How we got our dream house in Nashville
I have to be honest, I never tire of sharing this story. It’s full of a lot of faith and a bit of magic and I think of it every time I begin to lose my way. It reminds me that I’m on the right path and the power of spirit is so much bigger than me.
My husband and I began to ask ourselves some big questions about 4 years ago. What do we want to create in our family, how do we want to feel, where do we see ourselves in this next chapter?
As we combed real estate and followed the market here in L.A., for the past few years, nothing ever felt right.
Nashville came up in our conversations for many reasons. One, it was closer to family, it’s a music city, close to NY where Chris also has work and just a flight away from L.A. for meetings and visits. Our careers could continue, and we could create a life and a home that supported our visions for our family.
However it became clear that it just wasn’t the right time and we put the conversation away for awhile as life went on.
Fast forward to last year and we were feeling the pull again. Circumstances had led us to have to leave the house we were in that we loved and temporarily move to another place. It felt exactly that, temporary. From the moment we moved in, it just felt like a landing pad until the next place, our place, the one we would create and make our home.
I began to open my heart and mind to the real possibility that we could move and make this work and I felt a strong pull again as I sat in prayer and intention around the vision we were holding for our family.
This time, I felt a new clarity and a release of fear that it wouldn’t or couldn’t work, but that if it was right, it would be made known to us.
As we rang in the new year in January, I began to really vision out what this life looked like, not just for me, but for each one of my children, my husband and for me. Chris and I together again, asked ourselves how do we want to feel, what do we want to create for our family and what does that look like for us, all the while praying that our vision was in line with God’s vision.
I took all of this and put in into a vision board so I could be reminded every day of what we wanted to create.
We knew we wanted to feel lots of space to breathe and create with office and studio space for both of us. We wanted lots of space for the boys to run free, be near a forest, in a creative community and near or in the city.
I opened up and allowed myself to dream.
The pull became stronger and stronger and we planned another trip in March, this time leaving the kids with family and driving up to Nashville together, just the two of us.
After months of visioning, prayers, tapping into my body’s wisdom and listening for messages, as I boarded the plane, my prayer became, “make me open to miracles.”
Again we drove around the city for 2 days, combing every area and neighborhood, feeling into what felt right. Each night we would return to our friends house to spend the night just outside the city, in a smaller community called Franklin and each time we would return there, I felt my body relax and my heart expand. This just felt good. Really good.
I tuned into that feeling and we both realized that we needed to allow ourselves to say yes. We had it in our minds that we had to be in the city, but as soon as we allowed ourselves to sink into what felt right and good, we knew what to do.
On the 3rd day we woke up, looked at each other and said, it’s here. It’s Franklin.
Here is the part that always brings me chills and reinforces my faith in asking for what you need, aligning yourself in God’s vision, opening yourself up to miracles and receiving that guidance and then taking action.
As soon as we internally said yes to Franklin being our home, we decided to drive the neighborhood we loved one more time before we headed back to L.A. We didn’t take a realtor, but just drove around alone looking at for sale signs.
We were pulled over looking at a house. With our windows down, as a man walking his dog casually strolled by and said hello. He started making conversation, seeing we were eyeing the home for sale and asked if we were house hunting.
I replied, yes, we were, but were flying back home the next day and were just looking around. He then said he too was from CA, had lived here 7 years and was also going to be moving at the end of the year. I couldn’t help asking which one was his house!
He laughed and said it was a 1/2 block back and we could drive by.
To not go into every single detail, he ended up showing us the back of the house, that was backed up the the woods! Full of designated hiking trails. Feelings of something is in motion here, that deeper inner knowing began to light up inside me! He then began to describe the house and then his wife called his cell. She asked where he was and he told her about us and I heard her from his phone asking if he had gotten our number.
They had not even put their house on the market, but something was happening and we could all feel it. He turned to me and I’ll never forget what he said. “Did someone send you here?”
I laughed, but also said, well yes actually, as I felt chills over my body.
By the end of that night, his wife had emailed us pictures of the inside of the house and told us that we could come by and walk in so I could feel the space the next day.
By the time our trip was done, we said yes to buying the house! We had not planned on actually buying a house that week. We thought we were just deciding what neighborhood to be in. God had bigger plans. I couldn’t help but remember my prayer as I had gotten on the plane, make me open to miracles.
We ended up buying the house and renting it back to the previous owners until we could all move in December. All dates working perfectly for both of us.
This move feels so in alignment and so divinely orchestrated that any time I have any inklings of fear or doubt, I bring myself right back into this story and the feelings I felt as it all unfolded. I never want to forget that feeling. It was bigger than me and no matter what had been the outcome, I had no doubt that God was there clearly working on our behalf.
What I know in my bones is that the first place any of us can start is by asking ourselves big questions about what we want to create in our lives. Then add in prayer and intention, and visualize these things, all the while connecting into God’s spirit, asking for guidance, and opening up to receive.
When we say yes to what it is, just as we said yes to Franklin, we can begin to listen for the answers by tapping into our body’s wisdom, and become aware and open to see signs that are put in our path. The last big piece is taking action with what we have received!
We are now about to embark on this new exciting journey in our new home and I couldn’t be more excited for what’s next!
As a recap, here is what you can do to begin this process in your own life.
Begin by asking yourself some big questions. What is your soul calling you to this year? What are you dreaming up in your life? How do you want to feel in your life? What kind of impact do you want to have? What’s most important to you right now?
Begin to visualize this in detail. Let yourself give it color and feeling. Add visuals to a vision board, or have a physical anchor to remind you of your vision.
Put prayer and intention into this vision. Ask for guidance and to be aligned with what God has for you. It’s in this asking and this relationship that you receive guidance and the signs that will let you know if you’re on the right path. Divine timing is not always the same as our timing, and it’s in the waiting that our soul is in a time of growth, ready for birthing what is next. Allowing yourself to be in this growing time is ok, and necessary.
Tap into your body’s wisdom. Our bodies let us know often when something feels aligned. When I felt that heart expansion standing outside what would become our new home, that was a clear sign that we were in the right place and my body felt alive. Tap into this for yourself and build trust in your inner wisdom.
Last, but not least, take action! We had to book the flight, drive around, do the things that took us to this place and to this house. Without taking action, we would not have found our home.
So I invite you to begin to sink into this process for yourself. What are you dreaming up in your life? What is your soul calling you to in this next year? How do you want to feel in your life and in your body?
There is power in this process. Trust is the main ingredient, along with being willing to listen and take action.
I would love to hear how this resonated with you and what you might be dreaming up in your own life.
Let me know in the comments or pm me and let me know!
Sending big love your way,
XO