a change, a new season

Blogging, and I suppose instagram (since it is practically surpassing blogging at this point), thrive on predictability and a well curated image. People follow certain bloggers because, in my humble opinion, they enjoy seeing a certain lifestyle through a certain type of lens on a daily basis. There are so many lenses but just to name a few there are the hipster, outdoorsy, glittery, colorful, preppy, kinfolk, etc... lenses. I'm not immune to this phenomenon either. When we lived at the cabin I think you may have come to expect the woodsy, "natural" and simple lifestyle. It's what we lived and breathed and it is what plastered my instagram and came through in my posts.
But life changes and moves quickly and often those changes aren't up to us. We knew our family needed something different this year and we prayed and searched and worked hard to find that place for us. And as life would have it that place is here in Atlanta in the south. Gone is the cabin, gone are our beloved woods and gone is the rural life we lived.
When our family and friends came to our new home for the first time everyone couldn't help but remark at how "suburban" it all was. And it's true. We live in a subdivision amongst a slew of homes that inside and out look more or less the same. I suppose to those who know us well it's all a bit jarring. And initially it was an adjustment for us too. But honestly at the end of the day the country life had worn out it's welcome when it came to us. Perhaps there are some people that can make that work indefinitely but I am not going to lie to you and say that it was perfect. When it was just papa bear and myself it really was as dreamy as it seemed - the days we got snowed in, the endless country roads, the rustic reclusiveness of it all. But with a baby the charms began to wear off pretty quickly. The fact that it took a full half hour to get anywhere from the cabin drove me crazy, especially on the weeks when it seemed like I had forgotten something crucial at Target every time I went there. The harsh winters were brutal for our nerves, never knowing how long we would have to be cooped up inside or whether or not we would have power. So when the time came to move, and we knew we would be moving to a large metropolitan city, we welcomed the change.
Do I sometimes wish we lived in a home with more character and a layered history and charming nooks and crannies? Yes. Do I often mourn my white kitchen (so embarrassingly obsessed with white kitchens over here... but practicality prevailed over aesthetics this time) and long for the gleaming white subway tiled confections that crowd my pinterest feed? Yes. Do I miss creaking hardwood floors? Yes. But the truth is there was nothing like that in our price range here and in reality everything I just listed is the making of a dream home and I'm not sure we deserve our dream home yet. One day I know we will build it or buy it but for right now yes, we are living a very cookie cutter suburban existence. And you know what?! I love it and I'm not fighting it.
I've never seen much of a point in lamenting one's current circumstances (especially when that lamenting is about "likes" and "wants" not "needs"), instead I've always chosen to embrace whatever season of life we happen to be in at the moment. So although I don't have my dream white kitchen I have a sizable pantry that makes life so much easier and a laundry room where I can hide all those dirty clothes that used to occasionally litter our dining room back at the cabin. And yes this home really lacks any sort of character but I believe that you can bring character to a home and we've been doing just that. And where it lacks in character it makes up for in comfort and for that I am incredibly grateful. It's big and we have a guest room which will come in so handy in just a few weeks when there will be a revolving cast of family and friends coming to stay with us to help with baby boy.
I suppose this is a very long and drawn out way of saying that you will see changes, both here and on instagram. Perhaps for some of you our new life is no longer be of interest and I certainly understand that. There are plenty of other people that deliver in the "woodsy cabin" department still and I love them to bits for it. But I've always been about embracing change and for those of you that are willing to embrace this change with us I send you a hearty e-hug! There's going to be a lot less woods, wild horses and farm stands around here from now on but you can still expect to see our babies, our faces and everything that makes up our life! So I suppose welcome to Flora & Fauna 2.0!*

*Speaking of which this little corner is in terrible need of some sprucing up so if you know of someone who can help with that I would be uber grateful!