Let's Find a House.

Well, it's official—I am in love with Calgary! Through the relocation package with James's work, we were able to fly out to Calgary this week for a couple of days to see the city and house hunt. All my Michiganders out there...you'll never believe this, but Calgary gets over 300 days of sun and it felt so amazing on my face as we walked through the city in December! I swear to you, it felt WARM. I'm very excited to be happy during winter instead of feeling like I need to hibernate for 6 months in fear of West Michigan blizzards and people who've forgotten how to drive in the snow.

We flew out of Detroit on Sunday the 1st so my in-laws could watch the pups and I will say (for those looking to visit at some point), the flight DTW>>MSP>>YYC via Delta is by far the best flight and experience. You’ll also go through customs once you get to Calgary so no worries about a short layover. James has also flown out of GRR through MSP on Delta and had the same experience. Coming back, you'll fly West Jet (a Delta company) which we really enjoyed, but leave some time if you connect through Toronto because that's where you'll go through customs. We’ve already learned the hard way…

When we got to Calgary on Sunday, we checked into the Hotel Arts—a super cute boutique hotel in the Victoria Park area of downtown—and went to dinner at Bottlescrew Bills Pub. It was a quick walk from the hotel and definitely had the pub vibe but the food was AMAZING. I highly recommend the Morrocan Meatballs! Another restaurant we checked out while we were there was Koi—an Asian-fusion restaurant also in Victoria Park that was a smaller restaurant with a stage for live music and lights stringing from the ceiling. If you're on a low carb diet but craving some Asian cuisine, this place is for you! They have cauliflower rice AND you can stare at this beautiful canvas of JT while you eat!

On this trip, I had to balance working remotely along with house hunting. It was good to get an idea of what it would be like to start my day at 6 am mountain time to be available for my colleagues in eastern time. I liked it though because it allowed me to be able to work for a couple of hours before we had to go to our housing appointments. I have to say, my friends and colleagues at work have been so amazing while I’m in this transition. Huge THANK YOU to them all for being so flexible and understanding at this time :)

In between house hunting appointments we were able to do a bit of sightseeing. On Monday, we went up to the top of the Calgary Tower to get a 360 view of the city and the mountains. It was SO COOL and I still can't believe we can see the mountains from the city. It doesn't feel real that this is where we're moving! After walking around the tower for a bit, James said we should go sit on the side where we could see the mountains. He then proceeded to tell me how proud he is of me for working so hard, getting my master's degree, and being brave enough to make this move with him. He then gave me the other band for my wedding ring! It was a big deal to me because he originally wanted to wait until I had a baby to give it to me…

For those of you who know me, I’m sure you know the extreme amount of push back I gave him for that because my master's degree was two years of very hard work while balancing a full-time job, planning our wedding and managing relationships so that I still had a social life. And it’s our money he’d be spending. But anyway, it was a very romantic moment that I'll never forget. And I thank you, James, for making sure there's always a great view for these moments!

Tuesday we decided to make the drive up to Banff, because when the mountains are a 45-minute drive away, you go! We went to Banff Town to walk around and grab lunch then headed to Lake Minnewanka to take in the fresh mountain air for a bit. It was pretty windy and cold but the views were so worth it. I'm looking forward to hitting the trails again out there once we move! After the mountains, we grabbed a beer at The Grizzly Paw Brewery and Pub in Canmore on our drive back to Calgary. It was a nice spot and I recommend the Evolution IPA if you’re into hops!

Overall, our trip was great! It was so nice to be able to see our new city and get a feel for the weather and the people. We were looking for houses to rent in the NW part of Calgary so we could be closer to the mountains and Nose Hill Park—a 2,000 acre park with a ton of trails. We saw a place online and I was obsessed with it. Vintage counters, a fenced in back yard, and heated floors in one of the bathrooms! We saw it in person to confirm the love was real and well, we got it! We even made sure to check out the local grocery store and dive bar because #priorities and there’s a Starbucks and yoga studio right up the street.

Instead of flying out to Calgary on December 30th as we initially planned, we’ll be driving out with the dogs on the 28th. The house is available January 1st so we’re hoping our stuff arrives in time, otherwise we’ll stay in temporary housing so we’re not living on an air mattress and eating out every day. James left today and has an apartment in the city (lol—he sounds like a fancy pants businessman). I miss him already but I’m excited for him to start his new job Monday so he’s settled by the time we get there. 21 days to go.

xo, Stef