wamieswanders2018 – WamiesWorld

my Instagram Top 9 2018

Published on January 10, 2019 by Jamie ShugartLeave a comment

This is my official “top nine.” The one the app pulls up for you and says, “Here! This was your year!” And these were my most liked posts on mrsjamieshugart from 2018.

While I actually think this Top 9 did a pretty dang good job, I still stare at it and think, “How on earth can my 2018 ever fit into nine little photographs?”

According to this photo, 2018 was our Golden Retriever Blue (who is quite important, don’t get me wrong), our new furniture, our NEW HOUSE (first time home buyers—holla!), us, and adventures. Not a bad representation, but probably not exactly what I would choose.

2018 in a nutshell:

Will and I spent the first three months apart. We took our engagement photos and then he was whisked away.
Just as soon as he got back, we got married, honeymooned in Maine, lived a few more weeks in North Carolina, and then packed all of our possessions into a storage unit for safe keeping.
We drove over two thousand miles away to Arizona to spend four months with each other, with work, and with the desert.
I launched my blog, we road tripped to Utah, explored several national parks (including the Grand Canyon), spent a weekend in San Diego, and ate all of the tacos we could stand.
After four months of desert living, we began our trek back to North Carolina and I got rear ended on the first day of our drive. My trusty little car was a total loss.
Just a few days later we arrived in North Carolina and closed on our house.
The next day we emptied our storage unit (that had flooded in our absence) and discovered that basically all of our furniture was toast.
Within 5 days, we bought a house, lost all of our furniture, picked out our puppy, and bought a new (to us) Toyota.
Just two weeks later we brought our Golden girl Blue home. The first month was extremely overwhelming and all of the emotions of the car accident and storage flood caught up with us during our lack of sleep during puppy and potty training.
Will started his new job with a much busier schedule that will demand a lot from us in 2019.
I started working almost full time as a photographer, being self employed and working a lot from home.

WHAT. A. CRAZY. YEAR. WE. HAD. If I could choose my own top nine for this crazy year, these photos would be it.

#1

My baby nephew was born and adopted in February. This is what I had to say at the time:

For this child I have prayed.

Little baby Harkni, how we have prayed. And we know now, why it all happened the way it did. Because you were absolutely always His plan, and without the years of waiting and praying and sadness, we wouldn’t get to love you the way we get to love you. We wouldn’t have YOU, and what a beautiful and miraculous thing that there is now this precious new person in the world. And that precious new person is ours to love.

We are so blessed. We are so happy. We are so in love. Our family is growing this year, and 2018 is The Best Year Ever.

With all of our hearts, baby Harkni.

#2

My bridal shower!

This was a crazy season for me. I was stressed beyond measure (planning is NOT my thing) with the wedding, Will was far far away from me, and I was working all hours of the night and day with my full time job, photography on the side, and worship team shenanigans. My amazing work family threw me a surprise bridal shower that was extremely generous and made me feel so loved. My bridesmaid/bestie and her mama also threw me this shower on the day I got my hair done for the wedding (conveniently) at this adorable and delicious restaurant downtown with some of my very favorite ladies.

May you all feel loved the way I was blessed to feel so loved.

#3

#4

#wamieswedding

In April, we got married in my parents’ backyard under sunny blue skies. I wore lace and tule and we didn’t have a first look. I watched all the guests arrive through a slit in the blinds of my parents’ master bedroom and ogled my fiancé in his tux from afar. Will cried when he saw me and we said sweet simple vows. We snapped a couple pictures and then spent the reception with our loved ones before we jumped in a very decorated car that told passersby to honk, JUST MARRIED! and drove to Raleigh to stay the night in a fancy hotel before setting off the next morning for our honeymoon.

#5

On our honeymoon, we went to the beach, but in coats. We didn’t get tan, or drink cocktails, or go snorkeling. We flew to Maine—my dream vacation—and stayed in a little cottage outside Bar Harbor on an island called Mount Desert. We drank wine and ate blueberry preserves. Our first little breakfast, I got crepes with Maine blueberries and we drank our way through the island’s coffee supply that week. We wore activewear and fleece and hiked up mountains to see the views. We looked off into the distance of the Atlantic on a very clear day and had lobster multiple times at fancy restaurants on the bay. Will tried a glass of twenty dollar scotch and we did a Marvel marathon to prepare for the release of Infinity War.

We even went to see a lighthouse that I had been ogling pictures of for years. I had saved a photo of the very lighthouse to my phone exactly two years prior. To the day.

#6

Our Arizona adventures!

After packing up and moving, discovering hotel and desert life, and launching our blog, we began to realize our dream of visiting as many National Parks as possible, beginning with the Coronado National Memorial. We love hiking, camping, and exploring. We were stoked when we found out that Coronado has a cave that you can explore without a guide! We hiked the half mile trail up the mountainside and then spent a long time exploring the depths of the cave with one headlamp and one sort of okay flashlight.

