I'm not an addict...

But coming home today to the new (and my first) issue of House Beautiful and the November Pottery Barn catalog made me feel like I had just scored. Probably sounds crazy, but I like to read them again and again and labor over each page and dog-ear my favorites. In a little while I'll probably climb into bed (the new guestbed I recently scored on Craigslist, more on that later) and start going through them.

What makes the magazine score even better is that I was able to get the year subscription for free! How, you ask!? Thanks to saving Coca Cola product bottle caps (I have to admit, my dad started me on it). Check out mycokerewards.com; it's been worth saving caps to score free mags (you can also trade them in for other rewards, but I choose to support my habit). I'm expecting my first issue of Better Homes & Gardens any day now too.

So what is it that fulfills your cravings? An afternoon going through antique shops? The new Ikea catalog? Tell me how you get your fix!

Welcome home!

I think part of it comes from being the daughter of a Real Estate Broker, but I've always loved houses.  I remember as a child the excitement of going with my father on a showing - I loved the feeling I got when I first walked into a house, discovering how the rooms unfolded, thinking about who used to live there - and later, thinking about how I would have redecorated, where I would have put furniture, how I would have hung artwork.  It was always easy for me to see the potential in a house, or when a house had bad bones.  There are certain streets I love driving down to see particular homes and their landscapes, and even though I've bought my first home, I still can't help myself from picking up the real estate section of the paper every week for ideas and inspiration.

I've started this blog as an outlet for my love (obsession?) of houses and what goes in them, and for my love of my own first little house.