If you’ve been around here for a while, you’ve seen my life change radically over the last year. After years as a happy solo mom, out of the wild blue NOWHERE I fell head over heels in love. It took me by complete surprise– I never saw it coming! And I had no idea that it was going to completely turn my life upside down and inside out in the best possible way.

It’s been a year of planning, dreaming, worrying, and planning some more…

And now– guys– it’s time.

Things are going to happen very, very quickly around here.

In the next few weeks I will radically downsize my Portland life in order to spend more time in Canada with my love and our new family. I’ll be packing up my home and setting up a new little perch here in Portland. We’ll be saying goodbye to beloved friends and family. And, Ms. Adventure and I will go from being a family of two to being part of a family of seven! Eeek, I can’t wait! I adore them all so much, and I am so freaking excited.

All this, naturally, while I keep seamlessly running my business, which obviously should be no problem at all because why would it be?? LOL.

To say that my To-Do list is overwhelming right now is like saying that the New York Times is a little newsletter. Oh mah gyah you guys, I can go from elation and joy to total panic faster than you can say Whoosh!

But that’s exactly how it’s supposed to be when you have an adventure.

It’s big. It’s scary. It’s emotional. (Remember when I taught that class called how to follow your heart and take the right risks?? Yeah. That.)

On a soul level, I think that there are certain risks our souls yearn to take. Our choices determine who we’re going to be, and taking risks is how we get to be bigger people with bigger, wilder, richer lives. But taking risks also means you could crash down hard, which is terrifying!

(You know how they say that if you leap, the net will appear? In my experience, maybe there’s a net, but maybe not. If you can see the net, it’s not really a risk or an adventure, it’s just a really fun trapeze class. Trapeze classes are great, but it’s important not to confuse the two.)

Maybe you want to be the kind of person who starts your own business, even if it turns out to be a failure. The kind of person who fights for justice, even if you don’t win. Maybe you have the crazy ovaries to want to be a parent, even though it’s clearly one of THE riskiest things you can do in this life, with the biggest potential for getting your heart stomped on. You want to write that book even if it never gets an agent. Tell the truth even if it means people get mad at you. Some risks are worth taking, even if they turn out to be huge failures, because they shape us into bigger, braver, better people.

This isn’t a theoretical concept– I’m living it right now. This is my big wild soul leap.

Back down to earth for a sec, though.

What this means on the physical plane is that I’m going to be selling many of my worldly possessions! Like for real. I’ve already stripped my books and clothes down to the bare minimum. Next up: my furniture. I’ve offered it to people and starting using sites like LeoList and other local classifieds to help shift it. Yep, even my big desk that I lovingly pampered and screwed glass Anthropologie knobs into. Yep, even that dreamy dining room buffet that’s the star of my Instagram feed. Yep, even The Rug. They are ready for new homes. I still adore those things, but sometimes when you’re having an adventure, you have to walk away from everything you know in order to get to the promised land.

I have to let go of the good if I’m going to have the glorious.

I built this life here in Portland with a lot of love and optimism, and it’s bittersweet to dismantle it piece by piece. Because of course it’s not just a physical life we’re saying goodbye to, it’s our village, our people, who have been our safety net and family and true community during the last few years. (Did you see the beautiful surprise garden dinner party my friends threw me?? They make me cry.)

The joys are so joyful, and the tears are so salty, and in order to handle all my feelings, I have to get as big as a fucking cathedral. And guys, we can do that, we can grow absolutely enormous— it’s what we’re here for.

But!

What that means for you is that if you’ve ever wanted a little bit of The Queendom (as we used to jokingly refer to my domain), now is your chance!

If you’re in Portland, I’m having a big huge celebratory in-person sale at my home next Saturday, June 18th. Details HERE. Please come by! We can say hi, and hug, and maybe you’ll find something (or a lot of somethings) to make your own life gorgeous. I’ll be selling furniture, rugs, lamps, vases, and things like that– and Ms. Adventure is going to be selling some of her things, too, so if you have a kidlet in your life, bring them along.

But if you’re too far away to come in person, never fear, I’ve hand-picked a few of my favorite things to sell online. (They’ve been picked mostly because they will fit in a box my assistant can carry to the Post Office!) These are for sale on eBay, and you can find them HERE. This auction opens in three…two…one…go!

If you can’t come to the sale in person but you’re interested in a particular piece (especially my dining room set! I love it so much and I want it to go to someone who will love it too!) and you’re local or willing to arrange shipping, drop me an email and maybe we can work something out.

Otherwise, I’ll see you at my house next Saturday!

Buckle up, folks, it’s going to be a whirlwind few weeks! If you ever think that I talk about nice fluffy concepts here each week, but you can’t imagine how you could put them to work in your own big messy complicated life, keep your eyes peeled. Living like an EFBA (an epic fucking badass) is actually a muscular, gritty sort of magic– and I’ll keep walking my talk and reporting back from the front lines of a life lived as fully and as well as I can possibly manage. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of opportunities to handle shit #likeanefba and tell the truth and NOT QUIT in the coming weeks.

Anna

P.S. Oh, and in case you were wondering, I’m going to be Queen Sweeping this summer like never before– 7 people in a little house hoo boy!!!– and I’m hoping you’ll come along for the ride. It’s time for me to flex my EFBA muscles and get some epic shit done this summer! After I set up a new home here in Portland, I’ll be working with my love to blend our lives together in Canada. Books, bills, calendars, routines, closets, a brand new filing system– I’ll be blitzing clutter and setting up systems from scratch like never before. I’ll be sharing every step of the process with you and challenging you to make your own life more gorgeous along with me– so stay tuned!