home sweet home

Although we LOVE living downtown, Brandon and I have been thinking lately about buying a house. It is much easier thinking about desired neighborhoods when you're in a smaller city, like Sioux Falls or Fort Collins, and a little overwhelming in a place the size of Denver. I was browsing some real estate sites today, and can't believe that I don't have a better sense of the type of place I'd like to call home. I'm 33! Shouldn't this be a no-brainer at this point in my life?

Part of me would love to live a little way up into the mountains. I'd love to have a home with an inspiring view, a place where our dogs could roam off-leash. However, even living downtown, I sometimes resent the fact that the nearest Hobby Lobby is 15 miles away. We have to drive quite a distance to find big box stores. I like to support small, locally-owned businesses whenever possible, but sometimes SuperTarget just fulfills certain needs. There's also appeal in buying a newer house in a newly-developed suburb, where you likely don't have a lot of fixer-upper type projects on the horizon, and you have ready access to conveniently-located stores and restaurants nearby. I also like the idea of living in a charming old home with lots of character in an up-and-coming neighborhood where we could walk to the nearby main street full of quaint shops and non-chain restaurants.

I guess part of what makes life worth living is the excitement of not knowing where we'll eventually end up.

oh, christmas tree

It's been a busy week for me, so going to Michael's and shopping for Christmas decorations after work tonight was wonderfully therapeutic! Nearly all the Christmas stuff is 50% off- even better than shopping for Christmas decorations for me is finding a deal.

I have very few Christmas decorations, in part because I've always traveled home to South Dakota for the holidays. So I'm kind of starting from scratch this year. Brandon and I bought our first real tree this year. Going to pick out our tree was so much fun, and brought back lots of memories of doing this with my family as a kid.

listen closely

Today's message to me, from the Universe:

You don't get to choose how you're going to die. Or when. You can only decide how you're going to live. Now.
- Joan Baez

viva las vegas

Gratitude | Day 2

1. Friday!
2. The anticipation of Saturday morning coffee.
3. Our Wii Fit, which makes me look forward to working out.