You’ve already heard about this news a million times over on Instagram and Facebook.  I have had so many questions that I thought this would be probably the easiest place to discuss all of the things. Along with your questions, I wanted to share our feelings of our decision, too.  We usually don’t say a word to anyone until the paperwork is signed and monies are exchanged on our homes that we sell.   Because really anything can happen.  We say… it’s not final until it’s final.  BUT, with stories over on Instagram being the big thing, you would all see us living amongst boxes and there would be no hiding it.  So we announced it on social media several weeks ago.  I have never officially announced it over here on the blog until today.  And, I am only doing that because we closed on the sale today.  It is FINAL.

The House on Winchester is SOLD

The House on Winchester is where this particular chapter of our lives began.

Back Story:  We have flipped several homes in the last 20 years.  12-15 maybe…???  We lost count.  We’ve always wanted to move south, so we sold all of our properties in 2015, including our main home, store front, and a rental, and kept one small tiny house of around 600 square feet.  We ended up moving there until we gained our bearings with a nightmare move.  Our plans were to move to Tennessee because we think the mountains are just beautiful.  Meanwhile, we decided we wanted to flip another house while we waited until something came up there.  So, we put an offer on the perfect flip house and our offer was accepted.

I happened to hop onto the sheriff’s sale site and saw the House on Winchester was being auctioned off.  Long story short.  It was in ROUGH shape.  It was a very sad house, filled with trash, and needed SO MUCH WORK.  We have ALWAYS loved this house and said many, many times… “If that house EVER goes up for sale, it’s ours.”  Well…. it did.  And we bought it.  So we found ourselves again with three homes:  the tiny house we were living in, the flip house, and the House on Winchester.

We ended up falling in love with this house and decided since we hadn’t found anything in Tennessee yet, we could live here for a few years and then move.  Both other houses were sold.

The Beginning of the Blog

In the midst of working on the House on Winchester, I decided I wanted to document the entire process.  Because I wanted other people to see that two women can do ALL OF THE THINGS.  I wanted to show others that you can have a home you love and by being very creative, you won’t have to spend tons of money.  With that idea, the House on Winchester blog began.

It became bigger and better than I ever could imagine.  I had people tuning into our Instagram stories every single day to see what we were up to and what projects we were doing.  Companies started to take notice and reaching out to see if I would work with them… reviewing products… or simply decorating my home with their products, trying different cosmetics, and then writing about them.  And our business began!

The Idea and Talk about Selling

Tennessee is where we wanted to be.  Actually… we just wanted to be stuck on a mountain nestled in a forest.  We both LOVE being outside and listening to the birds.  Yes, we are bird-watching ladies.  But, we gave up on that idea a few years ago because all of our family is here and we didn’t want to leave them.  There was still something nagging at us.  We were dying to be out in the country again where we both grew up.  We wanted to hear nothing but silence…… and birds.

Every now and then, we would look at the real estate available in our area and there was nothing we were interested in.  We have lived in several homes and have a long list of MUST HAVES.  At this stage in our lives, we aren’t settling.  This next home is our final move…. it’s the NEXT CHAPTER.  We would need to build OUR perfect house.  We joke that our next move will either be to the nursing home or the funeral home.  Because the next one is it!

Our discussion during happy hour on the porch one evening:

Danelle:  “I just want to be in the country so bad… I feel so at peace out there.”

Deb:  “I know…. but do you really want to do this now?  I mean we are busy with our business and have a lot of commitments.  Can you imagine adding a move into the mix?”

Danelle:  “No… but I just can’t get over the feeling… it almost makes me sad.  I feel like we are just pushing this off because of a dumb reason.  We both long for that feeling and that feeling isn’t going away.  I think we should pay attention to that.”

Deb:  “I think we should wait 2-3 more years and then make the move.”

Danelle:  “Do you think being 2-3 years older, we will want to do it then?  I think not.  I’m so afraid that we will stay here out of pure laziness and comfort and never follow our dream of building OUR perfect house in the country.”

Three Days Later

Deb and I were at dinner with two of the girls.  My phone rang.  It was a real estate agent in our town who is also my friend.  She said, “I have a client from out of town.  She is describing the house she wants and I can’t stop thinking that she is describing yours.  Would you ever be interested in selling?”

HELLO, sign from the Universe.

Our Future Plans

It took a few days to sink in after we actually signed the paperwork on the deal.  We walked around not knowing where we would go or how I would run a lifestyle blog business out of a tent.  ???? To tell you the truth, that was my biggest fear.  But, Deb and I KNOW… without a doubt, that everything ALWAYS works out.  It may seem like there is NO WAY things will fall into place, but they always do.

We ended up receiving a phone call from a friend, who has several rental homes in our town, saying one of hers was available.  She got an unexpected notice that someone was moving out of one, so we took her up on that offer.  We will be living in the rental until we start the building process on some land that has been in Deb’s family for years… 15 minutes away…. in a very peaceful woods… with lots of birds. ❤️

Our Feelings about Leaving

This house was a HUGE stepping stone for so much that has happened in this chapter of our lives.  It not only allowed me to start our business, but it made both of us realize that we need to stay right here in this area of the country to be with family and friends.

The heart wants what the heart wants.  And, our hearts belong in the peaceful country.

Therefore, we have nothing but gratitude for the House on Winchester.

Onward to bigger and better things!

I am SO EXCITED to share EVERYTHING with you guys…. from decorating the rental, what we have in mind for our new house and new property, remodeling our camper.  Yes, we bought a camper to keep on the property while we work on the land and house.   It will be documented over on our You-Tube channel and we will share here, too.  I have a few videos that I threw together already that are janky as hell, BUT…. hey…. they can only get better.  ????

We will soon be talking about how I am going to incorporate our business name in the mix of it all.  Because it will be staying the same for those of you wondering.

So…… make sure you subscribe to get the updates.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

OK….Now…. I need to take this moment to say how much I appreciate you.

Just the fact that you stick around and read my blog makes me a little emotional.  I sometimes cannot believe anyone would want to read about what we are doing.  We are pretty boring, if you ask me.  ????   Your support throughout this entire journey is appreciated more than you know.  So, THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart, for being on this journey…. and in this chapter with us.

CHEERS… as we close this one and open a new one!  Are you ready for the ride?