house

life, in more detail

I can finally explain my mysterious ramblings in a little more detail. Ye who follow me on twitter have known what’s up, but I haven’t wanted to talk about it publicly until everything was nailed down.

Next week, we’ll be loading everything up and driving 3067 miles to our new little house. It’s cute, yes? The last few weeks have been a whirlwind (now you know why my vacation wasn’t relaxing at all) trying to sync everything up on very short notice. I was offered a great opportunity at an interactive agency in Vermont – the kind of company that didn’t exist there when I left 17 years ago – doing exactly the job I was looking for out here in California. I get to be home AND do the work I like? Sign me up. My heart is bursting with the nearness of trees, and grass, and our own little garden, and a commute that’s more green than concrete, and my family nearby, and snow, and fall, and Halloween with proper weather, and and and and!!!!!!!

Remind me of my excitement in 4 months when I’m whining about the cost of heat and how very very cold snow is, ok?

I was pretty stuck in a vortex of we just can’t afford to do this right now while my heart was wishing I could move home immediately. Every time I came across another ‘moved-to-New-England-from-NYC-isn’t-our-life-grand-now’ blog,  there was admittedly some gnashing of teeth from the green eyed monster. We might not be buying a giant farmhouse and starting our own baby applesauce company any time soon, but at least the fire of determination was lit – which snowballed very quickly into this move. More quickly than I could have imagined!

So I guess what I’m saying is JUMP, damnit, if you know you need to jump, & figure out the logistics on the way.

Let me just throw a couple more things I need out there into the universe as a cosmic ordering up, as the warlock says:

1. Friends. Know good Vermonters? Read Vermont blogs? Hook me up! The town we’ll be living in is tiny tiny, so while it’s easy to meet people, it’s nice to have some like-minded folk to seek out.

2. A car. We’re going to be on the most frugal budget of all time for the first few months, so if anyone has any leads in the VT/NH/MA/Upstate NY area on a reasonably priced (or, you know, free) used car that can get us through winter, let me know!

3. The real question is, how will I peel the California “like” out of my vocabulary?

4. & if you wanted to order a print, now is still a great time! I pick up the first batch of orders today! Thank you all so much.

56 Comments

  1. Wow, that’s so exciting! Congrats! I love Vermont, it’s gorgeous. I just embarked upon the “JUMP, damnit, if you know you need to jump, & figure out the logistics on the way” adventure, myself. And yeah, I’m figuring out the logistics right now. But I’m so happy I did it.

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  5. oh! i am so happy for you! being the sap that i am, my eyes welled up a little bit. now i have the green eyed monster… <3

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  6. I’m so very happy for you and Sean. You have wanted this for a while and it is very serendipitous re the job opportunity! And yes, 4 seasons! A proper fall! Synching with the cycles of the year! I pine for that as well.

    I’m a little jealous of your move too but I’ve been quietly putting my own “within 3-5 years” relocation plan in place so your big life change nudges a little more oomph into me for focusing on mine. I’m looking toward Salem, Boston or Providence but remain open to intervention by Fate for other areas – hehe!

    I love California and adore living in San Francisco so I know for me this is not just a moody escape plan. I just feel I need to be in that area for the second half of my life. Good luck with your cross-country travel and I hope the first few months of settling in are more blissful than stressful.

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  7. Congratulations! Your escape from you-know-where was long overdue and hard won. Does Sean also have a new gig lined up in lovely VT, or will he be telecommuting?

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  10. De-lurking to say, what a lovely little house, congrats on the confluence of desire and opportunity, and good luck making this transition! I love the exhilaration of the jumpings. I’m also enjoying them right now :)

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  14. So happy for you lady- I think it’s going to be such an inspiring move. Also I’m quite happy to be living vicariously through you, small-town living has been sounding most appealing to me for quite some time:).besos!!

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    1. & if I start going crazy, NYC is a 5 hour drive, Montreal is a 2 hour drive…I see lots of city weekend trips to make sure I don’t start talking to squirrels!!!

