My first blog photoshoot with a Dallas backdrop! We’ve officially been back in Dallas for two weeks today, so I thought it’d be fun if I just shared a quick life update with y’all – how things are going, what we’re doing, etc!
Just in case you’re not caught up on our life! We just moved back to Dallas after living in Boulder, CO for the last 3 years! We are building a house in Dallas but it won’t be ready for another year-ish, so we are renting while we build! We’re renting a townhome type situation and I’d say we’re about 70% of the way moved in. We went from a 4500 sq ft house in Boulder to a 2400 sq ft townhome in Dallas haha so we got rid of a TON of stuff before moving in here…and we’re also using our garage as a storage unit for now haha. Things definitely feel a little squished and we’ve had to get creative with some spaces (my office is like an entry way, exercise room, and office all in one haha) but I love the townhome we’re renting and I think for a year, it will be perfect for us!
I know everyone always says “moving is the worst” so I expected that going into this move. But y’all…moving out of STATE, with a 15 month old baby is a whole nother ball game haha. I know moving is hard but had no idea how this ‘unsettled’ feeling would affect everything – work, friendships, the time you have in a day, etc. I’m starting to feel a little more settled now but trying to keep up with working and shooting and blogging etc WHILE going through this move, with Shiloh, was a challenge for sure. I’ve been feeling pretty stressed to be honest, but hoping things will settle down here in the next week or so!
I’ve shared a few videos on my stories of the progress of our new house so far! At this point, there’s not much to see haha. They are working on the framing to pour the foundation. I’ll keep you guys posted though as the house continues to progress and I have more fun updates to share with y’all! I also shared a little preview of our meeting with A Well Dressed Home last week! They are helping us make ALL of the selects for the new house – literally everything – from the floor to the wall color to the countertops and everything in between! They have been INSANELY helpful so far and I absolutely love what they’ve picked out. Last week we just swung by their offices to see a few samples in person – our kitchen countertops and backsplash, wallpaper for Shiloh’s room, and a few other fun things! We pretty much have every single thing / detail picked out for the new house…so now we’re just building and waiting haha. Feels like it will be an eternity until it’s done, but I know how quickly time flies so I bet we’ll be there before we know it!
Outside of house stuff…living in Dallas has been so special so far. You guys know I was so incredibly sad to leave Boulder and partially second-guessing our decision because we loved it so much there. But since being back in Dallas…I’ve just felt like we’re home. When we first got back to Texas, Michael had another trip planned so me and Shiloh were kind of left here to unpack / get situated by ourselves for 3 days. My family all jumped in, without me even asking, to help unpack or help watch Shiloh so I could get stuff done. I think my mom came over 3 days in a row haha, and my siblings were all a huge help too. I’ve also just been LOVING seeing my family so much again! My mom had an impromptu lunch and shopping date at Northpark, we’ve done a game night at my sisters house, I’ve seen my nieces and nephews, Michael’s parents kept Shiloh while we had a date on Sunday…it’s just been so nice! I knew we were so excited to move back so we could raise Shiloh around our families…but I don’t think I realized how much I missed being around my family! My siblings (and mom!) are some of my best friends and it feels so good to be in the same city again!
In addition to family…something about being in Texas just feels like home. This is where Michael and I were both raised. The people, the city, the culture, the food…all of it is just so familiar to us and basically…it just feels good to be back. And I’m really thankful because I was really worried about how it would feel, since we loved Boulder so much! I know right now Dallas is still ‘new’ and I’m sure the newness will wear off soon and we will for SURE miss Boulder! But for now, I gotta say, it feels really good to be back in Texas!
We’re still getting settled in Dallas but starting to find a few of our routine type things! Michael and I joined Equinox and absolutely love it! Their facilities are so nice, they have great childcare, and so many good workout classes! We visited our first church this past Sunday and have a few others we want to try out in Dallas! Finding a church home is such a big decision so we want to make sure we’re plugging in somewhere that we really feel led + called to!
Working recently has been a challenge for me 1) because of the move and 2) Shiloh is in a PHASE right now y’all! I gotta say, everyone told me “every stage is so fun!” from the time Shiloh was born and I 100% agree with that. I will say though, this stage (15 months) has probably been the most challenging for me thus far! You can’t take your eyes off of her for two seconds because she will be crawling into the kitchen cabinet pulling out pots and pans, or opening my bathroom drawers playing with my self tanner. She has tons of great toys but doesn’t seem to care for toys when she has cabinets she could be getting into or things she could be destroying haha. On top of that…she’s never really been a fussy baby and now she’s definitely more fussy / crying more often…it seems like because she has all of these emotions / feelings and doesn’t know how to communicate them other than to just cry! So if I see her playing with the TV remote and I take it away, she cries. If I tell her “shiloh it’s naptime” she loses it. I know these are all normal ‘baby’ things but it’s just a new phase for us and it’s been slightly more challenging for me. We also just switched to one nap a day so…lots of changes around here haha. I’m definitely not complaining and she’s a great baby. She just seems to be in a bit more of a “high maintenance” phase than she used to be, which makes working at home very challenging.
[Any mamas out there have any helpful tips / tricks / fave toys for babies at this age?!]
I will say – I do LOVE working in Dallas again though! Being close to so much great shopping, feeling a little more inspired with how I dress because people in Dallas dress well / get more dressed up compared to Boulder haha. The weather is warmer so it’s easier to shoot fun spring content for you guys (like this sweater I just got! So perfect for spring). And I love that there are so many great pockets of Dallas to shoot at + lots of events to go to as well!
So overall – life here is great! A little unsettled and a little crazy at the moment, but we are so thankful to be back in Texas & close to family and friends here, and really excited for our new house to continue to progress! Hoping things start to calm / settle down a bit here in the next few weeks as we get more unpacked and settled here!
Thanks for reading and staying updated on our lives! Y’all are the best!
xo Lauren
