See Ya, Texas. Hello, Vermont!

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THE TRUCK FROM GENTLE GIANT IS HERE!

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Comments

  • Alison says:

    And a Texas-sized welcome awaits you here in Vermont!

  • Emma says:

    We have lived all over the US and Vermont is hands-down our favorite! I’m jealous!

  • Heather says:

    Woot! We’re excited to have you!

  • Cheryl Miller says:

    I’ve never lived anywhere in the States so can’t really comment, but Vermont always sounded like the place I would like to live. Best of luck with everything!

  • Tara says:

    Good luck with your move.

  • Kay says:

    Good luck with the move. Vermont summers are the best, too. Great timing!

  • Vive says:

    Best of luck to you both! I always thought I would bump into you somewhere in Austin and say, “Hi, I read your blog.” Alas, not so, even as a fellow South Austin-ite. But I’ll still read your blog and enjoy new stories from the north.

  • Annika says:

    Woohoo! Bad news for Texas but a win for Vermont!

  • Susannah says:

    Hope the trip is smoth as silk. Welcome to Vermont – you and Dave and Smudge will love it!

  • Martha says:

    Have a great trip to Vermont and great life thereafter! Texas will miss you but your blog lives on, I am sure. Last night we made the best hamburgers EVER from Well Fed 2! Thanks for sharing your creativity and talent.

  • Danielle C says:

    HA! We totally saw your truck! We live in west Texas, but house sit in Austin for the summer – we all (2 daughters, husband, and me) noticed the unique truck and wondered about the people who were moving.

  • Montreal awaits! 🙂

  • I’ll be in Vermont next weekend to run the Vermont 100 miler! Take a break from unpacking and come spectate/hang out near Woodstock!

  • Monika says:

    I hope the move is going/went well. I’m just planning our move from California to Montana, so both “Well Fed” and Well Fed 2″ will soon be going into the all-important, specially labeled cookbook box. If you have a moment, would you be willing to share your experience with Gentle Giant Moving Company? (I’m looking for all the moving references and tips I can find!)

    • I have been very, very pleased and impressed with Gentle Giant. I recommend them 100%.

      Things I like:
      1. When we called to reserve our move, the person in charge of that (Carline) was heading out on vacation and we got her voicemail. We were kind of in panic mode, so we called the 800-number for help. Sudi took our call and helped us out — then unbeknownst to us, she also let Carline know we’d called… and Carline called us, too, even though she was technically on vacation, just to make sure we felt comfortable.

      2. Their communication has been top notch. We’ve gotten emails and phone calls at every important step along the way. They gave us a pickup and delivery window, then called as the dates approached to give us a confirmed date and time. The drivers/packers showed up right on time AND called me in advance to let me know they were on their way.

      3. We hired Gentle Giant to help us pack and move our stuff, so we spent two full days with Rik and Azuolas, our movers. They were cheerful, friendly, efficient, and very experienced. They packed all of our computer stuff from our offices AND our piano, and it was smooth as silk. They took much of the furniture apart and wrapped everything in blankets to it’s protected — and every box was listed on an inventory so we’ll be sure to get all of our stuff when it arrives at our new house. They were really great guys, and I feel really lucky to have had them around when we were super stressed.

      We talked to several other moving companies in preparation and all of them made me feel oogey. Gentle Giant is a little bit more expensive, but they are so worth it. It was definitely the right decision.

      Are you shipping a car? I have a great car shipping resource if you need it. Montway.com. Let me know if you want more details.

      • Monika says:

        Thank you so much for all of these details! You’ve certainly simplified my decision about moving companies. (I’m struggling with Hashimoto’s and having more down days than up days, so anything that can reduce the stress of this move is so very welcome.) If you have more information about the car shipping resource, I’d welcome that as well.

        • I’m sorry you’re having health challenges while you’re also working on moving. Best wishes to you!

          Montway.com is who we used for car shipping. The price was reasonable, and their communication was FAR better than anyone else I contacted. We actually originally hired another company, and they totally dropped the ball… we had to get a refund from them, then we found Montway.

          Montway has excellent communication. I got email alerts from them at every step of the way: confirming my order, letting me know when the broker found a driver, when they charged for my deposit, etc. They offer a discount if you pay in cash, and their rates were competitive but not the cheapest. The first one I went with was cheaper, but they literally never found a driver to take my car.

          When Montway came for the car, the driver showed up on time. Perfect and reassuring.

  • Ann says:

    Did you make it to VT.? I hope you are enjoying the perfect weather and Norwich Farmers market.

  • Melissa says:

    Melissa/Dave,
    Hope the transition is going well for you, both and Snitch, too.

    I check everyday just to see how settled you’ve gotten. Look forward to seeing you back in the blogosphere, soon.

    I’m cooking from WellFed 2 in the spirit of good food and you are in my thoughts.

    Hope all is well, including you, both and you are settling nicely-

    Warm Regards,
    Melissa

    • Thank you for the sweet thoughts! We’ve got a functioning kitchen, the TV is working, and the bedroom has an air conditioner… the rest of the house is a shambles, but we’re slowly plodding through the boxes and putting together IKEA furniture.

      I’m pretty tired, but we’re happy to be here. More news soon!

  • Amy Crank says:

    Welcome to the Green Mountains. I recently stumbled across your recipes and now see that you are officially in Vermont! I live in the NEK (North East Kingdom) and am a transplant myself. I just heard a VPR story this morning about the Center for Cartoon Studies! What an exciting time for you. There is a good mix of things to do here. Enjoy the weather and local farms! And dip your toes in some local watering holes and lakes!

    • Thank you for the welcome! We are totally enjoying the gorgeous weather! Such a treat to have the windows open after being trapped in the A/C in Austin for so long. I spent the day cooking and am hitting up our local farmers market next week. YAY!

  • Rebecca says:

    Hi Melissa! I just ran across your website because my family and I are relocating to Vermont from Austin and I was searching Google for information. Love your site. 🙂 My hubby is originally from Montreal and we are wanting to get back to the NE and experience four seasons. I am so interested to see how you are enjoying VT. We have two little ones, and try to live a clean lifestyle, paleo diet etc. We are enticed by VT because of the sustainability and farm to market lifestyle (or so we read about online.) The four seasons, proximity to MTL and the family orientated feel. We work online so can move anywhere. I would love to hear any feedback from you on the farmer’s markets, where some good Yoga is, and some feedback on the local scene there. Thanks! Hope you are loving it there!

    • The change of seasons here is awesome. We are LOVING the weather a lot!

      We live right on the VT-NH border in a very, very small town, so restaurant options are limited, honestly. There are great farmer’s markets, and I love my CSA. I also have a gym I adore. Where will you be living?

  • Rebecca says:

    Sounds great! We are looking somewhere closer to Burlington, but having a hard time narrowing down a spot. 😉 I definitely am interested in joining a csa and a great YOGA spot. Also, excited to try raw milk – have asthma, so heard it does wonders. lol. Thanks for replying to me. Best,
    Rebecca.

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