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Reason # 17 I am perfectly happy to rent our townhouse rather than own it: Our hot water heater broke yesterday morning and, mere hours later, (while I’m at work, doing my work and NOT dealing with removing a broken water heater and shopping for a new one) a brand new one arrives and is installed in the basement – free of my time, effort, and money. I come home to toasty hot water, a shiny new appliance, and a water-free basement floor – like it never happened. One day I’d love to own, possibly renovate, and decorate our own home, but for now, renting our townhouse is pretty much the best deal around.

That being said, I’ve also been watching WAY too much HGTV these past few weeks (and I have several friends in the process of buying/selling) and I just can’t help myself: I desperately want this house. I’ve been stalking it for weeks now and I may actually go stalk it in person when it has its next open house. With the exception of kitchen appliances (which are not included so I’d get to custom choose them…yay!), it’s practically move-in ready with no major renovations required. It was bought last May for $26,000 and flipped – so it’s been completely updated with all new kitchen, baths, windows, flooring, paint, electric, insulation, drywall and more. It’s a sweet home (great size for our little family of two) in a nice location, AND it has my top four “must-haves”: a beautiful kitchen, a great bathtub, a nice deck, and a semi-spacious and private yard for a garden and lawn games and a trampoline! Ted would point out the obvious downsides: hardwood floors, which are lovely, but unbelievably cold (which means expensive heating bills…so we’d likely invest in carpet in some rooms), the lack of a useable garage for a vehicle (it has a garage, but no way for a vehicle to get into it, so we think it’s been converted into some other useable space?), a basement that may or may not be a mess and may or may not be conducive for storage space and a workshop for Ted, and – of course – all the extra expenses associated with home ownership. But that really doesn’t change the fact that I kind of love this house.

Now this house, though clearly well-cared for by its current owners, is not totally move-in ready because it’s in need of some updates to the outdated/not-our-style cabinets, countertops, and flooring in the kitchen, the wood paneling in the master bedroom (*shudder*), tiny upstairs bathroom which could use a minor overhaul to help it feel more spacious, lack of carpet upstairs, and low ceilings (also keeping in mind we have no idea what condition the roof, electrical, pluming, walls, foundation, etc. are in), is more appealing to Ted because of the attached garage for a vehicle, shed out back for tools and equipment, and a huge, wonderful workshop space for his TORVentures business – which would be so, so awesome for him. With some updates to the kitchen, bathroom, master bedroom, and a few other minor renovations, I could be on board too. Plus, check out that sweet rustic wooden accent wall in the living room – gorgeous!

I’m truly happy to rent for now. Really, I am. We love our townhouse. Also, we’re artistic nomads and in no financial condition to buy a house, but that apparently does not stop me from obsessing over houses on the market. Human beings are funny creatures. Clearly, myself included.

Also, thanks to the awesome generosity of my wonderful parents’ sky miles, my flight home to Texas for my 10 year high school reunion has been booked, and my ticket has been procured!

Several things: A. I cannot believe I am actually old enough to be attending my 10 year high school reunion, B. I’m really excited to spend some quality time catching up with all my high school buddies again, C. I am beyond ready for Tex-Mex, Texas BBQ, Texas sunsets, margaritas, Blue Bell ice cream, my cowboy boots, hot weather, Boerne Berges Fest, river tubing with SPF 900, trolling around Boerne to see how much has changed in the past year-and-a-half since I’ve been home (I’m almost frightened by this), quality time to spend with my awesome parents and brother and his family, and SANCHO. Obviously, I am crazy excited to love on that cat of mine. TEXAS I’M COMING FOR YOU!

Furthermore, here’s this to make you smile