Remember that one day I announced we are moving to California on August 28th? Umm yes, that is 20 days away, three weeks ago from yesterday. {giggles nervously} One thing that I keep focusing on is the new home we’ll have once we arrive. No, we haven’t found it yet. Yes, we are looking. Zack was offered a job last week while in Santa Monica scouting, so that is super exciting. We’re going over some final details and will be making a decision soon. Yeow!
In the meantime my thoughts are on our new home, what it will look like, the white walls I am requesting. And of course the COLOR I will be able to infuse. I started a Pinterest board for all this daydreaming to hang out in. So far I’m loving what I’ve found, now — if only we can make it happen!
Most likely we’ll get a short-term rental so we can find the perfect neighborhood to live in. It will most likely be furnished since we’re selling everything. Yep, still going with that plan ;D Then come early December we will find a new place. Ohhhh goodness, there are so many changes ahead of us. It really is hard to wrap my mind around sometimes.
Here are a few things that have inspired me lately…
wanted: a bright, open home || how to get it: natural light + minimal furniture + color
lite aqua kitchen, sooooo fresh + fun
colored curtain rods — oh I am DYING!
LIME RIOT — DIY stencil on fabric
orange chair, absolutely perfect for reading
a bedroom of texture + color
One Kings Lane — ceramic yellow vase
Going back to this California home that we still need to find, but who’s keeping track? We’re envisioning an open living space, a lovely view of the ocean {what???} and a super short commute to work for Zack. Also important is affordability and setting up the Gussy Sews shop. I’m really hoping to be able to make more things for our new home, too, like those fun stenciled curtains and spray-painted curtain rods.
Dear Adventure, we’re ready for you. Love, Zack, Maggie + Bauer, too
Have you ever made a cross-country move? Did you see a lot of things, or bring everything with you? How did you make the transition as seamless as possible? What did you learn from that big of a move? Share your thoughts below, I’d love to read them! xoxo
* * *
PS. to each + every one of you that purchased a Limited Edition Africa pouch, THANK YOU!!!!!!!! We are so close to selling out, please continue to spread the word + pray! I’ll have more details soon on the child Gussy Sews sponsors through Compassion International! :)
I’m so excited for you and Zack…and Bauer, too! I’ve lived in the same place my whole life, so I’m no help to you.
You’ll be able to help everyone else after this big move.
Those book side tables are making me want to go unload all my bins of books and create them!
SO looking forward to seeing your new spot! I’m sure it will be wonderful! Can’t wait!!!! Excited for all your new changes!!!!!
xoxoxox
I made the move out to Cali too. Like you I packed up my car and went! Unlike you I poorly planned my adventure. So I ended up back in the mitten (which has worked best for me). The reason I left had nothing to do with California, it is a much longer story. However, I loved the adventure and the road trip part was the best part for me. I think you will have such a great time traveling across the country with your family.
@Corinne, I think so too :) It’s something we’ve never done!!
So exciting for you and your boys! I too made the trek to the lovely California (Colorado –> San Diego) and we brought everything! It was defintely a hassle with the moving truck and having to do everything ourselves but it was much more affordable for us. One thing I will say is that with everything related to the move, trust your instincts! No matter what! We moved into an apartment complex that I had weird feelings about as we drove up. The next night my car was broken into, so much stuff was stolen that wasn’t unpacked yet and it all happened in the “supposed” secure, renters-only garage. We moved the next day. I’ll be thinking about you guys as your travel across the country and if you’re ever further south…. ;-)
@Jayme, oh goodness — what a terrible thing!
Well, I moved often growing up and now I do as well since my husband is in the Army. One great way to help get ready and settle in as quickly as possible is the internet of course. It’s a great tool! The first thing I look for are churches. We look up their belief statements and then start going to see what fits for us. Then, I search for Target and coffee shops! :) I’ve found that by getting connected to a church as soon as possible, it is a great start in getting connected in the community. I will be praying for all of your transitions and time with the Lord in the busyness of it all!
@Katie, That is definitely #1 on our list once we get moved in :)
I moved from the midwest to the east coast about 6 years ago! I was fortunate enough to have a relocation package (your husband might be able to get one too!) so I was in temp housing for a month while my stuff was in storage (brought almost all of it with me). It was a big change, but I don’t regret it one bit!
