The Good Life On The Lake

When Christina and her husband married, they bought a house in town, but spent every weekend on Lake Greenwood, enjoying the water and planning for the day when they would have their own lakefront home. They spotted a “For Sale” sign, covered in weeds, and decided to make a call.

The two-and-a-half acre property was nothing more than trees and weeds when they bought it. “We would cut down a couple of trees to clear a spot for our new home, have a bonfire and a party, then do a few more trees, have another bonfire party,” she says. “We used it as a camping spot while we drew up plans for a carriage house.”

Christina and her husband were building their 900-square-foot lakefront home as a vacation spot, but it soon became a permanent home. After about five years, with their daughter on the way, they realized that the lake would be a great place to bring up a child; they sold their house in town and moved to the lake. “It was just meant to be.”

Christina’s jewelry design business, Stella Blue Gallery, and her lakeside lifestyle have garnered her a large and growing social media following and have launched a second career as a social media influencer and taste maker.

“With social media, the jewelry business took off,” she says. “Then I noticed, with likes and posts, that interior shots [of our home] got more traction. Instagram sales get more sales. That evolved into becoming a brand ambassador. You have to reinvent, see what’s popular.”

Lake Greenwood became their ideal place to live, with inspiration, beauty and fun all around. It became, as Christina says, a place that feels like being on vacation every day, exploring hiking and biking trails along the lake, kayaking, paddle boarding and riding their tugboat across the water.

The boat is a story in itself. A neighbor and his son had the boat built in New England. “We stalked it,” Christina says, repeatedly telling the owner that they would be interested if he ever wanted to sell. Then the day came when the owner needed to move away. He wanted the boat to stay on Lake Greenwood, in the hands of someone who loved it. “We’ve probably put 1,000 hours on it,” Christina says.

The family’s laid-back lifestyle on Lake Greenwood not only feeds Christina’s creativity, it also gives their daughter an opportunity to explore nature, wildlife and marine biology. Their proximity to great food and chef-run restaurants, unique shopping, live music and memorable festivals, all within 15 minutes, has made Greenwood the perfect place for their family.

Today, she and her daughter are headed to the Uptown Farmers Market, then lunch at The Mill House in Uptown, where boutiques and restaurants sit side by side with galleries and museums in the Emerald Triangle.

This weekend? A charity “Poker Run” on the lake, with boats stopping at various restaurants and marinas to play games for prizes, with a big dock party at the final stop.

It’s lake life at its best.