let’s talk about my move to colorado!

yes, this move is really happening.  i’ve been saying it over and over to myself to get used to the idea:  i am moving in one week.  [!!!!!]  honestly it’s still very surreal for me.  i’m extremely excited about it all, but even three days ago, i had still not wrapped my brain around the fact that i’m leaving dallas.  i mean, i haven’t even started packing yet!  [i have movers that are coming to pack me up next week.]  BUT i will say that it finally it hit me about two days ago, and i’ve admittedly had a lot of different emotions about it since then.  i’m so thrilled, but also sad and scared and hesitant and nostalgic.  and a little stressed!

but the best part about it is that i know that it’s part of God’s plan, and i feel confident that he will get me through the difficult times and that there will be lots of wonderful things ahead.  i’ve prayed about it, and i know that it’s the right thing for me at this time.  and therefore, i am ready.  right now, i want to fill you in on what led me to move.  this might be a long story, so if you’re interested in reading it, first grab a cup of coffee and kick up your feet, and then get after it! ;)  and just for fun, i added some photos from each of my different trips to denver.  here we go…

{these pics are from my very first trip to denver to visit noelle over a year ago.  a chalk art festival in downtown denver, a farmers market on south pearl street, and red rocks!}

i’ve known that the job and the move would probably happen “sometime in the future” for a long while, but it’s only been in the past month that i’ve known with certainty.  but even still, it’s been weird keeping it a secret for this long, since i tend to be pretty open with my life.

it started way back in the summer, when i was spending some time in colorado with this particular supplier partner for work and was visiting my friend noelle, who lives in denver, on the side.  i basically fell in love with colorado [all over again, from the last time i visited] because of course noelle was taking me to alllllllll the fun places, and i realized that denver is one place that i could really see myself living.  we were hiking in the mountains with these spectacular views, going to the coolest farmers markets, eating at the most amazing restaurants, walking and taking public transportation, exploring all these fun neighborhoods… and to be honest, i was sold right then and there.

i told noelle this, and of course she told me immediately to move to denver, but as i thought about it, i realized that there were lots of things keeping me rooted in dallas, and i talked it over in my head.  my family and friends were of course the number one thing – i’ve gotten spoiled living 45 minutes from my parents and one grandma and 5 minutes [walking] from my brother, and i have some great friends in the DFW area that i’m very thankful for.  that being said, these are the kind of lifelong friends that you will always be able to call up no matter how long it’s been since you’ve seen each other, and you’ll be able to pick up where you left off, no problem.  i knew that none of these friends, nor my family, would go away, and that we’d visit each other and nothing would really change, except that i’d miss them immensely.  i was brave, i told myself.

then there was the fact that i have a condo in dallas that’s full of furniture and things i love.  but i immediately eliminated this as a reason not to move because i thought about how sad it is to be so tied to your possessions that you’re stuck.  not the way the way i wanted to be, that’s for sure.  i’d lived in my condo for 3 years, so i could either sell it or rent it and it shouldn’t be a problem.

but i love my neighborhood and all the awesome restaurants, bars, and shops around it that i can walk to……. aaaaaaaand i quickly shut myself down again as i looked around me in denver and realized how stupid that thought was.  uptown dallas definitely wasn’t the only cool place to live, and i was always itching to explore new neighborhoods.

what about the job situation?  i knew that denver had a large concentration of restaurant companies [especially up-and-coming concepts], so it should be a place of plenty of opportunity for me.  when it came down to leaving my current job, i realized that overall it would make me sad, but that i felt i was also ready for a change in many ways.  so it was possible.

but it finally came down to one thing: my boss, colista.  this woman had shaped my career and changed my life – i had worked with her since i started in the industry, and she is amazing.  i knew that we would always be friends, but i felt i would be doing myself a disservice to walk away from such a positive and influential person in my professional life.

so this is what i told noelle.  she said she understood, but we all know that things change in companies all the time, and she said – half-joking, half-serious – “maybe within a year!  i’m putting you on the one-year plan!”  and i laughed and agreed.

{trip #2 to denver:  hanging lake, boulder, and garden of the gods}

fast forward to only a few days later, my first day back at work after the trip, and colista shocked us all by telling us that she would be leaving our company and moving to work for a different company in miami.  this came out of the blue – totally unexpected, and i was thrilled for her opportunity but selfishly sad for me, since i loved working for her.  it was in this moment that i realized that it was time for me to at least put out my feelers to see if colorado was in the cards for me. i immediately started praying to the Lord to lead me in the direction that he wanted me to go, and to show me whether colorado is the place for me.

as a sidenote, the other strange thing that happened within 24 hours or so of colista putting in her two weeks notice was that one of my former coworkers at the company where i had started my career announced on facebook that she took a job with a large restaurant company in denver.  it was definitely a coincidence given the timing, and it perked my interest.  she’s close in age to me, so from both a networking and personal [friends] standpoint, it was great to know that she was in denver.

colista’s last day came and went rather quickly [cue the tears!!!!], and within a few weeks of her leaving, i reached out to our supplier partner up there in colorado that i’d been visiting quite a bit, and i asked them to let me know if they hear of any restaurant companies up there in denver that are looking to hire someone in quality assurance & food safety… and they told me that it’s funny that i should ask, and that they weren’t sure if i was interested in going into manufacturing, but they had been thinking that i might be a good candidate for a job at their company!  this took me by surprise, but colista had always told me how great it is in our industry to have experience in manufacturing, so i told them that yes, i was interested.  besides, i had really gotten to know the company and the employees from spending so much time up there, and i really seemed to click with them.  great people, and a great company.  i already knew the person i would report to pretty well, and i really like her.  and if God was leading me to colorado, i wasn’t going to turn him down!! ;)