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  16. as a vermonter living in portland and dreaming of the perfect world in which i could return – i’m super jealous!! best wishes to you, can’t wait to see your new adventures.

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    1. Ohhh no! I hope you can move back soon. I definitely was not expecting to find a job that seems to fit so well – VT is not quite at the top of the list job market wise. I lucked out!

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  18. I knew you’d find your way back to Vermont one day… Best of luck with the move! Your new home is beautiful and it looks quite up to the task of warding off the Vermont winter’s chill. Congratulations on the new job, too!!!

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  20. I’ve been badly desiring to make the move from the deserts of phoenix to San Francisco (not know anyone there) I’ve never lived anywhere else. I think I am secretly coming up with all the excuses in the world to put it off. I want to just pack up and go as in right now under this beautiful moon.
    In my 31yrs I’ve never jumped before.
    this post inspires :)

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    1. You should, you should! Your pathway is pretty much screaming out of your words!! Lit up!

      There are always sublets and people looking for roommates here – it’s not a hard city to move to. I came with just a suitcase & no money & 15 years later am leaving with a house full, 2 cats, a career, and a husband. 😉

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  21. Well, I’m certainly glad that I got to meet you (however briefly) before you returned to Vermont! Your new house is lovely, I’m definitely a little jealous (or maybe the right word is “inspired by”)and hope that I can find something as nice some day. These are exciting times for you!

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    1. Thank you! I was just trying to remember your tumblr the other day, I stopped using it so it’s hard to track down people. Don’t be jealous, we’re just renting the house for now – though it is super cute!

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  24. Congrats on the new job and on moving home. There’s a green-eyed moster attacking me about both of those things!

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  25. adorable house – I’m so so happy for you! I try to remember as I’m slaving away in the studio and brainstorming new ways to market my line, ways to get it into the hands of real gals, ways to keep going forward, ways, ways, ways, that i won’t be saying, “If I’d only gone for my dreams” on my deathbed. I’m wishing you such luck (and I’m happy you’ll be on the east coast :)

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  28. So happy you’re making the jump! I’m not in VT, but please feel free to stop by and visit next time you’re in NYC.

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  29. You have a beautiful blog here! Just thought I would mention that, AND, so happy to hear about someone moving to Vermont and loving all the things I love about it. (That house is adorable). I am looking to go to graduate school up there, and wish to live there forever and ever. (Where in Vermont are you going to be living?)

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  31. ever since you put it out into the universe that you wanted to go back to vermont i knew that somehow it would work, that things would align and make it happen for you. i’m so glad it is happening and look forward to hearing about your many adventures in the woods. so so happy for you.

    p.s. totally jealous that you’ll now be living with many more trees and forest.

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  34. So exciting to read that my favorite blogger is up to just what I did two weeks ago when I packed up my life, boyfriend, and cat to move to dreamy Appalachia and Mr. Jefferson’s University in Charlottesville, VA. Jump even when you can’t see what’s below.

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  35. I am hellishly late leaving you a comment here (and woefully absent from twitter most days lately) because of my own jump, but I just had to stop by and leave you a note wishing you very well in Vermont. I hope your homecoming is as life-reaffirming as mine has been.

    I am a little sad that we won’t be able to meet up again in San Francisco, but when we head out to your new-old neck of the woods, I would very much like to visit.

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  36. Ahh, I’m so happy for you! I moved to MA a year ago and I just adore it. There’s something so breathtaking and captivating about living in New England! I know you’ve been wanting to move to Vermont for so long and I am so SO glad you have the opportunity! Your house looks adorable. Can’t wait to hear about your adventures living in Vermont!

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  37. Yay!!!! So happy for you guys. :) I jumped for something a couple of weeks ago that didn’t work out, but I think the universe is telling me to keep on keeping on. Yours is probably the third post I’ve seen about risk-taking in as many hours! *hugs*

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  40. Looks like a very cute house. You’ll have to show us some more pictures once things are more settled.
    Hope everything is going ok with all this water!

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