our next stop

The past few months have been quite the ride. Back in April we found out our next military orders are to Cherry Point, North Carolina, and to say I was upset would be an understatement. It wasn’t what we had hoped for or what I, as the big dreamer I am, envisioned. But, all that being said I’m slowly coming around to the idea. Rather, I’m slowly learning that it isn’t the end of the world. Sure, it may not be where I dreamed of living, but after a year of living apart, I would do just about anything to live with Ben again. Maybe it doesn’t have the bustling city atmosphere that I adore stepping outside to each day, but it does have a view of the water from our window. Maybe it doesn’t have a million brunch options, but Ben and I will get to wake up with coffee in a home that is ours. Maybe I’ll actually have to drive my car to get to places rather than walking everywhere, but Ben and I can head to the beach together on weekends. “Ours” and “together” are the keywords here. I can’t wait to decorate together, make dinners together, and make our new place home together. It’s funny how everyone always seems to say to me, “Oh, I’m sure you are use to the whole long distance thing,” considering Ben and I did long distance throughout college. But let me tell you, it doesn’t make it any easier. So little New Bern, looks like it’s you, me, and Ben for these next few years.

 

All that being said, a few weekends ago we made the trip down to North Carolina to search for our new abode. These past few years we have taken the unconventional route of finding flats and apartments online and then truly lucking out. Prime example: our flat in London. This was the first time we actually got to look for homes we wanted to see and then set up appointments to view them. What a concept! We hit the road early on Saturday morning with a coffee in hand. As we inched forward, Ben had a nice laugh every time we passed a road sign informing us just how far we were from New Bern. Each time, he would glance at my fear stricken face. At 30 miles away, fields of nothing. At 15 miles away, fields of nothing. At 5 miles away, okay fine there was signs of life then.

We passed by New Bern to head east to Morehead City to look at our first house. As lovely as it was it simply had too many rooms. You see we’ve always lived in tiny places. I like it that way. But, the idea of moving from a studio to a 3 bedroom is ambitious. Like what does one do with so many rooms? The water was lovely, the neighborhood was nice, but it just wasn’t for us. 

Feeling a bit deflated that Morehead didn’t quite feel like home, Ben figured we could head to Beaufort, a cute little town on the water, to walk around and maybe grab some lunch. Great idea, right? As we pull up we start to see a few people dressed head to toe in pirate attire. Then, we turn the corner and there are HUNDREDS OF PIRATES AND MUSIC AND BOATS AND AHOY MATEYS. You can’t make this up and we could not stop laughing. Of all weekends in the entire year, we just so happen to plan our home search on the same weekend as the two day PIRATE CONVENTION. But mark your calendars ladies and gentlemen, Pirate Convention 2K17 could be a good time. 

It was time to give New Bern a try. We pulled up and grabbed lunch overlooking the water right beside the first home we were scheduled to see. Lunch was grand, the view was lovely, the home was locked. If you are a Gilmore Girls fan, envision Taylor for a moment. This kind, very southern man, was suppose to show us the home while the owner was away and there was a bit of miscommunication so we ended up driving him to the office to grab another set of keys. On this very short drive we learned he owns a wine shop, is a caterer, does the maintenance, and has another company. He was literally the town Taylor. We ended up having to wait a bit to get in to the home so we wandered about the town in and out of the shops and stopped to test the local ice cream. Priorities people, priorities. We viewed two other beautiful older homes with wrap around porches and all the heart eyes, but it still didn’t seem right.

New Bern’s Taylor finally figured out a way for us to get in and all my home dreams came to life. It’s perfect and its ours. There is an upstairs overlook of the water where I’ll work, two bedrooms, a spiral staircase, two fireplaces, and the most beautiful rooms. We are in love.
So excited for this place to be ours in under a month! Feeling exceptionally proud of our accomplishment checking off an item on our moving to-do checklist we hopped back in the car on the way back to Virginia Beach. We shared dinner and late night conversations with Anna, Eric, and Jean Luc and it was the perfect ending to the perfect day. I always love having the band back together and hold their friendships so dear to my heart. We have a good thing going.

 

On to this past weekend! Ben was able to drive up to DC and we had the best weekend. Friday evening we made dinner together (this is not a minor detail, this is such a treat!), and then walked down to Pleasant Pops. It’s been on my DC to do list and I figured now is the time to start marking those items off. We were both pleasantly pleased with our pops. Saturday morning Ben planned to mark another big item off my list. SUNRISE AT THE MONUMENTS. I’ve begged Ben to do this with me since I moved to DC, but it was often 5 degrees and we would have to wake up at some crazy hour in the winter. We finally went and it was such a beauty.

It definitely lived up to my hopes and dreams. 

I know I have given DC a bit of grief and maybe not loved it from the start, but this view has me thinking I am really going to miss this place. 

Ben, you’re a gem.

The rest of our Saturday we spent looking at furniture, taking a nap, and getting ready for our evening. We grabbed happy hour with friends before taking advantage of Restaurant Week, which is the greatest concept of all time. Long live Restaurant week! We dined at the Oval Room and it was a three course meal treat.

 

A lot of changes going on over here, but boy am I excited for more weekends together and our new little abode.