Home Sweet Home

Hunting for a house this spring was as exciting as it was frustrating. I searched tirelessly sifting through photo after photo of houses in our area until they all blurred together. Offers were accepted on several houses that had been listed that same day. They were flying off this competitive market as quickly as they came on. Our realtor Lisa was kept busy adjusting our viewing schedule by the hour as homeowners accepted offers before we had a chance to see their home. Lisa was honest, quick on her feet, encouraging through the disappointments and excited for the potential we saw in our new home. 

Our search began broad as we were open to several areas in Charlotte. It wasn’t until we visited a couple of homes in the Ballantyne/Blakeney area that we decided this is where we wanted to plant our roots. We’re now a scenic 25-30 minute drive up Providence rd. to the city. 2 miles from a Trader Joe’s. 2 miles from the library. Nearly dead center to three of my favorite kid parks. And most unexpectedly under 10 minutes away from my old nanny family the Coggins. There’s tons of growing families here along with everything we need in a community.

When I was the Coggins nanny in Blakeney I grew to love the area and it’s well kept landscaping.  As much as I loved the area I figured it’d never be a possibility due to the rush hour commute to and from Uptown which is quite the headache. However, since Brandon started working from home we were able to choose our community over commute which is a huge blessing.

Per our friends suggestion I wrote up a short letter to the homeowner of our new home attached to our offer letter. Nothing too fancy. I simply wanted to express that we were a young couple starting our family and of course I attached a picture of us along with this ↓ winning photo of Bingley stating that he’d love the backyard to run around in.

The homeowner loved it. He couldn’t say no to the photo of Bing and accepted our offer!

So here we are. It’s been two weeks since closing, One week that we have been living in our home and the vast majority of our belongings are here. The last of our things will be moved tomorrow morning thanks to the generous help of our friends.

I’m enjoying fluffing our new nest before our daughter arrives. Making this place feel more like home each day. Brandon has been working his tail off getting this place in tip top shape for his girls. Today I told him to slow down and take a breather before he throws his back out. In the past two weeks he has:

1. Mowed the lawn, then raked up all the grass since it was so long.
2. Leaf blew the driveway to be free of pollen.
3. Started laying down concrete countertops in our kitchen.
4. Put together a grill and grilled out (He insisted on needing a grill as soon as possible to make dinners on me easier this summer with a new baby. I couldn’t agree more.)
5. Installed blinds downstairs.
6. Hung a floating shelf in our dining room.
7. Mounted my craft desk to the wall like it was in our home in Fredericksburg.
8. Scrubbed and cleaned our front porch banister of grime before painting it. (All this outdoor stuff is exciting to our neighbors who’ve stopped by to introduce themselves.)

To top it all off because he is the ultimate jack of all trades he replaced the glass on my phone since I cracked it a few days ago. Sometimes I take for granted how handy he is until I tell someone the multitude of things he’s accomplished and they become curious. I married a problem solver when it comes down to it and that has proven to be a quality I admire in him. He doesn’t give up easily and is always looking for things to improve in himself and in our surroundings. It’s what I never knew I wanted in a husband and I’m so glad our daughter will be raised by him.

Speaking of our girl here she is at just a month to go! Brandon says he gets to hold her for the next straight nine months. But I have a feeling that’s unlikely considering all the people wanting to come over for a snuggle!