Moving! Do you love it or does it terrify you? And I don’t mean the process of packing your crap and schlepping it to a new destination. NO ONE loves that. No one wakes up and says, “My, I would really love to spend eternity surrounded by paper and bubble wrap, only to finish a room and then open that ONE drawer that makes you curse and stamp your feet at the universe for ever creating a junk drawer! The only part I actually like about packing is the ceremonious purging of items straight into the trash or the nearest donation center. I don’t even go Marie Kondo and ask if each item brought me joy. I hurl unnecessary items into bags and bins with the joy that it’s one less item I will have to UNpack.

I think I have mentioned before that I am addicted to change. I crave it. It’s my favorite drug of choice actually. If I knew that my kids wouldn’t drive me absolutely nutso or that my mother and MIL wouldn’t disown me for taking their grandchildren away, I could totally be a gypsy. To me, the world is too beautiful of a place to spend living in the same place my whole life. I want to see it all.

When Ryan and I first started dating, he was living in Reno and I was six hours away in Cali. So the second it didn’t seem stage five clinger-ish to talk about living closer, I jumped at the opportunity to pack up and move to Nevada. I distinctly remember declaring to Ryan that even though I was relocating to a new state, I would be doing so independently. I would get my own place, have my own space and boundaries…

Yeah, that independence turned into moving in with Ryan and his two roommates and somehow finagling a way to get out of paying rent. I’m sure it was my killer personality that scored that deal. Wink wink.

Anyways, I only spent a year there before we both moved back to California but it will forever go down as one of the most epic years of my life. Our schedule consisted of sleeping in on days off, random errands, going to the gym at 10pm, watching live bands, snowboarding, and brisk walks to our favorite bar, The Flowing Tide, for ginormous beers on tap and five star greasy bar food. It. Was. Amazing.

I remember the day we officially left Nevada. There was only one question we talked about as we crossed state line. When are we moving back?

Flash forward seven years, three kids, three more moves in the same city, and a whole lot of other “life stuff”, and the stars aligned for us to return to the place that once made our hearts smile.

Now, I KNOW what you’re thinking. Reno is dirty. Gross. And random. It’s hot, and filled with sleazy casinos, homeless people, and endless miles of desert. Well my friends, you are wrong! Yes, it does have a few of those things but it truly is a hidden gem. The air is fresh and clean. The mountains surround our little valley and almost every day is filled with a crystal clear blue sky. In the fall, the endless trees display a gorgeous array of colors, winter time bears the perfect amount of snow, and the summers have NO likeness to hot Vegas temps. There’s art and incredible music. Amazing festivals and museums. The people are simple and kind and the love they have for their state is tangible. Tahoe is 45 minutes away and holy hell, the food?! It just might be one of my favorite parts. You see even though our schedule these days is much different than it was seven years ago, the love for this beautiful city remains the same.  

I am excited to open this new chapter in my blog where I can share all of the best parts of Reno with all of you! I hope that through our eyes, you will come to see all the reasons why we love our Biggest Little City in the World.

Photography by Jeena C Photography