Yes, you read that right, and I can’t believe it either. On February 8th, I’ll fly to Portugal for my fourth visit researching for our big move. This will be my longest trip yet, since I will be staying for 7 whole weeks! One of the things I am researching, is what it’s like to sell my art in Europe, so I’ll be working out of Mariana Sampaio’s studio in Caldas da Rainha and creating both collaborative (images of our summer collab below) and solo bodies of work to sell there. Mariana and I are also working on a business plan for our shared community studio space… so much to do!

I’ll also be looking at houses to see if we can find something that checks all the boxes, and fits into our price range. We are hoping to find a home that is either big enough to host guests, or has an annex that can be used for retreat or residency guests. Also on the wishlist: about an acre to farm, space for a home studio, close to amenities and a train station, about an hour max from Lisbon, but not in a city. Oh, and it needs to be permitted properly so we can actually live in and rent it! You’d think that was a given, but we have already encountered some issues with this. It’s a tall order on a small budget, but here’s hoping!

There is a house in Obidos that popped onto the market while we were there last spring. It checked most of the boxes and we even able to locate it on the map and do a drive by. For me, it was love at first sight. Nick is a much harder sell ( a good balance to my impulsive self) Unfortunately it came off the market before we could request to see it. We spent months of slow progress researching the purchase of another place we liked, but in the end it wasn’t permitted the way we needed AND it was too much for our budget, after factoring in some updates we’d need to pay for after purchase.

My morning routine now includes, laying in bed and scrolling through real estate listings, in hopes of seeing the just the right thing. What popped up just after Thanksgiving? The Obidos house was back! Listed about $40,000 more than last spring, and apparently with some cosmetic updates. I’ve sent requests to learn what was done, but no info yet. I’m hopeful it will still be listed when I arrive in February, and I’ll have a chance to see the inside in person to determine if it’s as dreamy as it looks.

Other items on the to-do list include: networking and meeting with people in the hospitality industry to see if I can find some partners to begin hosting art and yoga retreats again, but in Portugal, instead of Mexico. The ultimate goal is to be able to host them on our property, but it’s very unlikely we will have a place that’s ready as soon as we get the keys, so I hope to get started renting properties for guests and planning from there (also exactly how we did our retreats in Mexico).

I’m still sorting out all the details, but am trying to do better about sharing the behind the scenes things here on my blog. If you’ve read this far, leave me a comment so I know I’m not just out here talking to myself. :) Happy to chat and answer questions here, on my art instagram @well.traveled.wares or @artandyogaretreats

More soon…