June 17, 2013

I'm moving!


I have a bit of news. We'll be leaving Chicago and moving to the Cincinnati area in mid-July! Goodbye, lovely 1920s condo building.


I'm gonna miss this living room that made me feel like I lived in a treehouse.


And this office, from where I am typing right now.

Alex has gotten a new engineering job that he's very excited about, and I can't wait to get my hands on a home to spruce up. My work won't change since few of my clients are local, and even the local ones don't require in-person meetings regularly. Phone and email gets the job done.

It all feels like a fun new adventure. I'll keep you posted!

83 comments:

  1. Yahoo! Best of luck! Congratulations!

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  2. Congrats! And welcome to Ohio! :)

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  3. Gosh, is that ever a classic Evanston building. Makes me miss my years there in the 90s! You'll love Cincy though. No Chicago pizza, but they have Graeter's Ice Cream. Good luck!

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  4. I love ice cream even more than Chicago pizza. Excellent!

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  5. Your home, inside and out, is just lovely. But, I imagine that your new home will be just as beautiful, if not more so! I hope that you will share some of your decorating projects in the future.

    Best wishes for a smooth and uneventful move!
    ~Natalie

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  6. Uneventful is the best kind. Thanks, and I sure will be sharing project photos! Can't wait.

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  7. Skyline chili, Graeter's ice cream (chocolate chip!), the seven hills of Cincy, lots of places to explore...Lenhardts German restaurant. Cincy Zoo. I could go on and on...you'll like it there :)

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  8. How exciting! I hope the transition goes smoothly for you guys.

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  9. I love your office! Any chance we can see a few more pictures before you move? :) Those windows are amazing and I love how warm and open the space feels.

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  10. So excited you are coming to Cincinnati. There is a great creative community here, lots of wonderful old houses/architecture, Findlay Market, fabric stores, and antique shows. Welcome!

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  11. Yay welcome to Ohio!

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  12. The ice cream sounds yummy! Can't wait to visit you in your new home! I'll get my paint roller ready.....

    Love,
    Mum

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  13. Exciting! I've heard good things about Cincinnati - good farmer's market, much cheaper rent and nice people. We are moving to Chicago at the end of the ear so I have major envy over your apartment there. It's gorgeous. Did you own or rent? Which area of Chi-town is it in? All the best!

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  14. oh my gosh I live in Cincinnati!

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  15. Mmm, Graeter's is a great recommendation. Best of luck with your move!

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  16. If I lived in Chicago, I would be wanting to buy that lovely condo!!
    but I have to agree with everyone else who has posted, Cincy is a great city, hope you'll be happy there.

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  17. yay! welcome to cincinnati... the most under-appreciated city in the country.

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  18. Hi good luck on the move you'll like Cincinnati, a great place to live,they have an IKEA, a nice calm airport, lovely art museum and Jungle Jims( and lots more). Have you sold your condo???? my daughter is moving to Chicago next spring, looks like a love place. where in Chicago is it????

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  19. Congratulations Jessica and best of luck with the move! Make sure to label your boxes with their contents. That makes it so much easier, especially when you store some for a while before unpacking.

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  20. Exciting!!! I live in Cincinnati and work at a large construction company with tons of engineers... I wonder if we'll be working together! :)

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  21. He's at a packaging company working on plastic. I think. It's kind of over my head. :)

    Denise, thanks for the packing tip because that's exactly the kind of thing I'm likely to forget. And I will try to be more specific than just writing "cute stuff" or whatever.

    jmj, I don't know what a Jungle Jim is, unless it's a brand name for fancy playground equipment? Our condo is in Evanston, and it is sold. Or almost; it's under contract now.

    I'm so happy to hear all these good things about Cincinnati! My 3-day visit over Memorial Day weekend is the only time I've ever been there. But I loved it! A Charley Harper mural? I'm sold.

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  22. Congratulations to Alex! I'm sure you'll love Cincinnati, I had a surprisingly amazing vacation there a couple of years ago. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

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  23. FYI, Jungle Jim's is a grocery store.

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  24. I drove through Cinncinati last summer & was surprised at how interesting it was. Lots of great crumbling neighbourhoods with amazing buildings, but also we visited a great little neighbourhood called Northside. Congratulations on the big move & all the exciting changes ahead. And man, your Chicago place looks amazing!

