Where I've Lived - Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Thank you for joining me for Where I've Lived - Fort Lauderdale Edition. I cannot believe that this is the sixth city where I have lived - and so many things have happened since we moved here.

Jonathan's company moved him to Fort Lauderdale in July of 2012, but I didn't move down from South Carolina until November of that year. While it wasn't fun to live apart after we had just been engaged, and were trying to plan a wedding - we knew that it was the best thing for our family and our future. Our plan was that I would move down to Fort Lauderdale by January regardless of if I found a job, but luckily I found a position and my company moved me down here!

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When Jonathan first moved down here his company found him an apartment for 6 months. This allowed us to look for a place to live and not have to find something immediately. Since we didn't know the area we decided we wanted to live close to work, needed at least 2 bedrooms, and that was about it. We found a place on SE 17th Street and were only 2 miles from my work and about 1 mile from his. Although there were some annoying parts of living there, we stayed for the first year and resigned the lease to stay another year.

A few months into our 2nd years lease, we found out we were expecting a baby. We knew the apartment was way to small for a family of 3 and broke our lease to move to a townhouse in Plantation. We LOVE our townhouse and I don't know how we lived in our cramped apartment for the first year. We now live about 20 minutes from work, but are a lot closer to many of the activities we like in the area. It is definitely a shorter drive to hang out with family, go to our doctor/dentist, and we are really close to the BB&T Center where there are tons of things going on.

Fort Lauderdale will always have a special place in my heart because this is where we became a family. Jonathan and I lived here when we got married, found out we were expecting and welcomed Jillian Harper into this world. I know we will not live here forever, but Fort Lauderdale will always live in our hearts.

We have made some great friends and had a lot of fun times with family over the past couple of years. We have started a new tradition of monthly game nights, and look forward to continuing this in the years to come. Jonathan and I have also made it to a few sporting events - professional hockey, football and baseball games. Maybe 2015 will be the year we make it to a Heat basketball game!

I had trouble picking only a few pictures - so here are a bunch from the past couple of years in Fort Lauderdale!

If you missed my previous Where I've Lived posts you can read them here:

Columbus Ohio

Blacksburg, Virginia

Palm Desert, California

West Palm Beach, Florida
Bluffton, South Carolina

I am sure that a lot will change over during the time that we live in Fort Lauderdale - and I'll make sure to update this post every now and then with the exciting things that are going on around here!

Where I've Lived - Bluffton, South Carolina

If you missed my previous Where I've Lived posts you can read them here:

Columbus Ohio

Blacksburg, Virginia

Palm Desert, California

West Palm Beach, Florida

Now on to Bluffton, South Carolina... In 2010 I was living in West Palm Beach when Jonathan was asked to move to Savannah, Georgia to open a new office with his company. After we discussed it, we figured that it would be a lot easier to live only 7 hours away, and there was always a chance I could get a job in Hilton Head, South Carolina which is only 1 hour away from Savannah. Jonathan moved to Savannah in September just before his birthday, and I went up to visit for a long weekend. During the day when Jonathan was working I decided to head to Hilton Head to have lunch with my old GM. During our lunch conversation we discussed the possibility of me coming back to the Island for a role as Assistant Front Office Manager, and by my birthday in November we were making plans for me to move in with Jonathan.

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We originally found an apartment in Auston Chase in Ridgeland, South Carolina - which was about 35 minutes from Savannah and 35 minutes from Hilton Head. It was the only centrally located apartment that we could find. This was the first place we lived together, and where we spent our first Christmas together.We lived in these apartments for only a few months, before we moved into our first home in April of 2011.

We had no intentions of purchasing a home, but decided it would be fun to see what was out there when we knew the area better. We discovered that Bluffton, South Carolina was a great city half way between Savannah and Hilton Head. Jonathan's drive would be more miles, but take less time since there was not nearly as much traffic. We also found that we could spend about the same on a mortgage for a brand new 4-bedroom, 2 1/2 bath home as our 2-bedroom 2-bathroom apartment. It was definitely exciting to move into our new home.

