North Carolina Tag

November 1, 2020 In Uncategorized

my. very. big. news!

Does a few days mean 2+ months to you? I didn’t think so, me either. But life always steps in, and here we are again so long between posts, even though I promised you some very big news “in a few days,” – back on August 25th.

(Let’s be real…it’s probably always going to be like this. We all wish there were more hours in a day:)

So, onto the VERY BIG NEWS!

For about the past 20 years, I’ve been told I would be an amazing one, that I would “love it” and that it would be a perfect fit for me. I always said, nah, I don’t think I want that. I really rejected the idea of this thing for a very long time for no good reason.

Then? Over the past several years and many many experiences, added to the place I’ve grown to now, a huge shift has happened, so I can’t believe I am sharing this with you all, but…

I’M GETTING MY REAL ESTATE LICENSE!!!

You didn’t think I was going to tell you I was pregnant, did you?

(HA! I had to mess with you there leading into this news because so many throughout my life have told me they wished I had babies.)

Yes, it’s OFFICIAL! I have finished my real estate classes and I’m just 1 test away from being able to help you rent, buy, or sell a home! (And yes, anywhere in the country, but I’ll get more into that in a later post.) By the time you’re stuffing your face with Thanksgiving turkey, this Blue Lollipop Road will be a licensed agent.

Can I get a WHOOP WHOOP?!

Insert nerd alert photo shoot here with me and my slim 886 page book. Crazy face included:

Do you notice anything in these photos you haven’t seen on me before?

Take a minute to do a little Where’s Waldo-ing.

In the meantime, I will say that I’m THRILLED to jump in and now be able to handle the last piece of what I haven’t been professionally/legally able to handle for clients during the big life transition processes I have been managing all these years…

the HOUSE piece! (Condo, apartment, etc. included.)

I’ve been a part of real estate transactions each week for years and years at this point through proximity/planning/osmosis during client projects, and I’ve seen the really good, the really bad, and the very, very ugly. It’s been frustrating at points to not have my license to be able to directly help friends, family, and clients through and with renting, buying, or selling. The good thing is, it’s at least been a little easier for me to be involved on this next level real estate thing over the past couple years, since my husband is a broker.

Did she just say…HUSBAND?!

Yep.

(I asked you if you saw anything different on me in the above photos. There’s a ring on my finger:)

I GOT MARRIED!!!

Well hot diggity, there’s big exciting news coming from every direction now!

(If you look closely, there are 2 blue lollipops in my bouquet.)

We were married exactly a YEAR ago, (see date in the sand?) in a tiny town in South Carolina with only 1 other person in the room (the one who was marrying us), on a Friday morning with a slight chill in the air, then drove straight to Hilton Head Island where we had been engaged a few months earlier. The goal was to have toes in the sand with bubbly in hand by sunset, and it turned out perfect. Beach, bubbles and sunset were the only things we planned, and strong mojo took care of the rest, including temperatures warming throughout the day, and the one random stranger walking on the beach who took these amazing photos with our old iPhone. All we said was “Hi! We just got married! Would you mind taking a few photos? Just quick shots…whatever you think. Thanks!”

How fabulous that a few snaps on a cell phone could’ve captured such a special day so beautifully.

One other little addition to the wedding day story to illustrate how mojo works? We had written vows and said them to each other that morning when we actually got married, and wanted to read them to each other again alone when we made it to the beach and popped our bubbles. We made it to the resort and out to the beach, set up our blanket, bubbles in hand, and Jason read his vows to me again, then I read mine to him. At the EXACT moment I finished my words, and we said cheers! – a huge roar of clapping and woo-hoo-ing erupted behind us from the place we were staying. There was another couple getting married that day at the event venue, and we had seen them upon our arrival setting up. As we were making our way out to the beach, it looked like they were about to start. They must’ve hit their “And now you may kiss the bride!” moment, right as we finished our second reading of our vows, too, sitting on our blanket in the sand. It was such a cool moment.

I love, love.

We never made any kind of formal announcement about getting hitched, so there you have it, 1 year later, coupled (see what I did there?) with a huge professional update/real estate licensure news!

