Whew. What a weekend! Ours felt like a total roller coaster- up up up, then dooooown, then up again. Matt & I went driving on Friday as part of our date night and just happened to drive past this home in town that I’ve loved since childhood. There was a new “For Sale” sign out front, with a “Just Reduced!” tag on it, so of course I screamed and asked Matt to pull over while I checked on RedFin to see the new price. It was a total pipe dream- this house is my DREAM house, and as such, was definitely more than we were even thinking of spending whenever/if ever it comes time for us to buy a house.

But being the impulsive, excitable person that I am, and seeing that the price had recently dropped by a full 10%, I told Matt we should call our realtor, just to check it out. And then I let myself dream a little too much, imagined us living in this gorgeous house, raising kids there, rocking grandchildren on the southern wraparound porch. You know, doing that thing that you’re not supposed to do with pipe dreams; getting your hopes up.

After a whirlwind 24 hours of crunching numbers, praying, and seeking out wisdom from our parents, it became increasingly clear that the answer was “no.” Which wasn’t a surprise at all, but when you’re a dreamer and you get your hopes up so high they’re in the clouds, coming back down can be pretty rough. Even if it was only a 24 hour come-down.

But it was a good experience! Prior to this weekend, we had NO idea what the home-buying process looked like. And now I’m well versed in terms like “PMI.” So sexy.  In all seriousness, I’m glad for the experience. It was a bummer allowing myself to put stock in unrealistic dreams, but now we have something to hopefully look forward to someday! After all, I’m pretty sure almost no one buys their dream house as their or her first home, right? (Just say “yes”).

Moving on! As always, lessons learned/things that transpired over the past week:

• My work is on Buzzfeed!! Our Harry Potter styled wedding shoot is from almost three years ago, yet I continue to get hits on my blog from it. Last week, a rep from Buzzfeed contacted me about using it for one of their features, and they ended up using four of my images! I feel like this means I’ve truly made it as a photographer- Buzzfeed is the 2014 hallmark of being successful. (kidding).
• I love it when people are total jerks to me on the road. Why? Because then I write down their license plate number and call the sheriff’s office to report their reckless driving. So go ahead, Mr. Mercedes-Benz; swerve in front of me and then stomp on your brakes to let me know how angry you are about me taking a quick call on my cell phone (hands-free, I may add). I’m sure the five minutes of self-righteousness that you feel is totally worth it when you get a warning in the mail from the police. 🙂 < That’s a passive-aggressive smiley face, in case you couldn’t tell.
•  Did you see the new workshop + date announced last week? This is a shameless plug for that very thing. Registration starts this Thursday morning at 10am!
• Realtors, most of y’all need to step up your game with these photos you take to put up with online listings. Some of them are downright awful, and if the photos are terrible, chances are I’m not getting the right impression of the house, meaning I won’t come over to see it. Meaning I definitely won’t buy it. Like this listing– of the first five images, FOUR of them are photos of the entryway steps/floor. Really?

On a totally unrelated note, I’m so thankful for all of the encouragement y’all have sent my way regarding Friday’s post. It’s crazy scary to change a business model that’s worked well over the past four years, but it’s where I know I’m being led and we’re just so dang excited to see what the next few years hold!

Here’s a pretty little hint at part of the new packaging my anniversary couples will be seeing in the future! I’m in love!