Turning Dreams Into Plans

Hello everyone! I have been putting off writing this post for a couple of weeks now, mostly because a part of me still can't believe this is really happening. If you've been following me for a while, you know that Lewis and I have always wanted to get out of the southern US. I can remember even as a child longing for our annual trip to the mountains and feeling so disappointed when we had to return home. It's not like there's anything wrong with the South, but you are definitely aware if you clearly don't belong somewhere.

You might remember over a year ago, we made the announcement that we were moving to Houston, TX from a small town in central GA. While it wasn't our first choice (heck, it wasn't even our 100th choice) we knew it was important to gain work experience in a major city, so we moved there. Thinking about it now after living here for 16 months, I can say that nothing could have prepared us for what we have experienced here. We definitely learned a lot, and we were more aware of what we wanted in a city and, more importantly, what we didn't want.

Then this past January, we finally were able to see the places we've always dreamed about. We were hesitant that the place we had built up in our heads from images we saw online and things we read in books would not live up to reality but it did. In fact, it was far better than anything we could have ever imagined. It put all of our questions and doubts to rest, it was that simple - we HAD to live here.

After years of pouring over travel books at Barnes and Noble, talking about it to our friends and family (and anyone else that would listen), and finally seeing it for ourselves, I can at last say we will be moving to the Pacific Northwest! Portland, OR to be precise.To anyone out there that might be struggling to achieve something or has always felt out of place where they are. I would like to say: hang in there, continue to keep your head down, work hard, and try to make the best of the situation you are in. This past year has been especially rough, and I have had to stop myself from transforming into a person I no longer recognize but looking at it now, I am realizing we had to go through this struggle in order to achieve what we've always wanted. It WILL get better.


I'll be posting pictures non stop on social media to document our cross country road trip in a couple of weeks so feel free to follow along @theniftycupcake