What I Learned About Friendship After Becoming A Mother And Moving Across The Country

Becoming a first time parent has been a whirlwind. A mix of love and chaos all wrapped up in sweet squishy cheeks. I had no idea what I was in for – how beautiful yet challenging parenting would be. Throw in a move across the country with an infant and it was a crazy first year of motherhood.

We had moved for my husband’s job, taking our family from California to Virginia. We drove away from all our family and friends with our sweet three-month-old baby in tow. It was one of the hardest things I had ever done.

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The Nest Fest + The Cozy Community (Join Me!)

This past fall I attended the most lovely event The Nest Fest. The event is put on by Myquillyn Smith, also known as "The Nester" from her blog The Nesting Place. It is held on her beautiful property in North Carolina.

Myquillyn has traded in full time blogging for writing books, hosting events, and offering courses about decorating the home. While I miss her weekly blog posts from back in the day, she is one who has found her voice and place in encouraging women with their homes and is thriving at it.  She is a serious girl boss and I feel so lucky to have gotten to know her many years ago.

When we moved to Virginia I dreamed about one day making it to her beautiful home and to meet her. But it was about six hours away from us - just a little too far to jump at the opportunity. But this past October we were driving to Arkansas with my husband for work the same weekend of The Nest Fest. And it would be just a short detour to include it on our road trip so we made it happen.

I was SO excited. We were already planning to make our move to Washington so this was literally my last and only chance to get to her house before we moved back to the West Coast. What a delight that it worked out!

The Nest Fest has quite a lot to offer - the most gorgeous booths of creative vendors (this is no church craft fair people. It is AMAZING!), live music, food trucks, and book signings from authors. All set on the backdrop to her beautiful home and darling white barn.

While waiting in line for a book signing we ran into Myquillyn who recognized me (and my family!) and greeted me with a hug (DYING)!!! She is just as lovely, kind, beautiful, and hospitable in real life as she is online. 

It was crazy to be able to meet, be on her beautiful property, and recognize so many pieces of furniture I've seen over the years! What a joy to be able to hug and meet such an influential woman. My home and mindset has been shaped by her in so many ways.

I loved her first book, The Nesting Place, and remember reading it cozied up in our home back in California. I just finished her second book, Cozy Minimalist Home, while on our cross country road trip and it was just the inspiration I needed as we minimize and move to a new and smaller home.

I just feel like we are so saturated these days with being sold more stuff to fill our homes with. It can be hard to find inspiration when discontentment sneaks in feeling like we don't have enough while our closets and storage are bursting at the seams. I know that it has been a struggle for me to be okay with using what we have and being patient with getting a new home settled to my liking.

But Myquillyn's message and Cozy Minimalist concept is so needed right now. She focuses on having less stuff but with more style with techniques she has learned from many years of moving.

Myquillyn also offers courses and community groups that help you find your style and adapt it in both a cozy but more minimal way. I have taken her seasonal course and found it so helpful in pairing down my holiday and seasonal decor to just what I love and can manage.

And I just joined her Cozy Community that offers live teachings, Q&A sessions and group decorating coaching all within the comfort of a private, like-minded community. In the short time that I have been a part of the group I already love it! Normal everyday women who are decorating their normal everyday homes into beautiful retreats for their family. It is truly inspiring and I am really looking forward to diving in to the community.

I would love for you to join me in the Cozy Community if this sounds like a good fit for your decorating needs right now. It is only open to join a few times a year and so you can sign up starting today! Find out more information about the Cozy Community here.

Baby Girl's Updated Nursery in Virginia

We are currently setting up a new home in Washington but I wanted to share some updates I made to our baby girl's nursery in Virginia before we had moved.

After a few months of feeding our baby girl in her sweet room (and staring at the walls!) I craved a little change. I wanted to switch out the art for her Birth Poster as well as move her crib so she wouldn't grab at the curtains as she got older.

The room began as how I wanted it to look and then it merged into what was the most functional. New spaces seem to work this way for me and I figure it is all part of the process! I am learning that all over again as we start to set up our new home!

Things remained pretty neutral but I added colorful pom poms on her window that were leftover from big brother's birthday.

I switched the location of the crib with the book shelf and while they are two very different sizes the swap seemed to work out well. I always like to have something pretty to view as you walk by the door. The styled book shelf is the first thing you see when entering the room.

Since she has a lot of little things I like to use baskets to corral small items. A few new items include her Virginia rattle and name puzzle.

This room has been a special space to bring our baby girl home to. I am hoping to replicate most of it in our new home and look forward to sharing that with you all as well!

See all nursery posts here.