5 Things that happened in July | Celebrating small things

Every morning I am baffled that we are already in August but no matter, I want to share some of the things that happened in July. As a July baby, I always make a point of celebrating the entire month and consider every day my birthday until the 31st. I am one of those people who keeps the birthday cards up until the last day of the month although Christmas cards I keep them up until end of February (don’t judge me). Last year was a different birthday mode to this year, I shared ways people could still celebrate their birthdays alone and even today, its one of my most popular posts.

This year thankfully I did not spend my birthday alone but I also did not travel abroad on my birthday like I normally do. The last time I flew for my birthday was 2 years back when I flew to the Island of Jersey, hired a car and had the best time ever. People often ask me what it’s like spending your birthday alone and honestly as I have gotten older, I prefer it to having gatherings although I am a sucker for a good birthday brunch. There are so many wonderful things that happened in July but I will only share the 5 that stood out for me.

5 Things that Happened in July

Since it was my birthday month, I knew that I need to create a separate budget for this occasion outside on my monthly budgets which I often share on my YouTube channel and on here. I mentioned recently when I shared my review of the July budget that I blew it in all variable categories and this was mostly due to birthday things and I am not even sad about it. I had an amazing time with my family and my friends and I even got to spend time with my niece and my nephew which was a highlight of the month for me. So, enough waffling, it’s time to share the 5 things that happened in July.

Birthdays

Stating the obvious but the month of July is a popular birthday month in my circle of friends and family. We started the month celebrating my friend’s birthday and then celebrated my birthday a few days later before we celebrated my niece turning two. To close the month we celebrate another friend’s birthday as well as our extended MIL’s birthday at a small local gig which was absolutely incredible. I felt like I smiled and laughed more times during the month of July than any other month so far which obviously made me ever happier.

Road Trips

So, I did two road trips this month, one I drove up North to Sheffield and spent a few days before my birthday with the best girlfriends ever. These are my ride or die friends, we’ve known each over since university over 12 years ago now and they just make me so happy. We relieved some university days, talked all night about where our lives are at the moment, where we were and where we are headed. These girls ground me, support me and always tell me what’s up. The drive was intense as I have not driven for a while (thanks rona) but still I found it enjoyable. My second trip was a day trip, I went to pick up my nephew because my brother and I live so far apart we need a middle point to pick-up/drop-off the kids and that’s what we did.

I became a landlord

If you don’t know, I recently became a landlord and I am loving the experience so far. I completed the purchase of my rental property end of June and in July I collected the keys for the property, I chose to use an estate manager to manage the property for me and they have been incredible so far. I already have a tenant, I have already received my first rent and at the start of August I paid my first rental mortgage. Everything happened so quick after being so slow for many months on end but I am happy to be a landlord now.

Family Time

Not only did I get to spend some quality time with my nephew at my home, my parents also came for my birthday and also for when my nephew visited which means I got to see them twice. My sister lives locally so I see her often but my brother is far and not seen him for many months but hope this can change soon. I love spending time with my family and I am always looking forward to their next visits but this month I plan to be proactive and see them more myself.

Lunch date with Wince Eats

Winsze (of Wince.Eats) and I have known each other for a couple of years now and since we became friends, we have made a point of meeting up at least once a month for lunch or dinner. We often alternate who visits whom or if we meet somewhere in the middle. Recently, Winsze treated me to a nice lunch in Windsor and I will share a review of that experience soon on this blog. I always love meeting up with friends and planning short meet ups to just catch up on life and everything, which is always a good thing.

Like I said, so many wonderful things happened in July but these are the ones that I want to focus more on and I am grateful to my family and my friends who made the month extra special whether in personal or virtually.