As you‘ve probably noticed, I moved from Utah and I’ve been living back home in Indiana for little over a month now. I loved being in Utah for the past year. Living in downtown Salt Lake City was such a great experience, but after a while I started to get the feeling that 1,500 miles was a liiittle too far from my family.
A long distance relationship was the last thing Chris and I wanted to do, but we knew this was the right thing to do while we both figure things out for ourselves and our careers. Chris and his business partner are actually in San Francisco for the next 3 months working with investors on the app they’re developing. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy being away from each other, but we felt like it was the best thing for right now. And a few trips to San Fran this fall don’t sound too bad! You girls dealing with long distance love, I feel your pain!
I had been praying a lot, asking for guidance about the whole thing. I was pretty nervous about the thought of moving away from Chris, after all, Granger, Indiana isn’t exactly the most exciting city with booming opportunities. In Utah, I had a fun job and loved the people I worked with and of course had all the resources I needed to keep the blogging thing running smoothly.
But, I just had a feeling I was missing out on time with my parents, brothers, sister, cousins, and especially my grandparents. One night in May, I got a phone call from my mom telling me my grandpa had passed away that night. And everything kind of hit me like a brick. I do believe God answers every single one of our prayers whether we realize it’s an answer or not. And it’s definitely not always the answer we expect, or the easy answers we’d prefer. But right then I knew where I needed to be. All I could think about was my Nani.
Which brings me to the point of this post, my new roomie, style consultant, wonder woman, and loving grandma, Nani. I honestly couldn’t think of a better living situation for both of us at this point in our lives. I can work from home and spend time with someone I love and admire so much. (And it wouldn’t hurt for some of her cooking skills to rub off on me.)
A few things about Nani.
She is my exact height. Which means 2 things: there are lots of step stools around the house and lots of high heels.
She plays classical 50’s music all day at home. If I closed my eyes, I wouldn’t know the difference between her house and the Ritz Carlton. I’m not kidding, most days she literally serves hors d’oeuvres and we have cocktail hour on the dock. The life, lol.
If you enter her house, you will be fed whether you’re hungry or not. She’ll yell to me during the day that there’s a “snack” downstairs in the kitchen, and this is what I come down to:
Her entire life she’s been known for her classic style and incredible wardrobe. I’m pretty sure she’d give Jackie Kennedy a run for her money when it comes to fashion. How many 24 year olds can say they literally share a closet with their grandma?
I’ve never heard her say a cuss word, ever. Not even the word butt.. never. She doesn’t drink much, but when she does it’s goose on the rocks. I can’t keep up.
Her hair has never once been out of place. Of all the roommates I’ve had, she definitely takes the cake for most put-together-at-all-times. It looks like this perfect little cream puff 24/7 (Nani & her sisters in the 70s – hair game strong):
She hosts themed costume parties every year with our family. It’s like the greatest, weirdest tradition in the world. Examples below: German Party/Southern Party.. pretty awesome right?!
We have coffee 3 times a day: black in the morning, mocha’s in the afternoon, and decaf espresso at night. My. kinda. girl.
She could spend 2 hours shopping in Walgreens.
She is the greatest blessing in the world – we are all so lucky to call her our Nani! Take time today to tell your grandma how much you love her! Thanks for reading everyone – xo, liv
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Love this post so much, I am so glad God gave you the answers you needed. I am in a long distance relationship too so I feel you girl. Your Grandmother looks so sweet and it seems as though you are having a great time with her. I hope all is well and that God continues to bless you on this journey!
That is the sweetest! Thanks for sharing!
This is adorable!
TOO cute.
Hi Olivia,
I doubt you remember me from high school. BUT, I just wanted to say hi and let you know I love following your blog and Instagram. I think I've bought all the hair products you've posted, lol! Love your mix of fashion, family & faith. Thank you for sharing.
<3 Bri
Thank you so much for your sweet comment! Long distance can be so hard, but it's definitely worth it if you are with someone that makes you so happy. I love that you're reading, thanks Delanie 🙂
Thank you sweet girl, I hope you're doing well 🙂
Thanks for reading Caroline 🙂
Thank you Lauren, she's one incredible lady!
Bri, yes I totally remember! Uhg I always feel so old now when I think about high school 🙁 I hope you're doing so well and thanks so much for your sweet comment. That makes me so happy you're reading my blog. Good to hear from you girl!
Hello Olivia,
This was the most precious blog ever, and your grandmother is fabulous lol! I wanted to thank you mostly for the uplifting post about being in a long distance relationship cause that's what really hit home for me! I got married this July and we are in a long distance marriage and it can be so hard sometimes, so I found your post very comforting and I feel like God lead me to it when I needed it ! Just wanted to say thank you for sharing:)
Katelyn
Hi Olivia!
I commented on one of your Instagram posts a few weeks ago asking if you were going to be blogging about your move and after you replied yes I have been on the look out for it. So glad it's up! You're grandma seems like my kind of woman, sending lots of love to you and your family during this time! xx
Hi Katelyn! I'm so happy you're reading my blog and I totally feel your pain – distance is so terrible, last night I kind of just broke down after writing this thinking about how hard it's going to get – a long distance marriage must be even harder! But I wish you all the luck and I am going to do a post in the future about ways to make long distance a little bit easier, look for that one soon. xoxo
Hi Victoria! I'm glad you commented that because it definitely motivated me to write about this 🙂 Thank you so much for reading xo 🙂
Glad to see this post. Love love love it. Family is important and I'm happy to see that you're doing what you think is best. Keep smiling.
This has to be the cutest blog post I've read in a long time!! Enjoy your time with her! I can't even tell you how many times in my twenties I wished my Nanni was around to gossip with and have those times with!
Your post made me cry. I lived with Nonna (Italian for grandma) after college. Best experience of my life and I only wish I had stayed longer now that she's in Heaven with Jesus. I will keep you in my prayers; my better half is in Zionsville, IN and I'm a Jersey girl. God bless, gorgeous!
Thanks Andy, you're always so sweet 🙂
You are the sweetest. That's so great you had the chance to be roomies with your Nonna for a little while, thanks for reading! xo
I had tears in my eyes reading this – I love that you have such a strong bond with your grandma! She seems like an amazing woman and you both are very lucky to have each other!
Thank you so much for reading Izzy, I am so lucky to have her!!