We’re Moving!
Almost 10 years ago, I left the Midwest to embark on a new adventure as an intern for a home building magazine in the Northeast. When I met my husband and started my dream job at This Old House magazine in New York, I knew I would be here for the long haul.
We eventually settled in Massachusetts on a wooded half-acre in a rustic home that needed some love. It was here that we began our “new homeowner” adventure, and I started Build Basic.
Over the years, my husband became an amazing tour guide, showing me the beauty of the Northeast on trips to the coast of Maine, the ski slopes of Vermont, the lakes of Connecticut, the fall foliage in New Hampshire, and all the way up to Lake Placid in upstate New York where got married.
Recently Dan received a work opportunity that would move us near Cleveland, Ohio. Needless to say, I was part excited to move back near my family in the Midwest, and part heartbroken to leave the Northeast. Even though I’m from Michigan, neither of us had ever been to northern Ohio. On our first trip, we were so impressed by the beautiful area and family-friendly communities. We have a lot yet to discover—I hear there’s an amazing maker community in Cleveland;)—and I hope I’m half as good of a tour guide in the Midwest as Dan was here in the Northeast!
As the boxes are being packed (literally today), I feel so much love and appreciation for our first home together. We knocked down walls, scraped popcorn ceilings, tore out the kitchen, and built a home and a life we were so thankful for here in Massachusetts. We brought our first baby home to this house and watched him learn to crawl, and walk, (and run!) on the hardwood floors we worked so hard to sand and refinish ourselves.
At the end of it all, I can’t help but feel nostalgic for the life this home held. Because, at the heart of it all, isn’t that why we DIY? To build a home for those we love? A coffee table for us to put our feet up after a long day of work, a dresser to change our kids, a kitchen island to gather around.
Which is all to say, we will miss the Northeast deeply, but feel excited for our new adventure in the Midwest. And if you’re from the Midwest and you have suggestions for this tour guide and maker, I welcome all the advice I can get!
