This is it, y’all!* After months of anticipation, our little family of three is finally taking the plunge and moving to. . . drumroll please. . . Austin, Texas! It still doesn’t quite feel real, but I can (finally!) definitively say that this time next month we will officially be Texans!

Having never lived outside of Southern California (and, except for my first year of life, lived exclusively in Orange County), a part of me always felt like I would never leave. After all, isn’t Orange County the ultimate home? It’s the setting for countless movies and the subject of seemingly every other song on the radio—who would willingly move away from an area that so many long to call home? But a chain of events last spring brought the option of relocating to our attention. Since then, we’ve been taking steps to make a big move; it was just a matter of when we would go, and where we would choose to call home. After a few false starts that never panned out, we began contemplating Austin as a potential relocation destination.

Because I’d never even stepped foot in Texas, I wasn’t completely sure about our decision, but last week we flew out to Austin for five days to solidify our plans. Charlie (and his parents) survived his first plane flight, and our little man proved to be an excellent traveler. We spent a couple of days exploring the area, and it immediately felt “right.” Not quite home, but definitely a place that I could learn to love. So we worked with a realtor to view some homes, and found the perfect house. We’ll be renting for now, giving us the option to return to California or maybe even move on to somewhere new. But for now, we’re excited about this next step for our family.

These next several weeks will be busy ones as we tie things up in California and move ourselves and our household halfway across the country. In order to give myself the time and mental energy I will need to dedicate to the move and to settling into our new home, I plan to take a month or two away from blogging. I will miss this space, but I can’t wait to share all about our moving adventure when I return. Until then, ciao for now!

*You have no idea how long I’ve wanted a legitimate excuse to use this word!