We are officially Texans! My oh my was it a long journey to get here. We packed the moving truck in Chicago on Thursday, cleaned all night, and put our bed down in the living room for 3 humans and 3 dogs to sleep in before driving to Dallas in the morning. Except none of us could sleep. So at 1am Friday we embarked on our journey, and I have to say, 17 hours on no sleep wasn’t nearly as bad as I anticipated. For that I am deeply grateful. Jon drove the Penske with our girl pups, and I had Chance the Boxer and Grey the Great. We’re excited to share a peek inside our journey and the new casa de Nixon below, along with the fun finds of the week, and a big squeeze from us for all of your support! ??

Make It.

In honor of our new digs, I’m whipping up these Gluten Free Texas Sheet Cake Cookies just as soon as the kitchen is unpacked. Goal: by Tuesday! And if we make it, we will absolutely have earned this five star treat.

Read It.

On the drive this weekend I listened to the first chapter of Think Like A Monk. There were so many good nuggets and I can’t wait to finish the rest with the paperback in hand. I keep a highlighter in my nightstand, and with books like this, add notes and highlight juicy passages so I can go back and read my favorite excerpts. Do you do that too? I’m a longtime fan of Jay Shetty – a former monk, spiritual guru, and all around kind human. If you’re new to him, be sure to check out his podcast; I especially loved this interview with Gwyneth Paltrow.

Watch It.

I may have made it seem like an easy trip from the intro. While better than expected, my expectations were pretty low-bar to begin with. Leaving at 1am was nice in the sense that we arrived to our new home (that we’d never seen) in the light of day (6pm), but it did mean a bulk of our journey was in darkness, fog, and peak tractor-trailer drive time. There weren’t nearly as many “are we there yet?” cries from the back seat as I anticipated, and the geriatric dogs were the real MVP’s, not making a peep the entire trip. That was the case, however, until our two blind ladies went right for the pool, sank to the bottom, and Jon had to dive in after them fully clothed. Thankfully they were fine, and Jon got a much-needed bath after the long journey.

Speaking of – the pool is the real MVP seeing as how we have NO RUNNING WATER ?. That’s right, our water is turned off to the whole house. In Texas, you have to call ahead to the water company, it doesn’t automatically continue. Who knew?! So we have to wait until Tuesday to shower, flush toilets, and use non-bottled water for teeth-brushing ?. All in all, we are immensely thankful to be here, together, safe, and healthy. We can’t wait to share more with you as we get settled in!

Feel It.

You don’t need to have made a big move to start unpacking. Especially as we begin to close out 2020, it feels like a good time to deal with the contents of our bag, clean it out, and make room for what’s ahead:

Try It.

Save this in case you’re stuck in a soup rut – 70 Fall Soups You Haven’t Tried Before.

Have you heard of “Milkshake Thinking”? It’s not what you think. And I’m definitely guilty of this! Why Multitasking Is Bad For Your Brain, From A Neuroscientist

Joggers, but make them chic. Love these because you can dress them up or down and they are actually comfortable!

Yes to these! We’ve done the wallpaper repurposing trick, live for a good can of spray paint, and have yet to try a Buy Nothing group, but want to!!

Just ordered this haul from H&M home – I love their decor for less! These candlesticks, ridiculously adorable guest towels, and spotted this new trend for Christmas ornaments!

I will never turn down advice from a strong woman. Worth the read, or at least skim for new to you ideas! 

Still deciding on a Halloween costume? Cute ideas for the whole fam!

Thank you for making time for us today, and for all the emails, comments and texts to get us through this move! We were the recipients of several acts of kindness and we can't wait to pay it forward ?. Have an extraordinary start to your week!!