We’ve Moved to Florida! Here’s an insider look at all the details that went into our BIG move!

Hello, my darlings! Oh how I’ve missed you and boy, do we have a lot to catch up on!! I have so much to share with you and lots of updates as to what’s been going on with our lives and with the blog. So let’s just jump right in!

We’ve Moved to Florida!

I’ve been MIA around here for almost an entire year. I promise that I didn’t fall off the face of the earth, get eaten by a shark, or been kidnapped by Keanu Reeves. (Wait, what?!)

It seems completly ironic to me that right after I got my blog up and running and was FINALLY posting on a regular basis that our life spun a complete 180…but in the best way possible…

Yes, we’ve moved to Florida!

It feels a bit surreal as I type that out to share. Ian and I joke about pinching ourselves, because sometimes we can’t even believe that we pulled off a cross-county move to live out one of our dreams.

It’s insanely crazy! Totally weird. But ya’ll, we are just so dang excited!

You’re probably scratching your head right about now wondering why we decided to move, how we did it, where we are living, and future plans for the blog.

I figured it might be easier if I explain using a Q&A format…so read on sweet friend! I’m sharing all the details below.

Why Did You Move?

This one is easy! If you’ve been around for awhile, you might remember that Ian does cyber security for a living. We always talked and dreamed of moving south one day.

Because I was born in Florida-I’m kinda a southern girl at heart! So, Ian started applying for jobs in all he southern states and was keeping his eye out for any potential job opportunities.

Shortly after applying, he reconnected with an old friend who was working down in Orlando. He was made aware that there is a high demand and a specific need for the type of work that he does. So after a phone interview, and a few negotiations, he was offered a pretty sweet gig.

The decision to move did not come lightly. After all, we’d be leaving behind the careers we knew, dear friends, a lot of our close family, and our home of ten years.

We prayed about it…a lot…and then we prayed some more.

Deep down though, we both had a true peace about the move. It was one of those gut feelings that just feels right, ya know? But with so much at stake, we continued to pray. Ian and I had lots of late night chats. We wrote down all the pro’s and con’s, and ran a bunch of ‘best case/worse case’ scenarios in our heads.

Ultimately, we were both ready for a new adventure! Our excitement was bubbling and it continued to increase with each passing day. After about a week or so of contemplation…we decided to GO FOR IT!

How Did You Know it was the Right Time to Move?

Shortly after accepting the position, it was evident that we were meant to move to Florida. God clearly had us Florida bound. Everything from listing and selling our home, transitioning the kids to a new school, the long cross-country move, and finding a new place to live, all happened without a hitch!

You guys, I kid you not, it was absolutely seamless!

Throughout the entire process, I continued to pray. I would ask God to bless the move and all the processes. But I would also ask God to shut down the whole operation and close doors if this move wasn’t in our best interest and if it wasn’t His will for our lives. I remember praying for a heart check to make sure we weren’t grasping at straws or attempting a move because of a “grass is greener” mentality.

Every time I prayed, I just got the sense of “Go”. Looking back, I can see that God lined everything up for us so perfectly. All of the processes and alllll the things that needed to happen to ensure a successful move went without a single glitch. God was extremely faithful and we know without a shadow of a doubt that there must be something big, awesome and amazing in store for us here in central Florida.

But Becca, you haven’t posted anything in almost a year! What have you been doing?

Lots of things! We have been BUSY with a capital B!! While the process of moving was smooth sailing, it came with a lot of hard work and a very short timeline.

Preparing the House to Sell

Ian accepted the job in late February and his new job was requesting him to start around the beginning of June. This was perfect timing as we could list our home during the peak real estate season of spring and summer. We would also have the summer to transition, find a home, and a new school for the boys without having to worry about school schedules.

Taking this time frame into consideration, we knew that we really only had the month of March to get the house in tip-top condition. Our realtor also shared that with the real estate market heating up, it would be in our best interest to have the house listed by April 1st! Yikes!

Ya’ll, we had A LOT to do in those 30 days! The house was a complete wreck. Crazy enough, the week before Ian excepted the job, I had taken down all of the cabinets fronts in order to paint them white! Face palm! It looked like a bomb made of cabinets and paint had exploded all over the house.

In true “Becca fashion,” I had lots of other unfinished house projects that needed to be completed before we could officially list our home, too.

I will be sharing in another blog post in more detail, but these are the things we needed to do to prepare the house. Here’s a quick list just so you can get an idea.

Finish painting the kitchen cabinets. Add beadboard backsplash and new hardware
Finishing painting the huge foyer and hallway to match the opening living areas
Repair cracks in the ceiling and have the ceilings painted
Repair any visual “icks” in the house, wall dings, moldings
Recaulk tubs, showers and sinks
Power wash the house, refresh landscaping, repair fence, stain the deck
Declutter, boxing and packing up items. Move items to storage unit
Power clean all rooms…windows, floors, baseboards, light fixtures
Freshen up decor and stage the house
Professional photography shoot

If you’ve ever sold a home before, I’m sure this list looks very familiar to you! I’m sure ya’ll can also agree that it isn’t for the faint of heart. With only 30 days to spare and while working full time jobs, there just wasn’t any time to breath, let alone blog!

**Silver lining** I still took quite a bit of pictures along the way. While I didn’t have time to blog at the moment, I’m going to share with you some behind the scenes details very soon!

Listing and Selling the House

For this part of the process, I made sure to hire an outstanding realtor with an awesome track record. She made use of a professional photographer and honestly, I think that made all the difference in the world.

