Farewell to our first home

Tomorrow we sell our first home together. A lot has happened in our lives in the past 2.5 years while we’ve lived here, and our house has been an incredible refuge among very difficult times and place of gratitude and celebration, too.

We were so fortunate to live in an urban jungle oasis — a place just minutes from Miami’s downtown, but in space that could not have felt further away. Our yard has been home to hawks, woodpeckers, hummingbirds, opossums (chased away by Mike), gray fox, raccoons, a very large land crab who arrived at my front door while cooking dinner, monarchs, the neighbor’s cat (also chased away by Mike), the cardinal that frequented after I lost my dad and always made me feel that he was near, and the insidious puss caterpillar (look it up) that stung both of us over the past two years and put Mike in the ER (for another blog). We take all the nature!

This was a home where Mike and my respective taste and aesthetics blended into a seamless one (thank god). Mike learned a thing or two from me about Florida flora (which he now knows all the names, even some scientific names). We fought a time or two (or 18) about where to place plants. I have no idea why, of all the things, this is the thing that we just could not agree on, but there you have it. I learned a thing or two from him about how much the man can accomplish in a single day, which frankly puts what I had once considered my type-a personality to shame.

We experimented with local craftsman/woodworkers to build shelving, bathroom cabinetry, and a wet bar we designed — winning some and losing some, and even ending up in court after one stole from us :( But for the most part, we found incredible local folks with amazing skills to help us, particularly our handyman who can basically do anything as far as I’m concerned.

We hosted friends (sometimes for extended periods, you know who you are ;)), hosted Thanksgivings in this house, got drunk, got a puppy, got too many rugs (my fault), got engaged (not necessarily in that order).

And now, we are are moving on, which admittedly has been a very difficult journey for me (and a good lesson in non-attachment), bringing me to the reason that we have created this blog…

We’ve bought a new jungalow in Coconut Grove, the jungles of all Miami jungles, and we’ve got a 1938 project house on our hands! We were keen to start a blog to document the work we are going to do, our passion for all things design, furniture, landscape, travel, and anything else that inspires a well-lived life, really. This will also be a space to feature Mike’s side-hustle furniture business and some amazing found pieces. So, if you’re into that kinda stuff, follow along with us…we’ll be posting more about the new casa and our plans soon!