Moving

Moving is painful. I don't think there is a way around that. Moving in town from one house to another is better than trying to move thousands of miles for sure. Hiring movers makes the process go MUCH faster and in my opinion is worth the couple hundred dollars it costs. So - the past few weeks of moving haven't been quite as bad as I thought they would be.

Anyway, we're in the new house and totally out of the old one. We're living out of boxes (and our new walk-in closet - hooray) since we're starting renovations soon.

All of our furniture is in the house, but we still have 3 rooms that are completely empty. Ha! I guess that's a good problem to have?

We took Willow over to the new house to introduce her before we actually moved. Warning - the quality is poor so this video might make you feel sick.

On the day of the move (and for a few weeks before) we cleaned out the rental house...

Willow was once again confused.

They packed everything into this truck. We didn't nearly fill it.

Then they unloaded it. Pretty standard moving day.

It took four hours. Our house will be in shambles for quite a while, but at least we can enjoy the neighborhood. We now live close to a bike path and miles of uninterrupted running off of a main road (which is nice for my half marathon training). One HUGE winter bonus to our new location is living close to a golf course. The golf course is kind enough to open its gates in the off months for cross country skiing, snowshoeing, and off leash dog playground time :) We arrived on the late end of the season this year. The arrival of spring is a bit bittersweet as I know the locks will return to the gates any day now and our close doggie playground will disappear for the summer months. There's always next year!

Here is a video of Willow having fun on the golf course.

I guess that's it for now! Happy Wednesday!

One Year in VT...

So we've officially lived in Vermont for one year as of today. It feels like it has flown by! We received a lot of questions about why we were moving, and I still can't quite say why exactly - looking for a good fit for our lifestyle? I will say I never dreamt we would love living here as much as we do.

It's 35 degrees and snowing today on the 22nd of March while it was almost 80 degrees at home and I still wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I guess that's saying something. We've enjoyed all of our Vermont seasons so far and I've been sad for each of them to come to an end (although I could live without the cold and rain we had in November).

We have a subscription to a magazine called "Vermont Life" (and have for many years). This month they redesigned the magazine to reflect a more modern Vermont. My mom pointed out the editors note to me and I think it really fits what we love about VT. I'm going to post parts of it - you can read the rest here.

In 2009, New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote an article about the changing nature of the American Dream. Brooks painted a portrait that included neither manicured lawns nor chic urban living. Instead, he argued, the new American ideal involved living in "places where you can imagine yourself with a stuffed garage — filled with skis, kayaks, soccer equipment, hiking boots and boating equipment."

As Brooks describes it, Americans today strive to live in a place "where spectacular natural scenery is visible from medium-density neighborhoods." These places have "loose social structures and relative social equality ... strong social identities and pedestrian meeting places. They offer at least the promise of friendlier neighborhoods, slower lifestyles ... ."

Sound familiar?

We experience this new American Dream every day in Vermont, and with this redesigned issue of Vermont Life, we hope to reach beyond our new logo, new paper and new features to fully capture its spirit.

It's a new direction for the magazine, to be sure, to focus so fully on today and tomorrow.
......

Times change. Over the last six decades "newcomers" have arrived in pursuit of their own American Dream. Back-to-the-land hippies, starving artists, ski bums and rat-race refugees looking for a real job and a real life have been drawn to Vermont and its enduring values.

People here still work hard, value self-reliance, enjoy the outdoors, cherish the landscape, help their neighbors and think for themselves. Vermont today is a welcoming place where roving butchers ("The Trouble With Butchers") and Emily Post's family ("Post-Modern Manners") feel equally at home.

The genius of Vermont, in short, has been its willingness to evolve.

Today we're the healthiest state in the country, the greenest state and, per capita, the state with the greatest number of local dollars spent buying local food ("First We'd Like to Say"). Vermonters today are forward-thinking.

.....

Vermont Life co-founder Vrest Orton once wrote that the thing that sets Vermont apart from other places is "the prodigious feeling that when you hear about Vermont you get homesick. It's the wonderful feeling that when you get here you're home."


Anyway, we're in the process of making more changes as we attempt to settle fully into our new state so I don't feel like we're quite "there" yet in terms of feeling completely at home. We've made great friends, we know where to order fast food when I'm feeling too lazy to cook, we've learned the shortcuts so we don't get stuck in traffic, we've found new doctors and dentist and a place to get our hair cut. It takes time to make a home, but I'm excited that we've made it this far!

