Let's get this out of the way... starting over is scary! Change isn't easy and the idea of starting over or trying something new is one of the biggest fears that holds people back in their lives. We like being comfortable and there is nothing comfortable about blowing up your life. It's hard. And the process doesn't stop being tough after the decision process.

Something I've been working on a lot over the last 6 months is being more transparent and authentic in both my business and personal life. It's definitely not something that comes easily -- it's muchhh easier to share and write about the lighter things in life. I think there is a lot of value in getting real about our stories though and if my experiences can inspire or help others then it will make putting myself out there totally worth it! So today I'm staying true to that commitment and digging into some of the things that have helped me in my personal journey of starting over.

Embracing Help & Support from Friends and Family

Confession, while I LOVE my family and am so thankful for them -- they are the main reason why I decided to move home after all -- I've struggled a lot with moving in with my parents. I totally understand this is overly dramatic, but the idea of moving in with my parents truly felt like the end of the world. I never moved home after college and I was really proud of that. So the idea of moving in with my mom after being on my own for a decade had me like.. 😱😱😱. But guess what? It wasn't the end of the world, and it's a decision I'm really happy I made. Sure, I could have found another apartment right away, but 1.) between making decisions and sorting out this cross-country move, my head and bank account were ready to explode and 2.) after such a BIG change I think internally I knew I really needed to get back to my roots and be really close to my support system.

That being said, if you are lucky enough to have family or friends you can stay with for a bit while you sort out some of the other details, put your pride aside and embrace it. Even if you aren't physically moving in with them, take them up on whatever support they're offering. Regular girls nights, weekly calls, whatever it may be, take them up on it. They want the best for you and being around your support system will really help during this time. I know if I had my own place right away it would have been so easy for me to embrace being a homebody for a while and hide behind my work, but being at home hasn't allowed me to do that. Instead, I've been forced to get out and about and keep my schedule busy, which has been much more beneficial than if I had distanced myself from others at this time.

Switch up your Routine

This has been a BIG one for me! I credit switching up my routine with being one of the things that has helped me the most. Obviously you can't change everyyything, but I definitely recommend switching up what you can. My mom lives 5 mins away from a local hike, and something that I've really enjoyed is adding hiking to my routine 3 days a week. I mentioned it in an earlier post, but there is also something very therapeutic about getting your butt kicked while climbing to the top of a mountain. Plus, it's something I couldn't do in the city, so it has been a nice change and given me some dedicated alone time.

Now that I'm on the west coast, my work schedule has shifted as well. I'm not sure that one is for the better 😜. Because my business partner is on the east coast, as with a lot of our clients I decided to adopt an east coast work schedule as well. I wonder if that was a good decision every time my alarm goes off in the dark at 5:30 a.m., but I'm making it work. The good thing about this schedule is it has freed up my afternoons. When I lived in NYC, I got really bad about working all day.. taking a little break.. and then working some more at night. Since moving back though, I've been working really hard at unplugging at night to actually give myself a little break and time to enjoy life a little.

Not only have both of these changes been good for my health and well-being, but it's been helpful in feeling like this new chapter, really is a new chapter. If you're going to make some big changes, might as well go all in right?!

Say Yes to Exploring & Trying New Things

Since I moved, I feel like my social calendar has exploded. Which sounds funny since, hiii I used to live in NYC, and my schedule explodes after moving back to a small town? Ha, I know, I know. Part of it is I've just been really excited to try new things that I wasn't able to do in New York and the other is I've just been saying yes to all of the things. 

I've always liked a good adventure, but at the same time, I'm also someone who appreciates having some downtime. I'm sure things will settle down in a few months, but for the time being I've put that homebody trait on the shelf. Like, I legit haven't had a free weekend since June.. which has been both thrilling and exhausting at the same time. I will say though, keeping busy and trying new things have been KEY in this process so I absolutely encourage you do the same if you have the opportunity. Get out there and try a new restaurant, reconnect with friends, and check out new spots you haven't been before. I mean guys, I went to a Renaissance Fair this summer... it doesn't get much more different than NYC than that 😂.