{trip #3 to denver:  union station farmers market and lookout mountain}

i visited colorado multiple times over the next few months [and loved it more and more every time i went], and i pursued the job with our supplier partner in colorado.  and thennnn i had also met an amazing guy, jamie, on one of my visits.  i know i haven’t really shared anything about him on the blog yet, but i promise i will soon!  at first i was just enjoying talking to him and getting to know him and not really thinking it would necessarily go anywhere, but as i’ve gotten to know him, it has definitely gotten more serious and i feel blessed to have found such a wonderful person to spend time with and who has such similar values as i do.  in case there is any question, i’m not moving to colorado for jamie, even though of course it sure doesn’t hurt that he’s there. ;)  or as noelle told him, “you know that jess was going to move to denver before she met you, right??  you’re just the icing on the cake!”  i love her.  and more on jamie later. :)

the job process was slow, as there were two positions the company was considering me for, and they ended up tweaking one of them to better fit my needs, creating a new job description, etc. plus there was a lot going on at their company and then the holidays slowed everything down too.  i was in limbo for quite a few months, unsure of exactly what was going to happen and when but also feeling like God was leading me to denver and that it was all going to work out.  i really didn’t mind waiting because it gave me time to get used to the idea of moving, plus i wasn’t going to leave without finishing culinary school.  i looked at some other positions in denver as well, but ultimately i had my heart set on this one.

{trip #4 to denver:  fall leaves, great food [as always], and a day trip to breckenridge}

the last time i went to denver before my big move was in early december [post coming soon!].  i still hadn’t received the official offer letter, but things had progressed enough that i knew it was coming.  i had  booked a flight up to denver for the weekend [just for fun, to see jamie], and i planned on taking friday off and leaving thursday night so that i could do a little apartment shopping on friday to get a feel for what was on the market.  at the last minute, one of our products made by my potential new company had a packaging issue, and i was asked to go up to denver to attend the production run.  of ALL the places to go, and i had already been planning to be there anyway!!!  my boss ended up saying that i could take my vacation day a day early and the company paid for me to fly up early for the run and reimbursed me on my other flights too.  basically, i packed my stuff up in a matter of hours and jumped on a flight, took a vacation day to look at apartments, attended the production run, and got to spend extra time with jamie besides just the weekend and my company paid for my flights!  it made sense since they would have paid for that anyway had i not already been planning to be in denver, but it was really nice.  another instance of things just falling into place.

i was a woman on a mission that thursday that i ended up going apartment shopping.  i ended up going to seven or eight different apartment complexes, looked at different options [i pretty much new what i wanted], and then moved on to the next.  unfortunately, i didn’t find a whole lot of places that fit my needs… i really wanted a two bedroom place that was within a certain price range so that i could have family and friends come visit, plus a big kitchen [of course] and a good closet/good storage space.  and of course i wanted to be able to walk to some bars and restaurants [i know, uptown dallas spoiled me, ha.  but this is very feasible in denver].  i almost didn’t go to the last apartment complex on my list – i was tired and a bit discouraged by this point – but i’m so glad i did.  i ended up loving it!  it was on the more expensive side, but still within my range, so that was fine.  and it fit all my “requirements.”  the only thing was that because nothing was set in stone yet with my job and because i didn’t know when my start date would be, i had no idea if it would end up working out.

{trip #5:  a little preview of my latest denver adventures that i’ll be posting on soon.  this was on our way to ski in keystone!}

fast forward a few weeks later, when i discussed my start date with my future employer, and they said it would be late january and gave me a time frame to put in my two weeks notice.  this fell in perfect timing with the first available move date for the apartment that i wanted!  AND the place had gone down in price too.  i was thrilled, and when i got the go-ahead from my employer, i started the process of securing the apartment and getting with a rental management company to rent out my condo in dallas.  the offer letter followed quickly, and then my two weeks notice, and now here i am.

i’m honestly speechless over the perfection of God’s plan and the way everything fell into place.  there were even more little details that i didn’t mention that just worked so well, and i’m in awe by the glory of God.  all of this makes me feel confident that i am making the right move.

 that being said, this week has been super hard and a reminder that things aren’t always going to be peaches and cream.  i got a flat tire, my modem went down so i was without internet for three days, i waited at the doctors office for an hour and twenty minutes past my scheduled appointment time, and i’ve felt a wide range of emotions about moving that i didn’t know i would feel.  i’ve been sad, y’all.  this is a big step for me – thinking about leaving my dear family and friends is harder than i imagined.  and of course moving is stressful and i know i haven’t been the easiest person to deal with over the past week, and jamie has had a rough week at work too so we’ve had some harder moments this week.  but we’ve learned more about each other too, and we’re so thrilled to be living in the same city in one short week!  God is so good and we feel so blessed.

this is a busy time but i’m going to try to continue to post as much as possible, so hopefully you’ll be hearing from me.  and once i get there, i will start getting back to “normal life” and hopefully a more regular posting schedule.  i hope you’re ready for lots of great colorado adventures to come [and definitely some posts on things i’m going to miss about dallas too].  thank you for your support, your readership, and your love.  you have no idea how much it means to me as i begin this new journey.  xoxo