I'll leave you with these gorgeous pics from VT Life that really capture Vermont at this time of year - Happy Tuesday everyone!

The Big Move - Part 1!

So the journey begins...The day(s) we've been waiting for! Pack in VA. Drive. Unpack in VT. We're about halfway there.

The packing phase began when this pulled up in front of our house.



I mentioned that we hired movers. Well, our movers weren't quite what I expected. We opened the door Friday to a woman named Lulu. Lulu? Are you here to help us move, you're sure? Turns out Lulu was an excellent director. She spent most of the morning "bossing" the 2 men she brought with her from her perch on a chair in the moving van. I was doubtful things would proceed quickly, but they packed our entire house in 3 hours. I loved her for it. I think she was happy with the result as well. She not only left an hour early, but also made out with 2 plastic Adirondack chairs and a bottle of vodka I was planning to throw away.

We spent the rest of the day cleaning and were finally ready to head out. Willow spent more of the day wondering where all the furniture went and worrying that she might get left behind.



Saturday morning the road trip began. We pulled out of town in a long caravan.

Matt drove the big guy.



My mom drove Matt's truck.



Willow and I brought up the rear.



We spent the majority of the day in this state.



Poor Willow, she's just so confused and anxious. She spent her first night in a hotel where we ordered pizza and watched NCAA. This is how she passed the time.



We're excited to finish the drive and pull up to our new house! More to come...

Happy Birthday + Moving Day

Today is moving day! It's also the birthday of 3 of my best friends (yes the exact same day, same year and everything)!

Happy Birthday girls :)

I looked really hard for a picture from your 21st birthday party at Mellow Mushroom. Lucky you...I couldn't find it...but there were lots of other memories to choose from.

Things I'll Miss

There are lots of things we will miss about living in VA but these are the ones that really stand out this week!

1. Our family



2. Our friends (those pictured and many more!)





3. Our neighborhood (I love our tree lined block)



4. Our fabulous dog park (Willow will miss it too)





5. 70 degree days and signs of spring in mid-March



6. Delicious local restaurants

7. Target (silly I know but there isn't a single Target in VT!)

Life of Leisure

When we decided we were going to move last November (I mean REALLY, FOR SURE decided...after talking about it for months), I wondered how we could possibly get it all done by this spring. I found out in January that my first day at work would be March 25 and was even more worried. Although we did have many of the pieces in place, I felt like we had SO much left to do. February rolled around and I began to panic. I got down to work on that to-list and Matt scaled things back at his job and we began our frantic planning, packing, etc.

One day, we woke up and realized we didn't have many tasks left to check off. For the last month, Matt hasn't been working much and I packed maybe a box or 2 a day. We slept until 9, drank coffee, and watched TV. We took Willow to the river or the park. Oh, and left the house for showings. It felt like we were on vacation, only at home. I guess if you want a legitimate reason to live the life of leisure, decide to move and quit your job about a month ahead. I'll be honest, it can get boring when all your friends are working and you're trying to find things to do. Our new idea of excitement was looking out the window and catching someone taking a flyer from our "info tube." I'm not complaining. I tried to enjoy it, because I knew it wouldn't last forever. (For us at least. Willow's daily activities haven't changed much. See below.)



This week, things are different. The moving truck and the movers are coming Friday and we have to be ready. Now that the open houses and showings are over, we need to dismantle the rest of the house. I guess it hasn't felt real yet because my house was still put together. Now my rooms have changed from this:



To this:



It's finally starting to feel like we aren't going to live here much longer.

Our house and the challenge of packing it

This is our house. I love it. I wish I could pick it up, put it on a truck and take it with us to Vermont. I know that's not possible. When we decided to move, I settled on the next best thing - sell it to someone that will love it as much as I have. I thought it'd be easy. Put it on the market, show it a few times, accept an offer for slightly less than our asking price, pack up and move out a day before the new owners take residence. Well that's not quite the way things have happened.