We then drove up a windy, dirt road to a view point. If you turn around, you can see well into Mexico. It was beautiful and green because of monsoon season, and we were so blessed to experience it.

#7

The Grand Canyon

Another dream of mine! And a culmination of all of my goals and aspirations in Arizona. I did a work out program called 80 Day Obsession specifically to be able to keep up with my super fit husband on all of our adventuring in the desert. At the Grand Canyon, we got up around 3am to make it to the rim in time to watch the sun rise. We then hiked the rim trail for over twelve miles and spent over 13 hours in the presence of the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life.

#8

A Cacti Goodbye to Arizona

This photo is a great representation of our Arizona adventure. On our last weekend, we drove up to Saguaro National Park to catch the sunset among some of the biggest cacti I have ever laid eyes on. We had a mini photo shoot with my camera on a tripod and the remote in my hand. It gave us a moment to slow down and cherish every adventure we had been on, the four months we had gone through just the two of us, and this incredible way to start our marriage. It was a bitter sweet last adventure in the desert, but it was probably one of the best ideas we have had to date.

#9

All of our last two months of 2018 wrapped into one photo, with our new house and our new furniture and our new pup. What a whirlwind the last 70 days of 2018 were! I’ll be honest, I hope we don’t go through any more of those, but WHEN we do I will be grateful to do it with Will by my side.

Last year was a blast! (Most of it!) I was a little sad to see it go, to be honest. 2018 was very very good for my soul. For our marriage. For our future as the Shugarts. We are so blessed to have had 2018.

Now here we head into the unknown of a new year. Our bags are unpacked. We are setting down roots. We have plans and adventures and explorations to do. The world is a big place, so let’s hop to it, shall we?

Until next time,
Jamie out.

our puppy is a genius

Published on December 26, 2018 by Jamie Shugart1 Comment

Blue update #2—Weeks 10 & 11

In the past two weeks we dog sat another puppy, marveled at Blue’s genius, and had a potty training regression.

My favorite things about the past two weeks:

Transitioning to only getting up with Blue once every night.
Getting lots of good puppy snuggles and kisses.
Watching tiny Blue climb up and down our stairs.

My least favorite things about the past two weeks:

The great potty training regression of 2018.
Hand bruises from sharp puppy teeth.

Things I have learned:

That Blue is really really smart.
That Blue is already great at posing.
That Blue loves to please us.

Blue has gained over five pounds since we brought her home. At her eight week vet visit she weighed 10.8 pounds and at her 11 week vet visit, she weighed 15.8 pounds. We feel pretty good about her size and are hoping she is right in the sweet spot when she is an adult, which should be between fifty-five and sixty-five pounds. She is happy and healthy and still learning daily. It is amazing to watch her pick up on things.

For the most part, things got easier for us as a family these weeks compared to the first two. I have definitely grown more attached to our high energy fur ball and absolutely love her snuggles and puppy kisses. She is really good at hugs and snuggles, especially when she is tuckered out after playing with a puppy friend.

On the weekend Blue turned 11 weeks, we dog sat our friend’s puppy who is one month older than Blue and twice her size. He is a shepherd mix—a herding breed—and is much more calm and less high energy than our girl Blue. He is also better at sleeping through the night than she is. And while they were both mostly house trained in their own homes, this weekend turned into utter chaos that caused both dogs to regress a little bit.

Our visiting pup wasn’t sure how or where to potty at our house, so he decided that inside was the perfect spot. We had a lot of accidents the first couple days, especially because he refused to go outside. At first Blue just observed this, but eventually she started to go inside as well. As you can imagine, this got pretty frustrating.

The short story is, we got the dogs on a strict schedule for going outside. If they weren’t in their crates, they were going outside every twenty minutes, whether or not we thought they had to go. This cut down on the accidents dramatically, and improved our relationship with them as well.

Dog sitting also emphasized repeatedly how intelligent our Blue is. Not in comparison to the other dog, but just in the way that she would help him when he didn’t understand. For example, he was terrified of going down our stairs, so Blue got right next to him and went down every step with him one at a time. He also kept chewing my carpet, so Blue finally laid a chew toy across his paws and showed him to chew on that instead. I have never been more proud in my life.

We are growing closer daily, and as Blue learns more and more, Will and I enjoy her more and more. Often times before bed you will find the three of us sitting on the floor and playing with a ball or rough housing. By the end of week eleven Blue weighed in at almost 19 pounds. It’s safe to say she is heading into a big growth spurt! She is still fearless and resilient. We didn’t go a lot of places during these two weeks and she is definitely learning that the house is her den. We still keep doors to a couple rooms closed to avoid temptation for her, but in the rooms she is comfortable, she is great at only chewing on her own toys.

