Hello, almost Fall! August was a beautiful month filled with hiking on the North Shore, family time, my birthday, closing on our first home and moving into our new apartment. I am looking forward to settling into this space, exploring around us and taking it easy the next few weeks before a busier fall (hunting season for my hubby and we’re going on a road trip for our anniversary).
Here are five bits of goodness to kick off the weekend:
- I’ve been thinking about allll the fall recipes. I recently pinned this one and I can’t wait to get baking again soon!
- Eyeing this cozy cardigan like crazy! Are you more of a sweater or cardigan person?
- Worth listening to: Jennie Allen’s latest podcast episode on what’s happening in Afghanistan.
- A lot of you loved this wrinkle spray I shared on Instagram. Gotta give my husband credit for this, he shared it with me a few years back and it works instantly when you need to run out the door quick!
- A low intensity cardio workout that I’ve been loving lately is the 10-3-30 workout. Set your treadmill to 10 incline, 3 speed and walk for 30 minutes. Very effective and enjoyable!
Our Moving Story
It has been so sweet sharing our moving journey over on Instagram. Today, I wanted to share a little more behind-the-scenes and details of why we decided to move, how the move went, and lessons we learned along the way since quite a few of you seemed interested in that!
Q: Where did you move from?
A: We bought our first home in the summer of 2020 and moved in after we got married in October 2020. Our first home was in the Brainerd Lakes Area, two hours north of the Twin Cities in Minnesota. The spring before we got married, we talked about where we wanted to live and decided to take a chance and move up north because we loved the area, and we would be able to be by some family. While we are both originally from around the cities or south of the cities, we felt this was where we were supposed to start our marriage together.
Q: Why did you decide to move?
A: After a lot of tough conversations together, we decided to move because of job opportunities for my husband. We sold our house only right around a year of living in it. This was something scary to think about before we officially decided, but everything went smoothly with selling the home.
Q: Was it hard to move after only living there for a year?
A: Most definitely. While we did a few renovations to our home and made it our own in the year we were there, it felt like we couldn’t fully get settled because the question of moving/my husband’s job situation was up in the air for a few months in the late winter/spring time. We feel very blessed to have had the first home we did, and more importantly, have started our marriage in such a beautiful area, amazing church community, and neighbors. We know we will look back on our first year of marriage and be grateful for the year we got to truly invest time and effort into the foundation of our marriage. It was very wonderful being near my parents as well and are so grateful for the abundance of time and memories that we created with them throughout the year we lived close. Our small group friends and neighbors and friends we made it a tough goodbye, but gave us hope that we can find that again.
Q: Where are you living now? Are you excited?
A: We are back around the Twin Cities, living in a suburb city. I’ve had a few friends/family ask if I’m excited to be back in the cities and I truly am. Of course it’s bittersweet, but I can’t live always looking backward. The cities has a lot to offer and it is best for my husband and I right now. We know we will continue to make time to head north because after all, it was why we moved up there – we love it up there.
3 Lessons We Learned:
- Our home is TOGETHER. The union of marriage is such an incredible gift, and while you do have to put the work into it, it is such a beautiful thing to experience. No location or city makes it feel like “home,” being together creates that feeling.
- Moving is a lot of work! Luckily, we don’t have kids or anything yet so we don’t have nearly as much “stuff” as some people I imagine, but a couple bedroom house filled with furniture and things adds up quickly. And as much as you pack and prepare ahead of time, it’s still a lot of work and it’s exhausting.
- Patience and grace! Our patience has been tested many times during the move and because of the added element that we are moving into a temporary home for now, an apartment, while we search for our next home to buy.
- Packing takes patience, house searching and then coming to the decision that we should wait to house-hunt until we move into our apartment so we are in the same area and can be fully invested in that, takes patience. Packing and moving calls for a lot of grace, with yourself, and whoever you are moving with. Thinking of the needs of the others you’re with first is important to do even in this stressful time and is a way to still serve them like Christ.
In Case You Missed It:
Fall Decor You’ll Love in 2021
Must See Stops on Minnesota’s North Shore
5 Ways to Incorporate Prayer into Your Everyday
Healthy Double Chocolate Banana Bread
6 Ingredient Summer Salad Recipe
I have updated my SHOP page to be a place with seasonal roundups and my tried & trues. Continue to easily shop my Instagram photos and stories on this page as well. For daily life, be sure to follow me on Instagram.