While living in Bluffton, we made many new friends and were able to have some of our old friends come visit. One of the most memorable times we had people over to the house was for the SECIRQ [South Eastern Clark Invitational Regional Qualifier]. The Clark Invitational is an annual beer pong tournament that put on by our friends Zach and Graham in Virginia. For a few years, when some of us lived outside of Virginia, we had a regional qualifier - basically another reason to get together and drink. We had custom koozies made, and had about 8 out-of-town guests along with 10-12 local friends attend the tournament. It was a huge success.

 

Over the next few months we continued to spend time with friends, and my youngest sister Lindsey lived with us for the summer [along with Kaitlin, her good friend]. We had crazy times scaring each other with the Justin Biebler cut-out, and watching awesome ABC Family shows... haha. Lindsey made Tuesday Cookies each week, and it was an awesome summer. We were a little sad to see her go, but super excited that she came to live with us again the next summer.

While living in South Carolina it was not uncommon for us to "hang out" with our friends via Google +. We would often have a power hour, or happy hour with our friends from back home before heading out for the night. Many of us lived in different cities so this was a great way for us to stay in touch.

Jonathan and I got engaged on May 2, 2012 and then he found out he was going to have to move to Fort Lauderdale in July to open a new office. We had already begin planning a wedding in Hilton Head, so it was super stressful to plan this knowing I would have to move away. While it was hard to deal with the long distance, it was definitely easier because Lindsey moved back in after graduation. Jonathan and I lived long-distance until I was able to get a job with Marriott in Fort Lauderdale in November. Lindsey moved to Hilton Head, and I spent the next 8 months traveling to South Carolina once a month to visit her and finish wedding planning. It is sad to think that we may never live in our first home again - but all of the memories we made while living there brings a smile to my face whenever I think of it!

In the next week or two I will have a post about living in Fort Lauderdale, and that will bring us to where Jonathan and I currently live! Make sure to stop back and check it out!

Where I've Lived - West Palm Beach, Florida

While living in Palm Desert I continued to look for job opportunities in Real Time [EST]. I heard about the opening of a hotel in Riviera Beach, Florida and wanted to know more. In speaking with my Director of Operations and General Manager I thought it would be the perfect way to move a little closer to Jonathan, or at least in the same time zone. I applied and interviewed for the job, but did not tell any family or friends I had applied.

While waiting to hear back about the job, Jonathan came out to visit and I took 2 weeks off of work. I received an early morning call being offered the job while he was visiting, and we were able to celebrate that I would be moving significantly closer to him now! My first few months of living in West Palm Beach were spent opening a new hotel. For anyone that does not know about this process, you spend about 16 hours a day working, and in my case living in the hotel. Some days I would not even leave the hotel. It was an awesome but tiring experience.

After the hotel opened, I was able to enjoy more of what West Palm Beach had to offer. I discovered my love of dive bars like The Brass Ring, and spending time on Clematis Street and at City Place. I confirmed my love of shopping spending time at The Gardens Mall, and was consistently tan for an entire year.

During this time I also discovered that I don't really care for Florida. I had always visited as a child, but I didn't really like living there. Looking back on things, I met some awesome people, and had fun while I was there but I wanted to live in the same city as Jonathan and I think this was a large part of why I didn't like Florida. I wouldn't have survived there without Heather and Ajitha, Brandon or Brett. They kept me sane while living there, and made sure that I always had a good time!

I lived in West Palm Beach for just over a year. My last day living in West Palm Beach was also my Birthday. I was so lucky to spend time with all of my friends from work at a going away party at The Yard House [one of my all time favorite restaurants]. It was on this day that I was also given the most beautiful birthday cake... Haha - Thanks Brett, Brandon, and Bryan! While it was sad to leave the friends I made, I knew that our friendship would last a lifetime... and I was happy to live in the same city as Jonathan for the first time ever!

