On June 15, 2016, I made the biggest move of my life. I moved from Chicago to Stuttgart, Germany. Indefinitely. In the previous weeks and months, I quit my job, I rented out my condo, I enlisted the help of an international shipping company to transport my belongings, I said farewell to my city and my family and friends, and I married Robert, an Austrian currently living and working in Stuttgart, which is how and why I find myself half way across the world…often wondering what it is that I will do with myself here!

And we brought the cat. Her name is Cheeto. (You know, because she’s orange.) Here’s a picture of her on the plane somewhere over the Atlantic. She was pretty drugged up at this point, which I would highly recommend when traveling long-distance with a pet. Oh, and a sedative for the humans involved with traveling pets isn’t a bad idea either.