While this part of the process was a nail-biter, it was the easiest part on our end. I let our realtor take the wheel and we sat back and watched her do her magic. We had several showings booked within the first hour of listing, and had a contract within 14 days of listing! We were astonished!!

Our inspection and settlement also went without a hitch. With the market rate of houses selling within 60-90 days, I say that we did pretty awesome!!

Landing an Apartment and Moving Ian Down

While our home was on the market, we got busy trying to find a new place to live. After a lot of debate, we decided to rent an apartment for our first year. We did this for a couple of reason, but mostly because we had absolutely no idea what the neighborhoods were like down there, and couldn’t possibly know without spending time living there.

We also wanted to make sure that Ian liked his new job. God forbid, if he completely hated the job and we were locked into a home that didn’t have enough equity to sell.

With that decision made, we found a beautiful apartment! Oh my goodness-it is like living at a vacation resort 24/7! We are so spoiled and are absolutely loving apartment life!

Ian and the pets moved down first and got situated in the apartment before he needed to head into the new position. The boys and I had to stay back for a couple of weeks to finish out the school year and wrap up loose ends before moving.

Once school was out, I was able to pack up my classroom and finish out my time being a teacher in Maryland. We stayed with my mom for a couple of weeks in June. It was a wonderful time! We had time to relax and spend time with family.

Settling In

Once the boys and I arrived at the beginning of July, we spent most of the summer getting settled, unpacking, and relaxing by the pool.

We also lived like tourist and tried to suck up as much fun as we possibly could! We explored Disney, LegoLand, Sea World, Aquariums, zoo’s, and beaches!

Excuse my cell phone pictures. I didn’t even think to take along my Cannon. Whoops!

We were also just trying to get our bearings of a living in a new location…like where to go grocery shopping, the nearest park, and Target. Ohmegosh, I gotta know where Target is!!

We also tried out a few churches and found an amazing new church home! It is SO SO good!

My New Job

Now that we’re here and almost settled in Florida, I’ve taken on a new teaching position. Due to over enrollment, a first grade teaching position opened up at the boys’ school. On a whim, I thought I’d apply for it. Little to my surprise, I was hired on the spot and begun right away.

Taking on a new teaching position in a whole new state and district has been a bit overwhelming. Truth be told, it’s been really hard at times. But it’s also been really amazing as well. I began after the school year started, so that had its own set of challenges. It is a blessing to be able to teach at the same school as my own children and overall, I really like the school and I’ve made a lot of great friends. I felt like God could use me there and am willing to serve wherever he needs me.

What can I expect from Chesapeake Chic Blog?

Oh, how I’ve missed blogging! I’ve missed connecting with all of you and having my creative outlet. There’s been a few times where I fired up my MAC and tried to bump out a new blog post, but the words just wouldn’t come.

I think it’s just part of the season and all of the transition. While I don’t ever want to place my self worth in my home, or career; sometimes those things provide a structure and pattern to our lives. Without that familiarity, I was at a loss as to what to say or do on my platform.

Now that we’ve moved to Florida, a lot has changed this past year. I’ve changed and when I started my blog a year ago, some of the things that I wanted on the Chesapeake Bay, aren’t the same things that I want in Florida. Changes in latitude, causes changes in attitude-I tell ya!

Now that the holidays have passed, God has given me a renewed spark for the blog and am excited about what’s been placed in my heart to share with all of you. Here’s some things that you can expect outta this ‘lil blog in the next coming months.

I will continue sharing simple budget friendly decor inspiration.
I will be posting DIY tutorials both from our old home and in our new Florida apartment. Further, as we gear up to buy a new home, I’ll share the process with you.
I’ll let you in on all the details we had to do to get our home ready to sell, home staging secrets, and how we had a full priced offer in less that 14 days on the market!
I’ll take you on a tour of our apartment and show you decor ideas to decorate in a temporary way and on a budget.
I will occasionally share easy and simple recipes that my busy family loves.
Organizational posts and real-life strategies to get your life organized.
I’ll also be including happy thoughts and tidbits about our family, faith and our new life here in Central Florida.
And as we explore Florida…I’ll share awesome places to visit with travel tips and tricks.

If any of those things sound like something you’d be interested in, don’t forget to sign-up for our newsletter below! I’d love to have you!

So you don’t live in Maryland anymore. Are you going to change the name of the blog?

The answer to that is both yes and no. I won’t be changing anything soon-so don’t worry just yet. You’ll still see and know me as Becca from the Chesapeake Chic. Somewhere down the road, I’ll start the process of rebranding and that may include a name change. All successful blogs go through growing pains. Sometimes that growth calls for a rebrand. I’ll likely do the same when the time is right.

Thank You

Dear friends, I want to thank each and everyone of you for reading my blog. Thank you for joining my email lists and for following me on any of my social media channels. I’ve seen you.

During this past year when I was quiet on the blog, I saw each and everyone of you. The people who joined my email list, commented on an older posts, pinned my posts on Pinterest and hung with me on Instagram, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love you all so much!

I also want to thank some of my online bloggy buds for checking in on me. Some of you asked how I was doing, and let me know that I was missed in my little corner of blogopshere. Thank you for making sure that I didn’t in fact fall off the face of this earth. It’s so good to know that you guys got my back. Ya’ll are so awesome!

What’s Next?

If you’re new here, WELCOME! You can read more about me and my family HERE!

Please tour our latest home HERE!

Check out my most popular post HERE!

If you haven’t joined my email list yet, but would like to keep up to date on this new crazy adventure of ours, fill out the form below. I’d love to have you join our ever growing and grace-filled community.

It’s good to be back! Until next time…