We finally did it friends!! We packed up our little home in California and headed to this magical place called Arizona..! As I am sitting here writing this my thoughts go something like “same same but different” 😉. We already feel so at HOME here. Honestly, I was not expecting this feeling so quickly because California has been our only home and we have many loved ones there. To say this was the scariest decision of my life, is an understatement!! I thought today, I’d catch you all up on our journey if you missed my daily stories on Instagram these past few weeks ❤.
Wrestling the Anticipation
The hardest part about moving was definitely the anticipation of it all. We knew this was coming for at least a year so it felt like our life was at a bit of a standstill but I did my best to just live in the moment, which turned out to be really hard 😅. With so many unknowns, I wrestled a ton of unwanted emotions. What got me through it all was sharing little DIY projects here so a big thank you to my wonderful readers for sticking with me!!
The Move
Once moving day had finally come I felt so ready to “rip off the bandaid” and just get on with it 😆. We rented a massive U-Haul truck and didn’t expect to use more than half of it… but we were SOOO wrong. We filled that van to the brim and even had to leave some things behind. You could say we had a ton of regret about not taking everyone’s advice and selling/ donating a ton before we moved (tip for anyone uprooting/moving!!).
Saying Goodbye
The hardest part of moving day was saying goodbye to our empty little home. We brought our babies home for the first time in that home. First baths. Playdates. My husband finished grad school there and started his dream job. I started my passion project turned home business in that little house… Not a corner of that sweet home was left without a beautiful memory that we’ll treasure forever. Before we left, we snapped some polaroids of the kids and I in the room where they learned to walk- see my Instagram if you are prepared to cry today! I also grabbed a memory book to jot down our favorite memories of the house so that we never forget.
The Trek
The trek from Sacramento to Phoenix was the part of the move I was most nervous about since it’s a 12+ hour drive. Hubby drove the U-Haul while I trailed behind in our car. The first travel day took 12 hours with our stops and general LA traffic. This drive was something I mentally prepared for though so it wasn’t too bad! We drove Sacramento to Bakersfield then stopped for a (quick) lunch. Then headed up the grapevine and made it to Pasadena where had a sit down dinner (which felt amazing after being in the car for nearly all day!) From there it was a short 2 1/2 hour drive to Palm Springs… and when we got out of the car at our hotel it felt like THE hottest place I had ever been to with heavy winds 😬.
I really thought we would have more time in Palm Springs to explore but we were so tired and ready to get to our new home that we just kept on our way the next morning. For sure I want to come back for a visit since we are only a few hours away!! The drive through the Phoenix was beautiful especially when passing Joshua Tree (another spot to visit on our list!). Here are the few pics I was able to snap from that day 😊.
Bumpy Arrival
As expected there were bumps in the road once we finally made it to Phoenix. I’ll spare the details but basically it took us three days to get into our rental and we were hotel bound for more nights than we expected. The kids loved it because they just wanted to swim at the hotel! Once we did get into our rental, our movers that were scheduled to help us cancelled. It was 110 degrees out so that was fun 🥵. Honestly, my hat off goes off to the hubby who did most of the unloading himself..!
Turning in the U-Haul a few days later was the biggest relief!! But the trials continued… We went 6 days without gas hookup (no cooking) and about 9 days without internet 😅. In between that time we did feel a bit homesick, exhausted and overwhelmed in general. But the kids settled in quickly into their new rooms and seeing them so happy kept us grounded. If it weren’t for their happy smiled, I don’t know how I would have made it through those grueling first few days!
All Together
Since hubby was off for a few weeks we were able to spend so much time together exploring our new town, taking walks together, and of course trying new restaurants. Sometimes it felt like TOO much time together because I’m an introvert-extrovert… and also have a tendency to people please (which I loathe). Looking back I know I could have probably done a better job taking care of me during that time like getting ready for the day and eating my favorite healthy snacks, but was such a whirl of a time! Just now, I’m starting to feel like life is not such a blur. I mean, sort of 😅.
Making a New Home
What brought the whole uprooting experience full circle was making our new house a home. Here are some of simple the things I did that really helped turn our rental house into a home we love:
Family shopping trips at our new grocery store
Trying new restaurants together
Signing up for a family gym
Checking out our local library
Finding a home for the plant babies
Getting our main living area set up
Organizing (ish) the pantry
Decorating the coffee table
Organizing our bathroom drawers
Going for family walks
Making some of our favorite family meals
And of course, getting the kitchen in order!
What’s Next
As mentioned, we are staying in a rental home but this is temporary as we are building a home! The home is estimated to be completed by next spring. In the meantime, I will be sharing rental friendly design, more recipes, and how I’m generally navigating this whole new Arizona lifestyle. Expect a lot of pretty sunset pics 🤩 Another new venture will be all of the hiking we’ll get to do out here. I already feel like we are able to be so much more active as a family together which is a dream come true for me!
I’ll upload this post with photos soon, but for now you can head over to my Instagram for more pics and videos. My Pinterest is also a great place to be for more home and style inspo! Thanks so much for being here with me on this new journey friends! I’m excited to share this next chapter with you all. Cheers to it being the best one yet 🥂
X o X o ,
