on to the next obsession.

The house hunt is back on. We've currently got our hearts set on the Cottages at Longborough, a new townhouse development in Wagener Terrace targeted at first-time home buyers. They were extremely sought-after when they first opened up bidding in 2009. Todd was approved to buy one, but lost his job soon afterward. We've gazed at them wistfully every time we walked by, until we learned that there are still a few units available. The application is in. Fingers are crossed.

decor porn.

I'll be the first one to tell you that I'm stubborn. When someone tells me I can't do something, or that it'll be too hard, it makes me want to do it even more. I think I just want to prove that anything can be accomplished if you approach it intelligently.  Maybe it's not stubbornness after all.

We were pre-approved for a much better mortgage than we expected. This makes buying the house a distinct possibility. It needs to be completely redone, but I'm excited at the prospect. I don't think it'll be easy, but it only took a few hours to figure out how much money it would take to fix it up to our specifications.

Who knows what'll happen. But for now, I'm dreaming of tiles and retro-style refrigerators and French doors and light fixtures.

flipping.

We looked at a house today in our neighborhood. It's a cute, historic shotgun house on a great up-and-coming street at an unbeatable price. The only problem is, it needs intense renovations. The previous owner started it off but left a huge mess and the bare bones of a house. Floors, heating and air, kitchen, bathroom, windows, doors, closets need built or replaced.

Half of me thinks it would be so much fun to create a home — kitchen, bath, yard, bedrooms, etc. — exactly to our specifications. Half of me thinks we'd have to be insane. Could we handle this in our first year of marriage or would it lead to certain divorce?