it's that time again

the time when i ignore blogging because my apartment looks like this, i'm officially unemployed, and we are leaving thursday to move ~1200 miles to houston, tx.  bert is already traumatized.

we're moving y'all

regular readers of this blog have probably seen more annoying ambiguous allusions to our future move than anyone should be expected to endure.  as we finally have 99% of our ducks in order, we're at last ready to make the announcement to anyone who doesn't yet know.

we're moving to texas!  more specifically, houston!  yeehaw!

i've visited 39 states in my life so far and texas is one of the 11 i've never seen before (though steve has already been there a number of times between boy scout stuff and his job).  we're both completely excited to head out on brand new exploits and we're slightly overwhelmed that it's happening only a month from now (yes, that's 2 months BEFORE we get married in michigan).

both steve and i have lived our entire lives in michigan, and it's hard to believe in just a few weeks we'll be packing everything up and setting up house in the bayou city.  i can barely sit still writing about it.

in honor of our future home here's a short list of some exciting things:

1.  i can officially cross "live in a place with palm trees" off my bucket list.

2.  last minute cruise parties from galveston.

3.  brasserie 19, underbelly, and whataburger, grits everywhere.  fish tacos.  normal tacos.  omg food.

4.  it probably doesn't get below -30 degrees all that often.  the same cannot be said for ann arbor.

5.  having a legitimate museum district and theater district

6.  access to new orleans (another place i've never been)

7.  the gerald d. hines waterwall + parks galore

but most exciting to me is simply being plunked in a completely new place, with completely new surroundings, completely new people, and completely new experiences to start exploring.  it's a big adventure we've got on our hands.  wish us luck and come for a visit; we can't wait!

time for dreamers

well yesterday i broke the news that we'll be headed out of michigan in a little while, but we don't know where we're going!  while that is totally true, we're not just spinning the globe and pointing somewhere.  right now we have 5 potential options ahead of us, which should be narrowed down to 1 or 2 soon.

but there is something very exciting about fantasizing about our many potential new homes!  so i thought i'd share with you a few of the possibilities!  here they are (in descending order of my preference)!

5.  north dakota

ok... so north dakota may have been second to new york city in terms of locations i did not want to move to.  but i'm ready for an adventure so if it means i have to be an arctic bison herder, i'm game!  we're not looking to buy property or put down roots anyway.  some fun facts about ND:

their official state beverage is milk

they grow the most sunflowers of anywhere in the US.

lewis and clark encountered their first grizzly bear in north dakota.

so clearly this place is so hardcore and rugged that steve's beard is going to grow a beard if we live here.

4.  louisiana

while the hippie in me is afraid of religious intolerance and the swamp creatures (ok and the swamp people too), i can't say i'd mind the warmth, the music, or the cajun food.  lousiana is also one of the very few states i have never visited (along with several that border it, in that corner i've always called the armpit of the united states).  i'm also obsessed with pirates and spanish moss, so i think me and louisiana could do just fine.  fun facts:

louisiana is the only state without counties.  they have parishes.

they have the only north/south facing cemetery in the country.

louisiana has the tallest state capitol building in the country.

3.  chicago, illinois

we grew up just a couple hours east of the windy city so us and chi-town are pretty tight.  lake michigan, countless world class museums, and kiki's bistro all in one place?  yeah, sign me up.  my brother lives here as well as a number of steve and i's good friends so you can bet we won't be complaining if we stay in this corner of the midwest.  that being said, i'll tell you a secret.  i loathe cities... with a burning passion.  it's the only reason chicago doesn't get spot number one on my list.  and now for fun facts:

chicago was home to the first skyscraper.

the twinkie (rest in peace) was invented in chicago.

chicago was home to the first planetarium in the western hemisphere.

2.  colorado

we would be quite literally on top of the world.  i mean look at the picture.  do i really need to say anything else?  fun facts about colorado:

they have 222 state wildlife areas.

75% of the land in america of an altitude over 10,000 feet is located in colorado.

every year denver hosts the world's largest rodeo.

1.  arizona

the desert would definitely have its drawbacks.  steve already sweats like he has a glandular disorder (i promise he doesn't).  i like water... a lot.  steve is afraid of snakes.  dry weather gives me eczema.  you know what?  i don't care.  i want an adventure and i really can't think of a better place to have one.  we are young and reckless and it would be nice to go a year without having to think about seasonal affective disorder.  day tripping to the grand canyon can't suck too much.  fun facts about arizona:

the best preserved meteor crater in the world is in arizona.

phoenix was originally a hay camp to supply military post camp mcdowell.

arizona is home to the southernmost ski resort in the country.

so there you have it... one of these places will eventually be our home!  i wonder where we will go?  which would you choose?

my sister

my sister and roommate moved out of our townhouse two days ago.  she and her boyfriend are on an epic cross-country road trip to their new home san diego, ca!  steve, bert and i are missing them already, but we are very excited to have family in such a tropical destination!  vacation visits?  methinks yes!  we are wishing them the very best of luck on their drive (they may or may not have three uncaged cats roaming around their car).  power to you guys!

if you are interested, you are certainly welcome to follow along with their trip.

check out the blog they started!