This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my\u00a0disclosure<\/a>\u00a0for more info.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Pin Me!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n This October, Chris and I took a little trip to Merisi for our one-year wedding anniversary! Shortly after, we moved to a new apartment and signed a year-long lease!!<\/p>\n FREE GUIDE 7 STEPS TO <\/span><\/p>\n FINALLY MOVE ABROAD! (IN 2021).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The proven 7-step system to help you break out of the status quo and finally move abroad!\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n While things have been going great here in Tbilisi, we\u2019ve also had a huge spike in COVID cases. so it looks like we\u2019re about to go into lockdown 2.0.<\/p>\n Our beautiful bed! <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n Relaxing at Eco House Merisi <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n Here are some of the best moments of October!<\/p>\n At the beginning of October Chris and I took a little weekend trip for our first wedding anniversary! We took the train from Tbilisi to Batumi, and then hired a car to take us the rest of the way into the mountainous valley of Merisi.<\/p>\n Here we stayed at Eco House Merisi<\/a>, a tiny 2-cottage property I originally found on Tiktok. Yes, you heard that right. I saw the property on TikTok, and we eventually found their Facebook page<\/a> and booked via Facebook messenger (because they don\u2019t have a website and aren\u2019t on any booking sites).<\/p>\n I have to say, Eco House Merisi did not disappoint. The cottage was absolutely beautiful, and we had a great time reading while admiring the view, and taking bubble baths in the deck jacuzzi. They even had one of those pretty swings you see on all the Bali Instagram accounts!<\/p>\n Our cottage deck <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n Jacuzzi with bubbles! <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n Finally, the food was incredible. Everything is made fresh from the owner\u2019s farm to the point that when I asked for some milk to put in my tea, we needed to wait an hour for the cows to come home because they had just used all the cow milk to make cheese!!<\/p>\n Chris and I had a great time eating local Adjarian specialties like chirbuli<\/em> (Georgian shakshuka but with more oil), sinori<\/em> (lavash bread, cottage cheese, and butter), and borano<\/em> (often called \u201cGeorgian fondu\u201d made with silguni cheese and melted butter). While my tastebuds and heart were happy, my body was definitely craving detox afterward!<\/p>\n Overall, it was so great to just relax away from the computer, re-watch our wedding video, and spend some quality time together.<\/p>\n Chris and I have been renting month-to-month in a small one-bedroom for\u2026. NINE MONTHS? (How did that happen?).<\/p>\n While we loved our place, Chris and I have been feeling a bit cramped with two cats and a teeny tiny kitchen. We also noticed so many amazing deals being posted on Facebook and realized that if we signed a year-long-lease, many reasonable landlords were happy to hand out incredible deals due to COIVD and the borders being closed. So\u2026 we started searching!<\/p>\n After a few days of house hunting, Chris and I found the most amazing apartment<\/a> for $600\/month just a few blocks from where we were currently staying. This place is only $100 more per month, but has 3x the amount of space with a huge kitchen and living room, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and two balconies!<\/p>\n I absolutely love the new apartment, and I actually don\u2019t hate cooking now that I have more than 3 inches of counter space!<\/p>\n Happy Halloween<\/p>\n<\/div>\n At the end of October, I celebrated Halloween with a few close friends. We all got really into dressing up (my favorite!) and drank Georgian wine around a fire pit until around 3am. Whoopsies\u2026<\/p>\n I used to get really decked out in the US, and even in China (one year I wore a different costume to class every day<\/a> on the week of Halloween). But this year I have a capsule wardrobe, so I had to make do with what I had on hand. I decided to be a black cat, and wore a black dress, my black cat tights<\/a> from ModCloth, black boots, and even did my hair in little buns to look like cat ears!<\/p>\n I also did intense cat-eye makeup, which was fine except for the fact that half my makeup barely works anymore (who needs eyeliner when they never go out?), and the fake eyelashes I bought had probably been sitting on the shelf for six years because the glue was SOLID. I did try out some pointy fake nails to act as claws which was fun but also ridiculous. How do people with fake nails do ANYTHING?! Please inform me, because my nails weren\u2019t even that long, and sending a text was a nightmare.