Get Your Goals Straight & Write Them Down

When you're starting over there is SO much to process. While your "big picture" goals may be at top of mind, chances are you've been so busy dealing with the logistics of blowing your life up, that sorting through some of the smaller details have slipped behind. Once you've had a chance to settle in a little it's a great time to really lay everything out. What direction do you want to head in now and how are you going to get there? I felt like I was treading water the first month or so I was back so once I had a chance to sit down and dedicate some time to my goals I felt like a brand new person. This process might not be as big of a deal to some of you, but for me I'm someone who really likes to sit down, make plans, and write everything down. Regardless of your process, take some time to check-in and get connected to the direction you want to head.

Have Patience With Yourself

And last but definitely not least... be patient with yourself. Starting over or making any big life changes.. is A LOT emotionally. You'll have days where you're so happy you made the change and then you'll have others where you'll wonder if you did the right thing. It can be a really confusing time and sometimes you'll just feel like a total mess. You'll be excited, you'll be scared, and some days you'll just cry your eyes out. 

I'm guilty of being someone who likes to brush things under the rug or just avoid thinking about things because it hurts, and something I've really tried to take on this time around is giving myself permission to feel all of those feelings. I won't sugarcoat it either, it's been hard. Something that I've really struggled with this time around too is it has been entirely self-inflicted. While moving back to Washington was always in the back of my mind, I had a good life in NYC. My life didn't suck, so processing everything that goes a long with that has been tricky. Regardless of how you're feeling though, allow yourself some time to really think about things and experience that because it will help you in the long run. If there's something I've realized in doing so, it is that it's okay to both enjoy the start of a new chapter and long for your last one at the same time. It won't always make sense, but I think being really honest with yourself about that is important. 

I hope this has been helpful to some of you or at least given you a little more insight into my ongoing journey! If you have any other tips that could be useful, feel free to share in the comments.

Since I decided to move home, something I have been really looking forward to going to is the Puyallup Fair aka the Washington State Fair! I honestly can't tell you the last time I went, but I know it's been at least 10 years! Going to the fair was always one of my favorite memories growing up, so I was really looking forward to a day filled with a little nostalgia. 

While I was excited for a lot of different things, I definitely went into the day with two top missions... To see alllll of the animals and also eat allll of the food. Clearly, my priorities are in check! Ha! We kicked off the day getting a jumpstart on one of those missions by starting with a fresh scone! A fair must-have. So simple, and yet so delicious. 

After we were fueled up on scones it was time to get a little bit of the lay of the land. A lot of the buildings definitely have had a little facelift since the last time I was there. Since when has there been a beer garden and multiple bars too?! Things have definitely grown up a bit since the last time I was there. We started the day off by making the rounds through the 4-H, hobby and vendor halls. Checking out all of the goods in each of those! After that, we also stumbled upon a pretty hilarious variety show by the Stooge Dudes, which was fun.

Once we went through most of the halls it was back to my missions. On the food end, realistically, I needed like 4 or 5 visits to be able to try everything I wanted to. Occasionally, I watch the show Carnival Eats so being at an actual fair again with all of the ridiculous food options was AWESOME! Since I was only there for one day though, I decided to stay true to my classic favorites I haven't had in awhile. 

I'm all about getting as many options in as possible so having someone who is down to share is key when doing fair food! Something I had to have once I saw was a blooming onion. I first fell in love with them at the 9th Avenue Food Festival in NYC. It was the only street fair of the year that had them and was something I'd look forward to. Until a few years ago when the booth was nowhere to be found! And yes, I know you can get them other places... but there's just something about getting them at a fair that makes them so much better so I was PUMPED to see them at the Puyallup!

Beyond our scones and blooming onion, we also had another fair classic -- a crusty pup. There are just some fair classics that are hard to beat! Then we closed things out at their DIY slushie stand -- which I also love. 

