Sometimes, in order for clarity to occur, you have to hit rock bottom. When I found myself in a position where the only direction to look was up, it triggered a change in perspective on how I wanted to live my life. Chronic health issues in my body, feeling confined by my circumstances in my mind and not participating in the things my spirit wanted to be doing made me exhausted in about every way. Thankfully, the consequences of being an eternal optimist led me to determine just what I needed to do to make my mind body and spirit happy. After much soul searching, deliberation with my husband and family and, well, clarity….I headed to Colorado to find where I could build my dream “Healthy House”.

The view from what will be my living room at Highland Rock – Building a Healthy Dream House in Larkspur, Colorado

Backing up a bit, in desperation, I told my husband I needed a lifestyle change that included a home that was cool, quiet and private with as little toxic chemicals and building product off-gassing as possible. I needed to find a homestead in a climate that offered air and space and cooler summers than our Dallas home offered, so I booked an exploratory trip to Colorado. When I left my husband at the airport, he reminded me how much he liked the golf course at Perry Park Country Club. With that directive, I drove around the area in Perry Park first thing and found several places that were intriguing, leading me to the realtor that showed me the listing that was so fabulous I thought I was in an alternate reality.

Standing upon the top of one of the most beautiful vistas I’ve ever seen, I contemplated living my life from the perspective from which I was looking. Wide open, stunningly beautiful, protected and yet completely unlimited seemed like a fabulous place to base my new, healthy lifestyle and home. I could imagine coffee on the patio in the mornings, making art all day and then enjoying a glass of wine while watching the sunset in the evenings. The life I wanted was right there in front of me in my imagination, all I had to do was make it reality.

Within 2 days I placed an offer on the land that was accepted, and I met the trio for whom I felt instant trust and respect: Father-son architects Kent and Trevor Border and homebuilder, Dave Osborne.  On-site we immediately started plans for my healthy retreat in the woods. Back home the activity that followed our land purchase could only be described as amusing. My husband and children hadn’t seen the land in person and after looking at many pictures agreed that “the property” was beautiful, but it really needed a name. We bandied about names that we liked both seriously and comedically (think Casterly Rock and Mustang Point) and landed upon one that made total sense. We live in Highland Park, TX and we our children have grown up, attended high school and we’ve all made such great friends here that we wanted to connect the two homes we would live in. It was a unanimous vote to name our rocky, rugged landscape in Colorado…….. Highland Rock.