Until next time,
Jamie out

Read more:
Weeks 8 & 9, Bringing Blue Home

Mini House Tour (Before)

Published on December 6, 2018 by Jamie ShugartLeave a comment

We bought a house! Our very first home purchase. It is a big deal and we are excited and nervous. But mostly excited.

So excited that we are bringing you along on the adventure of home ownership. From the $300 microwave that needs replacing within the first month, to the fun paint colors and new furniture, we are bringing you along for the ride!

First up are our “before” photos. I took these literally the day we moved in, and as moving days go we were running behind so my photos have some of our stuff in them, despite my best efforts. Oh well!

Our living room! It has an electric fireplace and is the central hub of the whole house. Right now our intention is to not have a television in our living room and make it a place of conversation, reading, and quality time.

Here is our little kitchen, with not quite enough cabinet space and no pantry whatsoever. That door leads to our tiny laundry room, which we will be creating additional storage space in to use as a pantry.

It is a three bedroom, two bathroom house. As a couple with no kids but a good amount of friends who will likely come over, the second bathroom is ideal for guests. Eventually it will be great for kids too, but for now it is just a luxury to have two bathrooms and we LOVE it.

The master bedroom is just the right size for us and gets great natural light throughout the day. There is a perfect amount of space for me, Will and Blue and once we got our furniture it became a lot easier to keep it pretty clean. Also, I never knew that a jetted tub is what my life was missing, but that thing is a dream.

The bonus room is our favorite room. We are going to create a great relaxing hang out space. We are going to have movie marathons and game nights and plenty of room for my at home work outs. We literally get so excited to go upstairs and watch a show or just relax together as a family.

Last but not least is our beautiful, roomy two car garage. I never knew that I as a grownup could get so excited about a garage. I love that our cars get to live inside. That I don’t have to go out in the cold or the rain to get in my vehicle at home. That we have a place to store our lawnmower (that we will eventually purchase). I feel like such an adult, but honestly. Pulling into our garage every day is so cool.

Stay tuned for updates and decor throughout our time in this home. We are so excited to share!

Until next time,
Jamie out

we lost it all in Hurricane Florence

Published on November 26, 2018 by Jamie Shugart5 Comments

If you watched the news in September, you know that Hurricane Florence hit the east coast and caused a lot of damage. Most of the severe losses were in coastal towns, but places inland were affected as well. The Cape Fear River that runs through Fayetteville and the surrounding towns crested around 60 feet, majorly surpassing the 35 foot flood stage and causing families along the river and other water ways that run off it to be evacuated.

While we were in Arizona, most of our worldly possessions were in a storage unit in Fayetteville. We, luckily, decided to opt into the insurance the facility offered well before the storm. While I do not believe the storage unit was within a mandatory flood evacuation zone, we were informed by management that our unit had flooded.

We returned home at the end of October and took a peek at the damage. Initially we thought it wasn’t so bad—only a few boxes had been on the ground and it was mostly furniture that took the brunt of the water. We assumed we would be able to clean them off and be on our merry way.

After closing on our home, the next day we got a U-Haul and invited friends and family to help us empty our unit. We went out and bought gloves and masks for everyone, as long as a lot of white vinegar and cleaning supplies.

It was not just a little bit of damage. A whole box of picture albums was on the ground. Most of our furniture is wood or fabric, so the material held onto the moisture and mold grew rampant. Even boxes that weren’t soaked with water allowed moisture and eventually mold inside and we had to go through everything carefully.

Luckily, we were able to save money while we were in Arizona and we deliberately put some away for purchasing things we would need—like a washer and dryer. Luckily, like I said above, we put insurance on our unit and its contents. Luckily, we had the support of our loved ones as we unpacked, cleaned, and photographed the damage. Luckily, we serve a great God who has been gracious in providing, even through the troubled times.

I know people who lost everything in Hurricane Matthew. People who lost their homes and all of their possessions. In the hurricanes that have hit the Carolinas recently, many people have lost their lives.

We lost some furniture. Financially and emotionally that is certainly not the easiest thing to go through. But we have our lives, and we have each other.

On the plus side, we get new stuff. We get to pick the things that are to our taste. We get to design our house from the ground up, so to speak. And while it may be tough and draining and arduous, especially during the waiting (we are still working through the insurance claims process and have not been reimbursed for our losses yet), we know that now is not forever and that now will always change.

After over three weeks, we have been able to almost fully furnish our home with what we NEED, with either the money we saved or the generosity of others. We are grateful and happy for what we have, and we know that having each other is much more important than having a mattress, although it is much easier to sleep at night with one. For real.

Until next time,
Jamie out.