Why? Why move at all? When Adam accepted his job 3 years ago, it was in large part because of the many opportunities an international firm could offer his career, and our life. We've both never lived anywhere but the south and we saw an opportunity to see the world and expand our cultural horizons. You're only twenty-something once (well, for 9 years), so our question back to people is "why not?" This wasn't a guaranteed thing, so we bought a house back in August (that we loved, and thankfully someone else did and bought it 9 short months later), but when the opportunity did come, we knew a house, kids and all that fun would be there when we were ready. Right now, we're ready for this - living in a flat, in a big city, in a foreign country, experiencing all of the challenges and fun that we sort of skipped at 22. Did I mention we're just a hop, skip and jump (or 45 min flight) from Paris?
Why Birmingham? Why the UK? These are a little easier to answer. Because of Adam's line of work he needed to be able to speak the native language so the UK quickly became our first choice. A lot of people ask why we aren't in London (or assume that we are), but what they don't realize is that London is one of the most expensive cities in the world. Birmingham is the second biggest city in the country, providing us with ample professional opportunities and even more English culture.
How, literally, did we make it all happen? Adam's firm was extremely supportive through the process, both with guidance and financial support. As I mentioned earlier, we got lucky and sold the home fairly easily. We also decided to sell most of our furniture. We aren't sure what our next home will look like, so storing it didn't seem practical. As my Facebook friends know, I also emptied my closet. The whole process was quite liberating, honestly. We packed 6 checked bags and 2 carry on suitcases of clothes and flew over with only that. We found a furnished flat, bought the essentials (TV and kitchen ware) and had a few trinkets from home shipped over, bringing me to how we've made the flat feel like home. Here's a video from the nesting last night and some pictures with some back story on what we deemed worth the trip.
This was a personal wedding gift from a talented and lovely artist, Michelle Allee
Another favorite wedding gift courtesy the thoughtful Brittany Cain and Caroline Meyers soon to be Iverson - no Coastie's home is complete without a little Walter Anderson!
On the shelf - a Wolfe Bird (the only kind of birds I like); our Bibles and devotional; The Southerner's Handbook (thoughtful birthday present from Erika Berry); a few good reads borrowed from the Haywood's library; some educational books courtesy our relocation specialists; flattened champagne bottle from our wedding (the green oblong thing); art by Adam's maternal grandmother; notepads and a boxful of stationary (I have an addiction to stationary); our electronics
On the nightstand: handmade bookmark from Adam's paternal grandmother; the cutest picture of Adam and his grandfather; rock from the Grand Canyon (to remind us how big the earth is, how small we are, and all that philosophical jazz)
Art by the talented Lacey Cain (shop her Etsy page here)
Shipping isn't cheap or easy, so we did our best to choose items that would remind us of home, add some charm to the flat (whose white walls mock us daily), and weren't breakable. I'd like to give another shout out to my mother in law for adding the peanut butter, Crest and photos to our last package. We also got a fun care package from Grandma Haywood today with fixings for a cheese ball! I love to entertain, and will definitely be making all things Southern and American anytime we have guests over.
Tonight I'm attempting Shrimp and Grits (recipe via Skinny Taste cookbook). Grocery shopping is a bit of a challenge for some of my American recipes, so I'll let you know how it goes. If I'm successful, maybe news of my cooking talents will make their way to Kensington and Will and Kate will join us for the GoT finale next week. Fingers crossed.
The flat looks fab and totally Haywood (the British version, of course)! Can I request a post about your neighbo[u]rhood, including local pub/grocery store/restaurant of choice?
ReplyDeleteLove that request and am happy to oblige! There's actually one more pub we've been referred to that we need to try before I post (to be fair to the neighbourhood of course). Look out for it next week!
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