Life Lately

Seersucker Tiered Dress

This past weekend, we escaped the bustling city for another serene stay at our lake house. Friends, it was so good for my soul. When we originally purchased the space, I’d hoped it would become a place of solace, relaxation, and escape. Moreover, we continue to want it to be a place that brings people together in a healthy, happy environment. Naturally, I brought along my favorite seersucker tiered dress 🙂

But what if the space wouldn’t rise to meet our expectations? Was my dream too vast? Will it all just fall flat? I authentically had a couple sleepless nights wondering if we had made the wrong decision about the purchase.

Thankfully, the lake home has turned out to be everything we wanted and more. It’s the embodiment of happiness.

But before you think this story has a happy ending, home ownership is not for the faint of heart. Issues arise at every turn.

Construction

Here’s the happy news – we’re on the precipice of change. Think months and months of architect planning, design meetings, etc.

As I’ve mentioned before, we plan to change nearly everything. That’s probably part of the problem, lol. It’s basically taking things down to the studs. After meeting with architects and bidding out contractors, we’ve been told it’s going to cost more than we originally anticipated…. by a LOT.

Like a lot, a lot, a lot.

As a fiscally conservative couple, and ones who didn’t major in inheritance in college, the numbers scare us. Listen, we’ve saved and worked our tails off to make our dreams happen. It’s why we’ve had full-time jobs and a side hustle that has us working seven days a week for more than a decade. It’s sobering to realize all that hard work might still not be enough.

Also, to be clear – we budgeted for a home knowing these types of changes would be needed. But phew – inflation, cost of materials, and the labor shortage is no joke. Plus, we’ve been told it’s only going to get worse and more expensive. So that’s fun. Haha!

So what does this all mean? Settling and sacrifice. Two “s” words I can’t stand.

We’re going to phase things out and take our time. Additionally, we’ll cut things out from the plan and make do with what’s feasible in this moment.

As we soaked up the views of the water this weekend, I was reminded of why we did this in the first place. For others. For our friends, family, and to spend quality time and make memories with the ones we hold most dear.

You can’t put a price on that. But stress sure costs something too. Looking forward to sharing more in the weeks and months to come.