Made it to Sugar Land

Well we made it to Sugar Land back in July. Here's a run-down of our escape from the Lbk. I would like to point out that this was a solo exit as Travis had moved down early to start work. Not too shabby of a schedule considering I was herding cats (literally) while accomplishing the move.

Packers/movers arrived at 7:15a.
Closed on house at 9:00a.
Finished loading house at 1:00p.
Finished loading storage at 2:00p.
Left Lbk by 2:05p.
Rockwall by 8:45p.

Bye West Texas!

Stayed with my parents in Rockwall for the 4th of July.

Had my obligatory peach ice cream fix from Ham's.

Mr. Baxter thoroughly enjoyed learning all about giant cats called "dogs."

We created an etsy-ripped (sorry!) wreath. Not a huge fan of mesh wreaths, but this one was too cute to pass up. Also, every single part could be bought at HobLob, so we pretty much had to make it.

Re-packed, drove, and checked into our townhome Friday.

I did not take quite the advice on the new home box as literally as I should have. We made some makeshift wine glasses with our Lbk wine while waiting for the movers.

When our stuff was loaded in Lbk it was on a truck that looked like this.

Perfect. No worries about fitting that sucker in the apartment parking lot. Should be a quick trip as there were only two households packed. Wrong. This showed up to unload.

Thankfully, the tree was only a minor casualty, and I don't think we angered too many neighbors. Also, I won at unpacking BINGO pretty darn quickly if I do say so myself. Even the movers were asking about the status of my BINGO card.

The cats promptly decided it was time to explore their new fireplace ending in a ceremonious first bath within the first 2 hours.

Worry not. They've settled in just fine.

We made it!

Moving Tips

We were very fortunate to have such a wonderful company for Travis to join. They covered cost of storage, arranged for accommodations for Travis before the townhome was ready, and arranged packing and moving of all our stuff.

We had packers/movers for this move, so this list is more of a prep list. 

Moving tips:
1) Only move 1/3 of your "stuff."
This goes back to the rule of thirds: Sell 1/3, Trash 1/3, Move 1/3. We found it to be quite helpful.

2) Sell, sell, sell.
Craigslist isn't what it used to be back in the good ol' days. But...it's great for a) large pieces of furniture, b) tools, and c) bulk sale. Make a realistic monetary goal for selling. For us it was: Sell enough stuff to buy a nice new couch. Garage sales are good and easy if you priced as you packed/cleaned. By the time we pre-sold furniture/garage sale items the furniture buyers also wanted we didn't have enough left for a true "garage sale" so we bulk listed the remainder for a low price. Or just follow step 3.

3) Trash, trash, trash.
When in doubt, if you wouldn't buy it at a garage sale, trash it. Invest in some large lawn leaf bags. Always have one set up in the house so you can toss as you pack/clean. I've found if it's convenient to throw stuff away, I will do exactly that. Some communities have ordinances for throwing stuff away in dumpsters. Know the rules. You can normally find these on city websites.

4) Prep for packers.
Everyone says: "Oh, you have packers?! That'll make moving so easy!" Well, not for those of us who are neurotic. My tips for packing for packers:
  -Baggies. All sizes. Buy them. Desk clutter? Throw it in a baggie. Makeup stuff? Throw it in a baggie. Junk drawer? Throw it in a baggie.
  -Set aside a spot for stuff that's going with you. Mark it off with signs and a clear boundary. Tell the packers as soon as they arrive.
  -Painters tape. Anything that was staying was marked with a painters tape X with "STAYING." This will, hopefully, cue your packers to question you if they start to pack something with an X. I also used this to mark cabinets I had already pre-cleaned out.
  -Group items. Put like items together so the packers don't have to think about it.
  -Ask them to label in a certain way. We had some books on a book shelf. I left a post-it that said "Top 2 Shelves together labeled "LAW" and Bottom 2 Shelves together labeled "SPEECH"." They'll try to accommodate you most of the time.
  -Let the packers know about valuable/important items. For us, the only real item of super importance was my hope chest. I had specific instructions for how it should be packed/moved because it held delicate antiques/memories. Upright, no tilting past 45*, nothing on top.

5) Label everything.
Permanent markers are your BFF. Consider using a "strange" color for marking boxes each time you move. This way, even if the box has something written, you know exactly which list is from this move. Be as specific as you can. Include:
  -What room it's from in the old house.
  -Where it goes in the new house.
  -Category of what's in the box.
  -List of items in the box.

6) Make a moving essentials box.
This should include things for as you're packing/moving. Keep it in a central location and always return items to it. Mark it with signs so packers don't pack it. Good things to include:
  -Family binder with healthcare/insurance/real estate info.
  -Moving roster with names/phone numbers of movers, packers, storage, etc. Also, a place to keep your paperwork from the movers during the move.
  -Extra tape
  -Permanent markers
  -Box cutter

7) Make a new home box.
This should include necessities for before the movers arrive. It goes with you in your vehicle to your new home. Good things to include:
  -Toilet paper (2 rolls)
  -Paper towels (1 roll)
  -Clorox wipes (1 pkg)
  -Scissors
  -Pot holder (1-if you plan on cooking anything at all)
  -Paper goods (paper plates, cups, plastic silverware, etc.)
  -Bath towels

8) Move your vacuum yourself.