I have to be honest, it was really hard saying no to some of the other options! A girl can only eat so much though.. So here's a look at some of the options! Some of which I'll definitely be trying next year and others that I'll save for some other brave people.

The delicious...

• Elephant ears: Another one of my absolute favorites at the fair are elephant ears! Cinnamon and sugar for me!
• Curly fries: These were another one of my picks as a kid. They come in a huge block which is kind of insane, but dang are they good.
• Turkey legs: The turkey legs were looking on point! If I didn't just have one at the Renaissance Fair, I may have had to pick one of these up!
• Chicken and waffles and Nashville hot chicken: Two things I'm pretty sure you can't go wrong with.
• Apple fries with caramel: Is there anything more perfect for Fall? These sounded delicious!

The ridiculous...

• Everything at Totally Fried: Which was you guessed it... totally fried. The stand had fried classics like deep fried pickles, oreos and mac and cheese. Then they also had deep fried pop tarts, cinnamon rolls, hand pies and cosmic brownies
• Funnel cake with bacon, maple syrup, and whipped cream: While totallyyyy ridiculous and over the top, I would 100% try this.
• Fire Cheeto fries: Also ridiculous, but also probably delicious!

The downright cray cray... 

• Deep Fried Butter: I've seen this on carnival shows so I shouldn't have been surprised, but something about seeing it in person just seemed crazy to me. 😱 Like guys... they were eating deep-fried butter. Like who decided that was going to be a thing?! Despite what I think though, people were lined up like crazy so it's certainly a hit.
• Everything in the exotic food stand: Python, alligator, bugs, and Kangaroo were all on the menu here. None of which sound like things I'd personally want to try.

Needless to say, the fair food options were popping! And I may be eating all vegetables for the next 3 days to make up for all of the food we ate.. totally worth it though! Besides, calories don't count at the fair right?!

Now onto the second mission for the day... seeing all of the animals! [Insert little kid squeal here] Okay, I may be 28... but I was definitely more like 28 going on 8 during my visit. I don't know why but I was so excited to hang out with some of the farm animals. I have also been obsessed with goats as of lately. So you can imagine my excitement that it was goat weekend in the barns!

If you follow me on Instagram, I half apologize for all of my goat Instagram Stories for the day. Only half though because I still thought they were pretty adorable! 

Needless to say, I was in goat heaven and even made a few new furry friends. The goat above and I were totally having a bonding moment. Ha!

After going through barn after barn of goats (and not getting sick of it) we also saw some other cuties.

This furry little (ok kind of big) guy's name was Finnegan, which I thought was super adorable.

Unsurprising, I also could not get enough of Piglet Palace with all of the baby piggies! There were reallyyyyy tiny piglets and then these little striped ones that are just too cute. That one up on the right was my absolute favorite too 😍. He woke up from a nap and decided he was hungry and then one by one the other piggies woke up too. They were really funny to watch! 

And just like that both of my missions were complete! It was such a fun day and I have to say it even surpassed my expectations for what I was hoping for. I already can't wait for next year!

Normally this time of the year I'm working on my NYC anniversary post, but this year is a little bit different. Life sure has a funny way of throwing you curveballs doesn't it?! They joke you're not a real New Yorker until you've lived in the city for 7 years so I guess I justtt missed that cut-off. So instead of hitting that milestone this week, I'm celebrating a different anniversary.. my first full month of being a Washington resident again! 👈🏻 Woh, that still feels weird to say! 

