Photo by Will Merydith

I mentioned in my last post that our friends Darcie and Matt recently bought an adorable house in Milwaukee. What I didn’t mention is that they’ve created their very own huge vegetable garden in the backyard! The hubs and I thought maybe we’d want to buy a condo downtown as our first owned place, but now I’m strongly considering a house. I want to grow my own vegetables in my own backyard! I want to grow fruit, too! And nuts! And herbs!

… I just zoned out for a few minutes in my cute little fantasy backyard. Am I drooling?

We’re considering finally buying a place next year. We’ve been renters for so long. There are plenty of pros on cons that we’ve been weighing. We love our current apartment’s lofted ceilings and warehouse style with great views of downtown. We love living right downtown and barely ever having to use our car. And though we’re getting a pretty great deal on our rent for where we’re located, it’s still more than we want to be spending on a one-bedroom apartment. It does get a bit cramped sometimes. Especially living with an artist who’s in need of his own studio space. And when people visit, there’s no guest bedroom. And they have to pay to park on the street. Those two are pretty important since so much of our family lives far away.

Additionally, we’re getting more serious about the possibility of  “family expansion.” Not immediately, but probably in the next couple of years. And a one-bedroom ain’t gonna cut it. If it was just a baby and no baby accessories, we could probably make it work for a little while. But apparently babies require baby things. Like a crib and crap. They’re so needy.

The housing market, however, does make me a bit nervous (and excited). I’m getting a kick out of the not-so-terrible houses we could buy for $20,000. No, I didn’t miss a zero. $20,000. Granted, the house would probably implode the moment we moved in. But it shows how desperate people are getting to sell. And I’m starting to feel like this may be the ideal time for us to buy. I mean, the economy’s gotta bounce back eventually, right?? Ugh. Nerve-racking. I know nothing about buying houses, other than what I see on HGTV.

All I want is an adorable 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom eco-friendly house in a fantastic neighborhood, within walking distance of wonderful things, with old trees in the yard, and a breakfast nook in my fantastic kitchen. Oh, and a magical wonderland of fruits, nuts, veggies, and herbs in my backyard. All for around $20,000. 

photo from junkgarden girl