House Hunters Part II

How do you know when you've found the right house? Is it like finding a husband...you just know when it's right? When you've found "the one"?

Of course there are things like the budget that really are not negotiable. But, that is about it. We are pretty open to different areas of the state, as well as neighboring states. Having a good school system will be important some day, but I feel like that is so far off right now. We are pretty flexible, but we also know what we want.

I love lists, so here is a little wish list for our first home:

• 3 bedrooms. 2 bathrooms would be ideal, although we could make do with 1.
• A backyard for Lilly. Poor pup has never really had a place to run free. She loves to go on walks and runs, and loves the beach. I can't wait until we can just open the door and throw the ball and let her RUN.
• Storage space. A garage would be ideal. Right now our bikes reside at my in-laws which is not the greatest for an impromptu bike ride. The beach chairs from the summer are still in my trunk and its almost November.
• Kitchen storage. I don't like clutter but right now we don't have enough kitchen space to put things away that we don't use everyday. It makes our counters look cluttered and makes me a little crazy.
• A fireplace. I have visions of hanging Christmas ornaments on the tree with a fire crackling in the background.This is a must.
• A neighborhood with sidewalks. We actually looked at one house on 6 acres in the country. It was absolutely adorable and some day in the future, it might be for us. But for now, we would like to be in a neighborhood. To not have to drive an hour to work and let our kids grow up playing with the neighbors and learning to ride their bikes in front of our home.
• Some character. J and I both love older homes. We fall for the hardwood floors, older windows, built in shelves.

So that is our little list. All in all, I'm certainly not complaining. I love where we live right now. It is perfect for us at the moment. We know we are so fortunate to have the opportunity to look for a permanent home at this point in our lives. But looking into the not too distant future, we would like to expand our family and a house would definitely be a welcome addition.