Settling into Our New Digs...

Eight days until orientation! We're all play around here...



Last weekend, our goal was to find the best deals and fill some of these empty rooms, so we ventured to the famous "Furnitureland South" in High Point, North Carolina.

Honestly, I had never heard of Furnitureland before my mom (beautiful furniture expert - among other things) informed me that it's kind of a big deal. Did you know North Carolina is where a lot of the big furniture companies have their factories? So the prices are much cheaper than the big chain stores in other states.

It's about an hour drive from our place in Durham.  Oh, I forgot to mention, Furnitureland is 1.2 million square feet of showrooms. Here's a video of us driving up because a picture just couldn't capture the huge-ness of this place...

As soon as we arrived, the Nates stumbled upon the fish tank we saw designed on one of our favorite TV shows Tanked!

Fish tank headboard anyone? 

Everything in that place was pretty gorgeous, and unfortunately, not as functional as we had hoped for a family with young kids. Izzy would have all those tabletop designer touches on the floor...haha

Testing out a showroom couch...

On the hunt for a nice statement mirror...

It was a fun adventure, and although we didn't walk away with furniture, we did get some design inspiration. Fortunately, over Memorial day weekend, we did some exploring in Raleigh (about 15 minutes from home) and discovered there are miles and miles of furniture stores.

In the end, we decided to stick to our original favorites, that ironically, were very close to home.

Dining room table? Check! Couch? Check! 

Hooray for no more standing in the kitchen!

Next up, baby-proofing because this is happening:

And this: 

 !!!!

Where do you go for design inspiration? I would love to hear about your own design projects!

"Moooovin' on Up..."

Our closing was scheduled for the Wednesday afternoon after graduation, and so we *planned* to be on the road to North Carolina by Tuesday evening (Yes, 48 hours after all our guests left our house) at the latest.

26ft Truck + Car Trailer + Car = A Long Ride 

Have you ever tried to host guests at your house while simultaneously trying to pack for your cross-country move? In hindsight this probably wasn't good planning but...YOGO (You Only Graduate Once. No? Oh ok.)  In all seriousness, even though it was a stressful process to say the least, we actually made a ton of great memories :-)

In the pre-move planning stages, we realized that movers was ridiculously expensive, so we decided to do it ourselves. Nate rented a 26 foot truck - HUGE! And we thought, "Surely we won't even fill this thing, especially since we filled a 20 foot dumpster with all our junk a week ago..." HA. Long story short, we filled the truck with our stuff, and filled my little brother's 12 foot truck with things that just would not fit (i.e. things for his college apartment).

He thought he was so cool in the truck

At 2AM on Wednesday morning, we were all set to hit the road (still determined to make closing), but Nate realized that the truck's trailer lights were shorted out -_- Honestly, I think it was divine intervention because we were exhausted and it was probably safest that we just went to sleep...

After some much needed rest, we pulled out of the driveway home for the last time, and said goodbye to Indianapolis. It was a rainy morning, which set the tone for continuing the crying outbursts I had been having throughout the evening prior as I listened to Miranda Lambert "The House That Built Me" on repeat. I know, I know...but I'm really, really good at being dramatic. Sure this wasn't my childhood home, but it had so many memories, and the bigger picture here is that I was moving the furthest away I've ever been from my parents' home. Don't judge me.

The drive was LONG. Normally it takes about 10 hours by car. However, by car following a 26 foot Penske truck towing a car, going 50 miles an hour (or less) the whole way, it takes about....16 hours.

We obviously did not make the closing. Fortunately, we prepared for this by having a power of attorney ready to sign in our stead. What we were not prepared for was that when we got to Virginia the lights in the truck would short out again - causing us to have to check into a hotel and finish the last 3 hours of the trip in the morning. This was seriously thee most anti-climactic trip ever.

So close!

Finally, on Thursday morning we made it! When Nate was packing up the truck in Indy, I helped a little with the really heavy stuff because I am so strong, he told me that he looked into having a moving company help us unload when we got to our place. I assumed that was the plan. However, when we got there, it was just us...

Trickery.

My mom came along for the ride and stayed with us for a week. This was immensely helpful because she was able to keep the kids while we unloaded and ran around town for Home Depot & Lowe's errands. She also unpacked our kitchen, helped me clean, and pretty much did anything I was too overwhelmed or stressed out to do.

