Stuart, Florida

You may be wondering, where in south Florida?

The firm is in Stuart, FL. Just north of West Palm Beach. Unfortunately, it adds 2 more hours onto our drive to get to Charlotte, NC, but it is still doable. When we met my mom half way just outside of Jacksonville, the girls and I officially did our first Stuart to Charlotte drive. Granted, we didn't get into Charlotte until about 9pm because of the late start we had pulling out of Stuart, but the girls did amazing. You definitely feel those last 2 hours when you're used to driving only 8.

zoomed in

south Florida. about 2 hours north of Miami.

state of Florida. Hello Bahamas next to us :-) and the top of the Keys are only 3 hours away.

Stuart is surrounded by water. There are canals everywhere. When we went down before Christmas, the firm put us up on Hutchinson Island. It hugs up and down the coastline and it is so beautiful. Palm trees everywhere. I am trying to embrace it being "summer" weather every day basically of the year. And the humidity. and sweating. but there are benefits to it as well! 

I had a hard time in Tallahassee because I just couldn't let go of my clothes. Growing up in Seattle, I am just used to wearing my fall wardrobe (scarves, boots, coats, oh my!). I just need to get some new shorts, short sleeve tops, and cute sandals other than my rainbows to really feel at home. Yes, the AC will be on almost every day of the year, but hey....it is called the Sunshine State for a reason! We are happy to be in a beautiful vacation spot and we are happy to call it home.

This past weekend, we made a trip down to look more in the area and to possibly narrow down a place where we will live. We plan on renting for another 2-5 years depending on how fast we can get into a house. We had fun driving around and checking out some different complexes. We met up with 2 partners from the firm for dinner and it was so much fun. I asked them plenty of questions regarding alligators, hurricanes, Burmese pythons, and the weather. They all rolled their eyes about alligators and snakes coming for me, but as for the hurricanes, it is always a possibility and we need to be prepared. They all raved about the area and it just got us more and more excited to get down there and start life!

Here is our weekend in iphone pictures:

diva in her sunnies

lunch at Pei Wei

mommy smooches

Big E holding onto her rings

Park time! Brinley wasn't too sure about all the sand.

Ellie wasn't too sure about the hot weather.

her face. her arm rolls. delish!

cute girl!

 the little squishhhhhhh! In her first swim suit!

chilling in the bathroom waiting for the girls to fall asleep

beach!!!

we were on this tiny strip of island where the ocean was on one side, and this channel/bay was on the other. That bridge in the distance takes you into Stuart.

We are kind of shocked that this will be our home in 4 months. We feel so blessed. Everything has worked out so smoothly, I only hope and pray our move will be just as smooth. But, knowing us and our track record of apartments, something will happen. Just praying it won't be the air conditioning going in and out all summer! Ryan takes the bar in mid July so until then, we will be stressed out and not seeing much of each other, but at least Brinley, Ellie, and I will have the beach to keep us company! Thank you for all your well wishes and congratulations! We are over the moon to be employed this quickly after graduation and to moving to such a beautiful place.