So how's it going?! Now that I've gotten through some of the logistics of the move -- like sorting out health insurance, figuring out how to buy a car, and actually getting all of my stuff to the west coast.. all of that fun stuff -- I'm starting to adjust to my new normal. You can't get much further apart on the spectrum moving from New York back to my little hometown so I was a little worried about that, but for the most part, it's felt pretty great to get back to my roots. So what have been some of the biggest adjustments?! A lot! I like to joke that living in the city was like living on another planet and in a lot of ways it's true. There have certainly been a lot of changes on the flip side. Driving, having full sized appliances and a wholeee lot more space, less humidity, whole aisles of ice cream at the grocery store (I'm ok with this change), seeing sunsets, super-friendly people, allll of the outdoors... Some have been easier to adjust to (like the ice cream haha) and others that have been a little tougher like changing my work schedule! I think it's going to take a bit longer to adjust to that 5 a.m. wake-up time. 🙈

Generally, I'm someone who enjoys some downtime, but that is the one thing I haven't had much of this summer since being back. This girl has been busyyyyy. Like, can I have a free weekend to stay in my pjs all weekend soon?! I think staying busy has actually been one of the best things for getting adjusted, but I'm not going to lie it has been kind of exhausting. My life here is pretty different than my life in NYC though so it has kept me moving forward. So what have I been up to? Here are some of the major things!

Reconnecting with Fam & Friends

This has been the single best thing about being home again! Of course, now I'm missing all of my NYC friends, but it has been so great to reconnect with everyone here. I've been lucky to have been able to spend a lot more time home over the last year, but really being home is a totally different experience. When you live cross-country most of the time you see your family it's for an occasion, so it's great to be able to just hang out without any agenda. Being able to meet up with my Dad for an afternoon hike or spend an evening with my Mom has been so nice. It's little things like that, that you totally take for granted when you live near your parents so I've been trying to make up for the last 10 years of living out of state!

Getting My Outdoors On

This summer has been beau-ti-ful!!! Seattle broke a record from 1951 this year for 52 days without rain and boy have I been enjoying it. I've spent a lot of time this summer taking advantage of all of the outdoors Washington has to offer. In the mountains.. time at the lake.. walking along the beaches.. #Gimmealloftheoutdoors. While I'm staying back in my hometown, I've also taken up a hiking at a local spot during the week. There's something kind of therapeutic about getting your butt kicked climbing a mountain when you're starting over too.

Something I have also really come to appreciate about Washington since being back is the diversity of activities the state has. While I grew up here, I left the state when I was 18 so I never really fully appreciated that. You can go hiking one day, to the beach the next, and kayaking the next. I can. not. get. enough! I know there was a million things to do in NYC too, but it's been nice having a different set of options and a lot more that involve getting some fresh air. There's just something about being able to hop in your own car (more on that later) that is so freeing and I've been loving that.

Squeezing in some City Time

Along with spending a lotttt of times outdoors, I've also been getting my city fix in! I've always had such a love affair with Seattle, even though truthfully I know very little about it, so I have been loving the city adventures I've had so far. I've made it to two Mariners games this summer, enjoyed some time at Alki Beach, and also went to my first Seafair party and watched the Blue Angels!

It's interesting being back too because, in NYC, that's really the hub on the city side... Back here though, we also have a lot of smaller cities where there's still a ton of things to check out even if you're not in Seattle. Needless to say I have a lotttt of adventuring left to do. With more cities, my brain has kind of exploded for thinking about where I want to move next too. So many options... That decision can wait for another day though. For now I'm just enjoying checking out different things and fun events going on around the state.

Doing all of the Driving

Driving.. Guys, I bought a car and I'm not going to lie.. I'm kind of obsessed with it. I was lucky enough to have the best car buying partner EVER too! We walked into our first dealership to take a look at some of the options and I ended up driving out a brand new car right out of the showroom and I am in LOVE! Well maybe not with having a car payment, but the car... I LOVE!

HOLY MOLY! Let me tell you, cars are definitely a little more high tech than the last time I owned one.. I mean the last time I was driving my car still had a cassette player in it.. 🙈 If I'm being honest, it's going to take a bit for me to really figure it all out haha. 3 backup cams (kind of essential after my incident earlier this summer), lane departure warning, automatic braking.. the car can almost drive itself and those are just the ones I've kind of figured out so far. 

So needless to say it has been quite the month! There are definitely a lot of things about NYC I miss already, but it has been such an awesome start to this new chapter so far and I can't wait to see what comes next!