<\/p>\n Eco House swing!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A few weeks ago I cast my absentee vote for Biden\/Harris and it was the simplest vote I\u2019ve cast since living abroad! Washington state is very liberal so of course, they make voting from abroad easy (no voter suppression over here!). All I needed to do was print out my ballot, sign it, scan it and return via email.<\/p>\n While voting via email has been a thing these last few years, I love the new online voting system Washington has developed! Once you submit your ballot, you can actually log in and see if your ballot has been received!! This is amazing because I always worry my ballot won\u2019t get counted and will end up in some email spam graveyard.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t just for absentee voting either. Even mail-in or drop-off voters can use this system! Seriously, other states should take notes!<\/p>\n At least we had a nice view from our room!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n This month wasn\u2019t perfect. here were the less-pleasant moments of October.<\/p>\n When Chris and I first booked our anniversary trip, Georgia had barely any cases of COVID in the entire country. So a little bit of travel around Georgia, while the borders are closed, wearing a mask in public seemed completely fine. The original plan was to stay one day in Batumi, and then continue onto Merisi for two nights.<\/p>\n But the problem is that over the summer tons of people took trips to Batumi, a popular Georgian city on the Black Sea, and of course, NO ONE wore masks. So at the start of October, Batumi was quickly becoming the COVID capital of Georgia.<\/p>\n Chris and I tried to change our schedule to avoid Batumi, but Merisi was completely booked, and there was pretty much no way to get there without at least going through Batumi for an evening. So, we decided that we\u2019d just stay inside our hotel and order room service.<\/p>\n The train ride was great. There was no one in our car, and we had to wear masks the whole time. But when we got to Batumi NO ONE WAS WEARING A MASK. Seriously!!! Our hotel, the Hilton Batumi<\/a>, seemed to be taking COVID seriously, but the rest of the city certainly was not.<\/p>\n I was honestly really excited to explore Batumi, but due to COVID and the lack of mask-wearing we ended up spending 90% of our time there in our room and while ordering in food delivery because the room service was overpriced and didn\u2019t look great. They did try to charge us 7 lari for a fork though, so that was cool.<\/p>\n We did have the opportunity to walk along the beach at sunset, and we had a cocktail on the roof, but that was about it.<\/p>\n Daily deaths in Georgia<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Georgia did such a great job with the pandemic until\u2026 we didn\u2019t. We went from having 17 deaths for the entirety of the pandemic to over 300 in a matter of WEEKS. It\u2019s estimated that roughly 1\/200 people in Tbilisi have COVID now, which is frankly SCARY.<\/p>\n Sure, you need to wear a mask in a taxi, restaurants can only serve you outside, and most shops kind of mandate masks, but when you look around, NO ONE is wearing a mask on the street.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve seen events with a hundred people crowded into a little roundabout park, and with the election on October 31st, there have been massive political rallies with HUNDREDS of people not wearing masks.<\/p>\n Daily COVID cases in Georgia<\/p>\n<\/div>\n To make matters worse, the current government has been refusing to put any rules in place and keeps saying there will not be a nation-wide lockdown. Many of us think that after the election they\u2019ll all of a sudden start putting in new restrictions, and will enforce city-wide lockdowns (because it\u2019s not nation-wide so it\u2019s not a lie!!). Ugh, politics.<\/p>\n *Update: The current government just secured a new term, and as of November 4th we\u2019ll have a mandatory mask policy inside and outside with a fine of 20 lari ($6.50 USD) if you\u2019re caught without a mask.<\/p>\n Our new bedroom!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A few weeks ago Chris and I moved into our new apartment<\/a>. While we don\u2019t have a ton of stuff and our apartment is fully furnished, we still had plenty to move, including our whole cupboard and fridge contents, and two cats.<\/p>\n In addition, some of the things that were provided at our old place are not provided here, like a duvet cover, pillowcases, small trash bins for the bathroom, hand towels, etc. so we needed to head out and buy them.<\/p>\n Now, none of this would be a problem except for the fact that the week we moved, Merilyn<\/a>, the business coach who I do social media for, was hosting a launch of her new WowArchetypes<\/a> Personality Course for Entrepreneurs!