Now that it is (finally) nice outside, I'm back to taking the long way...everywhere. There is not a road, avenue or lane that I have not explored in St. Louis and I will turn down any street in hopes of sneaking a peak at a good house. The terms "private street" or "residents only" mean nothing to me. If there is a residential street within 20 miles of here, I have been down it.
The girls don't even ask "where are we going" anymore. They know their crazy mom is just taking another one of her rides and we'll eventually arrive...somewhere.
But there are a small handful of houses that I drive by no matter the time of day or the weather. My bucket list houses. The houses that I would move heaven and earth to buy if they ever became for sale.
They are always old, usually run down and often appear to be 'virginal' (untouched and never rehabbed). All of them have great lots in wonderful (to me) locations. They are the houses that you drive by and never notice and I want them.
I really do love my house and can't think of leaving (anytime soon) but I do catch myself dreaming of living in those suckers. What I would do to them, how I would bring them back to life. It makes for a great Sunday drive.
What about you? Do you have any local houses that are on your bucket list? Ever drive a little out of your way to go thru a favorite neighborhood? Always wondered what was down that private street but have been afraid to turn? Stick with me, I'll show you around.
Oh YES, I totally do this! It's so much fun, how can you not, right?
ReplyDeleteI totally have a list of houses that I would buy after winning Powerball.
ReplyDeleteThere's a "private" street right around the corner with fabulous lots. The houses aren't that great, but I've thought the yard would almost make it worth it to do some serious work on one!
ReplyDeleteYep, I'll take all of those please! As my husband likes to say, we bought the crappiest house on the best street, so I love walking up and down our street to look at all the masterpieces. I'm hoping ours will love up to the neighborhood one day soon! And PS- I love the title of this post. Too cute! :)
ReplyDeleteI SO do this. My bucket list houses are always old, but packed with charm and character.
ReplyDeletei feel the same- i love my home and can't imagine leaving it, but i like to dream, too!
ReplyDeleteWhen I have time I love doing this as well. There is an area here with huge lots and amazing landscaping...I love driving thru there and studying the homes and their surroundings....so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteOMG we could be besties! Jump over and see my road trip to work. I'm like you, I can't help myself. Beautiful homes shown here, I can only imagine....
ReplyDeleteSharon
Oh my gosh, I'm the worst - I park in a nearby lot and run through the neighborhood!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! My kids have given up on me as well. My dad recently picked my husband & I up for a wedding w/my whole family in the car and my brother says...i know the way and Kate is taking us the long way to show us pretty neighborhoods...busted! :)
ReplyDeleteyes! I do this too! I'm always dreaming about the old houses and feel that I'll probably be disappointed whenever I do get around to buying a house. There is a cute house I can see from my office window I'm always dreaming about.
ReplyDeleteSt. Louis has some of the most gorgeous homes! I love to stare at them whenever I go visit! There is a house on my lake, one street over that I die over and drive by constantly. Yesterday the owner was outside and I stopped to talk to him and he offered me a tour once their are done with their reno! I was super excited and only feeling a little guilty for being so nosy :)
ReplyDeleteI love doing that too although where we're at, we don't have as many gorgeous old houses around. My imagination just goes wild thinking who lived there before and the stories of the people inside.
ReplyDeleteWow you live in such a pretty area. This is my very favorite pastime too. The older the better, and I agree, virginal is always good, but ripping off hideous 70s linoleum to find gorgeous hardwoods underneath is pretty fun too. Why can't money just grow on trees so I can buy houses to makeover and flip? Jeesh.
ReplyDeleteI love doing this in Saint Louis as well. My husband and I usually explore Maplewood and Clayton neighborhoods by foot or bike. It's a great way to enjoy the weather and older homes.
ReplyDeleteHA I do that all the time! Here in Charleston you get to sneak a peek of the old beach homes and some amazing historic homes- I've stuck my face between an iron gate to see what's behind it!
