I've got big news!

Well hello, old friend! It seems this space hasn't seen much action the past few months... and that was never my intention. Not to make excuses, or really apologize for the absence, but things at work got very exhausting after the summertime, which led to me feeling less than inspired creatively, so this space just got shoved to the wayside. I've been posting on Instagram pretty regularly though, so if you'd like to keep up with me, or you just like cat photos, that's the place to be. There's lots of fun stuff there that I never shared here, like my trips to France, Spain, & Portland, getting a perm, and then cutting most of my hair off a few months later. I think I owe you guys some photos! But anyways, Shawn and I have some pretty big news and I thought this would be a fitting time to make my way back over to this little corner of the internet.

And before you even think it, NO, we are not pregnant. Let's just get that out of the way real quick, k, thanks. Actually, it's much more exciting than that! Well, at least we seem to think so. I'm not sure if the cats will agree, but hey, they're kinda stuck with us so I think they'll just go with it.

We're moving to Portland, Oregon!

I feel I should preface this by saying it's not an entirely impulsive decision. We've actually been talking about moving to the west coast in some capacity for the past six years or so, but it wasn't until about a year and a half ago that we finally started setting active goals to get there. And then a few months ago, once we realized it was finally a realistic possibility, we really committed to the idea and began looking into what it would take to get out there.

Originally we planned on buying an RV or converting a van and traveling around the country for a few months before settling down somewhere. But we kept coming back to the same question: What about the cats? I know some people have had success traveling longterm with their cats, but it's just not a stress we were willing to put on the boys, and honestly the whole permanent camping idea seemed slightly fiscally irresponsible for our current situation. I know there are plenty of jobs that can be done on the road, but it's not a sector we're all that familiar with yet, and we want to spend some more time considering all the options. So we ultimately decided to put that plan on hold for a few years and focus on something a little more attainable... moving across the country! We considered Colorado, northern California, Washington, and Oregon... and ultimately decided on Portland being the place to be.

Everyone who asked us, "Why Portland?" was shocked to hear we had never even been there before. So then the obvious question followed, "But what if you don't like it?" It's hard to explain, but sometimes you feel a pull towards a certain place/person/idea, and it just feels right. And that's exactly what happened here - we never had any worries about not liking it. Everyone I've talked to who has been there lights up when you mention Portland. Deep down, we just had a feeling it was going to be the right place for us, for now. (That's the funny thing about moving... you can do it as often as you'd like, to wherever you'd like. We just said, hey if Portland doesn't work out, we'll go somewhere else!) I flew over there last week and stayed with some local friends to really get a feel for the city, do a few job interviews and check out some potential apartments. And as it turns out, I absolutely fell in love with the city.


What's not to like?? Food culture is huge there- the city is filled with restaurants that can satisfy an endless array of palates. (So many Thai restaurants!) You can get alcohol at any food establishment, including cafes and places you wouldn't normally expect to find liquor/beer/wine. Speaking of beer, the city is loaded with local breweries... and speaking of wine, the local stuff is actually good! (Sorry east coast, but your wine sucks.) Everyone I interacted with while out there was so gosh-darn nice. I know it sounds cliche at this point, but there really is a distinct cultural difference between the fast-paced in-your-face East coast, and the laid-back good-vibes West coast; I felt it. People ask, "What do you have planned for the rest of your day?", and they actually want to know. Meanwhile, on the East coast, people barely have time to listen to your response when they carelessly ask, "Hey, how are you?". The city blocks are small, and super easy to navigate. It's super bike-friendly, in fact, I didn't notice much vehicular traffic at all. The beach, mountains, and wine country are just a short drive away. And, oh yeah, weed is legal there, if you're into that kinda thing.

So at the end of March we'll be driving the cats, along with a select few other things we care about, all the way across the country to our new home. Currently the plan is to spend about ten days driving across, which should give us enough time to see a few things along the way, but not so much time that the cats will be completely traumatized by the trip (fingers crossed that they'll travel well). A few weeks ago, the end of March felt so far away, but now we're on crunch time! We have a few more details to figure out before then, and a lot more things to pack up too... but it feels so good to put it all out in the open and finally start this next adventure together!

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