Hey guys! I’ve been noticeably absent on social media recently because we’ve had a heck of a lot going on!

We’re finally at that place in the road where we can share the BIG NEWS: *insert dramatic pause*

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WE ARE MOVING TO MINNESOTA!

I know, I KNOW!! The only place more polar opposite to California would be the North Pole, but Minnesota comes pretty close. Lol. If you’ve been following our family on social media for a while, you know that for several years Shaun has been traveling back and forth between his California and Minnesota offices often… a few months ago, they ask him to relocate to the corporate office in Minnesota. He’s been with BestBuy for well over 17 years, and if you’ve met my husband in real life, there’s no denying that he’s a pretty awesome human and a magical unicorn [dynamic & full of amazing ideas] in his industry, so it only made sense that he continued his story there.

I’ve always said that HOME is wherever he is, so deciding to move was a pretty easy decision on my part. For one, I’ve moved across a whole continent and ocean already [100% legally btw just because I know it’s crossed a few of your minds! Lol] from Belize to California, so moving across state was really a no brainer. And two, we’ve always discussed wanting to raise the kids outside of California, in a place that would allow them to have a simple childhood without the whole “Hollywood effect” pressures, and in place that would open up their minds and would allow all of us to have new life and cultural experiences. We’re both big on encouraging the kids to value experiences over things, and so we’re really excited and hopeful about what this big move will mean for all of us.

A few weeks ago, we both travelled to Minnesota to go “forever home” house hunting , and ended up purchasing our second home there. Now we’re 2 time home owners!

We’ll be renting our current house in California and then moving to our forever home in Minnesota. So a lot of our time recently has been purging, packing and making our current home ready for rent. [sidenote: It’s amazing the amount of random stuff one can collect in the span of 10 years!]

Shaun bought our current house before we got married, so I was pretty excited to go through the whole house hunting, home buying experience TOGETHER with him this time. The new home we picked together is pretty darn perfect, I can’t even tell you ….even more so that I get my own sewing room! No more sharing my space with the dining room! That being said, I am getting rid of some of my sewing furniture, random sewing stuff, photo back drops and a lot of my fabric! Now I know, you’re thinking but you can always use fabric, and yes that’s true…BUT when I use to purchase fabric before, I’d buy one yard cuts because I was able to get a whole garment for Abigail from that, but now that she’s bigger I’m using about 2 yards to make her garments…so now the one yard cuts won’t be of much use to me, it only makes sense that I get rid of them. I also have a ton of lighter designer fabrics from when I use to make scarves, that definitely won’t work for the colder temps we’ll be having in Minnesota, so I’ll be de-stashing those too. I made a facebook group listing for the destash, click HERE to join. 

 
Moving also means that I have to leave my job. *insert sad violin music here* If you follow me on social media, you know that I LOVE MY JOB! I’ve been working on the ocean (literally ON the ocean) for 9.5 years…being here has been my sweet solace, so handing in my 2 weeks notice was definitely a somber and bitter sweet experience. While I’m looking forward to all the new experiences that await us, there’s a great deal of anxiety and grief that comes with it, saying goodbye to everything and everyone I’ve known for the past 11 years will not be easy…just writing this right now has me choked up. I still have a few more weeks left before we are completely gone, so until then, I’ll be riding the waves of emotions (pun intended lol) and preparing myself for when it all finally hits me. 

We’ve gotten so many questions from those who know already, so I wanted to take a moment to address the common ones now, rather than repeating myself in comments or inbox messages.  

1. Where exactly in Minnesota are you moving to?  I know it seems like our lives are an open book in social media but some things like where we live EXACTLY we just won’t share. I’ll just say, we’re not in the city.

2. What school will the kids be going to? Not sharing that either.

3. When are you leaving California? I’ll just say we’ll be spending the new year in our new home.

4. Aren’t you concerned about moving the kids in the middle of a school year? This is the most common question so I just wanted to publicly address it…so here goes: The answer to that WAS Yes. Yes we WERE concerned. Ideally we wanted the kids to at least finish the year here, but Abigail made it quite clear that she wouldn’t function properly with Shaun being gone before us for such a long period of time, even Adrian expressed that, that didn’t sit well with him either. We’ve sat down with them and explained what waiting would mean, and what moving in the middle of the term would mean for them. They are both excited and wished they could move like yesterday, and so since we’ve always tried to put the emotional wellbeing of the kids first, and since they’ve expressed over and over that they are mentally and emotionally ready, we’re not concerned about how this move will negatively affect them as much as we did before. I’ve spoken on the phone to both principals of their new schools, and all arrangements have been made.