We thought we may have a big huge happy shindig celebration in July this past summer, but you know…COVID, so we shall see what the future holds as far as us all shin-digging together to officially toast our marriage. This might be a long series of micro-shindigs. We’re good with that. We love good old fashioned quality time with friends and family in small groups.

My husband’s name is Jason. We grew up in the same Vermont small town, but didn’t even know each other or meet until the summer of 2017. I lived and traveled around the country and globe all those years, and my person not only ends up being from my same town, but I met him there, too?

Tell me you don’t believe in the mojo (magic) that can happen.

I’m one excited cookie to now be able to take all my collective years of life and professional experience, team up with Jason, and his, and help so many people reach the place and lifestyle they want.

Oh yeah…and that whole anniversary celebrating thing today as well of course.

A toast:

To staying open, and curious, and always learning. To not being afraid to walk away from something to walk to the next. To getting creative, to loving your work, and to chasing dreams. To following your heart and finding your best friend. To respecting the clock, to letting love rule, and to always keep looking up.

Cheers!

#TodayIsTheDay #AlwaysLookingUp #LifeOutsideTheDroneZone

August 30, 2019 In Uncategorized

back to school already?!

Y’all! (Like that southern charm?) It has been a BIII-ZEEEEEEEE (busy) summer! Holy guacamole. (Love that stuff.)

Humongo projects with downsizing 5,000 sq ft houses, travels to Vermont, for fun, family, and other, Pro Athlete client move across the country (hello flying for work…so fun and yes, sky miles, and wow lots of shoes), weddings, graduations, retirement celebrations, preparing client homes to go on the market, our birthdays and engagement (wha?!), off to Florida and overseas shortly, and did I mention more work, meetings, work, meetings, and boom, its nearly September?

30 seconds of summer!

At least I made it to the gym today before yet another work meeting with my partner in crime, at the coolest place that’s opened in Charlotte since Charlotte became Charlotte. (Ok, so the USNWC is a super awesome favorite as well.) Messy, frizzy hair don’t care:

When you work for yourself, you’re a hustla, baby. Sometimes you change in a bathroom, and have to go without a shower after getting your sweat on, so you can fill your pipeline with next opportunities. Sometimes weeks pass without a break, then you take a big one. Sometimes you wonder how you haven’t come up for your own air, and then realize it’s because you’ve been filling client lungs with what they need to breathe.

We help people get unstuck. We LOVE what we do. We declutter lives to clear paths for whatever’s next for the people who hire us, dealing with the most stressful all-consuming times they might ever have. (Then WE are all-consumed.) When we are on 24/7, we know we’re making a difference by being the trusted guide by someones side when they often don’t even know what end is up. It’s exhausting at times, but after we get the red carpet rolled out for our clients next adventures, we always make time for our own.

What’s next for you?

We hope your summer was BIII-ZEEEEEEEE (busy…the good kind) like ours. We also hope that you won’t ever be afraid to go out with messy hair so you can keep creating the life you want.

#LoveYourWork #LifeOutsideTheDroneZone #LessWaitingMoreDoing

October 22, 2018 In Links, Live the life you want to live, North Carolina

it’s never too late

I had a great lunch today at Charlotte’s brand new “55 and better” community, Overture Cotswold! I left behind a free consultation certificate, in the form of a jar of blue lollipops of course:

The Overture staff asked me to come talk to new and perspective tenants and I jumped at the chance. I love this building and their concept of apartment life kicked up a notch with amazing amenities. What’s not to love about simplifying your lifestyle at any age, especially once you’ve raised kids, taken care of the lawn for 20 years, replaced the water heater a few times, or looked around wondering why you have 3 spare rooms that never get used?

As I spoke with this group, I told them most of my clients say the same 3 things:

1.) I didn’t realize I had so much crap. (They laughed.)

2.) I can’t believe I didn’t do this sooner.

3.) I feel so much more free!

If you’re considering a lifestyle change including a whole lot more time for friends, family, travel, and fun…consider an option like this. Did I mention they have weekly happy hour in the club room? Walking downstairs in your sweatpants to have a little toast and social time with your neighbors at the end of the day sounds good to me!

60 is the new 30. There are no rules that say you have to stop dancing just because you have a few wrinkles.

