Trading Snow for SUNSHINE! Our journey to Florida...

We made it - to the beautiful SUNSHINE STATE! Apparently, we made it out just in time as the winter weather showed up right after we left! Truthfully, I don't miss that AT ALL! It has been almost a month since we have arrived, and it has been wonderful. 

Let's briefly chat about our journey to Florida, shall we? 

Getting here was...well...challenging. 

It all really began on Thursday—the day before our closing—when we loaded up the truck. It didn’t help that it rained most of the day, but somehow, we got it done. It took all day, every bit of energy we had, and we couldn’t have done it without the help of our neighbor, our daughter, and her friend. Truly—thank you.

That evening, sitting in an almost empty house felt surreal. This was the home we had lived in for more than five years, now stripped down to bare rooms and echoes. We had built so many good memories here, and as I sat there reflecting, I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude—for the time we spent, the life we lived within those walls, and the chapter that was now coming to a close.

On Friday, we were running late to the closing on our home in Southern Indiana. The two of us were busting our butts trying to get everything loaded into the truck. We ran out of the house at full speed, me carrying my cat in her oversized carrier, and rushed off to the closing.

My cat, Koshka, was not happy—at all. She’s a strictly indoor cat, and the only time she ever rides in a car is for vet visits, so this sudden chaos was not part of her plan.

With John driving the U-Haul and me following behind in my Fiat, we headed off—our entire life packed up and rolling down the road.

On our way there, a branch hit our passenger side window of the U-Haul, shattering it into a million pieces, with glass everywhere. Luckily, John was not hurt, and luckily, I (nor my cat) was not on the passenger side of the U-Haul, otherwise, I don't think I would be here writing this right now. 

We make it to our closing, frustrated that we have an open window in our truck, and it is still raining and wondering what in the heck we are going to do at that moment. To make a VERY LONG story short, we did get the window fixed; however, we didn't get on the road until almost 6pm. Our first stop was Knoxville, Tennessee, and it was pouring down rain. Needless to say, with my cat meowing away and scared to death, low visibility, and traffic, we finally made it to Knoxville. Tired, hungry, and thirsty (did someone say tequila?) we had popcorn for dinner, watched the Wizard of Oz, and passed out. 

The next day, we were off to Valdosta, Georgia. Koshka finally getting the hang of being in the car, (I had all the cat calming stuff I could find, patches, diffusers, calming cat music, cat treats, you name it...I think they were finally starting to work!), she snuggled up in the back of her carrier and rested. Which meant, Mama was not as stressed. There was quite a temperature change as we made it to Valdosta. It was warm! FINALLY! We stayed in a nice hotel and ordered a really nice meal and drank some really nice tequila to celebrate! 🥳

Next stop Bradenton, Florida! John had a pit stop to make in Sanford, Florida, while I went ahead to Bradenton. As I was driving into the state of Florida, I had tears in my eyes (yelled and honked my horn a bunch of times) and thanked God for the opportunity to make our dream a reality. Sunday night, we both made it to my Dad and Mama Jean's home safely. 

Grateful, tired, and yet JOYFUL - WE DID IT!!!!

John and I didn't waste any time and jumped right in at looking at places to live. Lady Glitter Sparkles, our realtor, was on it and bam, bam, bam, we had a packed schedule and there was one that we added to our list of condos to see at the last minute, it ended up being added as the first condo we saw. Low and behold, that first condo was THE ONE. 💖It is in a beautiful area! It is not as close to the beach as I would have liked, but it is probably one of the nicest/cleanest places I have seen AND it checked off ALL the boxes and then some. We ended up placing an offer on the condo and a couple of counter offers later; we have a contract on one of the most beautiful places we have ever lived. 

Let me just say something, without my Dad and Mama Jean's help, by allowing us to stay at their home, while in transition to find our own place, I don't know if this could have happened as it did. So, DAD and MAMA JEAN - THANK YOU!!!!

On December 1st, I started working for Wells Fargo Advisors in Sarasota. I just completed my third week, and I absolutely love it. It was so nice to not have to train or do online training modules for days and days - I was able to jump right in! I love the people I work for, and I know it is going to be great. 

I was able to celebrate my birthday here, which was amazing. First, I made it official and got my Florida license plate!! Then we spent the day at the Ringling Museum (Wow! Just wow! What an incredible place!) and ended the day on a rooftop bar enjoying the sunset and heart full.

John is working at Total Wine & More, and he’s really enjoying it. He loves talking with people, so this feels like a great fit for him. I have a feeling this is going to be a good thing—at least for now. And who knows? It might even turn into something long-term.

The cool thing about where my job is located, it is right downtown Sarasota - and what a cool place. I am only a 10-minute drive to the beach where I can go watch the sunset after work. 

As a matter of fact, I did just that on Friday. I went to Lido Key Beach, and it was a stunning, golden sunset. 

I am so grateful that I get to chase sunsets now. I am a sunrise/sunset kinda girl and I am THANKFUL to be here. I am still pinching myself. 

BIG FAVOR - We have an estimated closing of 12/23 (!!!!!) - so if you can PLEASE say some prayers on our behalf and send all those good, positive vibes our way, we would be utterly grateful. It would be a CHRISTMAS MIRACLE. 🙏

This Christmas, hug your people tight, tell them you love them, appreciate the small stuff, and savor the miracle of Christmas.

Merry Christmas to you and yours. 

Love from Florida XOXO,

Claudine