 5. OMG you’ve moving in WINTER! What will you do when it snows? Stay inside that’s for sure. HAHAHAHA!! Remember when I use to say “This Caribbean girl wasn’t made for the cold weather?”  Well now I guess I’ll be eating those words hahaha…I’m sure it’ll take some adjusting for all of us, but we’ve done all the research there is to do, and we’re pretty prepared – I think we’ll be fine. I will say, I am really excited about what this new climate will have me sewing!

6. Will you give us a tour of the new home? Ummm….this is uncertain. Home has always been a bit of a sacred place for me. So I’m not sure about the entire home, but I know for sure I’ll share with you the progress on my new sewing room! I’m so super excited about furnishing that and setting it up how I’ve always dreamed.

7. What will you do for a job? Thankfully I’m a position where I don’t have to find a JOB JOB right away, so I’ve decided to commit 100% to my sewing journey until I do. There’s so much still I don’t know, and there’s so much still I want to learn. And in my first step to doing that, I signed up for Sew It Academy last month! What better way to grow and invest in my journey than to learn from the leading industry professionals am I right? So just be warned, you’ll be seeing a lot of posts centered around our move – both sewing and non sewing.

*Deep exhale* Now that I’m typing this out and putting it out there, it feels a little more real. haha. That’s it for our big update guys, thanks so much for reading so far. I’ll see you in the next post! Oh, and remember, if you want in on the destash the link is HERE – its a closed group so I’ll be approving requests soon!

Talk soon! – Candice

16 thoughts on “BIG NEWS!

  1. Well we had our plans for 2020 all written out but soon realized that God has different plans for us. Its been a heck of a ride. I was so done with 2019 because I lost my mother in law in March then lost my mother a week later. And then in Oct. lost my dad.” Ok” I said it cant get worse..Lmbo because I couldn’t wait for 2020 to make plans for our future home that was inherited by my mother in law. And then Covid hahahaha God fooled all of us. But my faith is stronger than ever. I am now planning on decorating and arranging my sewing room, much bigger than I have now and I cant wait to start projects for my 2 baby grand daughters. Life is still good here in California. Wishing you well on your new adventure!!

    1. Hi Lucy,
      So sorry this reply is so late! I’m just getting around to going through and approving all the comments on the blog. I’m so sorry about all 3 significantly losses…that has got to be so tough. It’s good that you have your new sewing room and your 2 little blessings token you occupied, I’m so they bring you much joy! Sewing for little babies always brought me so much joy, they are so fun and cute to sew for haha. Nothing much has happened since we can’t leave the house, but looking forward to the days when we can leave and explore Minn. Take care =)

  2. Welcome to the state of 10,000 lakes.
    Years ago I had a dear friend move from Minnesota to California. When she returns to MN she always states how she misses the 4 seasons. She always feels like the air feels / smells fresh.
    When I was a child my family moved twice during the school year. It was a very positive experience both times. As an adult I am glad I experienced that.

  3. Such a big step for all of you! Three words of wisdom from someone who has lived in Minnesota for better than 20 years and in the midwest her entire life. Dress. In. Layers. Lots of layers will help keep you warm in this crazy climate. Wool socks are great, too.

    Remember I’m only about an hour and a half up the road. Hope we can meet up sometime!

  4. I am absolutely full of JOY for you guys!!! Yes, I am! The times are changing and Change is always GOOD! Of course there is always leaving friends and family behind, however! the journey opens all new and exciting doors and new adventures…and new friends! (Having moved to Reno NV 4 1/2 years ago, it was absolutely the Best move for us!…and my hubby still does not like the cold and having to shovel snow, but… he’s grown accustomed to it now 🙂
    Wishing you and the Family a wonderful, healthy, happy and prosperous journey!
    God’s continued Blessings and Grace!

    Abrazos,
    Joan Greenwood

    1. Hi Ms. Joan! Thank you so much for the encouragement and well wishes! I’m still not sure how I’ll handle the cold, I’m a little wary, but pretty excited about all the changes to come! Best wishes for you and your hubby! <3 OXOX

  5. Congratulations congratulations!!!!. 2020 will be great, new year new beginning.. Share whatever you want but please post pictures if your first winter . Again congratulations.

    1. Thank you so much Valentine! hahaha I most definitely will! We’re all looking forward to experiencing snow! I especially am looking forward to experiencing all the seasons in their full glory! =)

  6. Wow, how brave and so exciting. I just know you will all thrive. In as much as you can tell from a social media interaction you guys seem like some of the most connected, loving and vibrant people I ‘know’. You are so blessed.

    Wishing you a smooth move and an exciting new adventure. Good on you for keeping that private space. I am envious of your new sewing journey!

    1. Oh gosh, thank you so much for the well wishes Lorna! We TRRRRRYYY to be lol. The sewing journey will be a slow and calculated one, since this will be our forever home…I want tp place careful consideration on how I set up and what I put in that room. lol

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