I’ll give you a little hint. It has to do with doggie sitting a sweet Golden named Gracie. In June I had to depart with my beloved Jeep Grand Cherokee and buy my first big girl car. I’ve never had a car payment before so I was completely worried and panicked. My first two cars my parents helped me out but this new car was all on my own. Last year the air conditoning in my Jeep stopped working and it was the saddest day ever. I was able to keep it alive for a few months by re-filling it with Freon but it would only work sporadically. After having it refilled a few times the auto mechanics discovered a leak in my air conditioning that would cost me thousands to fix.
I drove around for months with my Jeep’s air not working and was really trying to prolong buying a new car. I did not want to part ways with my beloved Jeep. By the time the Florida summer heat hit full swing in May I couldn’t wait any longer, I needed a new car ASAP because it was only going to get worse. Driving to work dressed nice and arriving at work dripping in sweat is the worst feeling ever. When you drive home from the gym at 7:30 PM and it’s still 91 out, you really wish you had air then.
My and my new car!
In May I caved and started to hunt for new cars. I went to a few dealerships around town to test drive some SUV’s and looked for sales on Memorial Day weekend. My dream car would have been a Jeep Wranger Unlimited Sport where I could take the top off and cruise to the beach during the summer. Since Jeep’s were not in my budget range, I knew I had to look for other car models. At the beginning of June I found a Mercury Mountaineer at the same dealership my parents bought my sisters first car. The car was in my budget, I could trade my old Jeep in and put that money towards my new car, it was spacious, drove similar to my Jeep, had 7 seats and most importantly it had air! I was sold and within a few hours I had purchased a new car.
During the actual process of buying the new car, there were so many extra fees I hadn’t previous planned for. My old car ended up not being worth as much as we originally thought, so that meant I had less money to put towards my new car. They also said I needed new car registration (costs an arm and a leg) but because my bank wouldn’t give me a loan, I had to have my dad co-sign. Apparently working at the same job for 3 years didn’t work in my favor, so I no longer needed new car registration.
The thought of throwing down more money in one day than I originally planned and thinking of having a car payment each month made me feel sick to my stomach. I started tearing up in the car dealership. Overall I was just feeling super bad about myself wishing I made more money. Buying a car that costs more than you make in a year and almost having to drain your savings account will do that to you. The fact that I needed a parent to co-sign was extremely frustrating and I was felt like I was failing as an adult. I needed a car with air so there was so backing out, I frantically prayed God would provide. The good thing was that I didn’t have to pay my first car payment for two months, meaning I had until August.
Top: Francesca’s, Short: LOFT, Shoes: Gap, Doggie: Gracie
A few weeks before I bought my new car, I was asked to doggie sat for a sweet family traveling to Ireland while they were away and said yes! By the time it came to doggie sit, I had my new car and was driving it all around town. It was great to have air-conditioning again but I was still concerned about making my first car payment. I totally forgot about this, but the money I made in June while doggie sitting was all used towards my new car title and tags. God has been working the whole time! He knew I wanted a new car and he knew I was worried about paying for it.
During my stay there I was really wanting to doggie sit for more people because it’s so fun and an easy way to make money on the side. One day while I was driving with a friend, I prayed out loud, “God, please give me a doggie house on Beachside or Riverside!”. I was really specific and prayed half serious, half jokingly. I love the water, so I thought it would be super fun to stay at a house with a water view and I didn’t care if it was on the beach or on the river, I just wanted to be close to water.
At the end of June, I was refereed by my previous dog sitting house to their friends who needed a doggie sitter for the month of July. I was immediately contacted by the new dog family and they asked if I could watch their sweet dog Gracie for 10 days. Get this, their house is on Riverside! It’s not exactly on the water but it was pretty darn close. By July, my silly prayer was answered. I accepted their offer and stayed at their house and had the best time ever! But that’s not the best part!
Before I officially started doggie sitting at the house on Riverside, I had met up with the dog’s family to get the house key and discussed how much I would get paid for each day. We decided on $20/day, so I expected to make $200 in 10 days. When I showed up at the dog house for my first day, the family paid me in advance and left me a check on the counter. When I opened the check, it was for $240 and was $40 more than I originally expected. It may not seem like a big deal but I was blown away. I had been worried about paying my first car payment in August which was going to be $232. The check amount I was given was exactly enough to pay my first car payment and that family had no idea! I even had $8 left over. I was over the moon excited. Not only did my prayer for a Riverside house get answered, God provided for my first car payment!
Here’s pictures of the sweet dog I watched and the neighborhood I stayed in. It was less than 5 mins from the beach!
“Gracie”
Pretty House in their Riverside neighborhood. The people were seriously so friendly and everyone knew Gracie! I had random people coming up to me every day talking to her like she was an old friend. One of their kind neighbors even offered me his number in case anything happened and I needed to contact someone in case of emergency. Their front gate guards were beyond friendly and always so nice to let me in even when I kept forgetting how to pronounce the last name of the residents house I was staying at. 
Bike ride with my sister around the neighborhood the day before she moved to Montana for a year and a half.
Staying in the house was seriously so fun! Their house was less than 5 minutes to one of my favorite beaches. I surely took advantage of using their bikes to ride to the beach multiple times! I’m one to make anything fun, so of course I rode down the street on a bike with a giant flamingo pool float around my body. That was quite an adventure and I dragged my friend Julie along for the ride. We had a blast and it was the perfect ending to my stay at the best dog house ever!
P.S. Remember how I prayed for houses to doggie sit at on Beachside or Riverside? Well, I was contacted by one of my friends whom I regularly dog sit for and they now live on Beachside. I will be doggie sitting their golden retriever, Chloe, during Thanksgiving Week. My whole prayer was answered and I will have doggie sat on both Beachside and Riverside!!!! Ahhhhh, God provided so perfectly. I have a feeling God set this all up before I even bought my car!
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