<\/p>\n While I knew the launch was coming, I didn\u2019t think about how the dates would line up with the move. My bad\u2026 Also, the launch involved a free Bootcamp held in the Free Facebook Group<\/a>\u2026 that I manage.<\/p>\n So over the course of a few days, about 800 new people flooded into the Facebook group, and I wanted to make sure I welcomed and engaged with all of them\u2026 while moving. Excuse me while I sleep for two weeks straight now\u2026<\/p>\n Our giant kitchen!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In addition to working for Merilyn, I also work doing college admissions interviews for Chinese students. Because of COVID, the company I work for has partnered with TOEFL ITP, the exam Chinese students need to take to go to university in the US and Canada. Basically, I\u2019m administering the TOEFL speaking exam, and then this exam is also recorded and sent to the universities the students are applying to.<\/p>\n But for some reason, in October, there were NO EXAMS. So\u2026 no exams means almost no interviews for Richelle. Which is great\u2026 when you get paid per interview.<\/p>\n During this time we also needed to come up with two-months rent upfront for our new place, and we didn\u2019t get our deposit back on our old place because we didn\u2019t give them enough notice (whoopsies). It would\u2019ve been financially smarter for us to wait, but we REALLY didn\u2019t want to miss the opportunity to get our current apartment, and there was another bidder who was happy to move in ASAP.<\/p>\n While we\u2019re okay financially, not having any interviews and needing to pay a deposit on a new place has made our finances a bit tighter than I\u2019d like, especially when I really want to buy some things to decorate our new big space.<\/p>\n Taking the train to Batumi!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Finally, my computer has now started shutting off randomly, especially when I watch a video, or do anything that involves Zoom\/ Skype. If my battery is less than 80% charged and I dare to open a Zoom call or watch a Youtube video, my computer will shut off with zero warning.<\/p>\n I checked my battery and it says that \u201cService is Recommended\u201d. Great.<\/p>\n Now I just need to leave my computer constantly plugged in and find a time in my schedule when I can be without my computer for multiple days in a row so I can pay who knows how much to get it fixed. Good timing!<\/p>\n Batumi\u2019s Black Sea<\/p>\n<\/div>\n As promised, a wrote a blog post every week this October! Here are my posts from the last month.<\/p>\n An Inside Look at My NEW Tbilisi Apartment! (I Moved!!)<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 Check out the photos of my new place and hear our house hunting story!<\/p>\n The Relentless Pursuit of Happiness: Confessions of a Happiness Chaser<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 How constantly chasing happiness and yearning for the future actually makes you miserable, and why it took slowing down for me to discover this.<\/p>\n A Day in The Life of a Location Independent Travel Blogger<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 So\u2026 what exactly do I DO all day?? Here\u2019s an average day for me.<\/p>\n The Freedom Life: September 2020<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 See what I was up to in September!<\/p>\n Wearing my purse in Milan!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Today I want to introduce you to the purse that I\u2019ve been using for the last YEAR<\/a>. I literally use this purse every single day and it goes with pretty much every outfit I\u2019ve brought with me to Georgia.<\/p>\n What does this have to do with travel? Well, I got this purse to fit with my winter\/spring travel capsule wardrobe, and I\u2019ve been using it daily since.<\/p>\n I love this bag because it\u2019s the perfect size to fit my phone, wallet, passport, glasses case, chapstick\/lipstick, kindle, and anything else I might need without being bulky. I\u2019ve even fit a water bottle in here! It also looks very polished and goes with everything. Also, it\u2019s super affordable!!<\/p>\n This purse is not an anti-theft purse, but if you\u2019re looking for an everyday option for life\/ travel, this is it. Firstly, it\u2019s a crossbody which means you\u2019re hands-free. But it also has a clasp and a zipper, with a smaller zippered pocket inside, meaning it\u2019s hard to get into. When I walk in crowded areas I just hold the bag in front of my body so no one can get to it. The purse also has a zippered pocket on the back, which is perfect for train tickets, subway cards, or even your passport.<\/p>\n Seriously, if you need a new bag that holds up to everyday wear, I\u2019ve used this purse literally every day for a year. I ONLY have this bag and a small clutch<\/a>, that\u2019s it. I\u2019m highly considering buying another one in brown<\/a> when the weather heats up again.