Holy smokes!

I am wiping the dust off this blog after a few weeks of absence on social media! It was a much needed little leave, and because of it, I feel even more giddy about sharing some New Year newness with you.

An obvious reason for the time away has been the holidays! Something about them makes me completely want to sign off, leave my phone at home, make memories to cherish and smile about without worrying about the unspoken rules of social media. It was a beautiful and blissful year, and all this time away has allowed me to get caught up, feel refreshed from a year that was so, so good, and be with those we love most. Those of you who know me, know how important this is and how much I’ve worked on “balance” throughout this photo venture! We’re getting there, folks!

Another reason for the distraction, we bought a HOUSE and moved back HOME! Say WHAT?! That’s right, we are back in the valley. I could throw a stone to my mom’s house, am 1 mile from my dad’s, 2 from my brother’s, 2 miles from Sam’s parents, right by Sam’s sisters’ homes and our neice and nephews, and are a maximum of 5 miles from all of our friends who live in the valley. This is our happy place for those very reasons and because of those very people. Madison was the BEST to us, the best. We made some life long friends that we are so grateful for (HI FRIENDS! Miss you!), Sam grew in his job and is now working from home with that same company! The two of us will now be sharing an office, and will be together 24/7… that’s a whole new blog post ;), and we got to live in a brand new city after being in our hometown for our whole lives. It was an opportunity and a chance that we both wanted and needed to take, both professionally, for our relationship and personally. Lots of nights were spent at the Terrace, we circled the Farmers Market more than once each time we went, tried lots of new craft beers, saw our first Badger hockey and football game, lived together for the first time, moved away for the first time, took selfies with the capitol every time we circled it, became engaged, we left the, “We’re out of college, now what?!” phase behind. We really grew there. Before the move, we knew going in that we would spend roughly two years in Madison because we know how lucky we are to be close with our families, and to have our families all be so close! Exactly two years later, on the nose, we closed on our house back home. We made a lot of memories in our apartment and I will FOREVER love our time spent in Madison. It will always be a special spot for us and obviously, visits will be often!

Here is a photo of us on the front porch of our new digs in Combined Locks!

We’ve been working on projects and renovations! Believe it or not, we knocked out a wall the day after we closed! With the holidays over, it’s time for paint, floor, unpack those boxes and organize.

What does this move home mean for Molly Jo Collection?! GROWTH! A move can be a really tough decision for someone who owns a business because there are a lot of unknowns. When we moved to Madison, I knew that I had to be open to driving. A lot. I packed my bags a lot and traveled a lot. Because of this, I was able to both photograph weddings at home while growing in a new city. MJC grew so much behind the scenes and outloud thanks to our time in Madison, I’m so thankful for that and am so excited for travels to Madison and throughout Wisconsin (and further!) for weddings this year.

2017 is sure to be a wonderful year for too many reasons to count, both in our professional and personal lives. We have a few fun things to introduce you to this year that I cannot wait to polish up and reveal! Thank you for your support, your love, for listening and for following along.

Cheers to newness!
Molly