Sarah: Living in New York

Tonight, I'm looking for an apartment on PadMapper. I've found that most of the time you have to choose between location, size, and price. I say "most of the time" because I just discovered the complete package:

I know I'm not male, but you can start sending housewarming gifts anyway. Just as long as they aren't pants.

Lisa: front porch fun

I wrote in 2008 and again last spring about ripping off our current front porch and awning and replacing it with something nicer and more welcoming. I'm ready to get serious about deciding what we want, figuring out how much it will really cost, and getting some plans rolling. Will you help?

The first photo is the front of our house when we bought it. The next three are fairly terrible Photoshop mockups of porch ideas I collected on Pinterest. First, we've got a pointed roof option with an arch over the door, white pillars supported by an asymmetrical wooden deck and wide stone steps leading to some irregular flagstones. The second has a small extended roof overhang supported by two big corbels, and a large stone base including low walls on each side. The third option has a little fenced-in front porch off to one side that's totally covered by a larger roof overhang. Check out the photos, and vote on your favorite one below! If you have another idea altogether or want to suggest a tweak to one of these three, share it in the comments.

Next I want to go around our neighborhood photographing the porches I like, and do the same thing. Too creepy?

Lisa: front porch, creeper edition

More voting! This time (as threatened) I went around our neighborhood taking photos of porches like the ones we've been considering. It should help that they were designed (some with more skill than others) for houses in a similar style and scale. My Photoshopping, however, has not improved.

Also, please tell me in the comments if there are things you like or don't like on each one.