31 Days: House Hunting From The Outside In

Three corporate relocations in eight years can make a person a little particular about house hunting. After living in five houses in my adult life, I know what I like and what I do not like. And because I am a woman, it is often hard to explain to my husband what that means.

I love houses. Lots and lots and lots of styles of houses. And because I have more vision than my husband, I can look at a house and see not what it is today, but what it can become in the future.

As I like to tell my dear sweet husband "We are so good at giving houses love, and I am good at knowing what love looks like."

This time around, I wanted a different house and neighborhood than the one we were leaving. I was pretty adamant about not wanting to live in a newer subdivision.

I wanted an older neighborhood where each house looks unique from the one next door.

I wanted tree lined streets.

I wanted lushly landscaped gardens.

I wanted a patio, not a deck. I wanted to be able to open the back door and walk into the yard, not perched on a deck suspended over a yard.

I wanted a flat area of yard for my old dog.

I wanted a yard that was a sanctuary for the locals.

I wanted a spot for my tree swing.

I wanted fun places in the yard for the boys to explore.

I found all of these things on my wishlist, along with a little something extra. My new old house in my new old neighborhood with tree lined streets also has something I've always loved. Window boxes!

Not only do they bring color to the front of the house...

...but I also get to enjoy them while sitting inside the house, too!

I made a card today that was inspired by my window boxes!

{Today's Brew: Stamps and flower dies from WPlus9 Design, window/shutter/box dies from Memory Box, PTI cream card stock base, SU card stock and inks, SU scallop edge punch, paper from Simple Stories}

RELOCATING HOME TIP!
Make a list of the features you would like for your next home and neighborhood. This list can be as broad or as detailed as you would like. Just remember that you will probably not get everything you put on that list. This list can often help your realtor to narrow down house styles and neighborhoods before the actual house hunting begins. My list looked a little like this:

* Older neighborhood
* Mature trees
* No cookie cutter houses that all look the same
* Houses with character
*Yard area for the kids and dog
*Places to garden
*Flat driveway
*NO HOA's (I was so tired of all the rules that come along with Home Owner's Associations)
*Quiet street, with amenities nearby
*Not a fan of basement level garages (But guess what? We have a basement level garage, and I can live with it. Not a deal breaker!)