First Things First: How to Make a New City Feel Like Home.

I'm not someone who does great with mass amounts of change. I'm working on it, because I want to be this free, adventurous soul who just goes with the flow. But we live in reality, and here I still find lots of change hard.

Before we found out where we'd be moving, I starting thinking about what I love about Orlando and how I'm so comfortable here. I wondered how I would be able to feel like that in a new town. So, being the easy-going, go with the flow, whatever-happens-happens girl that I am (ha), I made a list. A list of things to do first, no matter where we move, to make a new city feel a bit more like home.

Find your Library. I love the romantic notion of filling my home to the brim with books. I love the idea of just buying any book I come across that I may one day like to read. But, I also really like the thought of having enough money to buy groceries. Because of this, the library is my best friend. As soon as I have lived at my new house long enough to have two pieces of mail addressed to me at my new address, I am getting a library card.

Find your Take-Out Haven. We all have days that were just too busy, too stressful to even think about cooking dinner. We also all have days that are hard and result in the need for a hug in the form of food cooked by someone else. When these days happen, there is a safe little haven known as the take-out place. This haven is different for everyone, but for me, it's Chinese food. There's rarely a problem that can't be solved with some good Chinese food. Moving week can be brutal, so it's probably best to start testing out take-out havens as soon as you get to your new city.

Find your Church. If you're like me, finding a good church just feels like home. It's a comforting and refreshing addition to the week, and finding one you like can make a new town quickly feel like home. Plus, trying out different churches automatically gives you something to do and a way to meet new people. If church isn't your thing, fill in the blank with whatever is. Find your art museum or your book club or your fitness center.

Find your Grocery Store. For when you run out of money for take-out. Listen, I don't particularly like grocery shopping. It's draining and a commitment and then, after you have foraged through the store in search of all the items on your list, you have to drive home and actually unload all the food. It's just not my idea of fun. However, finding a good (and clean, please) grocery store where things are in relatively easy-to-find places (I'm looking at you, Target who puts the baby formula with the cat litter) can make a not-so-fun task enjoyable enough to not dread it.

Make your house homey. I absolutely cannot wait for this one. I want to decorate our new house slowly, only filling it with things we absolutely love. I don't want to buy a bunch of so-so things just because I'm in a rush to get it done. That being said, there are things that make your house feel like your house. Things like your favorite blanket and your chipped coffee mug that you just can't bring yourself to throw away. Put those things where you can see them, because this is your house now, and they belong. And so do you.



How do you make a new town feel like home?

Letters to Jack: 3 Months.

Jack,

On Thursday, you turned three months old on the same day that I turned 24 years old. I just wanted to let you know that you are, hands down, the greatest thing that happened to my life this year. I continue to be amazed at how much I can love something that's only been here for such a short time, but it's crazy amounts of love. You are the best. The very, very best.

This month was so much fun. It was your first Easter, and even though you won't remember (and were extremely uninterested) we made you an easter basket. We had pool days and road trips. We dedicated you at our church back home. You got to meet my family. You experienced Match Day and we found out you get to stay a Florida baby.

One of the things I was most worried about before having you was how much my life would change. It sounds so selfish now, but I was worried that my life would be unrecognizable, that I would be flailing around and feeling lost. That could not be further from the truth. 

On one hand, life hasn't changed. You slipped right into it like you've just always belonged. And the parts that have changed have been the best changes. When I woke up on my birthday, I couldn't wait for you to wake up. I couldn't wait to snuggle with you on the couch on my first birthday with you. 

So yeah, I guess my life did change quite a bit when you made an appearance. It became so much more fun and full and perfect. These last three months have truly been better than anything I thought they would be. 

Love you and your sweet little smile forever, little munchkin. 

24, I'm Coming For You.

Today is the last day in my 23rd year, and I'm actually feeling a little emotional about it. Not because it's over, but because of just how full the year actually was.

Some years feel short, flying by and handing you a new age before you've even found anything you like about the old one. But not this one. This one was long and full, and when I think about how different life is and how much has happened in the last 365 days, I don't even know where to start.

There have been birthdays and holidays and failures and successes. There were applications and then interviews and then Match Day. There were trips to different states and movie nights at home. There were rough waters that I didn't see coming and there was so, so much love.

Sometimes life gives you what you didn't know you needed, and it is enriching and illuminating and fulfilling. Other times, life gives you something you didn't know you wanted, and it is exciting and enjoyable and fun. And sometimes, in moments that rarely come along, life throws you something that is both.

This year was my both. 

Because 23 was the year that gave me Jack. My sweet, sleepy, snuggly, smiley little guy who completely turned my life upside down in the best possible way.

When I think about my birthday last year and all the things I wanted to get out of my 23rd year, I'm in awe of how much better my life is today than I ever could have imagined. It amazes me that it's possible to feel such fierce love for someone who I didn't even know was going to exist a mere 365 days ago.

So cheers to the next 365 days. To moving to a new city, to chasing new dreams, to staying wild and free and in love, to raising up a little babe to be a wild and free dreamer. Cheers to soaking up every single bit of life the next 12 months have to offer.

Cheers to 24.

People Who Need to Stop Killing My Vibe: Pregnancy Edition.

