what’s on each others’ radar.
Oh, and our weekend has had a bit of adventure, as well. G and I left for a quick grocery run last night, only to then realize that we didn’t have keys to the flat with us! It happens…but it’s the first time for us in the flat. A neighbor buzzed us in to the building, but since our landlord is out of town, we were faced with calling a lock smith or breaking into our own flat. Not an easy task when your flat’s on the 5th floor (6th by American definition) with a special door latch to deter theft. Luckily for us, we’re on the top floor and were able to find a couple vulnerable points from the roof access. But, it’s a long way down. Luckily, I married a boy scout who was able to break in within 30 minutes of the lock-out. Hmmm…actually good and bad. We certainly know now that which precautions to make so that others will be unable to do the same.
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