Autumn leaves, snow, seasons (!), road trips to the east coast & Canada, and fireflies are just a few of the things I'm looking forward to experiencing and seeing when I move to Cincinnati this fall!
I NEVER would've thought in a million years I'd be moving to Ohio (!) so I'm probably just as surprised as you are lol In case you're wondering why, there are a few reasons: my significant other Ben's family is there, cost of living / housing is WAY more reasonable and affordable, I've been wanting to travel and OH is a great location to road trip (so Val can come) from, I really enjoyed our visit earlier this year (there's Val strutting around downtown Cincy, above), and I'm ready for a change!
While I know there will be pros and cons, lots of unknowns, and many things to adjust to, I'm thinking, what could go RIGHT? I don't know when I'd get the chance to do this again and I'm really excited to try something different! I feel like there are new opportunities to be had, new friends and dogs to meet, new places to explore, and a new chapter waiting to be written! (This enthusiasm may be due to the Enneagram 7 in me :))
Another thing that's been happening these past few months is we've decided to sell our family home and it has been a HUGE undertaking for my brother and I! Getting rid of things, getting the house ready, getting the yard ready (omg I NEVER want to do yardwork again lol), etc.--it has felt never ending at times but I think we are getting close and I see that glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel 😅. The only thing is I'm not sure how this affects our timeline--I was planning on leaving in early October (I need time to get settled in and make our costumes for Halloween!)--but now there's a chance I might leave earlier depending on how it all goes.
It doesn't feel real to me yet and it's been so go-go-go that I haven't really had time to be sad about saying goodbye yet but for sure it will be bittersweet--saying goodbye to friends I love, saying goodbye to this house and the place I grew up in.
As for Atiliay, not much will be changing and I plan on continuing what I'm doing in Cincinnati! There may be a brief pause as we're driving across the country but other than that, it'll be business as usual with the shop and The Creative Spark Newsletter!
Before I go though, I'm planning on having an in-person moving sale/pop-up (details TBA) and having a few final brush lettering workshops here in Southern California! Both are happening in Cerritos and you can find more details and reserve your seat at the links below:
Beginners Brush Lettering Workshop
Sunday, 8/20/23
Beginners Brush Lettering Workshop
Sunday, 8/27/23
If you've been wanting to learn, I would love to see you there! If you know someone who may be interested, please feel free to forward this email/links to them--I'd really appreciate it! I know it's still a little while away so I'll send a few reminders as we get closer to the dates.
Have you moved across the country before? How was that experience for you? I'm really curious how everything will unfold and can't wait to find out! :)
PS: If you have any good tips that helped you with a big move, please share! (The best one I've seen so far is putting books/heavy items in a suitcase so you can roll it--GENIUS!)
PPS: Here's a quick video of scenes from our road trip as well as a recap of Cincinnati!