So long SF! We’re now Smith’s-by-the-Sea
A little over 2 1/2 months ago, Liam, Sloane, and our faithful dog, Bristol, bought our dream home in Carmel, California. We had been looking for a home ever since we found out that we were expecting Sloane in 2019. The process was long and at times heartbreaking, but with persistence and patience we found our perfect home in our favorite place in the entire world. And I know most of you are thinking “Why Carmel?” or “You’re crazy for Leaving San Francisco and the Bay Area”. Well, let me elaborate a little bit more on why we landed in Carmel…
Carmel holds such a special place in mine and Liam’s hearts. In fact, one of our first dates was in the heart of Carmel-by-the-Sea. We also spent countless vacations and day trips out here, even getting married in the valley back in 2018. Being in Carmel just always felt like home. Our friends and neighbors often joked that if we weren’t in SF we were probably in Carmel, which was usually correct. We had explored so many places both inside and outside of San Francsico, but none of them felt like the perfect fit, so we continued on with our lives in our cozy 1 bedroom apartment by the bay.
While San Francisco felt like home to us for so long, it never felt permanent. We wanted a place to call our own. A place to host our family and friends. Ultimately, we wanted a place to settle down and raise our children. We had always daydreamed of moving to Carmel, but didn’t quite know when that “one day” would be. Fast forward to May 2021 and we finally found ourselves right where we were meant to be. Everything felt so right after a year and a half of putting offers on homes in San Francisco and Marin County that we had fallen in love with, only to get the call from our real estate agent letting us know that we didn’t get the house. For those of you reading this and experiencing the same thing, my heart goes out to you as it’s very normal to feel that attachment and heartbreak during the home buying process. After losing out on those 8 houses we put offers on, I felt defeated, so when our offer was accepted, it was one of the best feeling in the world (I cried like a baby). We were finally home owners!
Living in Carmel has been nothing shy of amazing. There is so much to do, see, and explore here. And now that we’re settling in to our new digs, my mind is running wild with all the fun home project Liam and I plan on doing to thoughtfully make the space our own. Liam is excited to finally have a kitchen and backyard to barbecue in, while I am excited to have a bathroom big enough to share while we both get ready. I think Liam and I can both agree that we are most excited that we now have a place for Sloane to play, explore and grow in.
Our new home in Carmel is also bringing some fun new changes to Brilliantly Bre. In addition to covering more about our home, I plan on having more of these discussion posts, which I am sure will bring lots of new topics since our lives are rapidly changing. So, stay tuned for more on that front.
While we miss San Francsico, we are extremely excited for our life in Carmel. We miss our friends and family dearly, but we are quickly filling up our schedules as everyone is planning trips out to visit us now that we have the space to host them all! It’s been quite the move, but we’re finally settling into our new home. We often find ourselves having “pinch me! Is this real?” moments with one another, and it feels incredible to share this new adventure with you all!
A special thank you to my friend Karyssa Costa Photography for capturing this special time in our lives in our new city (all edits done by yours truly).
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