Before DH and I bought our house, we looked at real estate in excess of 2 years on and off, casually. I think we looked at everything from coops, to condos, to multi families to single family each time making a mental drawing of what life would be like living in that space and how we would make it work.

I was content on getting a small non-inspiring condo but we ended up finding a fantastic deal on our current house, it was hard to walk away. Growing up in NY all my life, I got used to the cement as our front lawn. But one of the things that attracted me to my current house is actually a small patch of grass we have on our front lawn! It's like unheard of in Brooklyn these days without paying an arm and a leg. We also have 2 balconies that are great for sitting and people watching and a small but functional backyard that I intend to use as an extension of playspace for DD when she gets older!

To think I almost went with a place that had none of these extra outdoor living spaces! Do you have any outdoor living in your current home? Do you think it's important?