When I moved from MI to CA I packed as much of my stuff in my car as I could and made the journey as quick as I could. When we move out of CA we plan to sell as much as we can and take our time to enjoy the road trip, stopping along the way, and really taking advantage of the opportunity to pick up and go. These days, not everyone has the chance to do something like that and I’m so thankful to be able to.
My transition to CA was not the easiest. I think a lot of that had to do with not connecting to the people around me and missing my friends from home. Now that I have Jordan (as you have your Zac!) I see any transition I’m faced with in the future being a lot easier. With the support of a loved one, anything is possible.
We have made more than one cross-country, multi-state move (So. CA – No. CA, CA – CO, CO – ID). Each one we made ourselves with the help of U-Haul. We sold off excess before each move and then took the essentials (beds, dressers, table, chairs, couch). My best advice is to get your bedroom and kitchen set up first. You need to be able to sleep and cook as soon as possible. I agree with a previous post to find a church home as soon as possible. Try to remember that CA is a different sort of place and give yourself time to adjust. Wild horses couldn’t drag me back to CA. I hope it matches up with your dreams!
@Melinda T., Since we’re bringing so little I’m afraid we won’t have any rooms to set up once we arrive. We’re only bringing our Jeep out there :) once we find a place (hopefully before we arrive) we’ll be able to thrift + decorate. Woohoooo! :)
@Gussy Sews, I think you will be able to find LOTS of treasures….you will have a great selection of thrift stores and second hand stores. So fun! It is a big adventure! Moving has always brought my family closer.
I’m so excited for you :) Last year in November the hubby and I did the same thing you are doing right now, except we left California for Pennsylvania. We got rid of most of our stuff, and stocked our little Honda with the things that had to come with us. Literally, every space in the car was filled! It was a great experience. Some advice I can give you is to make sure you always fill up your gas (Never let it get below a quarter tank). We almost had a very bad experience with this. It was the middle of the night and we were running right on E and there wasn’t a gas station anywhere. The closest station according to our GPS (Oh, I hope you have a one, very helpful!) was fifty miles away. We had to call 911 to ask them for assitance. You don’t want to be stuck in the middle of no where, yikes! Also, if you are able to, take a minute to stop at some places along the way. We found that the little roadside stands were our favorite places to stop and take a rest because they always had interesting items to sell. Maybe you will even find some neat fabric? :) Also, take plenty of water with you… Oh and music!
I hope you have a wonderful trip! Do take the time to enjoy it!
@Carissa, Oh my gosh, what a great tip!!! Who wants to run out of gas??? Not the kind of adventure I’m looking for :}
I did a huge move from Ohio to Florida right after I graduated. It was the perfect time for a big change. I thought about selling all of my furniture but I was so happy I rented a u-haul and brought all my stuff with me. It was very comforting for me and my pets to have furniture that we were familiar with…..it really made the new place feel like home right away. And when you’re in a strange new place it’s nice to have some stability…..even if it’s just furniture!
Good luck with your big move! It’s going to be a fabulous adventure!!!
It’s so crazy that you’re moving across the country because I will be for the first time too! My boyfriend got a job in Seattle and he’s there now settling in. I am spending some much needed time with my family before I join him in September. I’ve know it was all happening for a few months for recently I have been reading about a lot of the bloggers I follow moving! It’s really great to have that online support and find out how other people are doing it.
My move was a bit tricky because first I had to get all of my stuff from Texas back to Michigan (where my parents live). From here I will be shipping a few boxes and taking whatever I can fit on the plane with me. Neither my boyfriend or I have a car and being in Seattle we really won’t need one so for us this is the way to go! He went with only 2 suitcases! During the time he was there he sublet a room in a house to get a feel for neighborhoods (sounds similar to what you’re doing-it’s a very good idea). He chose a place about 2 miles from work that he can easily take a bus to or bike. I’m also super pumped to decorate! I think there will be a lot of garage sales and craigslist purchases in my future. I’m pretty excited! I thought Texas was a big move but all the way across the country tops it!
I’m excited for you both and I will be back for some moving support as we venture out right around the same time! Good luck!
I’m so excited for you and your husband. Your situation is not far from us right now. We are just about to move from Nor Cal to Virginia in next few week prior to my son school starts. We’re cleaning up our 4 bedrooms right now and doing garage sale. Love your blog and hope for the best for both of you. And you will love California.
