Jake and Britt on the Hunter Mountain Fire Tower Trail, October 2019 [Photo courtesy of timer]
Jake:
was born and raised in Utah’s Salt Lake valley. He grew up an avid outdoorsman, and worked for his uncle’s construction company during the summers throughout high school and the beginning of college. Between the construction work, and having an engineer for a father, he learned how to build and fix all kinds of stuff. In the early aughts (’02, to be exact), Jake moved to NY for grad school. 13 years later, he met Britt, and they have been together ever since.
is a product of the Jersey shore. She literally grew up on an island where, as a child, she foraged scrap wood from neighboring construction sites as material to build “forts” in the side yard of her home. She later cultivated her love of the outdoors living in Vermont. Even though her professional training and practice allow her to use a certain degree of creativity, she is constantly pursuing new avenues to deploy her many creative visions. After (mostly) education-related stints in DC, Philly, and San Diego, Britt moved to NYC in 2014, where she met Jake.
The House:
is an idea that was hatched sometime between 2016 and 2017. The joint love of the outdoors spawned the idea of owning a place in the mountains. After spending a considerable amount of time together in the Catskills, the area became a preferred destination when searching for a potential abode. In January of 2020, the stars aligned when Jake and Britt had the supreme fortune of finding a house that checked all of the boxes and having their offer accepted by the seller. J&B went into the venture with the intention of finding a “fixer-upper” and utilizing old fashioned sweat equity to make the place “theirs” over time.
Less than two months after going under contract, virtually overnight the world dramatically changed for almost everyone. Jake and Britt suddenly found themselves camping on the living room floor of their recent acquisition in Highmount, NY.
This Blog:
is a cheeky repository for Jake and Britt to chronicle their experience renovating the Highmount house.