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  25. Beautiful building and living/working space - no wonder you'll miss it! Exciting though - a brand new journey, yay! Very best of wishes :)

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  26. 84.8 miles {give or take} is all that will stand between you, fast horses, a mint julep & a rip roaring good time in Lexington, KY. Get your move on...

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  27. Even less. Looks like we're gonna live in Newport, KY, so shave at least a mile off that!

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  28. Best wishes for much success on your new adventure... your husband's new job and your move.

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  29. Yay for Cincy! We lived there for 2 years and are actually considering a move back. It's a great hidden gem--SUPER affordable with so many amazing old homes. There are tons of cute and artsy neighborhoods--Northside is the main artsy spot but a little patchy as far as safety goes. Clifton which is right next to NS, is great--I'd live there in a heartbeat. Hyde Park is also nice and a little more fancy. There are some great parks, great antique malls and other mid-century thrift places. Also the hometown of Charlie Harper--so his work is all over the place. Good luck!

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  30. From another one of your followers in Cincinnati, welcome! I love your blog.

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  31. Best wishes on your move. I relocated 3 months ago from Santa Barbara to Denver because of a merger. It's been a huge challenge, but I'm noticing beautiful little things every day. It helps that I live close enough to walk to work so I literally stop to smell the flowers. Yes, label boxes well--that's excellent advice!

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  32. I hope you LOVE Cincinnati. This is such a great city.

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  33. Wish you all the best with the move! :)

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  34. Welcome to Buckeye state! We're glad to have you!

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  35. Congratulations! Best regards from Poland in Europe :).
    I read your blog regularly. It's great! :)

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  36. Your flat looks gorgeous! The colours remind me of your blog! Good luck with the move and decorating your new place.

    www.reesecarrozzini.com

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  37. Many congratulations! I didn't realize your current home was so especially warm and friendly-looking. I should have expected nothing less. :)

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  38. Wow such a lovely building, and the surroundings are so peaceful-looking with all that greenery. Sounds like you've got some interesting things lined up. Wish you guys all the best for the move and settling in to you new neighbourhood!
    Love that there is so much orange around in your home and the light in is so lovely! Excited for your new place, have fun doing it up:-D

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  39. I'm a transplant to Cincinnati, and I love it here! Lots of great neighborhoods and restaurants (check out the Cincinnati Magazine top 10 restaurant list - can't go wrong).

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  40. Congrats on your move. But I totally understand why you're sad....what a gorgeous space you have!

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  41. Congratulations on the exciting move! Love seeing photos of your office. May I ask, is your desk two long tables? Or one a long counter top? looks like a great workspace!

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  42. Welcome to the area!!! I live just north of Cincinnati, in Oxford, and I've found many things to love in Cincinnati. I know you will, too!

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  43. I will miss this place. Only a few visits, but with great memories. Please say good bye to my lovely squirrels. Should I bring a roller as well all the way from Japan? We don't do it usually, so our image about American moving or housing is actually "Painting!" I wanna join!

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  44. What a gorgeous building! Congratulations and good luck on the move and settling into a new place.

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  45. A new chapter is always exciting. It'll be great!

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  46. Megumi, come on over! Though if Japanese rollers are like other Japanese things, should I expect it to be tiny-sized, have a small kitten or bear face on each end, and come packaged in an adorable gift bag sealed with a sticker? :)

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  47. Yes, Megumi... come! It would be fun to paint with you. I have a feeling there'll be enough painting to keep a lot of painters busy. :)

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  48. Best of luck moving! It will be fun starting fresh with a new place to decorate. Enjoy it.

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  49. It's a beautiful place you're leaving but I'm sure the new place will be just as lovely. Good luck with the move and settling in somewhere new!

    S x

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  50. I was hoping you were going to say you were moving to the Boston area, but I guess you can have fun in OH, too. :) Hope the move goes well, you make great new friends, and your husband's job is terrific.

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  51. Congratulations! I would be sad to leave that beautiful building and apartment, but what fun to get to make a new home. Best wishes in Cincinnati!

