House Hunting

This weekend, we're going to Vegas, baby! After we come back, Jake and I are planning to start doing some serious house hunting next weekend (July 21-22). I'm both excited and apprehensive at the same time. I'm excited for the opportunity to move into a new place and start fresh, to have a bit more space, and to actually own a piece of real estate. I'm apprehensive because it's a big commitment, we will have to put hard work into the upkeep of a home, and it'll have to be somewhere I'm happy living in for more than the next couple of years. Jake and I wrote up a checklist of what we'd ideally want in the house we find, so that should help guide us a bit.

I'm also thinking the change of venue will help jumpstart me in making a few good lifestyle changes. I find that moving helps me to reorganize and rethink my life sometimes. So, these are some objectives I have for after we get a new house:

Start a garden! (I really want to plant vegetables! Maybe I could also Plant a Row for the Hungry.)
Create an area of "sanctuary"- a good place to be alone, read, think, etc.
Buy comfortable furniture
Bake and cook more (with the larger kitchen I expect the house will have)
Set up a good system to deal with dirty laundry (similar to Maria's basket system at her house)
Find ways to get involved with my community (not sure how...volunteering? meeting my neighbors? hosting a neighborhood party?)

Okay, that's what I have for now. I'll put up an update if we see any good houses.