At the beginning of the month Sean and I went to Huntington Beach for his Olympic Lifting Certification and my aunt in Newport Beach graciously hosted us for the few days while we were there. We had the most amazing time soaking in the alternate world of southern California. It wasn’t until we were on our way back to LAX when we stopped at the Santa Monica Pier that something hit me. Why can’t we enjoy this weather year-round if we wanted to? Why can’t the ocean and beautiful cliffs ALWAYS be my shooting background? It’s funny because I NEVER thought of ever moving away from Chicago. I’ve never lived anywhere else (my 1-semester stint at St. Mary’s of ND barely counts) and all of a sudden I craved more.

I brought the idea up to Sean and he said “Just tell me when”.

Moving to southern California was a childhood dream of Sean’s and in the instant of sitting on the pier, watching the sunset and the waves crash, it became a dream of mine. And if anyone knows me, once I decide something, I have to make it happen or it consumes me. In the following weeks coming home, I was thrown into a depression worrying about what’s the right move for our family. Sean had the idea to go back only 2 weeks later to look at apartments and check out some job prospects for him to either squash our idea once and for all, or give us the confidence that our gut was right and we should move. Waiting for that next trip out there felt like months. We brought the boys this time so we could really picture our WHOLE family out there. As I’m typing this there’s butterflies in my stomach thinking about how nervous I was going into this second trip. We were literally at this crossroads of our lives that could change everything for us. How would we know FOR SURE? We’d be moving our family unit across the COUNTRY! That’s insane!! Or is it? Only time will answer that for us, I guess.

Once we arrived we in Cali, the trip was non-stop. After much research, we decided we wanted to be in Huntington Beach. We fell in love with an apartment complex that adjacent to an amazing mall equipped with Costco and a movie theatre. It was a no-brainer for us, ha! Sean had like 5 interviews at sports preformance gyms and got hired on the spot at his favorite of all of them. Full-time with benefits. Which is something that’s almost impossible at his current job. And with owning my own business — benefits is HUGE for our family. Training athletes has always been Sean’s end game. That’s what sets his soul on fire. And to move to Huntington Beach, the mecca of sports training, opens up a million doors for Sean’s career that aren’t possible in Illinois. I knew it was the right move for Sean’s career to re-locate…but would it be the right move for mine?

I’ve built my empire off KNOWING people in Wheaton. Living in one place your whole life is really freaking beneficial when it comes to growing a business. What if I ruined that by moving? What if it’s not as easy to make money out there? Would I be letting my clients here down? What if I don’t get enough clients out there? A million + 1 questions ran through my mind. I just wanted to make the right choice.

And then after the initial nerves and self-doubt, I started thinking about all the possibilities for me. What if it completely pushes me to my ultimate potential as an artist? What if I just kill it out there? What if I get to the point where I’m ONLY doing work that inspires me? Which is every artist’s dream.. I want PUSH myself. I want to be better. And living in a city where it’s brown half the year is just killing me creatively — and not to mention financially!

We got so deep into it that it finally came to a point: if we didn’t just jump and go for it, we’d regret it our whole lives. And if you know Sean and I, that’s just not our style. We make decisions off of gut and “feel”, not with our head — and we’re always on the same page. If we were going to do it, now was the time while the kids were young AND we were young. And we were so accepting of the possibility that if it didn’t work out — if we missed our family, the seasons, and our careers didn’t take off — we would just come home. Chicago will always be our home, anyways. I have 7 weddings already booked for 2018 and will obviously be traveling back all the time. And quite honestly, I WANT to keep my book of business open here. I WANT to continue to shoot the families that come to me every year, and watch their kids grow up. And I will continue to book 2018 weddings here — just much less than I would if I lived here. Which in a way is exciting for me because I can be more selective about weddings & couples I’m passionate about — so I’m capping it at 1-2 weddings a month in Chicago for 2018. In the wedding photography business, it’s actually very common to travel within two cities to essentially cover two markets. I will also fit portrait sessions in while I’m in for weekends! I’ll need all the excuses to visit my family here. Which is the hardest part of the move….leaving our families.

Telling my parents we were moving was harder than telling them I was pregnant at 19. Because knowing my parents, after the initial shock and disappointment, they would accept that a BABY was coming, and they were going to be grandparents! But with this move, it means seeing them less and not being a part of each other’s daily life — physically. Because Lord knows we’ll talk and FaceTime. But with visiting and traveling back home for work, we’ll survive. Life is just too short and we had to make the right decision for our family. There’s a lot of terrible things that could go wrong in this life and moving to California is nothing compared to the real heartbreak that some parents experience.

So what’s our timeline, you ask? Sean’s job starts July 1st, but obviously I have a busy wedding season ahead of me so I won’t be moving then! Just he and Pebbles (our bulldog) will be moving into the apartment then. We’re selling our house (yes, it’s true!!) by the end of June and the boys and I will be moving in with my parents until we move at the last week in September. (Our family being apart for 3 months is probably our biggest worry of the whole thing! But we’re convinced we’ll be stronger for it.) I’ll be flying back for my 4 weddings in October, 1 in November, and 1 in December. And we’re excited about renting actually!! Owning a house was amazing — I loved flipping it and making my visions come to life. And someday we will own again. But at this season of our life, renting is what makes sense. And when things break and maintenance replaces it– that’s just a bonus! Not to mention, you can’t get a crappy ranch for less than $600k where we’re living. We’re selling our house by owner and it will be 4 bed/2 bath by the time we’re done with the updates before we move. We have a potential buyer currently, but as with anything in life, nothing’s guaranteed — so if you know anyone looking for a home near downtown Glen Elly who loves shiplap, and farmhouse decor — shoot them my way ;)

Our goal for California is to reach our ultimate potentials. With our careers, with parenting, with health, with mental clarity, and with happiness. That is why we’re moving to California. It was a long post and if you made it to the end — THANK YOU! And I hope you’re excited for us for this new adventure we’re about to take on. I wouldn’t be able to even think career in southern California was possible without the endless support I’ve received in Chicago. It gave me the confidence to believe in my dreams. And I hope this inspires you to go after YOUR dreams — even if it’s hard — it’s so worth it. Because if you never went for it, how would find out the amazing possibilities that could happen?