
Checking out Portland Head Light in Portland, Maine
Hi everyone! I’ve just returned home from beautiful Portland, Maine where I was working on a Lowe’s Spring Home Makeover, and I cannot wait to share the final reveal with you all! If you’d like to see some “in progress” pictures, be sure to check out the hashtag #lowesmainemakeover on Instagram. It’s been a fun, wonderful, and productive week, but now I need to switch gears from creating new spaces, to packing up our house for our upcoming move.
Did I mention we’re moving?
TOMORROW?!
It’s been a crazy couple of months at the G&D household, and soon a chapter of our lives will close as we say goodbye to the house we’ve called our home for the past nine years. We never intended on it being our “forever home” and because of that it’s always felt temporary to me – so so far I’m feeling mostly excited and only a little bit nostalgic…but ask me again tomorrow.
Did I mention we have no “next house” yet?
Okay, so really I’m feeling more like 90% excited, 10% nostalgic, 0% ready and 100% stressed. We’ve been planning for this move for the past year, but life tends to have a plan of its own and ours has led us into a state of limbo. All we know for sure is that we can’t wait to call Cambridge our home and Kate will be starting “Kindergarten Camp” there on Monday, meeting her future fellow classmates, her new school, new teachers, new everything. All of it brand new, and nothing and no one familiar.
Okay, so maybe I’m more like 90% anxious, 10% nostalgic, 0% ready and 100% drunk.
But no need to offer up your couch or well-lit street corner quite yet. We’ll be moving in with G’s parents for a few months while the dust settles and we contemplate our next steps. G’s parents (or “Grandma Pam” and “Grandpa Steve” as they’re more commonly referred to on the blog) are two of my favorite people on this world. They live close to Cambridge on a beautiful lake, and this will be our view from their patio all summer long:

G and Kate in the lake at Steve & Pam’s house
We’re so grateful for this unexpected opportunity to breathe, collect our thoughts, and figure out what our next move is going to be. (Literally.)
In the meantime, I have a suitcase recently off the plane from Maine that I need to unpack, while at the same time we’re packing up 95% of our belongings to move into storage for wedontknowhowlong.
The only thing I do know for sure is that my mother-in-law makes a mean sangria and sometime tomorrow afternoon her son, his wife, and her granddaughter will show up at her doorstep and won’t be leaving anytime soon.
To some it may seem like a summer of stress, but I’m choosing to call it the Summer of Sangria.
Cheers to you all. If you need us, we’ll be at the lake.
Update: We’re Building a House!
I love that you are making lemonade from lemons – or more like sangria from all that extra fruit? So happy for you and can’t wait to see what the future holds for you. I think the stress of selling a house and moving is designed to help you move on and stop from being too sad about leaving a home. But maybe that’s me and I’m just a cold hearted woman. I hope your move goes very smoothly! Cheers!
Thank you so much, Kim! I think you’re absolutely right about the stress of it all being designed to distract from the sadness – it’s working! I thought Kate would have the hardest time with the move, but surprisingly she’s totally chill about it all. So far we’re all doing a great job of looking forward versus looking back. Hopefully that trend continues!
It’s great to hear an update! Hoping the move goes well for you! Excited to her what comes next.
Thank you so much, Ashley!
Eeckk! So excited for you! And honestly I almost feel as if I’m reading my life through your blog right now. haha We move from our started home that we lived in a little over 10 years this last September to my parents home out in the country for 7 months. The timeframe was never really in stone as we had no idea how long we would be living there either but happened to come across our current family home and just moved in officially about a month ago. It’s been a roller coaster of a ride! Although I would have rather had a lake view and a mom who makes a mean sangria but hey it wasn’t that bad at all! 😉 Enjoy your summer on the lake and good luck house hunting!
I hope your new house was worth the wait, Adinda! We’re not sure how long we’ll be staying with my in-laws but this unexpected opportunity to have this time together is such a gift. Steve and Pam (G’s parents) moved in with Steve’s parents back when G and his sister were little (while their house was being built) and they have the fondest memories of that time. Grandparents are pretty darn special.
WHOA! good luck with the move and enjoy your summer at the lake!
Thank you, Jill! Night one involved sitting in their sunroom watching a beautiful sunset over the lake with a sangria by my side. Not too shabby!
Oh Dude. Moving is stressful. Having over a years worth of plans tossed out the window at the last minute is enough to send someone over the edge. Hang in there girl. I know something great will come along! I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, although we can’t always see it at the time. Sending strength, love and lots of alcohol in July.
Thanks so much, sweet friend. I also believe everything happens for a reason and this is exactly where we’re supposed to be right now. I bought G a beer called “Serendipity” to enjoy during our last night in our house – it seemed optimistically fitting! It is stressful to lose all that time and planning but it also tells me we were clearly heading down the wrong path. Hopefully this little break will get us back on the right one!
All the best! I like 90% anxious, 10% nostalgic, 0% ready and 100% drunk!
Haha, thank you Swapna!