The first 4th of July after we got married, we were down at Carolina Beach- soaking up sun and family time. We thought- wonder what a lot costs? Within a week I had located a lot, a little private, away from some of the beach town ruckus, a good price…. a price we could afford. …. wait, let me go back…. 3 months after getting married, Jeremy was laid off from his engineering job- our household income was cut by more than half. So- when July rolled around most people would think we were crazy for even thinking buying coastal property was a feasible idea. Well, a week after our crazy idea hatched, I found myself on the road to Carolina Beach at 6AM to see this lot in person. It was perfect. I called Jeremy. I called a realtor. We made an offer. We bought the lot August 6, 2010. We never thought that just over 2 years later, we would be closing again, this time on the construction loan. We’ve worked diligently since Jeremy got a new job in April of 2011 to pay off debts, and to save for a down-payment. We decided in January to go ahead and meet with an architect, over several months and revisions, we agreed on a plan…. then we spent late spring and summer researching and selecting a builder. We got the contract straight with the builder and it was time to actually find a loan. I was terrified. I was so scared that no matter how much we thought would be enough savings the bank would still find a way to deny us….. quite the opposite ended up happening. We started the loan process about a month ago, and picked October 22 for a closing date. Yesterday we drove 4 hours to the beach, signed our paperwork, ate dinner and ice cream, then drove 4 hours home. It was an exhausting, exhilarating day! We are waiting on the builder to finalize a schedule for us, but it should be done by February 🙂 Que girls weekends, boys weekends, family time, coastal wedding bookings (yes, please, we won’t charge travel in 2013 for weddings from Topsail-Oak Island!) and lots of relaxation. If you’re following me on Pinterest, I apologize for all the “beach house ideas” you’ve seen over the last 10 months…. but you’re only going to see more. I started pinning faucets this morning…. sorry for all the chrome, but we’re excited! A little memory from yesterday…..