A Trip Down Memory Lane

Last Wednesday we headed to Nashville to kick off Thanksgiving. We dropped Jack and Sophie off at Nanna's house and Daniel and I headed to Brentwood for a date. As we drove, I searched for a place to eat and was surprised to discover a Brixx Wood Fired Pizza in the area. I looked it up to see if it was our Brixx, the one that is based out of Charlotte, NC. And sure enough, it was. Evidently they have really expanded and have quite a few locations outside of Charlotte these days.

Once our decision was made, we hurried into the restaurant to escape the rain. As we waited for our food – we always split a Chicken Florentine Pizza – we reminisced about Charlotte...

The very first time we ate at a Brixx restaurant was 10 years ago. We had gone to Charlotte for Daniel's final interview with LandDesign and we were exploring the city. We were young and had no idea what the future held. We had been married for almost 2 years and were trying to determine what would be the best direction for our lives after Daniel graduated. 

We liked Charlotte, it's a beautiful city. We liked the thought of living downtown, within walking distance of Daniel's work. It was a point in our lives where we thought moving away would strengthen and grow our marriage. We didn't know a soul, which was intimidating but also exhilarating. In the end, Daniel accepted the position and we made the move over the mountains.

This meant I had to leave a good position working in the marketing Department of U.S. Stamp and Sign. It meant Daniel went without me to move all of our belongings into storage and pick out an apartment so I could wrap up my job. It meant saying goodbye to so many we loved. But it also meant a fresh start on our own, to figure out our own way in life.

Charlotte had its ups and downs for us. We found a church and small group that we grew to love, but we spent several years feeling lonely. The loneliness helped our marriage to grow as we mostly had each other to rely on, but it was hard.

It's been 10 years since that interview. We have since moved 4 times, purchased 3 houses (Charlotte, Hollywood, Signal Mountain), lived in a camper, lived in hotels, got a dog, had a child, and had many adventures along the way. We lived in Charlotte for 5 years, that's a record for us!

Thank you for the trip down Memory Lane, Brixx!

Charlotte – How We First Came to the Queen City

Charlotte, North Carolina is a special place for Daniel and I. It is the first big city we lived in and really our first time to feel like we were on our own and truly grown up, not just two kids playing house.

We initially came to the Queen City when Daniel received a job offer from a landscape architecture firm as a civil engineer. It was February of 2004 and the economy was doing great. We didn't know a soul and our closest family members were 7 hours away. We were still newlyweds, married just over two years at the time. We didn't really know what to expect. I left a good job in Cookeville, TN and we threw ourselves into the task of becoming adults...

We rented an apartment uptown, two blocks from Daniel's firm. At the time, there was very little happening uptown after the hours of 5pm. The banking community would have a mass exodus from center city as employees fled the downtown area. It was actually kind of bizarre to live where we lived. It was great for Daniel in terms of proximity to work, but at the time, we didn't really feel like we lived in a city. 

After 9 months of listening to the trains rumble by our apartment in 4th Ward, we finally took the plunge and bought our first house... a fixer upper in South Charlotte. It took us 5 years to renovate that house. A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into it. Also a lot of love. 

During the course of our time in Charlotte, I worked as a graphic designer for a real estate company and a product development company; I also freelanced from home and taught at a local community college. Our years were full and we generally felt blessed.

We found friends and community in the form of a small group from our church. We didn't always feel connected at church itself, but the weekly meals and bible study in our friend's homes made us feel like we had a place.

In 2009, with the collapse of the economy and the housing market, Daniel experienced a layoff. It was not unexpected, but a layoff is hard nonetheless, even when you know it is a real possibility. Our last year in Charlotte was a difficult one, but after 12 months of nose-to-the grindstone searching, Daniel found a job in a new industry in a new state and we left the city that helped us become "grown ups." This was also when we got Sophie – our beloved dog that has changed our lives forever.

This week, we have come back for our first visit {together} in more than two years. A lot has changed –for one, we now have a wonderful little guy who has brought us abundant joy– but a lot is still the same.