Dame's Chicken & Waffles with my mom

Doing grown up things (i.e. trimming our bushes) 

We have been Durham residents for almost two weeks and we absolutely love it! The area is beautiful and everyone is so friendly. Not long after moving in we discovered that we live next door to another 5 year old boy. Couldn't have planned this any better if I tried! Nate started his new job the Monday after we arrived. It seems like a great fit so far and I'm so excited for him :-)

Residency orientation starts June 12th. Needless-to-say, I am in "try and get everything done while you can" and "try and do something nice for yourself too" modes until showtime.

Over the last year we have added Johnson child number two, got two new jobs, graduated, moved approximated 700 miles, and bought a house! I told the hubby we aren't allowed any more big changes for a while... Nothing wrong with some good ole' monotony ;-) 

Home Sweet Home!

Operation Purge or Pack 2014 Has Commenced

Hey Friends!

#TeamThrowItOut!

This weekend we finally took some steps on the road to packing. The dumpster that we rented for a week arrived and we were able to toss out our couch that was too far gone to salvage. I then felt ambitious and proceeded to clean out our master bathroom cabinets. But, of course, as soon as I finished with that, I got overwhelmed about where to go next, and promptly decided to handle this feeling the way I know best when I get overwhelmed with school work... I got on Facebook. 

Then I started feeling worse, and I decided to see what Pinterest had in the packing/organization department...jackpot!

I found some great graphics and lists (see a couple below)

Photo Credit

Photo Credit

So now it's a new day and I have a new plan of attack. I have always been a "everything has a place" type person, even when I was little. We went to the Container Store Saturday and I was in OCD heaven :sigh: 

I am geeked that we are purging all of our junk and will move into the new place without all the extra baggage. 

What are some of your moving tips? 

"A Change Will Do You Good..."

So is anybody else in awe at how fast this month has gone by?!

Here's a recap of all the awesomeness of April thus far:

The weeks post Match Day have been so busy, crazy, and exciting!!! In addition to Match Day marking the start of Natey's two week spring break,  we have been on the move!

Spring Break fun at the zoo with Maimeo (Hubby's mom) Isabelle clearly mistake "Cheese" for "Smooch" LOL

Sharks! 

The first weekend in April, we headed to NC for a "quick" roadtrip to try and find our new home for the next 4+ years. It was nutso, but with the help of a great realtor, we were able to see almost 20 homes in 3 days. Told you, NUTS. Even with the kids, it was a little stressful but a lot of fun. Natey tried to claim all the master bedrooms for himself in every single house...aside from one, because he wanted to claim the bonus room instead. And he kept asking if we "were going to be on TV".  Our binge House Hunter's watching has led our child to believe that a camera crew follows everyone around when they look for a house...LOL

Now we wait, and praying we will have some good news soon!!!

 

When we got home from NC, that week we celebrated the Hubby's birthday (April 9th) and then later hit the road for Tyler, Texas so that we could attend Nate's grandma's 100th birthday party. It was great! She looks AHH-maz-ing and we had a blast making memories with the family - including an overnight in Memphis to see my cousin's family.

Last week, Nate and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary (April 16th). It was a great day reminiscing on the day we said "I do". For dinner, we took the kids to one of our favorite restaurants in Indy on the water. The night was topped off with some frozen yogurt for dessert :-)

Anniversary dinner :-)

   

 

Oh, and yes, I am still a medical student...LOL I am currently taking an elective called "Narrative Medicine" which explores the role of the written/spoken/expressed narrative in the physician and patient experience. We get to read, write, and discuss. Some of my favorite things to do, so you know I am really enjoying it! As someone who loves to write and getting my feelings out on paper...er blog, I will always value the narrative of my patients. Telling our stories is healing in-of-itself, and many times we do not realize how it may directly affect our care.

This past weekend, we had a great Resurrection Sunday together at home. I have so much to be thankful for. I feel another "testimony" page coming on soon because the way God has aligned so many things for me and our family this year, I have to give him all the glory.

There are 18 days until graduation (AHHH!) and 30 or so days until we are hoping to move (AHHH!) This week's plan is to start packing, throw a ton of stuff away, and try and enjoy our last weeks as Indianapolis residents. When I think about moving, I can't help but be a little sad. So much has happened for us here in Indy. It is the first place I lived completely on my own (well, with baby Nate, too), it's where Nate and I got married, it's where we had Isabelle, it's where I feel like I finally became comfortable with myself and started to make decisions solely for me and my family, and no one else. Such a huge part of me is here, and I know at some point the ugly cry is going to come...so be ready.

I never liked change, but I am learning that although sometimes it hurts, and is uncomfortable, and makes you a tad bit anxious, God has ordered our steps and so I don't have to be afraid.

Happy Monday friends!

I will have another photo-dump update before the month is over...I promise. OK, let's be real, I hope...LOL