<\/p>\n Find My Favorite Purse on Amazon!<\/a><\/p>\n Breakfast in Merisi!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Last month I finally finished reading The Honest Enneagram<\/a> by Sarah Jane Case from the Enneagram and Coffee Podcast<\/a>. This is my go-to recommendation for people who are new to the Enneagram <\/a>because it was written in 2020 and it\u2019s really simple to understand and easy to read.<\/p>\n That said, despite the book being super short, it took me FOREVER to finish reading because, to be honest, it was all pretty much review for me, so I was bored. While it was fun to read about Sarah\u2019s interpretation of the types with a kind, helpful spin\u2026 I really didn\u2019t learn much. So, while this book is great for beginners and beautiful on your coffee table, I don\u2019t recommend it if you already know a fair bit about the Enneagram.<\/p>\n After this book, I moved onto The Complete Enneagram<\/a> by Beatrice Chestnut and I LOVE it. I\u2019m already learning so much, and the book was only written a few years ago, so it\u2019s much less dense than older Enneagram books like Wisdom of the Enneagram<\/a>. If you\u2019re into the Enneagram I highly, highly suggest picking up this book.<\/p>\n![\"what's](\"https:\/\/www.adventuresaroundasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Freedom-Life-Oct-2020-2.png\")
<\/p>\nWhat I Was Up to This Month<\/h2>\n
![\"Free](\"https:\/\/www.adventuresaroundasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/7-Steps-Moving-Abroad.png\" "\\"7")
<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nWhere I Went<\/h2>\n
\n
![\"Eco](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.adventuresaroundasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/IMG_6823.jpg?w=316&h=421&ssl=1\" "\\"IMG_6823\\"")
<\/a> <\/p>\n![\"Eco](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.adventuresaroundasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/IMG_9125.jpg?w=316&h=421&ssl=1\" "\\"IMG_9125\\"")
<\/a> <\/p>\nHighlights<\/h2>\n
Anniversary Trip to Merisi<\/h3>\n
![\"Eco](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.adventuresaroundasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/IMG_5478.jpg?w=316&h=421&ssl=1\" "\\"IMG_5478\\"")
<\/a> <\/p>\n![\"Eco](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.adventuresaroundasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/IMG_9215.jpg?w=316&h=421&ssl=1\" "\\"IMG_9215\\"")
<\/a> <\/p>\n![\"Tbilisi](\"https:\/\/www.adventuresaroundasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/COVER-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/p>\nMoving to a New Apartment<\/h3>\n
![\"Halloween](\"https:\/\/www.adventuresaroundasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/IMG_2931.jpg\")
<\/p>\nHappy Halloween!<\/h3>\n
![\"Eco](\"https:\/\/www.adventuresaroundasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/IMG_2025-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/p>\nEasy Absentee Voting<\/h3>\n
![\"Hilton](\"https:\/\/www.adventuresaroundasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/IMG_6259.jpg\")
<\/p>\nChallenges<\/h2>\n
Staying Inside in Batumi<\/h3>\n
![\"Daily](\"https:\/\/www.adventuresaroundasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Screen-Shot-2020-11-03-at-5.11.57-PM.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nCOVID Spikes in Tbilisi<\/h3>\n
![\"Daily](\"https:\/\/www.adventuresaroundasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Screen-Shot-2020-11-03-at-5.12.10-PM.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Tbilisi](\"https:\/\/www.adventuresaroundasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/IMG_4384.jpg\")
<\/p>\nMoving House During a Launch<\/h3>\n
![\"Tbilisi](\"https:\/\/www.adventuresaroundasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/IMG_0116.jpg\")
<\/p>\nA Little Short on Funds<\/h3>\n
![\"Masks](\"https:\/\/www.adventuresaroundasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/IMG_7828.jpg\")
<\/p>\nMy Computer Battery is Broken<\/h3>\n
![\"Batumi](\"https:\/\/www.adventuresaroundasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/IMG_9527.jpg\")
<\/p>\nBlog Posts I Wrote in October<\/h2>\n
![\"Milan](\"https:\/\/www.adventuresaroundasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/82564348_10156451085967693_3883937572858101760_n.jpg\")
<\/p>\nTravel Product of the Month<\/h2>\n
![\"Eco](\"https:\/\/www.adventuresaroundasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/120824956_10157183784072693_747955836989119204_n.jpg\")
<\/p>\nWhat I\u2019m Reading Now<\/h2>\n
![\"Kindle](\"https:\/\/www.adventuresaroundasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/IMG_8611.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Live](\"https:\/\/www.adventuresaroundasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Freedom-Life-Oct-2020-1.png\")
<\/p>\n