You always hear stories about the couple who out of nowhere move across the country together on what seems like a whim. Completely uprooting their lives from everything and everyone they know to go and make it on the West Coast. While we had no idea what the move would have in store for us, this was a testament to our shared spirit of adventure. We drove across the country starting in Fort Myers, Florida all the way to the dry desert of Las Vegas. It was a far cry from the lush mountains of Georgia or the sandy beaches of Florida. We got a taste of what life was like in what felt like Tatooine from star wars, and a few months later decided that it was not for us, much to the relief of both of our families. With everything up in the air, we decided to return to the place both of us had fond childhood memories of, the beaches of Panama City, Florida. 


After having been in the door to door industry for a little while, and having seen both sides of an industry that has a pretty bad rap, we decided we'd be better off going out on our own starting from scratch than going to work with another company only to be disappointed once more. Neither one of us knew the level of challenge or the significant obstacles that were about to come our way by going down this path. This was our first attempt at starting something together, and we learned a lot about the industry and even more about ourselves. We knew that this could either make us or break us, and despite our solar company never becoming the industry leader we dreamed it would be, the lessons we learned along the way taught us more than we could have imagined when we got started that February. Despite many challenges that we could have let break us, we managed to make it through this first entrepreneurial attempt of what has been described by Elon Musk as "chewing on glass while staring into the abyss." While we are no longer in the solar industry, the lessons we learned while involved in it will stay with us for the rest of our lives.

After we had decided solar wasn't for us, we went through a transitional period that would really show who we were deep down. Courtney transitioned into a role in merchant processing and begun the often arduous task of helping business owners save money on their credit card transactions. As anyone who has ever been in sales knows, it's not an easy job and it's full of rejection. She persevered through this rejection and signed up dozens of businesses in a short time. Through this period she got to really see the behind the scenes of local business and the real stories of business owners, both good and bad. Her customer service skills were exemplified in this time, and to this day she still helps out a few local businesses on the side helping to grow the community. It was also during this time that we adopted little Annie, our spicy red and white haired fluffy kitty who talks up a storm everyday. Zac saw her outside planet fitness and knew that Courtney would find her adorable, so he rushed to find her and when they went outside and Courtney asked if she could keep her, it was a very easy yes.

Zac would go on to work for Vivint Smart Home for the summer and make a temporary move to Houston, Texas and later to Flint, Michigan. This would go on to be one of the most difficult and enlightening phases of our relationship. It was at this time that despite the distance, our relationship grew stronger. We talked every day and found ourselves longing to be reunited. It was also at this time that our family grew as Zac found a kitten on the side of the highway, and feeling a little homesick, decided it was a good idea to adopt. It wasn't but two days later when it was discovered that his roommate was allergic to cats. Courtney, being the Cat Women she is, drove 10 hours to Houston to visit and brought the kitten home with her. 2 weeks later we found out little Charlotte (named after the city we met) was pregnant, a twist that would lead to us starting the year with 2 cats, and ending the year with 5. Our cats names are Sebastian, Cincinnati, Annie, Charlotte, and Binx.

After having been apart all summer, and only seeing each other in person a handful of times that summer, our feelings had only grown stronger and we reconfirmed what we already knew, that this was the real deal.

There had been nothing on Zac's mind more important than showing to Courtney that this summer apart had not been for naught. That's why when he took a weekend trip home mid summer we went ring shopping. Zac purchased the engagement ring when Courtney went to look around the store, then we proceeded to enjoy the rest of the fleeting time we had before Zac would have to go back to Texas.

Zac anxiously awaited being able to come home and pop the question, and after careful consideration decided the best place to do it was the same place that we had met, Charlotte, North Carolina.

After having waited what felt like years, the summer finally came to an end. Zac drove home and picked up Courtney, and by the next weekend we were driving to Charlotte. Giddy with excitement, Zac was nervous and wanted to make sure everything was perfect. Luckily, Courtney made it easy because no matter what happened, he knew that her love for him was deeper than any silly mistakes he might make when popping the question. Thank goodness for that because when it finally came down to it, despite mentally rehearsing 100 times in his head, when he finally got to the spot he and the photographer had planned, his mind all but drew a blank as he stood almost in a trance at the radiant beauty of his soon to be fiancé. After what felt like a long few minutes but was really several seconds, he got down on one knee and popped the question he had been preparing to ask for what felt like forever. Her face said it all and he knew in the moment that it was a moment she had been dreaming of her entire life, and he had just made that dream into a reality. With an enthusiastic "Yes!" he placed the ring on her finger and thus began the beginning of our engagement. We had no idea at that moment what was in store for us over the next year, nor in that moment did we care because we had each other and that's what mattered most.

Our engagement kicked off with quite the bang. After we got back from Charlotte we had a company trip to Mexico, so off we went to our first international trip. We had a blast and enjoyed ourselves in the warm Mexican sun on a resort in Puerto Vallarta. Reading books poolside while enjoying each others company after so much time apart. We look back on those memories fondly and look forward to many more trips abroad throughout our life together.

Once we got back we had another transitional period where things were different than when we had separated at the beginning of summer. October and November hold a special place in our hearts as that was when we fell in love during that cool Charlotte fall, but as life does, this time was not without it's challenges. But just like any other challenge, we overcame the hurdles one day at a time and begun sharing our daily lives once more.

We went on a trip to Universal and this was when Zac learned just how much Courtney likes Harry Potter. We spent 1 1/2 days of our 2 day trip in the various Hogwarts themed locations of universal and had an absolute blast. The childlike joy Courtney expressed being able to be in the wizarding world of Harry Potter only compare to when she's at her happy place, laying out on the beach next to the water.

There's only one thing Courtney likes more than summertime at the beach, and that's Christmas time. The house looks like tinsel town and singing songs, baking cookies, and being holly and jolly are all in the mix. Zac likes to say that this is when Noelle (her middle name) comes out as she becomes a festive elf set on making everyday the best day. Christmas movies are on repeat in the house and the decorations look as though Will Ferrell himself came in as his Elf character and went to work on the home.

Christmas has always been a special holiday for us as it was our first holiday we spent away from our families in Vegas, so cooking up a storm has become the baseline in the soon to be Harshbarger's household.

That Christmas Zac got a microgreens rack, something that he had been dreaming about for a couple years. Little did we know what one little rack would soon turn into.