Where we're living + my thoughts on the past year

This post has been a long time coming .. honestly, I've been kinda avoiding it. But when I met a few of my favorite bloggers at the BHG Stylemaker event, and realized that no one knows where we're living .. it was time for an update!

First, why we move .. more info here. But in general, David works for a global construction company - which is project based, so we move to where the project is .. it can be several years, or short term, like 6 months depending on the project.

So, why was I avoiding it?

1. It's slightly embarrassing

We've moved 4 times in the past year (and bought a house that we're not living in ..) so really kinda 5 times. We moved twice for work (Ohio and Tennessee) and two more times (same cities) Moving 4 times in one year is typically not the norm .. unfortunately we had issues with the first place we lived (in both cities) and had to move again .. it's been a draining year :/

 2. I don't want to seem like I'm complaining

In the grand scheme of things, I know that we are very blessed. We can support ourselves financially, we have a roof over our heads and we have an amazingly supportive family and network of friends. Remembering these things have really helped us through this year!! So I just want to say that up front,  We are blessed!!



So, where are we living?

Tennessee and Maryland

We're in Tennessee for David's work, so we're there most of the time. We go to our home in Maryland a few times a month (it's an 8 hour drive each way, so that's been wearing on us.. we'll be traveling less in the next few months)

Why do we have a house that we don't live in full time?

We purchased a home for our permanent home base .. it's a short drive from both of our parents, so they help us maintain it when we're not there (that's been a blessing!!) We wanted to put down roots, continue building up equity, and have a place to plant my peonies (which we just did! :)

How I'm feeling ..

The reality is, the past year has been hard for me. You know that unsettled feeling in between moving .. that's the way I've felt for the past year. It's hard to maintain what I'm doing - when I don't have all of my supplies (for short term projects, only a limited weight to move is covered) DIYing takes up a good bit of space and tools/furniture/styling supplies. Don't get me wrong, I've loved the projects that we've done over the past year, but producing those projects has been more difficult than they should be, due to disorganization, not having all our tools and traveling a lot.

What are my plans for the next few months?

I have BIG ideas and plans but our current living situation doesn't allow us to complete them .. so I feel a little stagnate now. I've spent the last few weeks, thinking about what is possible with our current living situation (undertaking full kitchen and bath renos is just not possible while we're not in Maryland full time) In the next few months, for our MD house, we'll be working on our house, but not completing rooms .. we'll be working on painting (hiring out some of it) and refinishing the hardwood floors (maybe hiring out?) Since we're in TN longer than anticipated (originally just 6 months, which would have been Sept.) I'm planning to put together a mini apartment tour, so I'll be putting the finishing touches on our place in TN. Originally, I wasn't planning a home tour since we were only going to be here 6 months, but I'm tired of waiting .. we will be here at least through February, so stay tuned!

What's my outlook on the next year?

Positive!

I believe that having an established, organized home is essential to cultivate creativity and motivation! So that's what we're working towards!

Next time we move, we want to be settled for at least 2 years (preferably our MD home), but right now, we don't know if that will be possible .. we will see.

I was hoping to share news about what the next year or two will bring for us .. but right now I don't know. I'll be sure to share when we know!

So, in summary, I LOVE what I'm doing .. and it is a blessing to be able to pick it up and take it wherever we go. We'd love to be settled (which will allow us to take on bigger and better projects) so that's what we're working towards! Thanks so much for your daily support, it really means SO SO much to both David and I!