What have we been up to??

A little about us and the last few years.

Originally from the Midwest, Bianca and I moved out to the mountains in October 2018. We left city life behind in hopes of finding our own edge of the world. "Bailey, Colorado? ... Really?" To some it seemed like with threw a dart at the map. I would be lying if I said we knew exactly what we were doing. We got lucky. Bailey is a hidden gem mountain town and between you and me, let's keep it that way.

Late 2019 we were flying back from Norway (we had stayed at beautiful homes on Airbnb) and my mind was racing with ideas ... "Why don't we Airbnb part of our home? I think I can turn it into full guest suite." 3 months later and right before the beginning of the new year, our first floor was listed on Airbnb. Our thought of this being an "every once in awhile" thing was interrupted by our first booking only hours later. "Ding" ... Congratulations! New Booking...

Our first Airbnb was booked up a few months ahead. We learned quickly about hospitality and providing the best experience possible. Winter and our steep driveway made times especially "fun". I drove up some guests in our ATV (while they Snapped the experience) and follow others to make sure they got to the highway safely. Oddly, I loved it; helping and providing an experience.

Norway!

COVID hit and the experience changed to "will we ever have guests be able to stay". Thankfully more information arrived and Airbnb came up with a plan to get travelling back up and running. We enhanced our cleaning process and were able to give guests a safe space to escape the craziness. This was the most rewarding time for us. Although unable to meet guests, their lovely notes and stores left behind in our notebook proved the importance of our cozy escape.

Fast forward to late 2020 and we decided to look for another home locally to fix up and rent. I was quite hooked. For those that know me, one of my strong values is creativity. My blank canvas is now homes - fixing, furnishing, and creating a story for guests to experience. The home we purchased is 10 minutes away, built in the 70s, and needs a lot of work. The vision is clear but the work has been hard. Moving was hard ... raise your hand if you like moving. With all the work we don't expect the home to be ready to rent until late 2022 at the earliest.

As of today, we are now fully renting our first home and moved into the fixer-upper. Oh and surprise, surprise, we are in the process of buying another home. Yeah, we are a little crazy and stretching ourselves thin. Some opportunities can't be passed up. We look forward to sharing more once it is official. It has a cool story.

For those interested in how we are making all this work, reach out! We can share stories about our combination of luck, tough conversations, strategies, tears, and hard work. It wasn't and isn't easy. We look forward to slowing things down tremendously. Sometimes short term grind can bring long term gains (what we keep telling ourselves). Mental health is no joke and nothing to be shy about. Especially with COVID, Bianca and I have had many ups and downs. We have learned so much about ourselves and continue to do so today.