We Bought a Home (in Sacramento!)

It feels surreal to type those words. In fact, I refused to sit down and write this announcement until we had signed the final documents because it felt so out of this world. I feel incredibly grateful (not in your cliché kind of a way) for this home. The process of buying a home, for Travis and I, involved more than simply searching for a home but also deciding what city we were going to move to. That’s the second part of our announcement — we’ve bought a home and we are moving to downtown Sacramento.  

So here’s a bit behind why we’ve chosen Sacramento and the home we’ve purchased, and what to expect on Bon Traveler. Travis and I couldn’t be more excited to share this journey with you!

Why We’re Moving Now

We moved to San Francisco in 2011 and stayed in our beloved Twin Peaks apartment for almost 6 years. As we watched the city change, we knew San Francisco would not be able to be “our forever home.” We started the conversation about where we would eventually “end up” almost four years ago.

Then in 2017, after the passing of my grandfather, Travis and I made the decision to move in with my grandmother in Marin County to help her with the transition period. We have been in Marin for over 2 years now, doing life with her and savoring our time together. She’s in great health — she’s an energetic French woman who goes swimming 3x a week, dances salsa on the weekend, and runs in an incredible group of French woman (oh and did I mentioned she’s in her mid-80’s?).

To say it will be difficult to leave her here in Marin is an understatement. I tear up knowing she will not be living with us anymore. As excited as I am to have my own space, I’ll miss waking up to her having her daily breakfast (an earl grey black tea scented with bergamot and pain grille with her sour cherry Bonne Maman jam) out at the kitchen table. But it is time for us to explore something new. 

Travis and I are ready to start a new chapter of our lives and it has been a long time coming. Spending three months in Spain last year helped us see that heading east towards Sacramento and Lake Tahoe was where we’re supposed to be in this next season of life.

Why We’re Moving to Sacramento

Sacramento. I actually smile each time I say we’re moving to Sacramento. Travis and I are both from Auburn, California. Sacramento, growing up, was only 30 minutes away and was our “big city.” In the years we’ve spent in San Francisco we’ve watched Sacramento’s art, food, and culture scene become more and more vibrant.

Over the past few months, we’ve been exploring everywhere from Sacramento up to Auburn, as we knew we wanted to be closer to family, closer to the outdoors (we’re avid snowboarders), and immersed in a city. In December, we took a few days to explore Sacramento more intently and, needless to say, we fell in love.

We fell in love with old neighborhoods that had sidewalks with towering oak trees, lined with homes from the twenties and fab forties. We fell in love with the incredible coffee culture. We fell in love with the food scene (they just received their first Michelin-star restaurant). We love the music scene — you bet you’ll see us mid-week at the Ace of Spades. It’s closer to our family and friends, and it checked every box on our list of things we wanted for this next chapter of life.

The House We Bought

One of the biggest drawbacks of the Bay Area was the competitive housing market (the whole multiple offers kind of thing). We thought it would be smoother sailing in Sacramento, but we couldn’t have been more wrong as most of the homes were receiving multiple offers too. The search was an emotional rollercoaster ride as we offered unsuccessfully on a few different homes before finding this one.

We had always wanted a brick home and when the chance came to put an offer on this beloved 1920’s brick Tudor, we pulled the trigger and crossed our fingers. Meet our new home (we need to find a name!). It has well-loved, original wood floors, a maple tree that towers over the backyard, and the character inside that we always dreamed of. Its location is in the heart of Sacramento. We’re so excited about the location as we’ve always wanted to live somewhere where we could walk and bike to everything.

Over the next few months, we’re going to be putting our personal touches on the space and fully renovating the kitchen and bathroom.

What to Expect on Bon Traveler / Meet “The Mindful Maison”

Don’t worry, I’m not stopping the travel content! I will be introducing home design, interior decorating, and documenting the renovation process on the blog under “Interiors”. I have always loved interior design and am excited to have it be a bigger part of the Bon Traveler brand. I also want to introduce you to a new account. Meet “The Mindful Maison” — this is where you’ll find all of the happenings on Instagram for the house. We’ll be sharing snaps from the renovations and all the moments in between there. 

We are so excited for this new chapter, both a new home and city. It’s bittersweet — our lives are well established here in San Francisco and that will be tough to say goodbye to. (To my friends, you better believe we’ll be coming over for sleepovers, it’s only 1hr 15mins away!)

So until then, I’ve purchased a pair of overalls and Travis has ordered himself his first set of tools. You’ll find us scraping out the old tile, painting walls, and becoming regular customers at Temple Coffee to keep us caffeinated. We’re excited and thankful for this new adventure, and can’t wait to share it with you!

Xx 

Jessica & Travis