Today, movers are coming to load up our stuff, and soon after that Rob and I will start the long drive from Minneapolis to Charlotte in our little red SUV.

This move almost feels like it's been a few years in the making--like it started at that Halloween party where we met in 2008, followed us through the rest of college and into graduate school, watched us begin our careers, tackle a long-distance relationship, get engaged, make big moves to be together.

We got to know Minneapolis and fall in love with it; calling it home while simultaneously aching for the familiarity of Virginia and North Carolina. We missed graduations and surprise wedding receptions, but we walked across frozen lakes and ate cheese curds and learned how to not freak out when your car inevitably slides in the snow.

Minnesota is always going to hold a very real, very special place in my heart. It was our home while we planned our wedding, and the first place we lived as a married couple. I was able to take my blog full time in the year that I lived here, and Rob excelled at his job, leaving with a promotion and a lot of great experience. We learned a lot about ourselves, did some adventuring, and grew a lot as people.

The city is fantastic and the friends we've made are wonderful, and as bittersweet as it may be, now it's time to go.

Charlotte, here we come.

I drove from Charlotte to Roanoke and back last week, and the way the late summer haze weighed on the mountains in the distance made me yearn for fall the way almost-August always does.

If I'm being totally honest, once the fourth of July passes by, I'm pretty much ready for autumn. I start thinking about hot cups of coffee and knitted hats and jeans. There's something so magical about the change in seasons that I start to imagine it well before any of it actually happens.

One chilly morning on the lake. One cool haze hanging in the distance. I think about autumns past, and living on the east coast once again for autumns to come. Will things be the same? Will they feel different? Will I? It's just so hard to know. 

There are weeks before we move, and even longer before those first leaves start to change their color back east, so until either one, I will do my best to take in the last of this Minnesota summer. Sometimes it's hard to remember, but there is not much to gain by wishing away the present.

Happy Monday! I spent the past five days hanging out in Charlotte with Rob and some old friends that live in town. It's been so fun checking out coffee shops, farmers markets, parks, and lunch spots. I have a huge list of restaurants to visit once we've moved officially, and I can't wait to get started.

Now I'm spending a few days in Roanoke before heading back to Minneapolis for the weekend, so I'll be home until Wednesday afternoon. For now, here are a few shots from my time spent so far in North Carolina.

How was your weekend? Keep those Charlotte recommendations coming!