The Story Behind Andrea Finds Home

The Places That Made Me

I was born in Florida, raised in Venezuela, and moved back to South Florida when I was around eighteen.

For years, the Weston and Fort Lauderdale area was home. Then, in 2026, my husband and I packed up our lives and moved to the Carolinas, where we're now beginning an entirely new chapter.

Growing up in Venezuela, home meant family, familiar faces, and all those little everyday traditions that don't seem particularly remarkable until you're far away from them.

My grandparents built their home in Venezuela from the ground up.

And now, many years later, my husband and I have bought land and are building our own home in the Lake Wylie area.

There's something really special about that connection.

As our house slowly takes shape, my grandfather has been reminded of the experience of building his own. I love that something happening in my life today can bring back memories from his.

And I think I'm starting to understand why.

There's a particular kind of excitement that comes with watching a house go from an idea to something you can actually walk through.

First, you're staring at drawings, trying to imagine what everything will look like. Then there's a foundation, walls, and eventually rooms that begin to feel real.

And before you've even moved in, you catch yourself imagining where the Christmas tree might go, what the kitchen will feel like on a Sunday morning, or where everyone will gather when family comes to visit.

You're already making plans for memories that haven't happened yet.

I find that pretty wonderful.

My Mom, and the Meaning of Home

My mom's name was Susy, and we were incredibly close.

She was also a real estate agent, although she practiced only lightly. Interestingly, her career wasn't what inspired me to pursue real estate. That interest came about through my own experiences, and it was only afterward that I began to appreciate the connection.

Life has a funny way of making certain things meaningful in hindsight.

In 2024, my mom was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer.

I became her full-time caregiver for the next nine months.

It's difficult to explain what that experience was like without telling a much longer story, and I know I'll write about it properly someday.

But one of the hardest parts was watching someone I knew so well gradually forget how to do things that had once been second nature to her.

There were moments when I felt I was losing little pieces of my mom while she was still sitting right beside me.

In many ways, I lost her more than once.

She passed away in April 2025.

I don't want this to become a sad story, but I also couldn't possibly tell you what home means to me without telling you about her.

Because when I think of home, one of the first things that comes to mind is waking up on a Sunday morning to the smell of my mom cooking.

She loved making homemade food for the people she cared about, and there was something so comforting about knowing she was in the kitchen, doing her thing.

It's one of those memories I wish I could step back into for just a little while.

And it isn't just the big memories I miss.

It's the decorations. The familiar things around the house. The little objects collected over the years, each one with its own story.

It's all those ordinary details that become extraordinary when you realize you can't go back to them.

I've always loved beautiful houses, and I probably always will. Give me an old home with character, a lovely garden, or a beautifully designed kitchen, and I'll happily spend an unreasonable amount of time admiring it.

But losing my mom made me realize that the most important things about a home have very little to do with how it looks.

A house can be absolutely beautiful, but it's the people inside it who give it a soul.

And sometimes, you don't realize just how much someone made a place feel like home until they're no longer there.

My mom taught me so much while she was here. Some of the most meaningful lessons, though, have come from learning to live without her.

There's a lot more I want to share about her someday.

For now, I just want you to know that she's a very important part of my story, and it wouldn't feel right to begin this Journal without her.

The Little House on Brook Road

My mom wasn't the only person who influenced the way I think about home.

My grandmother had an incredible appreciation for beautiful things. She loved antiques, collected pieces with character, and had a way of making every house she lived in feel completely her own.

One of those houses was an antique home on Brook Road in Stowe, Vermont.

And of all the things I remember about that house, there's one that has stayed with me more than anything else.

The smell.

I know, I know. Not exactly the most glamorous detail.

But that house had the most distinct, familiar scent. No matter how many years passed between visits, the moment I walked through the door, I knew exactly where I was.

Even after we sold the house, I remember opening a box of cotton we'd packed away months earlier.

And somehow, it still smelled like Grandma's house.

I couldn't stop smelling it.

It was such a silly little thing, standing there sniffing a box of cotton, but for a moment, it brought back that unmistakable feeling of being somewhere I loved.

Long before Andrea Finds Home, I had started developing a small products business called Brook Road, inspired by my grandmother's house and the feeling it gave me.

I wanted to create things that made people's homes feel beautiful, personal, and special.

But just as I was beginning to work on the first products, my mom became ill.

