I’m writing this from the bar at our new loft and on reflection, life for us certainly looks different than it did 6 months ago! There is snow in the air and on the ground and a happy husband beside me because of this news.
In honor of this season, he’s been writing some new music to ring in the winter season. Check out his latest endeavor, Ode to Winter on Spotify (by køl) and give him a listen. In his words:
Ode to Winter contains 17 tracks of cozy, jazzy, folky and adventurous movements that walk listeners through the snowy forest, down the old sledding hill and into the fire-warmed cabin. It is best enjoyed near fireplaces, while it’s snowing, during morning coffee, or with a dark beer or glass of red.
Consider this our Christmas gift to you…or the closest we may come to writing any sort of Christmas/New Year’s letter.
We had dreamed that this blog would live on past our travel days and be a place we share information and news about life, our “anthology” if you will. So we plan to keep doing just that.
We wanted to give anyone who subscribes a chance to opt out at this stage, since our posts will likely be less glamorous in the future and more “the struggles of home/loft ownership in the Midwest“ and less “nomadic travel porn.” Your call. No harm, no foul.
The summary of this post is …well, what is there to say except that nothing can quite prepare you for the change of an international move, complete with buying a property from abroad and living in a renovation project upon your return?
Since there’s no good way to capture all the nitty gritty details and changes in the last half year, I’ll give you 6 updates for the last 6. Months that is. Feels appropriate as 2015 comes to a close.
1. Moving
We moved. First out of our small 350 sq. ft. hotel room in our beloved Melbourne. Then hopped on a plane for an international move. We arrived in the US in early July. Which brings me to #2.
my view from the 26th floor at work in australia. and yes, that is the ocean in the background.
our floor in our melbourne hotel-home.
last day in our beige hotel-room home.
2. Buying
We bought a loft. A wide open warehouse-y loft.
We purchased the loft, sight unseen, from Australia. Or technically, we gave permission to Cole’s dad to purchase it on our behalf, since we were over the ocean at the time of closing. That is a story in itself that we’d love to tell you sometime. Over drinks preferably.
3. Purging/Stuff/Shit
We did a decent amount of purging before we left MN to begin, but traveling for 2 years and living with other people has certainly shifted our definition of what we really “need.” It has been an overwhelming task to start unpacking and seeing the many remains of life before we left.
4. Renovations
While we’re drinking, let’s talk renovations. Moving home from an international move is one thing. Moving home from an international move to a space that has no storage, no walls and no bedroom is an entirely different level. We’re 6 months in and hardly unpacked. But renovations are underway and we have big dreams for the space. If you’ve ever watched the show Tiny House Nation, we’re building a tiny house space inside our loft. Tiny.House.Hacked.
5. Jobs
We’re employed!
Cole is still working for his Australian employer, a technology company, and has also taken on a marketing job in Australia for a cocktail-delivery service, which is as cool as it sounds. He’s very busy and very important.
I wrapped up my year long HR role with the Australian government at the end of December and am working as a part time Stylist for Stitch Fix. Which is as glamorous as it sounds. People PAY ME to shop for them. It’s a really really great job and I’m loving the flexibility and remote work from home schedule for now. But if someone has a part time gig for me, I’m all ears to get coffee!
6. TRANSITION
If one word sums up this season for us, it’s Transition (yes, with a capital T.) We find ourselves in-between many things – jobs, countries, time zones, living spaces, new and old relationships. Transition is a beautiful and stretching thing and we are doing our best (albeit failing at times) to keep an open mind and embrace uncertainty as it comes. We have high hopes for 2016 and one of the biggest is not living in “transition” forever.
So bring on a new season. 2016, we’re ready for you!
Kristin – US side