Our progress so far: put the house on the market, show it approximately 35 times (each time leaving for about an hour WITH the dog rain or shine), have 4 open houses, spend more hours and money than I thought would be necessary cleaning/painting/buying flowers/working in the yard, drop the asking price twice, and it looks like we'll move out of the house without selling it first. I'm sure it will sell at some point but I sure do wish it would have gone a little more like the way it went in my head. Now we have one of those "extra" signs on top of our regular For Sale sign in the front yard. You know the ones, "I'm gorgeous inside. Priced to sell. Large Master Suite." Ours says "Price Reduced." I wish it said "Under Contract." Here it is.



One big challenge for me has been trying to pack while keeping the house in prime showing condition. I've tried to pack all the "behind the scenes" stuff (closets, wedding gifts, mixing bowls, not often used clothes, etc). To an outside observer, the house looks exactly as it has for the past two years. Open the cabinets and closets though and you'll see what I've been up to. One problem. Where does all the "stuff" go once I've boxed it up? The answer - our SHED. It's full. See below. It WAS clean and organized.



Another challenge. I'm not an expert packer. Plus I'm cheap. We are renting a Penske moving truck and doing the move ourselves (with the help of my mom, thanks mom!). Matt insisted on hiring movers on both ends so we don't have to do all the heavy lifting. It still means I have to do all the packing myself. In the past, I've packed my things in old ADIDAS bags, thrown them in the backseat of the car, or tied them to the roof. That's not going to cut it this time. I need boxes, lots of them and I don't want to pay for them. Our movers did give us a few used ones. I also waited patiently for recycling day in our neighborhood. We went on a run and I scoped out all the good boxes lined up on the street and then drove around in my car picking up the best ones. I have to admit it was embarrassing. Matt refused to accompany me but now we do have a pile of boxes waiting to be packed. Even with the proper supplies, I still have nightmares that we will arrive in VT and everything will be bent, broken, and scratched. I mean, how are you supposed to pack lampshades and ensure that they make it on the moving truck 700 miles away without getting squashed? I'll let you know how things turn out in about 7 days from now.

Moving Checklist

As you all know, I'm a list person. It's a great feeling when you check items off a list one by one until they're all gone. When you move, there are so many things "to do" that you realize really aren't that important. For example, my list for yesterday included "Call Comcast." UG. After 40 minutes on the phone transferring our service I finally got to check that one off. It's easy to get bogged down with the minutia and sometimes I forget that we have checked off most of our important items too!

1. Find a job. Double check (one for me, one for Matt)

2. Graduate from OT School. Check (I had witnesses)



2. Find a place to live. Check (here's a picture)



3. Pass the necessary testing. Double check (OT for me, VT Real Estate for Matt)

4. Spend time with family and friends. Check (here's some evidence)








5. Break the news to Willow that she'll be spending a lot more time in the snow. Check (don't think that will be a problem for her)



6. Sell our house - HM - still working on that one. I'll keep you posted!

Why start a blog??

In a little over a week, we will no longer be Virginia residents. It's a scary thought, especially the actual moving part. I'm not good with transitions and it seems like time has flown since we decided to pack up and leave Virginia for Vermont. People always ask why and I never have a good answer. Most of the time I reel off a number of statements that stop the questioning but don't really explain why. "We love the snow. We like to ski. We lived out West after college and fell in love with a more casual lifestyle. My mom is from the north and my parents have a house at the lake up there." Sometimes people press on and ask if we have friends that live there. "Nope, not yet." Then they look at us like we're crazy. I'm still not sure if we are or aren't!

I've been a faithful "blog stalker" for quite a while now. I'm the type that likes to read blogs written by other people, look at their pictures, and only comment when someone hosts a giveaway and I have the chance to win a free prize. I never thought I'd start my own blog. So then how did this happen? A few weeks ago, I linked over to check out the blog of a friend that I've been terrible about keeping in touch with. It was awesome to be able to catch up on her life! I emailed her and let her know how much I enjoyed reading her blog and she replied that I should start my own to keep family and friends updated on our move and our new life in Vermont. My first thought was, NAH, I only have about 5 people that would be interested in reading. I started thinking about how difficult it is to keep in touch from a distance and guess I changed my mind so, hello to all 5 of you! I can't promise to be as entertaining as Darby or have beautiful design inspired posts like Nest Egg, but maybe this will help us feel connected even when we're far apart!