My husband, Darren, and I have owned our home for almost three years and I don't regret it in the least but...boy, it's always an adventure! It's much better than renting because 1. You can paint the room whatever you want without getting yelled at for doing it   2. If something breaks, the landlord has to fix it  3. You never have to cut the lawn....aaaahhh, how relaxing that would be right now.  I fight an everyday fight with the weeds in my yard -- it seems the minute I walk down the sidewalk to my door, I notice 10 new weeds that weren't there yesterday! Luckily, Darren cuts the grass so at least my only yard responsibility is the bushes & weeds (flowers too). It's funny how when it's dark & gloomy in February, you dream of plush green grass..but now that it's July & hot, the grass seems to grow an inch an hour and now you're dreaming of it once dormant! I do envy the people in town that have gardeners/landscapers to do their yard but sometimes, there's nothing better than planting something and watching it grow..

Recently, we "solarized" our windows and the difference has been amazing. The setting sun glares into the one side of our yard that doesn't have trees (Murphy's Law) making certain parts of the house boiling hot. We've struggled for two summers with it and finally, we put our foot down and invested in solar film on the windows...and I LOVE IT! You can't even tell there's a film on it and our a/c doesn't have to work overtime to cool off that part of the house. Of course, we had to budget in this expense and eat a little bit more ramen over the past month but at least, I didn't break a sweat at 6pm. Now it's as cool as a cucumber. So if you're contemplating doing something like this--do it--trust me! 

One thing I've learned is that you never can compare your home to your neighbors (or yard for that matter). My one neighbor is an interior designer and her home looks like it was just featured in Charleston Home Magazine. I used to cringe when she would come in, thinking she was checking out every knook & cranny in the house...but now I know that 1. I'm interior design-challenged 2. She does work where she gets everything at cost 3. She will always be the one making dinner because she has more places to sit! 

Owning a home is "America's Dream" and I would have to agree, I wouldn't trade weeds, hot rooms or a meticulous neighbor for anything!

Ryan