13/07/2023
Six years ago today I bought Villa Jezebel at auction. I wasn't looking for another property but for nine years I'd loved her from afar.
Beachfront, quirky and abandoned for decades. She ticked all the boxes for me and I'd take a minute to daydream about owning her every time I passed by. Funny enough exactly a year and a day before the auction, I stopped for a swim at the beach right in front of her, turned to my friend Domi (in the picture with me here) and said "that's going to be my next project". But I didn't really believe it would happen.
For four years I worked hard to get the finances to renovate her, and after COVID hit and devastated my income for two years, I even sold my beloved Villa Virago so I could make the Villa Jezebel dream a reality.
Finally starting building work in September 2022 should have been an incredible moment for me. Sadly right from the start issues arose. After just six weeks of work, I was forced to close down the site. And for nine months now, she's stood empty and half derelict.
Those close to me know what an emotional rollercoaster the last several months have been. The immense stress, frustration and sleepless nights. I have full faith in my lawyer and engineer and genuinely believe the universe has a plan. Even if that plan isn't the one I had in mind, absolutely everything happens for a reason and it is always for the highest good. I've been through tough times in the past, and when I look back it's always with gratitude knowing that every single time those struggles changed me and changed my life for the better.
So even though it seems like everything has gone absolutely t**s up, I'm not stressing over it any more. I'm happy, already grateful, excited about what's coming next and have total faith that one day soon I'll look back and think "oh, that's why that had to happen"
Onwards and upwards. Always ❤️