Our Charlotte IVF Story — Local Ingredients, Handmade with Heart - Best Charcuterie Board Charlotte NC

Boards of Hope - A soulful journey of infertility, IVF, woman entrepreneurship, and the love that built it all. Best Charcuterie Board Charlotte NC

There was a time I thought I had to choose—between being a mother and building something of my own. I was wrong. Life had other plans—more complex, more painful, more beautiful than I ever imagined.

Charcuterie Chic began in the heart of our Charlotte home, where the kitchen doubled as a workshop and therapy space. I folded meats and arranged berries like I was stitching together hope. Each board was handcrafted in the quiet moments after doctor visits, through rounds of injections and late-night cries.

We were in the thick of dealing with secondary infertility and then ultimately IVF—not once, but three times. And while each round demanded more emotionally, physically, and financially, I clung to the one thing I could control: creating beauty in the boards. When your body feels like it’s failing you, the act of building something—anything—can feel heroic. For me, it was charcuterie. The art of creation inspired me to keep going.

During this time, our support system was spread across the country. My parents and closest friends were thousands of miles away in California, unable to just pop over and help. It was just my husband and me—two people desperately trying to hold each other up while building a dream, both in business and in family. He’d be out making deliveries while I handmade each board, sometimes with tears in my eyes. We were building something, even when it felt like we were breaking. We were so grateful for our precious two-year-old, Mia, but deep down we knew our family wasn’t complete. More than anything, I couldn’t bear the thought of not giving Mia what she longed for most—a sibling. She would wake up some mornings and, out of the blue, ask me, “Mommy, is there a baby in your belly yet?” Every time I had to answer, “Not yet,” my heart broke a little more.

And then—Maddie.

I still remember the moment we got the call. I was assembling a board for a returning client—a detail I’ll never forget because she’d been part of our journey from the beginning. The phone rang. I answered, and the words “You’re definitely pregnant” cracked open everything I had been holding inside. I dropped to the floor—laughing, crying. It was real. Our daughter was on her way. Mia was finally going to be a big sister.

Today, Mia is a spirited, beautiful, almost four year old whirlwind of joy and Maddie is a four month old angel with the most adorable laugh and the biggest love for her big sister. We are complete. Motherhood has brought a soulful rhythm to this business. I’ve taken client calls during nap time and answered emails with a baby on my lap.

Running Charcuterie Chic as a hands-on business—while raising a toddler, a baby and carrying the weight of what it took to get here—has taught me more about resilience than any textbook ever could. It’s emotional. It’s vulnerable. And it’s mine.

Every board we create still carries a piece of that journey: grit, grace, and the unwavering belief that even the most impossible things can bloom. This isn’t just a business—it’s a living, breathing extension of our story. A story of hope, perseverance, and love in all its layers.

If you're receiving one of our boards, you’re not just getting food. You’re getting a soulful piece of who we are—a reminder that beauty can come from broken places, and joy often grows right through the cracks.

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