If you're near as concerned about gross-nasty stuff as me, you'll want to move your vacuum yourself. I asked our movers to pack it so it would be the first thing off the truck. My thinking was: Travis will coordinate movers while I quickly vacuum the floors before they get too much stuff in. Wrong. Our stuff got packed and repacked, so the vacuum was waaaaayyyy in the back. Ew. Also, I underestimated how badly I wanted to vacuum our new place as soon as we arrived.

Beach Cupcakes

At the beach, we needed some appropriately fun snacks! These little guys were too cute! There are a ton of tutorials online for these guys. We used chocolate cupcakes, cream cheese frosting, blue frosting (water), brown sugar (sand), teddy grahams (bathing beauties), life saver gummies (floaties), and candy tape (beach towels).

My shark attack cupcake. We saw a number of dolphins on this trip, but no confirmed sharks. Still had to have a little fun, though!

Sugar Land

source

If you want to make God laugh tell him you want to move anywhere but Houston.

Yup. Lesson learned. Don't make plans ahead of God's.  Also, don't mention city names in your prayers. Turns out I had no clue what I was asking.

Travis received a wonderful offer for a job opportunity in Sugar Land, TX.

Wait...that's in Houston,  right?

source

Sugar Land Fun Facts

• Sugar Land, TX
• Fort Bend County
• Population: 84,511
• 25 miles SW of Houston
• Home of Imperial Sugar
• Minor League Baseball team Sugar Land Skeeters
• Humid Subtropical Climate (that means hot and humid)

We went to visit one weekend. Of course it was 75° and sunny with a light breeze and like 20% humidity. Maybe Houston isn't all that bad! Love how God can make it all ok to push you in a certain direction. I knew summers were awful, but it was gorgeous at the time. Great community.

Decision was made.

Ok. We'll move.

Catching Up

Whew! So sorry for the lapse in blogging. Didn't intend on taking a 2-month hiatus, but it sure was nice to just relax after the holidays!

In January, Travis and I celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary! For our anniversary, we decided to cook an oriental-themed meal complete with sushi and fried rice!

In February, we took a trip with our friends to Breckenridge, Colorado. We were so glad for the time away from work and Lubbock. It was great to see everyone! We had a group of 10-12 for the long weekend. We stayed in a ski-in/ski-out cabin that was lovely! We did joke that the cabin was more of a pole-in/ski-out because the run that ended by the cabin was pretty flat.

I've also had the opportunity to go back to Rockwall in the past couple of months. My Nonnie turned 84! We had a lovely get-together with family. My mom came up with an awesome idea: create a poster that had 84 reasons why we love and appreciate Nonnie. It was so great to get to sit down and actually think about all the many reasons why I love her with all my family.

More new posts to come soon!

Ferrys and Freeways

This weekend was crazy. Travis was in Dallas on business on Thursday and Friday. I actually realized on Wednesday that I had the next Monday off work. So, I decided to drive to Rockwall to see my family and then just drive back with Travis. I say "drive to Rockwall" like it takes 20 minutes...ha! It's actually 6 hours each way.

I got to spend time with my SIL and MIL working on wedding invitations for my SIL's wedding in May. I helped design the invite and coordinate the papers, etc. I helped with the maps, and I may have a tutorial on how those are done in the future. They turned out really cute!

She has a very creative eye and designed her own response cards, labels, and programs! 

In other news: I'm always skeptical about new shoe styles. I've always been this way. Last summer when "top-siders" came back I could not fathom spending $75 on one pair of shoes. Especially since I wasn't sure if I'd actually wear them much. 

The solution? "Ferrys" 

Shoe Carnival :: Solstice-leather

The term "Ferrys" comes from a combination of the words "faux" and "Sperrys." Turns out...I loved them! Wore them just about to death. 

Today, I decided it was time for some new ones. I made my way to Shoe Carnival (I'll explain this later). Browsing through the Ferrys it struck me. Why not just buy Sperrys? $75...that's why. 

Shoe Carnival :: Bluefish-leather

But wait! I'm at Shoe Carnival. Quick price check, and they actually sell for $59.99. Hold up. What's that I just heard over the loudspeaker? "Take $10 off any pair of shoes over $49.99 purchased in the next 10 minutes." 

Yes, please, and thank you. I've never made a faster decision when purchasing shoes. Done and done. Final purchase with tax was $54.11. Ferrys would have cost me $43.28. So...for true-to-life name brand Sperrys, I paid $10.83 more. Worth it? Time will tell.