Some of my favorite posts ever are the lists of people who need to stop killing my vibe (here and here). I think we have established that there are rude people who can't keep their thoughts to themselves pretty much everywhere you go, but let me just tell you...those people come crawling out of the woodwork when you're pregnant. It's like your growing stomach is an open invitation for strangers to come up to you and say inappropriate/rude/bizarre things.

When I was pregnant, I kept a list on my phone of these things to use for a blog post. And then I forgot all about it, because, you know, I was having baby. But I found it this morning, and so I present to you: The Pregnancy Edition of People Who Need to Stop Killing My Vibe.

People who say, "You look tired!"



And then wait, as if I am going to explain why I look so tired. Because surely it couldn't have anything to do with the fact that I AM GROWING A HUMAN.

People who say, "No more of that! Life as you know it is over!"

Sure. Also, when you get a new job, life as you know it is over. Or when you move, life as you know it is over. My life is changing, it is not over.

People who tell me they can tell I'm definitely hang a girl, no matter what the ultrasound says. 

I mean, I have a pretty graphically obvious picture on my fridge that says otherwise, but okay.

People who ask me how much weight I have gained. 

See also: People who now ask me how much weight I've lost.

People who ask, "Yes, but is your HUSBAND really happy?"

I actually got this one a lot. It's always asked like, "But did he actually want a baby?" As if this is a one person job.

No, I secretly got myself pregnant on purpose and now I'm making him stay with me through his misery..why don't you let me tell you all the juicy details?

Also, I'm fine, thanks for asking.

Anyone who sees pregnancy as an invitation to tell me a horror story about something terrible that happened to their friend when she was pregnant. 

And most recently: People who like to retroactively tell me what I did wrong when I was pregnant. 

I know you guys have some of these! Please oh please share them. 

Work Hard & Be Nice to People.

I have a sign hanging up in my house that says "Work hard and be nice to people." My mom bought it for me while we were shopping for my birthday last year. I saw it hanging in Francesca's and loved the simplicity of it. It's some of the best advice, but it's so, so simple. 

When considering what we should do and how we should act, I think we sometimes overcomplicate things that can often be boiled down to these few simple words.

Work hard. At your job, on your hobbies, on becoming who you want to be. Work hard on making your dreams a reality, on being someone you can be proud of. Work hard at the things you are supposed to work hard at and work hard on the things you can sometimes forget deserve hard work, things like bettering yourself, trying to be a good spouse/partner, being kind to people, or standing up for yourself. Life is too short to take the lazy way out on the important things. Work hard. 

Be nice to people. Be nice to those who are nice to you, and be thankful for their friendship. Be nice to those who aren't nice to you, and wave goodbye as you ask them to leave your life. Life is too short to put up with mean people in your life, but it's also too short to be a mean person yourself. So no matter what, be nice to people. Be sweet. Kill 'em with kindness. 

Want to become a better person? Work hard and be nice to people. 

Want to move up in your job? Work hard and be nice to people.

Want to make your life a happier place to live? Work hard and be nice to people.

See? So simple. We overcomplicate things.

Happy Monday, friends. It's a fresh new week (birthday week over here, yay!), and there will be plenty of chances to work hard and be nice. Take them! 

Your New Favorite Blog: Park Avenue.

Meet Anna White, the gorgeous blogger behind Park Avenue! An elementary school teacher living in Nashville and a self-proclaimed french fry and coffee addict, Anna is one of the sweetest lifestyle bloggers you'll ever find! I asked her a few questions to help you get to know her better.

Comments have been turned off so you can go stalk  say hi to Anna instead! Click here to follow her on Bloglovin! You can also find her on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and of course, Snapchat. She's going to be your new favorite...so, you're welcome. 

Want your own post like this? Click here!

This Year Has Pushed me so Far Out of my Comfort Zone.

My birthday is next week, and whenever it comes around, I always think about my year and all that has happened. When I think about the last year, uncomfortable is what comes to mind. It was a year that pushed me so far out of my comfort zone.

But...it was also the best year of my life. Funny how that works.

I had a pregnancy that was in no way planned by me. Uncomfortable. 

I lived alone for two months while Chris did his away rotations. Uncomfortable. 

I signed up to live wherever a random algorithm decided we were going to live. Uncomfortable.

I spent a lot of the year having no idea what the next month, let alone the next year, was going to look like. Uncomfortable. 

And plenty of other things. Stuff that I really never saw coming. I'm not one to label entire years like that, but really, the entirety of this one was pretty clearly uncomfortable.

But it was also the best ever. 

Having the happiest baby join our family and just fit right in? The best.

Finding out that hard work and sacrifice really does pay off, this time in the form of getting to live in Florida? The best. 

Waking up one day and realizing that I am truly in love with my life? The best. 

So I guess what I'm saying is that sometimes, life doesn't have to look classically "good" to be the best ever. Sometimes the best life ever comes from being pushed and pulled and spending quite a few days standing anywhere but your comfort zone. 

Every year before my birthday, I look at who I am and how that's different than it was last year. I have to say, I really like the version of myself that I became this year. I became more flexible. Less anxious. I became aware of the fact that I can do hard things. I became more open. More vocal. Less of a doormat. I became a mom. I changed in a few big ways and a thousand tiny ones.

I really love this version of my life. I love where my life is right now, and I love where it's headed. And I know that none of that would be the way that it is if I would have had a cushy, comfortable year.

All in all, I think it's a pretty good trade.

What good things have come from being pushed out of your comfort zone?