A Labor of Love

Eleven days in… Pretty nice so far. Both of my parents have visited and at least one of my boys has been here which has been all been great. 👍🏾 There hasn’t been much time to be homesick 😷 and tomorrow it’s back to the grind. Oddly enough, social media created the exact opposite feeling that I thought it would.  Instead of feeling a sense of emptiness, every picture, funny comment, and like has made me smile with contentment. I have an awesome circle of family and friends no matter the distance. 🌎

It’s my first holiday weekend here in Charlotte and here I thought I would be bored but Kenneth and I are having a great time.  There’s something to be said for situations where you and your spouse have only each other’s company. 👫 Of course, we’re the silliest couple on the planet and that makes everything better. We’ve even had two BBQs to attend. An actual social calendar 📆  NOW THATS WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT

Since my dad was visiting, we attended one of his sister churches here in Charlotte. The message was excellent and the parishioners were so welcoming. We’ll definitely head back to Parkwood. I’d love to hear Rev. Dr. Cathy Jones again!!!

Final agenda item for today… You guessed it F U R N I T U R E! Seemingly, the common thread of my posts 😂. I found bedroom furniture that Kenneth and I could agree upon. #winning 🏆 After the endless Houzz and Zillow Digs ideabooks, we settled on something that wasn’t in the 19.6 million pictures I saved. I must say, Haverty’s saved me from having a complete meltdown going into the work week. Granted it won’t be delivered yet but the mere thought of checking this off my to-do list has prevented a national crisis.

So in this Labor Day weekend, I felt loved. I loved having my dad here. I loved the time spent with my hubby. I loved the sense of accomplishment from finding my new furniture. I loving being Miss Riilocated!!!

Happy Labor Day!!!

~ Miss Rii💋💋💋

Miss Rii’s IG | Miss Rii’s Tweets

7 wonders of the world

This is my first post… My first foray into the world of blogging and the first time I’ll try to capture my “riilocation” experience. 

I’ve been in the 👑 Queen City 👑 seven days. Seven days to figure out this whole Charlotte thing. Seven days for me to get my life together before going to work next week. So what’s the skinny you ask? 

First, there were seven things I needed to do before arriving in Charlotte. 

1. Decide if I actually want to live in Charlotte (After all I am a city girl 🌃 🌆I’m from DC)
2. Find a place to live (This was the hardest part, there are so many nice neighborhoods – at least in DC you can’t  afford most places so picking is easy)
3. Help my husband uproot his life too (He’s from the south so he’s relishing the change. He’s been in DC for 40 years it’s great for him to be closer to his home)
4. Attend every party, get-together and happy hour to say goodbye to all my friends and family (I felt like I was on a world tour. I mean there’s only so much fireball 🔥🎱 you can drink)
5. Pack up my entire life (when you live in a house for 20 years this is a daunting task. It makes you realize how much crap you have that you don’t need and how you can live off much less. Believe me, I learned my lesson)
6. Make sure my son got back to college safely (Oh yeah, the youngest is a senior in college. Instead of being three hours away,  I’m now eight hours away. No biggie for him but heart wrenching 💔 for me)
7. Move away from there! (with my husband and I in the car and the oldest driving the U-Haul, we actually self moved. Courageous right?)

Ok so back to our regularly scheduled program. I’m in Charlotte now what??? I need furniture. The first thing I did was drive to Hickory. 🚗💨It’s like Disney World for furniture! Great quality, an enormous variety and helpful sales associates. I squared away my living room and my dining room but I’m going back there was so much more I wanted to buy. I’ve been to Bassett, Haverty’s, West Elm, Crate and Barrel, IKEA, and Ashley furniture. I’ve still got rooms to furnish but this is hard work. They say Rome wasn’t built in a day. And after seven furniture places I’m moving on.

Remember when I thought furniture should be the first thing on the to do list, boy was I wrong! 😱 What about the daily necessities? You know, the items you don’t realize you need to live… a mop, a broom, trash bags and light bulbs? No pun intended but I think I’ve been to Target seven times now. I think the people at the container store, at home, bed bath and beyond, and home goods know my whole “riilocation” story by heart now. You name it I’ve been there. AND I’M STILL NOT DONE!!!

We haven’t talked about the most important thing… Food and entertainment! 🍝🎭 I’ve eaten at some cool places so far, but in future post I plan to share a lot more detail. My husband and I spent a lot of time at the epicenter since his blocks away from our place. We’ve even joined the Gold’s gym there.

Are you still wondering why I titled this post seven wonders of the world? It’s because I’ve figured out the most important aspects of my “riilocation” thus far. 

1. Patience
2. Planning
3. A sense of adventure
4. A notepad (write everything down)
5. Google maps or GPS (life-saver)
6. A pedometer (you’ll feel empowered by how much ground you cover)
7. Drumroll please!!!!! DONT TAKE YOURSELF TO SERIOUSLY 😊

I can’t wait to share what’s next…

~ Miss Rii 💋💋💋

Miss Rii’s IG• Miss Rii’s tweets