#LessStuffMoreFreedomHappyLife #LiveSimpleDoMore #ImNotOnVacationILiveHere

January 17, 2018 In Freedom, North Carolina, Photos, Today Is The Day, Travel

celebrate everyday: day 17

There’s a WHOLE BIG world out there…

Today I celebrate airports:

I love being at the airport people watching, especially coming off a flight and walking to the exit or baggage claim with my fellow travelers and watching the greetings and reunions that happen. Such awesome happy moments to share in, even with complete strangers.

Are you missing someone? Buy yourself a plane ticket and go fly the friendly skies to see them. You’ll never regret it.

Today is the day, what are you waiting for?

#HopToIt #RespectTheClock #AdventureAwaits

*Need someone to convince you to just go? Call me! (804.339.6514) I can help.

January 4, 2018 In BLR-Mobile, blue lollipops, Honda, Inspiration, Links, North Carolina, Operation Charlotte, Photos, play, Sport, Strong Mojo, Vermont

celebrate everyday: day 4

1.4.18

Look what finally came in the mail!

Today I celebrate license plates!

It took me a LONG time to give up my green mountain state tags (and I sure didn’t want to), but imagine my delight to find a “Support Soccer” offering as an option for North Carolina.

Perfect. I think I’m in love.

You can take a girl out of Vermont, but you could never take her mojo away.

What are you doing to remember where you came from?

#StartDriving #AlwaysLookingUp #HondaLove

*Have you lost your mojo? Ready to make a change? Call me! (804.339.6514) I can help.

July 17, 2017 In North Carolina, Photos

because you never know who’s watching

I just went for an early morning run through the blue-skied city:

About halfway through beating feet, a guy walking toward me pulled a cigarette out to light up. When our eyes met, he looked at the cigarette and back at me a couple times. Right as I passed him, he put it back in the box.

Yahoo!

Maybe it was a coincidence, and maybe he lit that stick up two seconds later. Either way, I’m hoping our unexpected quick interaction made him stop and think for a minute about smoking.

Happy Monday!

Want to make a positive impact? Keep going out into the world and doing what you love.

#LifeOutsideTheDroneZone #HopToIt #TodayIsTheDay

February 9, 2017 In North Carolina, Photos

the world is my oyster…and my office

Where do you work?

#CoffeePaysMyRent #CLT #LessStuffMoreFreedomHappyLife

September 2, 2016 In Articles, Links, North Carolina, People, Travel Tips and Tricks, Uncategorized

tiny me up, scotty!

Thanks to Charlotte Agenda for this little (get it, little?!:) nugget of info. today about tiny houses for rent around my neck of the woods.

When I lived in Wilmington in 2009, I rented a brand spanking newly finished tiny house, (before anyone called them tiny houses) in the back yard of a sweet young couple who had a brick ranch and a cute 2 year old son. My tiny house was actually a converted shed and I only paid $525/month. The hubby, Zack had done all the work himself, complete with chalkboard wall in kitchen, pullout drawer dishwasher, modern rectangular bathroom sink, loft bed, high ceilings, and skylight. It was AWESOME.

I sure wish I still had that place!

This is where minimalists like me have an occasional DOH! moment:

I just looked for a few photos I took of my fab mini space to share with you here, and sure enough found that I have deleted them in one of my 7 million photo purging fiestas over the years. You will just have to envision the scene of my bike parked right outside white-trimmed french doors on the patio leading into my beach happy home that was light blue. I did find this summer of 2009 ocean shot of my feet during that time:

Ahhh…

What can you do to simplify your space so you’re able to live more?

#LessStuffMoreFreedomHappyLife #Simplicity #GetTinyLiveBig

June 18, 2016 In BLR Memorial Travel Scholarship Fund, BLR Play It Forward 2016, grow, Inspiration, Links, Live the life you want to live, North Carolina, Uncategorized

a time for incomparable experiences

I love waking up in the city:

…in the very early morning when the sun has just come up and the streets are all quiet. It’s like a peaceful calm before the traffic storm, those few precious moments for those of us who live on the pavement when we can sip coffee and dream big in peace before the honks and screeches start.

