We moved!

There wasn’t a single vintage store left in the Mountain West for me to pillage, so I packed up my family and headed east.

If you haven’t picked up on the many, many breadcrumbs and occasional whole croissant I’ve been dropping on Instagram, the family and I moved to NYC this month!

Spare me any and all horror stories about rats or about humans spitting at you, but above all, let this be a testament to you that if you’re willing to be persistent enough, you can convince your husband of almost anything. 

Wyatt and I decided that it would be fun to look back at our lives and see a chapter with NYC in the heading. After sitting with that decision we moved quickly. The conversation started in early January and by mid-January we had signed a lease with a move-in date of March 1. Big shoutout to online listings and the “Furnished” filter so we were able to move 2500 miles with the clothes on our backs and a couple suitcases each.

Part of our thinking on the March 1st arrival was that giving our kids a few months in school to make friends would make for a better summer for everyone. And we’re excited to see the full unfurling of spring in Brooklyn when all these trees take leaf. 

We found the perfect cozy brownstone in an area that feels charming and upbeat. The sidewalks are filled with a lot of kids on scooters and everything about our neighborhood feels as inviting as we hoped. The walk to school is approximately 6 minutes and a few seconds and the kids take turns guess exactly how long each morning walk will take. We bought scooters and helmets and take weekend trips to Carroll and Prospect Park.

Speaking of school, our single biggest concern was, of course, that our kids feel comfortable and happy at their new school. None of our children really had any school experience outside of the magical little Montessori they attended in Utah and parachuting into a public school in Brooklyn seemed daunting for us all. Happy to say that all the teachers and staff at their school could not possibly have been kinder or more welcoming. We actually just had our first Parent Teacher conferences yesterday and I’m feeling great about where everyone is.

Personally, there’s something about getting your wish that makes you feel like you can’t flinch. When I got a wellness check from a friend at home I told her that everything was going well but was feeling taxed by the need to always show complete certainty of how wonderful this change is for our family. I can’t flinch when the kids have a tantrum. Gotta wear a perma-grin when we’re cooped up during an eight hour torrential downpour that would make Noah nervous. Have to stay positive when anything hard happens.

It’s no secret that this wasn’t Wyatt’s first choice to move here and so maritally it’s been something brand new. I spent the last 18 years of my life and our whole 15 years of marriage living where I went to college and where Wyatt grew up. We lived less than a quarter of a mile from his parents, surrounded by people he has known and loved his whole life and it suits him. I’ve felt ready to move for the last few years and where we live has been a top policy priority for the Conservatives and Progressives within our home. I’ve been ready for a more diverse, cosmopolitan setting for years, even while very much relishing the charms of the sweet life in Utah. Since we have lived in Wyatt’s first pick for going on two decades, we both agreed it would be okay to experience my preferred home base for a few years.

I’ll be sharing more of my personal New York experiences here for subscribers along with more so follow along as I try on the season’s most polarizing shoe and try to find friends by making bedroom eyes at the other moms at school drop off, all in real time. 

For now, a few shots of my victory lap around our new city a cute text from my dad.

SO MUCH MORE TO COME

xx CG