hunting houses

Zack and I are house hunting again this weekend. Looong sigh. Our house search has been quite the journey. We have looked at too many houses to remember... put an offer in on one house, walked away from it, and kept looking. It's taken us months to even figure out exactly what we want. But we have "the list" of must-haves and we know the area we want to live in........ the only problem is that when I type it all into the house-finder search-engine-thingy, about 30 houses come up.... not one of which appeal to us.

#1. Split Levels. Gross. Who came up with the whole split level concept anyways? It was a horrible idea and it makes me think "1980's". There are allot of split level homes for sale. We're not interested.

#2. Developments. Why?? Why would I want to live in a house that looks like a clone of my neighbor's house? Where have creativity and individuality gone to? Why have character and originality vanished? I think that some builder somewhere was using a computer one day and discovered the "copy" and "paste" feature. No thanks.

#3. Wide Open Spaces. Okay... we are looking for some space. Actually we would like to have a few acres. BUT who on earth wants to buy a house that is out in a field? With no trees around it? Where the wind whips across the vast open spaces and every person for the surrounding ten miles can see your lonely little house on the prairie. Can we get a little privacy here??


What we ARE looking for is......

#1. A little bit of personality. Something unique, something with character, charm, and possibility. We are open to fixing up, remodeling... as long as what we are starting from has "the right ingredients."

#2. At least 3 bedrooms.... we're thinking ahead here folks. Don't start assuming anything ridiculous... Just planning for you future, you know?

#3. Location. We've got all that figured out... we are looking west of the city, south of 94, north of highway 7. Blah blah blah. This doesn't make sense unless you look at a map. See below:
It's a wonderful area. There are lots of lakes, woods, creeks, farms, and natural beauty. And there are no sky scrapers. And yet, a quick drive and we have theatres, malls, museums, restaurants... and all the culture and thrill of Minneapolis/St. Paul.

#4. Space. We want room.... outside. Land surrounding us to play on, plant in, romp over, explore, and enjoy. We really want to have at least an acre... preferably 3-5 acres. But, we would settle for less if we felt like we were in a quiet setting that didn't feel like it was in the middle of hustle and bustle.

Okay. Now that's all been settled. So I sit here on the computer, day after day, week after week... looking for new home listings. Here and there something comes up and my heart skips a beat and I think, "could this be it??". Only to take one look at the listing and find that it's another split level. Or it's right on a major highway. Or the property is connected to a incredibly unkempt horse farm (this actually happened).

On Saturday we will be venturing out to see four homes. Who knows what we'll find. Maybe nothing? Or maybe we will find our perfect little corner of the world. That would be nice, I think. I'll keep you all informed as to the results!

Also..... on the sewing front... I just picked up supplies for another project. I know, ridiculous. Out of hand, is more like it. Really. I have fabrics and supplies set aside for 6 projects right now. And percolating in my head are an additional 2. My brain is busy with ideas. Unfortunately, the "time thing" holds me back.