We sold our house!

We sold our house! And wow, it has been a whirlwind. But before I get to that, here’s the whole story.

Shaun and I moved here from Michigan September of 2016. Shaun got offered a promotion within his company and came home to tell me that he had this “crazy offer” but “no way could we ever do it” because my business is based out of Michigan and Ohio. Little did he know, 3 hours earlier I was talking out loud and asking God to put me where I needed to be. I felt unfulfilled and I needed a challenge. Boy, did he ever deliver. As soon as Shaun spoke those words I replied, “We need to go.” I knew in my gut and my heart that this was the answer to my question. Charlotte, NC wouldn’t be the answer to all of my questions nor would it be the solution to any of my problems but it would challenge me. And quite possibly change me. 3 years later I’m here to tell you it’s done both.

I always refer to our tiny house in Michigan as the house that built me. It’s where I grew up as an adult. It’s where I started my first business. It’s where I got ready for my first date with Shaun. It’s where I had many birthday parties, many celebratory drinks, many hard times, and even more happier times. After the movers had taken all of our stuff out of the house we slept on a wheat thin of a mattress in the basement the last night (because that’s all that we had left in the house) and in the morning we left for Charlotte. I packed Ri up in his carrier and I walked around the house for the last time and cried like a baby. I said goodbye to the house that built me. That built my relationship. It was the first house Shaun and I ever bought together and it was hard to let go of. Although Shaun and I bought it together I had been living there for a few years and it really felt more like my house than ours, so I knew this next house would be different.

We purchased a home together right outside of Charlotte, NC. It was huge compared to what we lived in before. It was a brand new build and as soon as we walked in I just knew the potential it had for what I wanted to do to it. (If you ever wonder why my house looks like a Princess castle or why it looks like I live in my own apartment it’s because my husband is a saint and just lets me do whatever I want.) We honestly thought we’d stay here forever and have kids in this house. This was a 5-10 year house for us.

Fast forward to June when Shaun and I got married. I had been telling him I wanted to move but there was so much going on in our lives we decided to table it until further notice. We went and got married, went on a 2 week honeymoon and never spoke about it. After a few weeks of being home the thought started to creep into my mind again so I casually brought it up to Shaun. If you know Shaun and I, you know that Shaun is a procrastinator. Like, he is the President of the procrastinator club. And I am a Type A, OCD, planning mess. A procrastinator’s worst nightmare. But somehow, together, we make it work.

So Shaun tells me we should table it again. He may get into a new position at work, let’s talk about it down the line. Well, I can’t wait. So I start doing my own research and I start talking to God and I tell him to put me where I need to be. Put me on the right track for what I’m meant to do in life. Challenge me. The next morning I woke up with the strongest gut feeling to sell our house and to move. Like, now. So I bring it up to Shaun again but this time not so casually. He thinks I’m crazy but at this point I’m used to him thinking that so I give him my plan. And as crazy as he thinks it sounds he tells me okay.

Shaun had a Detroit trip for work planned for the following week but I knew in my gut we couldn’t wait. He doesn’t like to rush things but I told him just to trust me. We cleaned the house, decluttered, had it photographed, and listed all within less than a week. Shaun was already in Detroit by the time it hit the market and less than 24 hours later it sold. We couldn’t believe it! We honestly still can’t.

As we start to pack and the emptier our house gets the more it hits me that we’ll be leaving this house behind as well. And as much as our tiny house was the house that built me, this was the house that broke me. It saw the worst side of me. The confused girl who moved from her 25 year comfort zone to come down South which, no offense native Southerners, might as well be a different country. The angry girl who missed her friends and family. The heartbroken girl who attended 3 funerals. The lonely girl who realized that once you’re out of sight, you’re out of mind for the people in your life who truly don’t care to maintain a friendship with you. The terrified girl who experienced 4 hurricanes. But this house also allowed me to start my second business. It allowed me to open up my mind to new rules of design and playing with patterns. I got engaged, and married in this house. I had so many visitors in this house that the first year of us moving here we only had 11 total weekends off with the house just to ourselves. This is the house that really tested all of my relationships, including my relationship with Shaun.

Sometimes I can’t believe I survived the past 3 years. And other times I can’t imagine what my life would look like had I not come here. I was a scared young girl who said yes to an idea, a thought, a gut feeling. Now I’m 3 years older, a little bit less scared, and ready to listen to my next gut feeling. And even though this house broke me in many ways, I’m thankful for each and every bit of it. These past 3 years have shown me what I’m really made of. I know they say not to get attached to houses, but man, this was a good one.

P.S. Stay tuned for our next location!