We moved from CT to CA last year, but under different circumstances since it was a military move. We chose to stay in an extended stay hotel while we searched for a rental and got familiar with the area. I’m not gonna lie, it was rough, but I was glad to have a kitchenette so I could still cook small meals for us and it was definitely an adventure on our drive here. One of the most frustrating obstacles was having a pet. We have a dachshund, our baby boy, and I thought I would tear my hair out if I came across one more rental listing that screamed “NO PETS!!”. I found Craig’s List to be a great resource, but just be careful for scammers if you use it for rental hunting. I would use my iPad to search for new listings while we kept the streets hot every day searching. Thankfully it all worked out. We found a house to rent (although we had to expand our search area which made hubby’s commute longer, but worth it) with a fantastic landlord and neighbors that are originally from the same area we are from back in GA (our home state). I’m so excited for you two and wish you the best of luck. I have a good feeling about this for you! We’re living in northern CA and I couldn’t love it more.
We moved from Ohio to CA (orange county) two years ago. We sold more than half of or possessions. We used pods when moving which worked out really well. We love living here. If you need help or anything let me know! You will also love the Boutiques here!
I recently moved from Indiana to Tennessee! Moving is very exciting, but can be a little bit stressful! Here is some advice that my friends gave me that I found super helpful! Just stay focused on getting to decorate that brand new living space every time you feel a little stressed!!
http://jodiwhitted.blogspot.com/2012/06/little-organization-moving-advice.html
We moved from Ohio to Colorado just a few days after we got married 6 years ago! We joke that this is our extended honeymoon. (: We sold/gave away pretty much everything we owned except for some clothes, our 2 cats, and made the drive in our little 2 seater convertible!
It was such an adventure and we decided to just view all the little things that were bound to go wrong as part of the fun. So when we totally took the wrong way getting back on the highway we’d say “Well, I guess we missed something back at the last exit!” And just go back and explore a bit. We slept on the floor for a couple weeks, and took our time finding a really great first apartment.
So I guess I have 2 pieces of advice: Go with the flow and make it a goal to not fight! I don’t know about you and Zack of course, but for my hubby and I: Road trips, making big decisions, or just being out of our usual routine make it really easy to get in little (and big arguments)
And secondly, once you get there and find an apartment, start walking the hood! Take Bauer out and walk up and down your street one day, and then the next street over, and the next street. Really get to know your little neighborhood. Do you know about walkscore.com? It was one of the biggest deciding factors in which apartment we rented (and later which house we bought)!
oh my gosh! i can’t believe you are moving to cali!!! that is sooo awesome, LOVE that state!!! :) good luck w/ everything!!!
xo,
Sandy
Sandy a la Mode
We’ve moved WA-IL and IL-CA. I think it’s hardest to be far away from family, and second hardest to have to make new friends. Dogs make everything better and brighter. CA can be culture shock, but the weather is beautiful and there are lots of amazing places. Remember that when things are tough they’ll often look brighter in the morning after some sleep, and positive thinking can make the difference between a good day and a bad day. Good luck to you!
Those colored curtain rods could make any room fun! Looking forward to seeing your place all decorated!
Alissa,
Thanks for the walkscore.com tip! Just looked up mine and never realized just how walkable our part of town really is!
Hey Maggie!
We made a cross country trip from MI to Alaska about 2 years ago. We too brought very little. We had two cars and a small Uhaul. We brought the Uhaul because we wanted to bring our bed. We have a good bed and knew that replacing it would be more than what we would have gotten for it if we sold it. On your trip out there…take your time. Its a great opportunity to see the country and visit places you may not have ever gone. If you have time, stop at the places you want to…it will be a trip of a lifetime:) The only other advice I would offer is that be aware of price of living differences…CA may be way more expensive…even for the thrift stores! Good luck and you’ll have our prayers!
Santa Monica is one of my favorite places! My family travels out there at least once a year. Maybe you could do me the honor of letting me take you and Z out to dinner?!
Major California Native here, only live an hour from where I was born! California is huge! On our way back from the Experience Compassion Conference last month. It took us 7 hours to get home once we arrived in California from Nevada! There is so much to see here, be sure to make a trip to Yosemite if you have never been there. Amazing place!