Decorating a New Life, One Layer at a Time

On moving home, finding peace in change, and learning to savor the unfolding of each new chapter.

I have some VERY exciting news to share...

...I got a new car last week 🥹

Her name is still TBD, but you’ll be the first to know! 😂

It was a big moment for me. An exciting one. And one I’m immensely grateful for.

When I moved home after living abroad for six years, I had three suitcases and three shipped boxes with me, that’s it. In other words, it was a VERY clean slate to build upon.

And I felt so excited about the expanse of opportunities and moments ahead of me. I had been thinking about this move home for SO long, visualizing in great detail what I wanted my San Diego life to not only look like, but feel like.

And, equally, that expansiveness and openness felt VERY overwhelming at times. I felt like there was so much to do and figure out. From the small (getting curling irons and hair dryers with U.S. plugs, for example), to the logistical (Business Licence, Health Insurance, Bank Accounts - Oh my!), to the big life choices (Where am I going to live in San Diego? How will I intentionally expand my social circle? Will I fit in?!)

In other words, there were a lot of “check-listy” items, while going through what felt like a massive identity shift. The girl who went to live in Europe six years ago, only visiting home a handful of times, was not the woman coming home in July. And the woman who came home in July hadn’t set foot on U.S. soil in four years. Who was I in this new era?

But, despite this “shaky legs standing on shaky ground” sensation, I still felt a deep sense of peace and joy. A peace and joy that I hadn’t felt in years. I knew my soul was “home.” I knew I was right where I was meant to be.

And I never doubted that.

BUT, like every rational, level-headed person, I still spiraled 🙄

Thinking I had to do EVERYTHING ALL AT ONCE AND GET IT DONE, LIKE, YESTERDAY.

But as I was sitting outside one morning, determined to catch myself before I Pocahontas-dived into my spiral for the day, I realized…

1. I was being ridiculous. lol

2. I literally didn’t need to do it all at once, and

3. I needed to reframe the overwhelm as something fun, light and creative.

So, I started looking at my new life like decorating a cake.

The “big move” home was like pulling the freshly baked cake out of the oven.

That was the foundation, the base. Ready for decorating.

🩺 Getting established with health care and having a few much-needed doctor appointments? First layer of frosting.

👯‍♀️ Deepening and expanding my social circle? A few beautiful frosting flowers on the top layer.

🚗 Getting a car? A shower of edible glitter (that’s a thing, right?)

🏡 Finding an apartment or home? A chocolate frosting trim around the cake.

🦜 Welcoming a sweet little cockatiel soul into my life once I have my own space? Another chocolate trim around the base of the cake.

💝A BOYFRIEND?!?! ALL the sprinkles 😂

…each intentional action - big or small - was contributing to the “life cake” I was creating.

And as I began to see each decision or action as a beautiful decoration being added to the cake, the “openness” began to feel more tangible. More certain. More clear.

I didn’t have to decorate the cake all at once. It could be done layer-by-layer. Sprinkle by sprinkle. Chocolate chip-by-chocolate chip.

And I’m realizing so fully and deeply that my new life here is being created, strengthened and expanded by the slower, softer moments. The peaceful moments. The spontaneous moments.

The moments where I let myself just live.

This entire move home reminded me that life is rarely just one energy or emotion at a time. It can be equal parts exciting and terrifying. Expansive and overwhelming. Certain and unknown.

But the magic lies in how we meet and respond to those dualities. How we keep showing up, adding sweetness and savoring each layer as it comes.

So, I’d love to know…what’s a “layer” you’re adding to your own life cake right now? If you’re also in a season of change or new beginnings, please know you’re not alone. You’ve found your tribe, right here 💛

And as always, come as you are and leave a little lighter.