Happy Monday everyone! Hope you all had a lovely, restorative weekend! We took a little time to live life and sure enough, I'm back feeling inspired!

This weekend, we headed a few hours across the state to Kalispell and Whitefish, some of my favorite Montana towns.

We had plenty to do at the Homestead and it had been well below zero with snow covered icy roads, but I had my heart set on heading that way for the Handmade Holiday event, a small gathering of local artisans, crafters, bee keepers and bakers showing off their wares. Our friends at Glacier County Honey were there and I really wanted to pick up some beeswax. I have my sights set on attempting to make my own candles. We shall see. 

The drive was beautiful, though frigid. I kid you not, it was -22 when we left Great Falls. I was terrified the car would break down and we'd freeze to death or loose control on some icy patch, but everything was fine.

I had to close my eyes a few times on the ride out because I was so nervous about the snowy roads, but really, M had it under control. 

On top of never ending house work, I had blogging to do, holiday gifting to attempt and truly, we both had a ridiculous to-do list, but I had a long weekend off from work and I wanted to use it for a little change of scenery.


The ride gave us time to just talk, no puppies, TV, house work, errands or anything to distract. Just us. 

Once we got there, we headed straight to the event in Whitefish and chatted with Courtney, my favorite beekeeper, for a bit. Two beeswax bars later, we got to chatting with Sally, a quilter who has kids in engineering and the military so M could relate on those fronts. She gave us dinner tips and I found this sweet little satchel full of herbs she grew herself that are supposed to be relaxing and help you sleep. I often have a hard time falling asleep (so many thoughts swirling around my head) that we decided to give it a shot. 

Another fun find from the event to come soon, but the event gave me so many ideas for the blog, for local activities, for the Homestead, for the skating club. It is true, being around creative people often boosts your own creative juices and it's nice to see friends and concoct ideas together and make new friends all at the same time. 

And then there's this view from the drive home. Seriously, Montana. It's beautiful here. 

Lots of changes are happening in my world and so I've decided it was time to revamp the blog. What started as a travel blog for my friends and family while I was out of the country has morphed into more. 
Travel will always be one of my great loves, but I'm not leaving the country as much as I would like and now I'm doing what I never thought I'd do, putting down roots...in Montana. 
Don't worry, travel will still be a part of this blog and my adventures will have their place here, but Near and Far will now be a blog following the adventures, and craziness, of a globe-trotting East Coast girl making a home in Montana. 
In January 2013, I packed up my half of a townhouse in Alexandria, Va. and loaded everything into an ABF truck. My boyfriend and I stuffed my little Toyota Corolla with everything we'd need for a week and with the pupster, Grover, taking up most of the backseat, we headed west. 
Now that I've been here a few months I'm settling in to small town life, adjusting to being back in a newsroom (I love it!) and building my new network of friends. 
Just as I was getting the hang of all that, and actually unpacking, the boyfriend, Mark, found a house that we just had to have. 
I wasn't so sure at first, but the more we looked at it and thought about all its potential, the more we loved it. 
So, here we are with our first house, 26 acres, no neighbors, two dogs and a lotta love.  Boyfriend has also decided we should have chickens and I want to grow my own vegetables, maybe some fruits. I've gone from the craziness of D.C. to creating our own little farm. Quite a difference! 
Buying the house will have us pinching pennies a bit for awhile, but we've got big plans to make this a fantastic house, with views of the mountains, buttes, and Big Sky all around. We'll bring you along for the stress-inducing process that is buying a house and the fun/frustration of making it our own. 
I recently started a Made in Montana series on the blog and that will continue here as I love my new state and its people. Through them, I'll share with you more of how wonderful a place Montana is. 
For my longtime readers, loyal family members and friends and those of you just finding this blog, hope you enjoy!