South Carolina Y’All!

Hi Guys, long time, no blog! Honey and I took a quick trip down to South Carolina to have a little look-see. Just checking out potential areas in case we decide to relocate after retirement. We really don’t know what we will do, but it’s fun to look around!

 

We flew into Greenville but drove over an hour to Westminster on Lake Hartwell. There are a lot of beautiful trees down there!

We limited our search to three lakes; Greenwood, Hartwell and Keowee. We saw many beautiful homes! I think the biggest surprise was how rural it was in between all those small towns. We still need to do more praying about what our retirement will look like, where we will live and serve, and how we can best be used by the Lord, no matter where we land.

We really liked several of the houses but I am going to show you my very favorite! We actually stayed right near it and we both LOVED it. It was move in ready and I can’t think of a thing I would change! I would LOVE to plunk it down where ever we decide to land!

Sorry, the sun was being a pain..

Loved the stonework and our realtor was such a sweetheart.

Purty windows as you walked in. Looking out onto a great covered porch and Lake Hartwell beyond.

My favorite kitchen BY FAR!

The kitchen is very important to us. We spend a lot of time there and it’s where our people congregate. When looking through listings, I found that I liked many of the homes, but the kitchens, not so much. I asked Honey what he would be willing to change and he was not willing to completely redo the kitchen. It made it easier to discard a listing based on that information. I would keep it if it only required new countertops to make it work.

This island was my favorite! Large and all one level, I even liked the granite! I also liked the wood floors in this home. The color was a nice change from the honey oak we have throughout our current home.

The kitchen was open to the eating area and a covered patio on the left. I could picture our table and china cabinet in there!

Pretty view out that window of a canal on Lake Hartwell.

Back to my Precious. Lots of cabinet and counter space. Did I mention that I LOVE the island? Cause I can certainly say it again. The cupboards were not white, sort of a greige color? I even liked the paint color on the walls.

Speaking of paint color, I have been thinking of painting our current house, what do you think of something like this Capri Patt?

The powder room off the kitchen. Not one problem with anything there.

Loved the laundry.

This was one of my favorite spots. Tucked back by the door to the garage, near the laundry room, I would claim this as my own space! Honey uses our den, the only thing I use in there is the computer. I could move it in here, along with our bills and other necessities that help a home to function. Cupboards and drawers for my junk!  My own blogging/office, I.Would.LOVE.That!!!!!!! Deep, sincere, want.

Standing in the kitchen looking onto the great room and den, front door would be on the left of the hallway by the light. That is also the stairway to the basement.

Great room with built ins. That has become my interest lately, built ins. I adore functionality. And storage. And hiding all the junk. I never thought I would like the television over the fireplace but I find I do here. Plus, there is no other logical place for the tv in this space. This is causing me to rethink the space over our fireplace. Our layout is with the fireplace in one corner, and the tv in the other. Naturally, this affects the layout of our furniture, as we are dual focused. Having them both in one corner would allow for one focal point. Something to ponder.

To the right of the great room was a lovely covered porch, again, the sun was not allowing a picture that you could actually see.

I took no pictures in the daylight basement but it was great as well. Two large bedrooms on the left with a small kitchen and family room in the middle, with a HUGE bedroom with 3 sets of bunk beds and other furniture! There was also an exercise room and a large storage area. We should have just called this house The Mary Poppins, practically perfect in every way!!!! You might be wondering if we need all of those rooms. All I can say is you never know. Better to have them than to need them is one way to look at it. They might come in handy when we have company or future grandchildren 🙂

Y’All, it was a little warm down there.

I did something that I have never done before, I met a blog friend!!!!! I knew that Joyce, who blogs at From This Side Of The Pond and our fearless leader from the Wednesday Hodgepodge, was living in Greenville while building a home on Lake Keowee. I emailed her and mentioned that we were going to be in her neck of the woods and was she available for lunch? She was!

We had originally planned to meet in Greenville, but when she found out where we were staying she offered to meet us out our way, which was closer to where they were building. I said that option offered the possibility of us getting a tour of her new home!!!! She graciously met us at her home build and gave us a tour of the beautiful new home they are hoping to move into next month.

We then had lunch at a place near there, The Lighthouse, where we talked for many hours and didn’t even realize that the place was empty! It’s surprising how much you learn about others when you have read their blog for a long time. Also surprising was Joyce had a southern accent! This was unexpected because I knew she was from New Jersey! She said she had moved to Tennessee for college and it just never left her.

I have been a part of her Wednesday Hodgepodge since February 16, 2011! I am thankful that Joyce makes the time to host that weekly get together, it’s a day when when a whole bunch of us answer the same questions and you are welcome to join in!! It was such fun to actually “meet”!

Speaking of meeting, Honey and I ate dinner one evening in Seneca, one of the little towns down there. When we were almost finished I mentioned to Honey that the gal at the table across the way looked like a friend who used to attend BSF, and also lives in the subdivision connected to ours. As I watched her I was struck that even her mannerisms reminded me of that gal. I told Honey I was going to walk past her on my way to the restroom so I could get a closer look. IT WAS HER!!!!! It turns out she was down there with her husband having a look-see too! We had a nice chat, introduced the guys and marveled at our small world!

We are home now and getting back into the swing of things here. Honey and Ab-Cat went out for their weekly Monday night dinner then started BSF this evening. Our class starts this week as well. The pool guy is coming tomorrow to close the pool. It has been blessedly cooler the last couple days and I am ready to welcome the fall.

Have a good week.

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