Another "adult" milestone for R. and myself: we're buying a house. According to our realtor, we're just a step away from being "in contract," a move that sounds both frightening and exciting.

Here I'd been applying for jobs in my hometown, thinking we couldn't afford to buy a house here (well, not anywhere we'd actually like to live, anyway), and then a house went on the market just two blocks from where we currently rent-- a house that is affordable only because it sits just outside the trendy, overpriced area, and just a block inside a high-crime neighborhood. We've already been taking our chances with the crime for three and a half years while paying steep rent, so now we will hold our breath and go out on our own. I can't wait.

It's an old house-- 1930-- with three bedrooms, all hardwood floors, a creaky set of stairs, a large living room with picture window, a recently remodeled kitchen, two bathrooms, a fenced in yard for my puppy to run around in...you get the picture. Best of all, because the gentrification is moving that direction (and literally is in full-effect just two blocks down the street), we believe we will recoup our expenses and then some when we go to sell. We'll see if my rosy optimism is gone in a few years, but for now I am quite happy.