ReplyDeleteBagh! That last home is PERFECTION!! I want to move in. We were just in LA and there were so many beautiful homes covered in ivy and I'd love for my dream home to have that gorgeous feature! xoxo
ReplyDeleteI do the same thing. I go one step further. I go on Zillow, find houses I like and do a drive by. I have gone so far to call the realtors and ask for a tour.
ReplyDeleteI just love old houses and old junk. I should be a real estate agent.
ReplyDeleteI always have a "wandering eye" when it comes to houses! Those are some beauties!
ReplyDeleteYes! There's an old farmhouse on a winding country road behind my parents' house. I've loved it since I was a toddler. It has a ballroom and it's own pond! And back in the day I had a boyfriend from St. Louis, and when I visited he toured me around the neighborhoods. There are some seriously amazing homes out there! And I bet I could score one for the insane price I'll have to pay for a 2k square foot Colonial here in the Boston suburbs. We're actively looking for a new house now and there's absolutely nothing on the market. Le sigh!
ReplyDeleteOh gosh what beautiful places. They are enchanted and magical.
ReplyDeleteoh yes! Mine are old Pennsylvannia farm houses with old barns on acres or large classic stone colonials. I love to dream....
ReplyDelete"The girls don't even ask "where are we going" anymore. They know their crazy mom is just taking another one of her rides and we'll eventually arrive...somewhere."........LOL, I thought I was the only person who does this! I can ride around for hours in the spring, house stalking. Sometimes I even bring my camera to snap picks. The people who I am holding up traffic for must think I'm insane.
ReplyDeleteI'm a total house stalker. Every time a house in my hood goes up for sale I find a way to get in.. I do love old houses.
ReplyDeleteLove stalking houses...the older and the quirkier the better in my opinion!
ReplyDeleteMy mom totally used to do this all of the time when I was a kid and I hated it and moaned and groaned every time she'd take one of her detours. Now I'm inflicting the same pain on my own kids - can't help it. So much fun to ponder the "what ifs"!
ReplyDeleteYep, seems the more ramshackle the thing is the more I want it!! I do this drive with you daily my friend!! xo
ReplyDeleteI love doing that. I haven't found any neighborhoods yet around here though that are exciting to drive around in. But when we lived in Minneapolis there were tons of areas with huge old houses that I loved to drive by and daydream about buying and fixing up.
ReplyDeleteI was walking my dogs in Forrest Park on Sat, on the way home we detoured on one of the private roads off of Lindell to admire the homes....I've done it about a dozen times, out of nowhere a rent-a-cop drove up on me threatening to arrest me for trespassing. It was so absurd I started laughing out loud. He was going crazy! He followed me out of the neighborhood screaming out the window. I was so aggravated.
ReplyDeleteLove this, mostly cause I ruthlessly stalk beautiful homes in my city, and I agree, my faves are always the potential homes - the ones that are just waiting to be revived. Then I come home and sigh and get back to the revival of our home, which isn't nearly as spectacular as my bucket list homes, but had me from the get go, for its "potential."
ReplyDeleteLooking isn't cheating....I do have some houses I would love to live in just judging from the outside. As a kid my mother would say the dreaded phrase "let's see what's down this road" and we'd go careening off down a little side street for no reason other than curiosity. ;)
ReplyDeleteLove this! There is a house down the road from us that is totally out of its element, but I love it! It's all brick with huge columns, sitting on a few acres in between your typical missouri country ranch homes. They always seem to be having fab parties, and I love to drive by at night when all the lights are on to see inside!
ReplyDeleteWow, I had no idea St. Louis was so beautiful! I've never been there, but now I need to think of a reason to go.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely have a few dream houses on my list! Love looking and dreaming!
ReplyDeleteI do this ALL THE TIME... Im so happy I can acutally make a move on one such house if I came across one. Of course it always goes that when youre ready its nowhere to be found:)
ReplyDeleteI've got a few that I drive really slowly by each time we're close. We live in a pretty woodsy area, and there are some really pretty older homes. I'll have to count how many I'm obsessed with. And you cracked me up with the "private drive" who cares mentality...ha!
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