Ding dong, Ben and Kristin are at the door! 
Since we recently decided we’d like to build our own dream home in the country someday, Ben and I spent the entire afternoon house lot hunting!
Before we left I made a big glass of fresh Strawberry Orange Juice for the ride.
Ummm, it was basically the greatest thing ever!!!
3 oranges and 5 strawberries, juiced up with my Jack LaLanne Power Juicer.
Thick, sweet and SO REFRESHING!
I could seriously start every single morning with this concoction. It was magical. 
A’ight, let’s roll!
We set out with no plan except to just start driving.
The search led us to acreages next to corn fields,
and lots tucked into wooded areas off of dusty gravel roads.
One lot was SO enticing, that we had to get out of the car and explore a little on foot.
(which my flippy-floppied feet were a tad ill prepared for! )
It was so beautiful and remarkably quiet except for the sounds of the birds and the bugs. Heaven.
It also came complete with a pond! Fun!
Alas, this 27 acre lot is priced at $450,000 – which is a little out of our price range…just a little.
I was actually shocked at all the lots and acreages we found for sale.
It’s very encouraging from a buyer’s perspective!
A couple of hours into our search, we headed back to civilization to grab a late lunch at Wok in Motion. It was weird coming from peaceful country roads into the madness of Saturday afternoon traffic. Almost too much stimulation!
At any rate, fluffy, insanely delicious Chicken Fried Rice was devoured, then it was back to the car.
Driving around today kind of put the whole "living in the country" lifestyle into perspective.
Yeah, it’d be awesome to have so much land and trees all to yourself,
But there is something to be said for paved streets, a grocery store 2 minutes away and the ability to just go for a run around the neighborhood, which would be difficult on rural, gravel roads.
Still, I think it’s what we both want.
If/when we find a lot that’s perfect for us, we most likely won’t start building for another 2-4 years while we save some money.
Driving around today got us even MORE excited for the future though! 
Well last night’s Sangria on the back porch turned into going out for a friend’s birthday, and Ben and I are totally wiped. I think I hear a big glass of ice water and DVD calling my name!
Have a great night!
~~~~~
Could you live far away from the gym and grocery store in the country, or would it be too hard to give up the convenience of urban life?
That juice looks amazing!
I was born in Boston, raised in the burbs about 30 minutes outside of San Francisco and have spent the last 5 years living in SF… and I love it. The part of SF I live in doesn’t feel so “city” to me since it’s right by the water, parks, running trails, etc so it’s almost the best of both worlds.
Your pictures make me seriously wish for lots and lots of beautiful land though! And the ability to build a dream house!
My husband and I bought a house out in the country…before kids. After kids I quickly realized my time was so much more valuable and driving wasn’t what I wanted to be doing. I had a 40 minute commute to work…and going to the grocery stores was a 15 minute trip JUST to get to the store.
Post kids? Well – add on an additional 50 minutes for drop off or pick up at daycare. TA DA…yes, it took me nearly 2 hrs to get to work (or home…) if I had to get the kids.
So we moved. I miss the quiet of the country…but time spent with my family is so much more important. And I wish I had thought about that BEFORE we bought that house…because selling houses in the country is NOT that easy!!!
(BTW – I reduced my commute to 20 minutes and we live RIGHT next door to the daycare!
With drop off/pick up, it is closer to 30-40 minutes…and I *LOVE* the extra time in my day!)
My husband and I do plan on moving (yes again) in the next 3-5 years…and we will probably buy a larger house in the city with perks of the country (lots of burbs with running trails, pretty scenery and such around here). I will not give up my time again. I don’t enjoy being in the car that much.
I can’t handle how gorgeous those landscapes are. My BF and I just bought our first home in southern MA but I would love to build a house someday. It’s such a pipe dream because 4 acres would cost around $450k where we want to live. Our fixer-upper lets us do what we want so we’re excited for that! I hope you find what you’re looking for!
[...] to last forever (in a good way!) and after running errands all afternoon, then doing a bit of lot shopping, Ben and I decided to spend St. Patrick’s Day on the back patio with a bottle of Flip Flop [...]