The city; A place where action happens and the world moves quickly. How I love it, and then escaping that madness to the complete opposite end of the spectrum which I love just as much (maybe a little bit more) at this point in my life. This was my happy drive to a client home today in the country:

Being in cement city for a Vermont girl during the warm months is very hard. Being in cement city for a nomadic-souled national park-loving, freedom-needing road tripping girl is very hard, so drives like this are always welcome. I need open windows, and green spaces. I need outside not inside, and I need room to breathe. Play It Forward Weekend kicks off 3 weeks from today in my home state, and I can’t wait. I always feel my absolute best, most creative, alive, and easy going self on the road. For as much work as this big event entails, it fuels me back tenfold to be able to hop in the car, all windows down and head far north to connect with the place and people I came from and do something good.

I spent many of my young adult years “on the road” in open spaces during the summer doing things like sitting in German biergartens, hiking in and around national parks, driving and camping across the country, and sitting in a hammock in the middle of the South Pacific. This time of year I think about every “kid” like me all that time ago who is boarding a plane heading for a language program in a country far away, or that group of gal pals who just finished up college and are now road-tripping across the country to go work at some random beach bar for the next couple months before they start their “real jobs.” I think about that group of guy friends who are planning a long 4th of July weekend away in the mountains to hike and camp in the next state over. I think about the recent high school grad about to embark on a Gap Year adventure, and I think…HELL YEAH! These are the times.

Oh my gosh that feeling and those experiences. They are THE BEST EVER, and nothing compares.

If you’re a parent reading this, please encourage your kids go on that trip/program/study abroad. They will become forever changed and even more badass than they already are. If you’re a twenty-something reading this and you’re slaving away at a minimum wage job that you hate before you go back to college, tell your boss thanks anyway, pack and bag and go somewhere new. Go explore anything you’ve wanted to before you get bogged down and locked down. You will never regret it, I promise.

My business is teaching people how to live simple so they can do more and be more of what they love. I work with clients typically age 45 – 65 who are making big life changes. A lot of them are getting themselves “unstuck” (whether their decision or not) from situations that were not working or not fun for a lot of years. Either during or at the end of my projects, nearly every single person shares the same three things:

1.) “I wish I had done this sooner.” (Downsizing, moving, jumping, making change, etc.)

2.) “I can’t believe how much stuff I have/had.” (Physical, financial, and personal.)

3.) “I wish I had traveled more when I was younger.”

During this time of year when air is warm and possibilities seem endless, all I think of is why doesn’t everyone who has any power, authority, or advisory over young people just tell them to go, go GO. Go before you collect a whole bunch of that “stuff” like I did!

For any of my clients who might look back and wish they did things a bit differently, I know I have at least helped them feel more freedom that they might not have otherwise been able to get to. It is so rewarding. We leave each other with hugs most every time and I feel like we teach each other so much. At the end of the day whether you’re 25, 45 or 65, all we really want is to have good times with good people. The stuff really doesn’t matter…period. I learn that again and again and again.

So many of us make big humongous ginormous life decisions (like college majors, careers, cars, houses, spouses, pets, babies, etc.) at ridiculously young ages and far before we have seen the world at all or built the best possible tool box to actually make those often life-altering decisions. Before we decide on important commitments that will seriously change the course of our existence on this planet, I say get lost, go broke, laugh with strangers, try that weird thing, feel uncomfortable, open your mind, don’t listen to naysayers. Move to that place you’ve always been curious about, quit whatever is breaking your heart or sucking your soul. Get up early, stay up late, work hard for what you want and it will all come together. Get your own life, don’t live someone else’s.

Hit the “road,” Jack, Jill, and everyone else who’s young bucket list is overflowing! Collect people and experiences, not stuff. I’ll be thinking of you with big smiles as I hit the road myself here soon, imagining all the awesome adventures you’ll have.

#DoStuffDontBuyStuff #Explore #LiveTheLifeYouWantToLive

September 7, 2015 In Inspiration, North Carolina, Photos

monday morning reminders in license plates

I seem to have a theme of pulling behind a lot of cars lately that have little pokes of inspiration. This one as I exited the highway after a long drive, headed to see a friend at the hospital. Perhaps even more appreciated than on any other day:

Live Love Laugh

Thanks, Mr. License Plate. I will. I promise. That’s what It’s all about.

How are you living, loving, and laughing today?

#LiveLoveLaugh #SeizeTheDay #LookUp