We Moved to Portland + A Blog Redesign

If you can’t tell by my posts on Instagram, we moved to Portland! Because it was such a dramatic change, I didn’t want to mention anything until we were all settled in and adjusted. I also didn’t want to scare too many of you away. Since there’s quite a few of you who are Bay Area based, I wanted the transition in content to be smooth and I didn’t want you to feel like my posts were irrelevant or that you couldn’t relate to me anymore. Does that make sense?

Dawn Levy coat, Topshop scarf, AG jeans, Pretty Small Shoes boots, Apolis tote, Ray-Ban silver mirrored aviators

It may seem like this was an abrupt move, but it’s actually been in the works for some time. My aunt and her family live in Portland and we would visit every summer. Every year we’d fall more in love with the slower pace, beautiful outdoors, greenery, and the overall quality of life. The more and more we’d come, the more and more we could see ourselves buying a house and raising a family here. While we knew we would end up in Oregon, we never knew exactly when. Mike had always been more hesitant than me, but in August or September of 2015 he came home from work one day and said he was ready. After a week of questioning his decision (I think I was in shock), we started mentally preparing, scheming, and planning ourselves for the big move. There was without a doubt times we second guessed ourselves and had to come up with a pros and cons list (both our families live in the Bay Area and both of us were born and raised there), but ultimately we had to make the best decision for our future.  

Aside from the move, we also had a big decision to make on whether Mike would look for a new job or if he would work alongside me in growing Crystalin Marie. There were many factors that went into our decision, but at the end of the day, having him help me grow this business was where his heart and head were at. It’s been an absolute blessing to have him by my side these last couple of months. We definitely feel lucky to have this opportunity to work together and do what we love. And we could not be doing it without the love and support of all of you. Thank you!

Now that you know what has all been happening in our neck of the woods, let’s talk about what you’ll be seeing from us going forward. It’s been live for a couple of weeks, but in case you missed it, Crystalin Marie has some new digs. The new layout helps with navigating all the different categories and topics (browse around the top menu bar) and showcasing past posts (just in case you missed anything). We also wanted the images to be the main focus, so when you click the Continue Reading link, you’ll notice the images are a lot bigger than before. Make sure you check out the Shop pages in the menu bar as well. Here you’ll find everything you see me where on the blog (my closet), my budget finds, and essentials. These are updated weekly, so be sure to check them out. We’re going to start incorporating a newsletter soon with options to subscribe via email and featuring exclusive content. Lastly, you’re going to start seeing Mike more in front of the camera. We’re going to start with a His and Hers series where we’ll style a similar piece different ways. We’ll include posts where he chimes in on topics and we’ll give you the inside scoop on our relationship, how we work together, and so much more!

Okay, that was a lot to read and take in. If you have any questions about our move, the blog, or anything else, feel free to email me. If you have any recommendations on places to go, eat, do, please let us know as well. We are excited for this new adventure and we can’t wait to share it with you. Thank you again for all your love and support. We couldn’t do it without you!

S H O P  T H E  L O O K