If you give up New York, I'll give you Tennessee

And that's just we did, folks.  It's been a crazy, whirlwind summer (and here it is, almost October!).  After a summer spent in The South, we had a reality check.  And our reality was that while our wonderful Brooklyn neighborhood is like Sesame Street (really), it's cost of living is like, well, New York City.

Our stoop in Brooklyn.
The kiddo and his friend C.

The kiddo and his friend E.

So we decided to fly south for the year.
And so far our decision has been a good one:
We have a house!  With a YARD!

The kiddo goes to a great school!  And it's not $500,000 a year (hyperbole is my strength).
I have a great job, the hub has a great job.
Music City is treating us well.
There are pangs of regret, of uncertainty, of loss.
Especially when in meltdown mode the kiddo screams that he doesn't like Nashville and can we please go back to Brooklyn.
Oh, my heart.
The one good thing about Brooklyn, it's not going anywhere.  We can always visit.
Heck, we can always move back!
But, despite the heartache of missing Brooklyn, there is a peace we are finding here.
My husbands gentle southern lilt is revealing itself a little more everyday.
We are surrounded by a musicality that we had been missing for quite some time:  the cadence of soft vowels and consonants, birds chirping, breezes in the trees.
We are settling into a halcyon rhythm.
And our kitchen is a place of comfort as well.
Now that we are settling into our home, I am ready to fill the house with the warm Fall smells of baking bread and cakes, simmering stews and sauces, roasted vegetables and meats.
Stay tuned:
Sugar. Butter. Salt. is back!