We’re Moving To…

First of all, thank you SO much for all the encouraging messages about our BIG MOVE! It has meant so much to me to hear your excitement for our family and this next chapter for us. It’s definitely had it’s challenges, but we are so excited. It sounds like many of you have been wrestling with the same desires of wanting to take a big leap and others who have done it and are so glad you did. Being able to chat with many of you about your own stories has been really awesome.

Alright, so the big lingering question that you all are apparently dying to know….

Where ARE WE MOVING TO?!

When we started talking about the possibility of moving this year we had a list of wants for our new location. 1) SUN! Lots of sun. We would love to be able to be outside year round! Ok we put a lot of thought into it other things too, but really we wanted somewhere with a better climate, great place to build community, opportunities for kids, etc.

We narrowed down our three locations to:

There are things we loved about each location, BUT…

we ultimately decided on…

Bring on the BBQ and cowboy boots and architecture that I am absolutely in love with! You guys, I can’t get enough of all the stone, brick and just beautiful European inspired exteriors!

How it all started…

The thing is, I think this whole thing started about five years ago. I was actually on a brand trip to Dallas with Michaels Stores and ended up bringing my husband with me. I had been to Texas many times before, but this trip was different. I don’t really know how to describe it, but at some point on this trip I truly fell in love with Dallas. Maybe it was the weather, the food, the incredibly kind people, or gorgeous architecture, but my Facebook post after that trip in 2017 is proof, ” I think I could live here”. And that never really left me.

I specifically remember getting on the airplane on the way back to Seattle and as we took off, feeling like we were leaving where we were supposed to be. I didn’t want to leave. It felt like home. I truly don’t even know how to describe it and feel weird even trying. I have traveled a lot in my life, and I have never felt that way before about anywhere. It’s such a weird feeling to describe, especially somewhere I had only visited a few times.

But just because I felt like I COULD live there, didn’t necessarily mean I ever thought we WOULD! But here we are! God has a funny way of planting seeds and preparing your heart for when His timing is right.

In March we flew down to Dallas as our final “make or break” decision. We went into this trip with the mind set that we would explore. We might not feel the same as we did before, we might not find a place we love and that would be OK. But we did. In fact, we only fell in love with the city even more. We prayed we would find the place where we would want to raise our kids for this next chapter of our life. After a whole day of driving around looking at different suburbs and neighborhoods, we drove through the last location and we both instantly said, “this is it”.

Even though we knew we both loved Dallas, we also wanted to make sure we explored other options. But we ultimately felt more comfortable with Texas because it was closer to the west coast. Tennessee and North Carolina both seem incredible, but are further east and with us flying home often to check on the restaurant and visit family, it just felt closer and more doable.

We’ll be settling in a suburb outside of Dallas. We are looking forward to putting down our roots, exploring, learning, growing, building a community and getting our daily dose of Vitamin D!

We’ll Be Back Soon Washington!

There are SO many things we will miss about Washington (definitely not the surplus of rain!). The ability to be boating on the ocean and looking at snow capped mountains. The skiing, hiking, seafood, and comfort in knowing every road and landmark. But most importantly, we’ll miss being so close with all the incredible people in our lives. The PNW will always be one of the most beautiful places on this planet and I’m so grateful to have been here for 36 years to experience it. Good thing, we will be back often! With all our family here, we plan on visiting as much as possible, especially the summers. There is NOTHING like summers in Washington!

I can’t wait to share more! But for now, I’ll be closing out with some of the last projects I’ve done on our current home and final home tours. I’m already planning and prepping projects for the new house and can’t wait to dive in.