If you missed my Where I've Lived post on Columbus Ohio, Blacksburg, Virginia or Palm Desert, California make sure to check them out!! Stay tuned for next week's Where I've Lived - Bluffton, South Carolina - I will have tons of pictures, since these weren't saved on my computer that crashed!

Where I've Lived - Pam Desert, California

I moved to Palm Desert, California 2 weeks after graduating from college, in January 2998. I moved there to take a job as a Bench Manager for Marriott Vacation Club. In my role as Bench Manager I worked as an Assistant Front Desk Manager, Assistant Housekeeping Manager, and Assistant Food & Beverage Manager. My role was cut short when I became the Food & Beverage Manager after only 9 months on the job. I lived and worked in Palm Desert for almost 2 years before taking a job on the East coast and heading back closer to home (and Jonathan).

While I was in the desert I made some great friends - most of which I am still close to today.  I a disappointed that I cannot get my external hard drive working, so that I can post a bunch of pictures, but I pulled a few from facebook from some of the memorable times in the desert.

I will always remember the fun times that I had with these crazy characters. Ben and Jeff and the Jackie Show, Paul, Kevin, Donovan and HJ Haemmerle, Kim and Anthony, and the list goes on. We spent plenty of nights at The Firehouse, Red Barn, at The River, and in different casinos - bars or bowling... maybe even a little karaoke!

Some of my favorite times when I lived in Palm Desert were the trips that we took over our days off. San Diego, LA, Santa Monica and Huntington Beach were only an hour and a half drive. We also spent far too many nights in Vegas, since it was only 3 hours away. Thank you all for making my first two years living on my own amazing! I don't get back out to the desert often enough, and hopefully I will make more trips in the upcoming years!

If you missed my Where I've Lived post on Columbus Ohio, or Blacksburg, Virginia make sure to check it out!! Stay tuned for next week's Where I've Lived - West Palm Beach, Florida!

Where I've Lived - Blacksburg, Virginia

Blacksburg, Virginia is the home of Virginia Tech. I moved to Blacksburg when I chose to go to college at Virginia Tech because I wanted to study Hospitality and see how I would do living away from home. Not only did I study in an awesome program, but I met some of my best friends, my husband, and loved every second of college.

My Virginia Tech Loves

While I have not been back to Blacksburg since 2008, I have kept in close contact with many of my college friends. We have spent time together for vacations, weddings, and most recently watched the Hokies beat the Buckeyes in football last Fall. I am sure that I will see some of these friends before September but I can't wait to go back Blacksburg this Fall to see The Virginia Tech Hokies play The Ohio State Buckeyes again! Tailgating and football in Blacksburg is no joke, and I can't wait to experience it again this year!

Looking through old pictures from the time I was in Blacksburg brought back so many great memories. I will never forget the times Kristen, Nicole, Alisa and I spent together beginning our Freshman year in East AJ, through the different apartments we lived in, and on Haemmerle Family Vacations. Football Games, Birthdays, Beer Tasting Contests, Jail, Dance Parties, Rivermill, Pint Night, Grape Blasters, Shot Nights, the list is endless.

One of my absolute favorite parts of being in Blacksburg (besides meeting Jonathan) was having the opportunity to adopt this cute puppy when he was 8 weeks old. Living in Blacksburg the summer between sophomore and junior year my roommate asked me if I wanted to go see puppies at the vet school. Who doesn't love puppies? Who knew that I would decide to adopt a puppy this day? After clearing it with the girls I was living with, and those I was moving in with in the Fall it was decided, I was getting a dog. The next day I paid $5 for my new puppy, named him Noodle and drove 5 hours home to Columbus for my sister Molly's high school graduation! Noodle has moved across the country and back. He is the perfect puppy and I can't believe he will be 9 years old in April.


If you missed my Where I've Lived post on Columbus Ohio, make sure to check it out!! Stay tuned for next week's Where I've Lived - Palm Desert, California!