Home Sweet Sunshine State

Big news friends...WE MOVED TO FLORIDA!

Quick side note: This is not a recipe post, but I'm excited to share a big life update with you!

I know, it's crazy. I still can't actually believe I live here.

So how did this come to be, you ask? Well, that's what I am here to tell you!

Pete and a few other guys from his previous job formed a technology company a few years ago. At the time (and for the first couple years), everyone was pretty spread out across the country - i.e. Chicago, Michigan, New York, Florida, California - so they were all working from home. They needed to expand their team so they hired more people and established an office in Florida. Pete was able to keep working remotely for a while but as the company has grown, the vast majority of the work from home crew relocated to Florida and because of Pete's role, it became harder and harder to deny that he needed to physically be in the office. So, we made the decision to move! We sold our house (really quickly...thank goodness! yikes - that's stressful), packed up all of our things and headed south with the pup!

We've been here for about two months, and I am happy to say we are settling in very nicely! I also have to give Pete a major round of applause, because he picked the house we are living in without me seeing it in real life - we were running out of time before our move date and I couldn't make another trip down so he looked at it by himself. And I love it! (I'll be honest with you..I started to get a little nervous when we were about 20 minutes away from the house because I was thinking...omg - I'm literally about to move into a house that I've never actually seen before, what is happening. But it's wonderful, he knows me well. Bravo, babe. 👏👏)

Here is a little snapshot of what we've been up to so far as Floridians!

Unpacking!

Oh man, there is nothing like moving to make you realize how much stuff you have and want to just PURGE EVERYTHING AND LIVE IN A TINY HOUSE.

Not really about the tiny house, but yikes did we have a lot of stuff to unpack (and that was just the two of us...I can't imagine how much more stuff there is when kids are added into the mix). The photo above is our kitchen with some (note: some - not all) of the kitchen boxes in it. Woof.

But I am happy to say that that phase is over! Unpacked and boxes are gone. *Breathes sigh of relief.*

Decorating! 

This has been fun! It's kind of interesting to see all your stuff from one place just sort of...transferred to a new location. Hanging your own decorations and photos really makes it feel like home. 🏠

We have more room in this house than we did in our Chicago house (shocker, I know 😜) so we bought a new couch - which is HUGE and fantastically comfortable (just don't ask Pete how long it took me to make up my mind and finally pull the trigger when we were shopping...I seriously think he may have considered leaving me at the furniture store for a minute there 🙃).

Taking Charlie on lots of walks and to the beach! 

Our yard is not completely fenced in at this house, so Charlie has been getting A TON of walks, which let's be honest - is making him so stinkin' happy.

We've also made a couple dog beach trips!

It's been a mixed review on the beach for him so far. Sometimes he seems to really love it (see above), other times the waves totally freak him out and he whines when other dogs walk by and he doesn't get to say hi to them. Who knows, I'm just going to keep trying.

DISNEY! 

We went to Epcot! On a Sunday! Just because!

And I can't wait to go back to more places...I love Disney movies and I haven't been to the parks since I was a little girl. Plus I'm pretty sure this will be a great way to lure visitors to come to us...muahaha!

Getting acquainted with the Florida critters...

Yeah...this particular item is a little less exciting. So far there have been three critter incidents:

1. Lizard/gecko in the house - This cute little guy somehow managed to make it into the toilet room in our master bathroom, which you have to go upstairs and through our bedroom & bathroom to get to. Quite a journey for that little dude. I successfully trapped him in a cup and set him free outside. You're cute but time to go, thanks bye.
   
2. Frog in the house - Our neighbor came over and when I opened the door to let him in, a little frog just shot right into the house and started jumping around the living room. I went to fetch another trusty cup, and then he went behind the couch. Pete nudged him out with a broom handle and I was supposed to catch him but I panicked (I didn't want to squish him and I also didn't really want to touch him!) and I missed him. But luckily our neighbor is much tougher than me and just snatched him up with his bare hands and let him go outside. Thanks, Bill!
3. Snakeskin in the yard - THIS ONE IS NOT AT ALL CUTE. NOT ONE BIT. I went to water my herb planters and found this lovely snakeskin just chilling in our backyard by the hose. Which means, you know, there was a SNAKE in our yard that that sucker came off of. Heebie jeebies x1,000. Ugh, I literally got them again just writing this.
   

Cooking!

I've been trying out some new recipes (like Shakshuka, Chickpea kale curry, pillowy pita bread, and Mediterranean stuffed peppers), and I signed up to be a recipe tester for America's Test Kitchen/Cooks Illustrated! (That sounds a little fancier than it is, basically they occasionally send you recipes before they publish them and ask you to try it out and give them your feedback in a survey, it's not paid or anything but I think it's super cool.) Now that we're all settled in and I have more time to cook, I am really looking forward to posting here more often! There are a lot more yummy noises to come. 😋

Hanging with new people...but missing friends and family too. ❤️

We met a few of our awesome neighbors (so happy to have a bunch of great people so close by!) and it has been really fun to spend time with Pete's co-workers and their significant others...we had a big housewarming party a couple weeks ago and had lots of fun (and WAY too much food).

But of course, we miss our friends and family too. In particular - I'm really missing a couple of cute new babes in my life. Within just a few days of each other, my bestie Danielle had her little baby boy, Michael James, and my brother and his fiancée Jen had our little niece, Evelyn Jane! I am dying to get in some baby snuggles, so I am heading to Michigan in a couple weeks to soak up all the little goodness! I am already so in love with these tiny humans. 👶❤️

Cheers to new adventures, new recipes, and lots and lots of yummy noises! Can't wait to share it with you! 🥂