2018 Highlights + Recap

It didn’t seem right to let 2018 fade away without taking a moment to recap and reflect on what has been such a monumental year for us. The latter half especially has been a bit of a whirlwind, so if you’ve lost track of things around here, I don’t blame you! Even I have trouble remembering everything that’s happened over the past 12 months.

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Let’s take a walk down memory lane, month by month, highlighting the noteworthy events of this rollercoaster ride of a year…

January

• Moved from San Francisco, CA to Tampa, FL to embark on a new journey of real estate investing. Started a vlog to document our progress

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• Found & bought our first property less than two weeks later

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February

• Closed on our first property, and went under contract on a 5-unit Bungalow

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• Began offering E-Design Services

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• Began renovations on first property (dubbed the Heights House)

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March

• Still under contract for the Bungalow, waiting patiently as the seller delays escrow
• Get a late night call from a future neighbor telling us our Heights house is on fire. More than half of the house is destroyed (cause was never determined by fire investigators)

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• After already committing to the One Room Challenge weeks prior, I decide to stick with it and instead makeover our apartment bedroom.

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April

• Still stuck in limbo with the Bungalow and took up furniture flipping to pass the time

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• Shared a “Real Life Home Tour” Spring edition to memorialize our transient, termite-infested existence

May

• Revealed our One Room Challenge makeover

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• More delays and challenges with the Bungalow contract

• The burned Heights House sits vacant as we work with insurance and come up with a plan to rebuild

June

• We make the decision to demolish the old Heights House and build new. It’s a big commitment both financially and time-wise, but we know it will be the right move in the end
• The Bungalow headache continues, with the seller requesting yet another 30 day extension. We feel helpless, frustrated and stuck. Until…

• A new opportunity pops up out of nowhere and we jump on it: our third property. We go under contract as a lease to own, which means we can live in and renovate it over the next several months, and will purchase the property before the contracted date in April 2019

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• We decide to turn this property into a vacation rental (after we move out) named “The Riverside Retreat”, and put together a tropical earthy oasis design plan

July

• I head north to work on a special client design project and document Part 1 (I know Part 2 is long overdue—there have been lots of delays out of my control with this one unfortunately! It’s coming…)

• I reveal a fun patio makeover project for a friend

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• We move into the Riverside Retreat and and tackle our bedroom first

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• After permitting delays, the old Heights House is finally demolished to make way for our new build

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• After nearly half a year, we FINALLY CLOSE ON BUNGALOW!

August

• A difficult first month as landlords leaves us with a loss after having to evict one tenant, another fleeing the country, and the discovery of a major termite infestation requiring the tenting of both buildings

• Renovations begin on the Riverside Retreat

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September

• We finally break ground on the new Heights House and I share all the plans

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• We also (literally) break ground on our tile floors at the Riverside Retreat and transform the house with new laminate floors

• Bits and pieces of the Riverside Retreat come together, and our laundry room renovation is started and *almost* completed…

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• But first, we take a few days off to get married (photos by Adam Black Photography)

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October

• The laundry room reveal, and my most liked photo of all time on Instagram:

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• Exciting progress as the walls go up just weeks into construction of our Heights House:

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Then the second floor a few weeks later:

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• Phase 1 of the Guest Bedroom makeover is completed

• And progress on our Dining Room makeover gets underway

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November

• Our ‘Rainforest Room‘ guest bedroom is revealed:

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• Interior walls and windows, followed shortly by electric, AC and plumbing are installed at the Heights House

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• Our Riverside Retreat Dining Room is complete, just in time to host Thanksgiving!

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• Our most challenging yet rewarding DIY project yet:

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December

• Took it slow with a break from DIY projects and easy holiday decor

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• Finally got our furniture and an arrangement down for the living room—just a couple projects left to tackle in here!

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And that brings us to today, the very last day of 2018. Looking back at it all now, I can remember the heart-sinking moments, the days of frustration and doubt, the stress of juggling so many things at once. But I also feel a sense of progress and accomplishment, and peace knowing that even though we weren’t in control for so much of it… life always has a way of working itself out.

While 2019 is shaping up to be a year packed with even more projects and ‘to-dos’, there is certainly more stability now—and part of that is comforting to me. I’ve relished a lifestyle of change and unknowns over the past few years, but I think I’m ready to settle down in one place for a little while. Traveling will always be a priority for us (even though it has been put on hold for the time being) but it feels good to have a home base somewhere. I think we made the right choice in choosing Tampa to be that place.

See you on the other side,