Living in limbo.. moving, hurricanes, and holding onto hope
Wow, what a whirlwind this last six weeks has been—literally! This big cross-country move to Florida definitely did not go as planned, but let me catch you up on the last 8 weeks.
On August 1st, I started packing up our beautiful home in Santa Clarita to move back to St. Petersburg, Florida. We used to live there and absolutely adored it. We were excited to reconnect with our amazing group of friends and start fresh in our dream home! More info on why we moved in my mini podcast episode here!
We planned our big move for August 29th, but with our furniture delivery taking 2-4 weeks, I decided to hang back with our 17-month-old at my parents’ house, while Troy and the cat drove across the country to set things up. I’m a pro at moving at this point (seriously, I’ve done it like 7 times), and I really wanted to walk into a fully unpacked house!
Here’s the first plot twist—on our flight day, Hurricane Helene was getting ready to hit St. Pete, so we obviously canceled our flight and postponed the move by 1 week. We waited for the power to come back, streets to clear, and Troy to clear up the house.
Finally, a week later, my Olive and I flew out to St. Pete to be reunited with Troy. After 5 weeks apart, he had the house spotless, boxes unpacked, and our daughter’s room set up. We were finally home and I was SO excited to start this new chapter.
The next morning, I woke up so excited to be back in our sunshine paradise. With a backyard full of chirping birds. I was in bliss, thanking the universe for everything. I hit the local farmers market and took a deep breath of fresh air. It felt SO good to be back in a community we missed.
And then—wait for it—another hurricane warning. YOU CANT MAKE THIS UP. This time, it was Hurricane Milton. It wasn’t even a question whether we ride it out or evacuate. We didn’t want to take any chances, so we packed everything up (again), boarded up the house, and evacuated inland. Almost everyone we knew left the city, too.
It’s honestly been tough. I do really just want to feel settled and I feel far from that. I’m writing this on a Tuesday afternoon, waiting for Milton to make landfall, and we’re not sure what’s going to happen. We are big glass half full people. The day before Milton, we made it out to Disney springs to show Olive Minnie Mouse! It was truly the highlight of our week.
new recipes
I’ve been craving some kitchen time and have SO many recipes I’m dying to share with you guys, but for over six weeks, I haven’t had a space to cook. I know it’ll pass, and I’m just looking forward to when we can all get back to normal.
If you are craving some new recipes, you can always search my site for easy meal ideas and lots of fun fall themed recipes. If you are subscribed to my Substack, you can search for over 150+ archived recipes!
inspiration
Something really beautiful I read last night stuck with me. Instead of sending out fear and anxiety into the universe, let’s flip the script and send positive energy. Mother Earth feels us, and we can help just by putting out good vibes. This goes for everything, not just this storm but anything we want to manifest. 🌿💖
My exact thought as I witnessed Milton make landfall…
milton update
Writing this on Thursday morning, Milton hit St. Pete last night. We’ve heard about trees being ripped out, and we’re waiting to hear about damage. The roads aren’t safe yet, and we’re hoping cell service, power, and water come back soon. It’s going to be a long road ahead, but I know we’ll make it through!
To anyone impacted by both Helene and Milton, I’m with you. You’re not alone in this. I see you, I feel you, and you’re doing an amazing job handling it all. 💕
Stay safe, stay positive, and I’ll keep you updated next week!
xoxo, Jazz
Update: we made it home and we feel extremely fortunate the damage wasn't worse. A tree fell onto our house, but it looks like it is just leaning. We are hopeful.
Hang in there sweetheart!