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  52. Oooo exciting! I would miss that lovely space too, but on to new adventures and getting to know a new city! :)

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  53. Sarah, the desk is two tables. One is from Ikea and the other is our old, very first dining table. They happen to match fairly closely.

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  54. Good luck with your move. In addition to labelling your boxes, have one which is your "open this first box". This holds all the things you may need within the first day in your new place, so that you are not frantically opening lots of boxes to find different things. And keep a pair of scissors or a box cutter in your purse, so you can open it!

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  55. Welcome to Ohio! I moved to Columbus with my partner for his work a few years back. It's pretty great actually!

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  56. I can't wait to see the creative things you do in Cincinnati! And I happen to know that Megan is mentally working out how soon she can get to OH to visit. :-)

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  57. Hi Jessica;

    Just found you and enjoy your post.
    I can see why you will miss your current digs.

    Having grown up in Louisville, just down the road from Cincy, you'll love the area as well. Great sister river town. It has always been one of my 'would love to live there one day' towns.

    Will enjoy reading about the transition. Best wishes.

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  58. Well, our small size rollers must be useful for some areas, where you probably won't care at all! I'll keep an eye on some funny items for you!

    And Grandma G, I haven't met you, so yeah, we must meet at her new place, and have some latte break offered by her husband, with paints all over our bodies!

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  59. I've moved seven times in 25 years, and my most valuable piece of advice is this ... pack your vacuum cleaner last, so it is the first thing unpacked (or taken out of the moving van). You will want to use it right away.

    Also, be very careful about packing paper. If you are having a moving company pack up your stuff, they will wrap the tiniest little thing into a huge ball of paper, and if you're not careful you might throw something away by accident. I know this has happened to me a few times. Good luck with your move! (I don't know why I thought you lived in Atlanta. Oh well.)

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  60. I like your thinking, Megumi! Alex-made lattes, indeed! :)

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  61. Congrats on the new job. I hope it is wonderful! And good luck on the move.

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  62. Congratulations on your move! I LOVE Cincinnati. Its my hometown and I often miss living there - VERY affordable city. I left because of a job out west in Southern California, but sometimes entertain the thought of moving back to the slower pace of the mid-west. Someone already mentioned it, but Graeter's ice cream, Skyline Chili, LaRosa's Pizza and Montgomery Inn are some of the famous local places! I also love the small town feel and hometown pride. Enjoy the Queen City!!

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  63. Thanks! Looking forward to trying out that famous chili!

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  64. Well congrats on the move, i'm sure you're sad to leave those light-filled rooms. Looking forward to seeing you develop a new home!

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  65. Hi Jessica! I've followed your blog for a number of years and am so inspired by what you have been able to as a designer. I'm a freelance designer who lives about 1 hr North of Cincy...would love to meet up and chat design sometime. Oh, and Jungle Jim's is the most amazing (overwhelming) grocery store! You definitely need to check it out.

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  66. Lisa, thanks for the invitation! Sounds great! And I'm looking forward to investigating this Jungle Jim's you guys speak of.

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  67. Welcome to the Buckeye state!! How do you feel about scarlet and grey?

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  68. They're fine, but that makes me think maybe I should have moved to Tennessee?

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  69. I love Cincinnati. Just the word makes me happy. I grew up there, and haven't been back for years. All the great comments about Cincinnati make me so nostalgic. Kentucky is wonderful, too, since you'll be living there. Welcome to the Eastern Mid-West!

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  70. Cincinnati is a wonderful place to live! (says the lady who lives just across the river in Northern Kentucky) Love your blog, happy to have you close to my home!
    ~Katie S.
    www.thelittlethingsjournal.blogspot.com & www.familyfriendlycincinnati.com


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  71. I just squealed (out loud) in delight upon reading about your move to Cincinnati, a mere 45 minutes away from me in Dayton. You would think that I knew you personally as was gonna be hanging out with you regularly. With that said, don't be alarmed if you sometimes feel like somebody's watching you....LOL! I jest. Best of luck with your move.

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  72. 45 minutes is nuthin; we'll practically be neighbors!!!

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  73. oh my... this looks just like the building my grandparents lived in on Granville and Clarmount. Good luck with the move!

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  74. It is just so exciting to see how many of your readers are from Cinci. I live up in Clifton! Welcome to the neighborhood!

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