life in connecticut.

top. jeans. similar here and here. shoes. bag. sunglasses.

Hello guys!  It’s been a minute!  I’m currently in Paris right now with my sweetheart, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it when I get back.  You want to know the coolest thing?  When I was standing outside of Notre Dame yesterday, I ran into one of you my cute readers.  All the way across the world in Paris, can you believe that?!  It totally made my day.  She asked me how I’m liking life in Connecticut, and I realized, I haven’t really written about that in awhile so I thought I would give you a little update and some of my thoughts today…

For those newer to this blog, a little backstory.  7 months ago my husband and I picked our family up and left Seattle to buy a 230 year old farmhouse in New England.  Connecticut to be precise.  I know it sounds random, because we adored living in Seattle, but I’ve also dreamed of living in an old New England Farmhouse since I was five, and when you dream of something for 29 years straight, it’s time to make it happen.  So we did.  (you’re doing the math on how old I am now aren’t you?)

We bought an old white saltbox with a red front door and a big red barn out back on about 4 1/2 acres.  My husband likes to joke that this is nobodies dream house, but the truth is, it actually is mine, squeaky original wood floors and all.  (Oh yeah, they squeak.)

So after 7 months, here’s a little about life in CT.

We’ve now had winter, spring, and summer weather and I can feel the start of fall.  It’s always my favorite, and I think it’s going to be next level now that I’m living in the fall capital of the world.  Our property has lots of big trees and I can’t wait to watch them turn.  Winter was fun, the kids got lots of chances to sled down our hill.  Spring was soggy and cold (does anyone like spring, I try hard but…).  i thought the summer heat and humidity would kill me dead, especially since, #oldhousenoac but it wasn’t bad at all, in fact, I rather liked it.

I’ve made some wonderful friends in Connecticut, and I can’t believe how much it makes me feel at home. I still really miss my Seattle friends.  Like all the time.

I love living in the Eastern time zone.  I know that sounds weird/funny but every morning I get up and think to myself, it’s only 3 am in Seattle, I’m getting such a head start on the day!  Makes me feel like I’m on top of life for once.

I thought the minute we moved into our house I would have the whole thing remodeled, decorated and the property cleaned up and groomed just like I want it.  Current me is laughing at past me.  I’ve learned that I’m a slow cooker when it comes to house projects.  I’ve got to live in a space and really feel it, before I commit.  And also, that working on an old house it more complicated and requires a little more patience.  And also, 4.5 acres is a lot of weeding.  It’s been good for my soul to slow down.  Because as much as I want to get things done, even more I want to do them right.  I feel like a steward of this old house.  She’s lived a lot of lifetimes and I want to take good care of her.

We bought 12 baby chicks right after we moved into the house.  The kids were thrilled.  We lost a few the first two weeks (which we learned is pretty typical).  Then they all did great for awhile until a raccoon got one once they were big enough to go out in the coop Craig built.  Literally ate it through the fence (welcome to farm life, kids… and Cori).  It was disturbing.  So we reinforced the coop some more.  Then a few months later I came home one day and all the chickens were gone.  Like gone.  A fox had come and caught all of them while we were out for the day, leaving just feathers behind.  It was again, disturbing, and I felt like the worst chicken mom ever, until I found out that this too is fairly common.  Farm life is not for the faint of heart… (We’re going to try chickens again this fall, and Craig said he’s going to build a freaking fort knox chicken coop.)  I’m interested to see what that looks like.

We have caught a lot of mice.  I thought it had to do with living in an old house, but my friend who also lives out in the country in a brand new house also deals with mice, so I’m learning it’s just part of living out here.  And the good news is, it doesn’t bother me anymore…

My kids are thriving so much living out in the country, with a big yard and our tiny town, and the good schools they go to.  The grassy part of our yard alone is almost an acre and they spend hours playing out there.  Soccer, baseball, tag with the dog.  I love watching them out the kitchen window.  It’s a dream come true.

Ollie our toy poodle is the funniest cutest dog I have ever seen.  About two weeks in I was cursing the day we got him, when he was barking all night, trying to chew everything, and having accidents on my floors every 1/2 hour.  But now he’s basically potty trained, sleeps right through the night, and the chewing has really subsided. (sounds like a baby, lol)  I am in love.  He’s good company.

Ava started preschool, and this is the first time in 13 years I haven’t had a child at home with me for part of the day.  I don’t know how I feel about that yet.  I do know that I am so glad I held on to Ava as long as I could.  The last 4 years went way too fast.  She’s loving preschool so much though.

I love New England.  It’s so pretty here, there are all the pretty charming little towns with so much history, I can’t get enough.  I keep discovering new places and then I’ll say, ooooh, this is my new favorite!  Until I see the next one.  I really can’t decided.  Chester, and Essex are at the top of my list right now.

Living in a tiny town has made some thing much less convenient, like going to Costco and Target.  But other things are WAY MORE convenient.  Like, the tiny grocery store, the library, the vet, my kids Dr’s office, their schools, and the post office are all literally 3 minutes from my house.  And I love it.

I’ve learned something about myself through this move.  We’ve lived in a lot of different places, and even the harder ones, I’ve found a way to love them.  I’m pretty good at being happy in a place.  I think I learned several years ago, how to find the magic where ever I go and that has served me so well, and brought me a lot of joy.  There’s always something wonderful and charming about a place.  If you make up your mind to love it, you’ll find the magic.

xo- Cori