and so the journey begins...

The honeymoon phase has not worn off. Andrew and I moved to Charlotte just over a year ago and we continue to fall more and more in love with the city everyday. After six years in Washington, D.C., I finally came to the conclusion that I'm just not cut out for big city living. And I think Andrew would also agree.

Charlotte is just a much better fit for us. It's a perfect fusion of small(ish) southern(ish) hospitality with the cultural perks and opportunities of most big(ish) cities...all packaged into a totally manageable medium-sized metropolitan area.

When we first moved down, we settled into a convenient and very affordable apartment complex, with the intention of eventually buying a house. As we anxiously awaited the sale of our D.C. condo, we began to discuss and debate the ideal location, size and style of our future home. Andrew was  willing to compromise on location to find a newer home, with great bang for the buck and all the modern luxuries that just frankly make life easier. I, on the other hand, a lover of every old, wanted to compromise on value, and purchase a much smaller/older place, closer to the city with big trees and lots of character, but likely to quickly be outgrown.

Shortly after embarking on the search process, thanks to a new friend's recommendation, we found a neighborhood which offered the perfect compromise. Located about halfway between the city and the newer suburban areas, our future neighborhood was developed in the late 70's with a mix of diverse and unique houses, lots of green space, and best of all, an abundance of large tree canopies. If we are going to live in Charlotte, we should feel like we are living in Charlotte, right?

To make a long story short, we found our Old Yellow, a real canary diamond IN THE ROUGH, and with a little love, patience and lots of renovations, we are confident it will (eventually)transform into our dream house...and so we are tracking the journey (which will hopefully not last TOO long!)