We have been living out of Orlando for five days now. Can you believe it?
Many of you have asked where around Detroit we are living and how we are settling in so far. The answer to that is at an extended stay hotel in Auburn Hills, and just fine.
Ever since Scott got hired, the process of moving up here felt like it went by at warp speed! By the next week, he was up here working away, doing everything he could to help the process from afar. While I was at home packing our house away which I will never do again! he searched for potential homes for us.
The problem with renting here – especially in the Rochester, Rochester Hills, Birmingham, and Troy areas where we are looking – is that there are a lot of renters ready to move and not enough properties to lease. Apparently, living in the ‘burbs surrounding Detroit is where it’s at!
While in Orlando, I sought out at least a dozen places for Scott to look at in person. For one reason or another, none of them seemed to fit the bill.
After two full days of driving up, and a few sleepless nights at a motel (when we were unable to find pet friendly hotels), I am relieved to say we are temporarily living in an extended stay hotel about ten minutes from The Palace.
They happily accept all three of our crazy pets, and have accommodated everything we could possibly need.
As each day goes by, we are closer and closer to nailing down a place with our Realtor, but until then I have gotten into a somewhat of a normal routine here at the hotel.
Every morning I bundle up and take Roadie out for a morning walk.
Mock the fact that I dressed him up in a fleece sweater all you want, both of us and our Floridian blood bodies are going to do our best stay warm this winter!
Roadies seems to be enjoying the crisp fall air here, and hasn’t really reacted to the cold yet. It has, however, only gotten down to 38 degrees so far. Ask me how he is doing again in about a month or so!
For now, everyone looks to be perfectly content with where we are, and that makes me happy. Sure beats living in a Pet Hotel, right Aspen?
😉
Hotel Tour
Have you ever stayed at an extended stay hotel? We hadn’t, and before now I had no idea what to expect. I have to admit that I have been pleasantly surprised with our stay so far, and thought you might want to take a look around too.
The biggest challenge so far is keeping Roadie inside the room. He is a very smart boy, and has figured how to let himself out of any door with a lever handle. Check out how we stop him… (Muahahaha.)
Not too shabby right?
Besides providing us with plenty of space, I have thoroughly enjoyed having a laundry room and gym to use at any time of the day. I have managed to find healthy options and start my day with a similar breakfast every morning including a bowl of oatmeal with raisins and brown sugar, two hard boiled eggs, and a single serving of Dannon Light & Fit yogurt.
Having these things accessible has helped me feel more like a my “housewife” self, rather than a “hotelwife.” <- I know, that was pretty lame. It’s fine.
As you might have seen in the video, there are a few things you can do to help make any extended hotel stay feel a little more like home. Buying hangers to hang up your clothes, organizing your things, and buying hand soap for the bathroom and a small candle to hide any hotel smell is a great start.
Worked for me!
Now I am off to a full day of finishing the application process for places, running errands and hitting the gym. I am unusually excited for the last part. I have been extremely ancy to get back to a normal workout routine, and can’t wait to start running outside again, once we settle into a neighborhood.
More updates to come!
Questions of the Day
• Have you ever stayed at an extended stay hotel? If so, what have you done to make it feel more like home?
• Do you ever get really excited for a workout?

I really miss living in a place with cooler weather. Still sweating it out here in Orlando!
Aw, I bet. I am loving the cooler weather right now! We’ll see how long that lasts… 😉
Super cute! Glad to see you’re making it feel like home! miss you!!
Thank you! Yes, I am trying, but can’t wait until we are set up in our new home!