A Belated Happy Anniversary, To Us
Hey friends! How’s it going out there? The world is still crazy and unsettled but I did something recently that made me less aware of all the bullshit — I stepped away from Facebook. Yep. Adios. I’m not missing that crazy platform although I do miss some friend updates but mostly, I feel lighter since I stepped away. Weird and sad that it can impact my emotional well-being but it really does. So I stepped off the Facebook sauce. You can still find me at Instagram where I am mesmerized by pretty pictures and silly videos. It brings me joy, not dread. Have you ever taken a social media break? Maybe you’ve avoided it all together. If so, virtual high five. For real.
Anyway, I didn’t really pop on to rant about my dislike for ‘some’ social media. I just wanted to say hello and to do a little update as we just surpassed the 1 year mark of the big move. Do we still love it? Absolutely! Have we done a lot of work? Yep, we sure have! Do We have more work to do? Of course! I love being home. I mean I really love it. The novelty hasn’t worn off. I don’t know if it’s all the windows that make me feel like I am constantly outside or what but this house is just so good for my soul.
The convenience of walking 15 minutes and being on Main Street is also such a wonderful thing. I love that I don’t have to drive to feel like I’ve gotten out for a bit. There are cute shops, a coffee shop that I adore and a few spots to grab food. I also like that there are fun events on the weekends with live music. Everything just feels warm here. Even the people seem lighter + friendlier. It’s been a fun shift. I would walk in my old neighborhood and pass people and they’d ignore my hello. What? Who does that? This quote is one of my favorites.
I do miss the convenience of seeing friends but the past year has shown me that my friends will come see me and it’s also a quick trip to see them. I still feel connected and darn lucky to have some awesome girlfriends. I’ve met some nice people here and honestly, sometimes just chatting with the locals feels like I’ve filled my social cup. Another little addition to my social life is my Sunday gig. Last November, I started working for Alley + Main in Amador City. It’s a 5 minute commute to get to work. It’s a beautiful home decor shop which hello, that’s right up my alley! Literally 😉 The owners are a lovely couple and it’s just been a great way to earn a little money and have some social time. I also manage the Instagram account for the store which is a nice way for me to feel creative. If you feel like checking it out, I’ve linked it here.
As much as I adore Sutter Creek, Amador City also has a bit of my heart. I just love the itty bitty small town vibes. There is just a feeling that comes along with small towns that speaks to my heart. I feel at home. It’s just different. In a really nice way. Community. It’s a lovely thing.
The phrase shop local has taken on a whole new meaning as I’ve had the chance to visit with local store owners and I see little glimpses of what it looks like to own a business. I am proud of the hustle that I see, especially during this season of all.the.weird.things. Small business owners are doing their best to show up and be there for their customers. I have a few favorites around here, not just for what they sell but for the heart that goes into their businesses. I think I should dedicate a whole post to my local favorite spots. Stay tuned.
We still have our sweet neighbors, the horses. Well, one is really sweet and the other two are a little ornery. I’ve added carrots to my weekly grocery list. It’s pretty wild to see them right at the fence. Sometimes they seem like they’ll push it down and end up in my backyard. We currently don’t have landscaping but that’ll be the next project. I hope the horses stay on their side of the fence! We do feed our outside kitty on the front porch and sometime other critters think that can come buy and get a snack. We’d had raccoons, skunks and I even spotted an opossum a few weeks ago.
In my last house update, I mentioned that we’d done a pretty big remodel. I know – I need to do a before and after post. I will get to that, I promise. What’s next on the list of things? A little laundry room makeover (ok, it’s really just a very large closet) and a landscape overhaul in the backyard. We did hire a consultant to help us brainstorm some ideas. We have a general idea of what we want but we wanted a professional to give us some input as well. I’m mostly excited to hang our swinging chairs that I loved so much at the last house which will require building a pergola. We want to enjoy more time outside soaking up the gorgeous sunsets.
Eventually we will remodel our downstairs area as well but for now, it’s where the teenagers live and we just ignore it unless we need to find our missing dishes or do some laundry. Why do teenagers think that hoarding dishes is OK? Asking for a friend 😉 The cool thing about the downstairs space is that it’s actually set up like an apartment so if we really wanted to, we could look at set it up as a short term rental. I don’t think we’d want a permanent tenant as we’d still like to access it for our own guests, etc.
Recently, a friend said, I want to feel about where I live like how you feel about where you live. I feel lucky to feel how I feel about my home + town. Listen, this was an accidental find. We didn’t plan to move here. It wasn’t on our list BUT it’s the best. I do almost feel selfish for the bragging but then again, I am not trying to brag. The gratitude I feel every day is real. I don’t take a single thing for granted and the way it all fell into place was crazy but it happened and here we are. In life, I don’t have it all figured out but I am sure trying and succeeding in finding joy along the way.
I hope that you are keeping your chin up in this season.
