We are so back, and this vlog is basically a little snapshot of what “first-home life in coastal Maine” actually looks like right now: snow in my shoes, a deck that’s finally starting to feel usable again, and us getting way too excited about grilling season. Monument Grills sent us the Mesa II 415BZ (our very first grill ever), and I walk you through why it felt like the perfect fit for our small family—big enough to host a couple friends, but not so huge that it becomes a whole project to use. Jack cooked our first meal on it (steak + veggies), and the main takeaway is: it heats up insanely fast, the char is unreal, and the side burner is a game-changer so you’re not running in and out of the house. Then we switch gears into moving-mode, because apparently U-Haul and I have a love/hate relationship for life. I rented a van to haul our dining room table and chairs out of my parents’ barn, we attempted to grab a yellow floral loveseat too, and we learned the hard way that snowy Maine driveways and U-Hauls absolutely do not mix. The van literally got stuck, we did the whole rocking-it-back-and-forth situation, and somehow survived without calling Triple A. The cherry on top: getting the dining table into the house turned into an ordeal (we even took the entire front door off its hinges), but once it was in, the dining room finally started to feel complete—and now I’m dreaming up a colonial blue + orange-coral moment that is wildly bold for me.