Everything else naturally took a back seat, and Brook Road never became the business I'd originally imagined.

Still, the idea behind it never really went away.

I suppose it just took a different road to get here.

Finding Home in the Carolinas

In 2026, my husband and I traded South Florida for the Charlotte area.

New state, new surroundings, new routines, and the exciting (and occasionally overwhelming) experience of starting over somewhere unfamiliar.

We bought land and are now building our home in the Lake Wylie area, which has been a dream in itself.

I've absolutely loved being involved in the design process.

I'm the kind of person who can spend an entire afternoon comparing two shades of beige that most people would swear are exactly the same.

And then, naturally, I'll need to see them in different lighting.

I can't help it. I love the details.

Architecture, interior design, gardens, old houses, new houses, beautiful materials, things with history, things made by hand. I could talk about them for hours.

But moving here has also reminded me how much I enjoy the little things that make up everyday life.

In our first year in Steele Creek, I started a tiny balcony garden.

It began with zinnias and the excitement of watching pollinators discover the flowers. Before long, I was experimenting with spinach, arugula, peppers, and strawberries.

Some of my gardening experiments have been more successful than others, but that's part of the fun.

I have big dreams for the garden we'll eventually have at our new home.

Raised beds, gravel paths, climbing plants, a beautiful trellis, and, if I have my way, a few chickens.

I've also been volunteering at Servant's Heart Ranch in Clover, South Carolina, helping care for the horses and donkeys.

There's something wonderful about spending time outdoors, getting your hands dirty, and being around animals. It's become another part of my life here that I really enjoy.

And I know these interests might seem a little all over the place.

Real estate, gardening, interior design, animals, old houses, new construction, and an apparent inability to make quick decisions about paint colors.

But I promise there's a connection.

To me, they're all part of creating a life that feels like your own.

Not just finding somewhere to live, but finding the things that make living there wonderful.

How Andrea Finds Home Began

Before real estate, I spent years working in marketing. I also studied sustainable digital marketing and pursued graphic design.

I've always loved the creative side of things, especially the way a story, an image, or even a tiny design detail can completely change how something feels.

For a long time, I imagined that my future would stay somewhere in that world.

Then I began exploring real estate.

And the more I learned, the more I realized how naturally it could bring together so many things I already loved.

The homes themselves, of course. The architecture, the design, the possibilities.

But also the people.

Because behind every move, there's usually a story.

Sometimes it's a first home, with all the excitement and nerves that come with it.

Sometimes it's a growing family needing more room.

Sometimes it's a move to an unfamiliar city, a fresh start, or a new chapter that life has brought along, whether you were expecting it or not.

I've experienced enough changes in my own life to understand that moving can be about much more than changing your address.

And that's what makes real estate interesting to me.

I'm also very much at the beginning of my own real estate career, and I think it's important to be open about that.

I have plenty to learn, and I'm looking forward to learning it.

What I do bring with me is years of experience in marketing, a love of design, a curious mind, and a genuine interest in the people and stories behind the homes we live in.

Today, I'm a bilingual REALTOR® licensed in North Carolina and South Carolina, with Coldwell Banker Realty in Fort Mill.

Andrea Finds Home is where I hope to bring all of those interests together.

A little real estate, a little design, a little everyday life, and a whole lot of the things that make a place feel like home.

A New Chapter, and a Place to Share It

I have a lot of ideas for this Journal.

Probably too many, if we're being honest.

I want to share what it's been like moving from South Florida to the Carolinas, buying land, and building our home in the Lake Wylie area.

I want to write about beautiful homes, thoughtful design, gardening adventures, home projects, and all the interesting little places I'm discovering as I get to know the Charlotte area.

I also want to share what I'm learning about real estate, especially the things I wish I'd known before starting this journey myself.

And every now and then, I want to tell a more personal story.

About family. About the places that shaped me. About the people I love and the ones I miss.

Because I've come to realize that all those things are connected, even when they don't seem to be.

I don't know exactly what Andrea Finds Home will look like a few years from now.

But I like the idea of building it slowly, sharing the journey as it unfolds, and hopefully getting to know some wonderful people along the way.

Maybe you'll find something useful here. Maybe a story will remind you of someone you love, or a place you haven't thought about in years.

Or maybe you'll just come for the garden pictures and stay to see whether I ever manage to get those chickens.

Either way, I'm really glad you're here.

Thank you for being part of the beginning.