We’re Moving! And other life announcements

It’s all I talk about lately so it’s probably no surprise to you that we are moving. But there’s also a lot that I haven’t been saying.

We’re moving!

After three years in Austin (preceded by another seven years between San Francisco, St. Louis and Sydney) we are finally moving back home to Florida. There are a number of reasons for the timing of it (most of them we’re not ready to talk about) but we kind of always knew we’d end up back on the East Coast.

We both grew up in South Florida and are tropical water babies through and through. There is something about being near the ocean that is so energizing. It’s our happy place.

So Here’s The Plan:

We are putting most of our belongings in storage and will temporarily move in with Brad’s mom near Palm Beach. Brad grew up there (and I grew up in Ft. Lauderdale, not too far away.) We’re going to use this time to look for land in the surrounding areas so we can design and build a custom home. Our plans changed a few times but ultimately, we decided to go custom since our situation will be a little unique.

A Full House

Our living situation will be a little unique because we’ll actually have a multi-generational household! Once the house is built, my parents will live with us most of the year and Brad’s mom will move in with us permanently. Our current draft floor plan has a main house with a second master suite plus a two-bedroom guest home. It’s laid out to make efficient use of the square footage while giving everyone their own private retreats.

For me, this will be a total dream come true. We are a close-knit bunch and I’ve always said that I love nothing more than a full house. I can’t wait!

I’ve been hesitant to share our initial drafts of the house because I know the plans will change a hundred times. However, the purpose of having this online neighborhood is to share my design journey and that includes sharing all of the plans, the hiccups and the many changes along the way. It’s all part of the process. So stay tuned for the first reveal in the coming weeks!

But wait, there’s more…

If you’ve been around a while, you know that Brad and I both work in tech. It’s a different beast of an industry and one that kicks our butts from time to time. We decided early on that we liked the idea of cyclical retirements – periods of hard work followed by extended sabbaticals. It’s been eight years since our last break and given everything that is going on in our personal lives this coming year, we decided now would be a good time for another one.

We are taking time away from our jobs for the first six months of 2020. This will be a time for us to focus on our families and on ourselves. But this also means postponing any real work on the new house until at least July. I won’t have any new projects for a while but I’ll use this time to finish a large backlog of draft blog posts that I haven’t had time to get to. So stay tuned for lots of design tips and inspo coming your way!

Until then, please enjoy every second of the holidays with your families. Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! See you in 2020 my friends.

Let’s be neighbors! Follow me on Instagram @goldcoastcanvas for more home decor conversations.