ATX.

We’ve been in Austin, TX for just over a month, and the transition from Seattleite to Austinite (not Austonian, apparently) is almost complete. The wife, dogs, and I have gotten all settled in our new life in a new town, and we did so in record time. It seems like it was just yesterday that we taking rainy walks in the dark with the dogs around our beloved Columbia City, but it’s been almost 6 weeks since we left  the 98118.

Despite an epic pre-move purge, we were worried that our stuff wouldn’t fit in to our new, smaller home. Fortunately, we were able to make it all work, but the wife had to sacrifice her crafting space in the process. She’s making due with with the lack of proper crafting facilities, however, and has jumped right in to the Austin craft scene.

As for my new job, it’s a lot different than my old one. I perform a similar function, but the end game is vastly different. It’s a change I needed, as I was burned out and frustrated with my professional career and needed to shake things up. Still, I long for the day when I can leave corporate America behind and cook for a living, but that day is far from now.

Speaking of cooking, I bought a fancy new pellet smoker so that I could expand my BBQ repertoire. More on this development later. Isn’t she pretty?

I’ve been cooking quite a bit lately, but haven’t bothered taking many pictures, hence the lack of blog posts of late. The new kitchen is cute and all, but a bit frustrating to cook in due to lack of counter space and its poor layout. Still, I’ll make the best of it for as long as we’re in this house, and I’ve got a lot of cooking and canning projects to bust out in the coming weeks.

As for the rest of the house, well it’s pretty darn cute too.

So life in Austin is progressing. Sure I miss sidewalks, trees, the best neighbors ever, and living in an amazing community, but Austin is a nifty place too with great food and music scenes. I look forward to getting involved in my new community and putting down some roots.