(Edited to add: We are Celebrating!! The porch that took 17 years to build has finally been completed.)
When we built our house thirteen years ago, we purposely designed a colonial style because our dream style for our home was to have a large wrap around front porch.  Not just a typical decorative front porch, but more of a veranda.
A porch that screams, “Welcome.” A porch where memories are made.

mangolianmansion.com

A place where family and friends could gather and share life together. An environment where stress and worries would melt away over shared conversation.
I envisioned birthdays being celebrated, wedding rehearsal dinners taking place, and secrets confided over coffee.
After five years, we were ready to begin building.   We had set a financial goals and for years, we saved every nickel and dime to put into our “front porch fund.”  Personally convicted, we felt it was important to save up the full amount before beginning to build rather than adding onto our mortgage.
Passing by all my little “wants,”, I didn’t spend money on other non-essentials because I had a completely focused financial goal for which I was striving – a wrap around veranda that would seat sixty comfortably. I even had a picture of it taped to the side of our fridge for two years to keep me focused.
We finally hit our goal. The architectural design was completed.  We met with our contractor, and we were ready to start building…until my husband felt that we should wait just a little. He felt a financial climate change coming and just wanted to be sure that we could weather the storm.
I didn’t really understand his reasoning, and quite frankly, I may have played a bit of the martyr. We were doing well financially, had saved cash for the porch, and I wanted to begin building. Well, it was the year of the bursting technology bubble and our  dot.com business went south.  We literally lived off (and eventually depleted) that porch fund (plus some( during the next two years.

Porch
BHG
I was so thankful for my husband’s wise counsel, and that he stayed the course, and I am forever grateful for that porch fund.
It saved our house and we lived off that front porch fund for nearly a year. It was such a stressful time, but I am so grateful that we had saved up cash for such a time as that.
east-wraparound-porch-lg
That project has been put on hold, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the “dream” life. It just looks a little (or a lot) different right now, especially amidst unemployment.
One day we’ll have our front wrap around veranda, but now life is shared in our cozy kitchen.
We celebrate birthday marvelously on our back deck, and I have years before a wedding is going to happen.

Front Porch - Virginia Historic Home(localism.com)

But I still love to dream about our front porch with friends gathered together sipping lemonade and anticipate the day when I can save every little penny again to put towards our “front porch” fund.
It’s a “want,” not a “need” and I cherish my home right now just as it is.
(But that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy living vicariously through these pictures, right?) 🙂

Porch

So what about you?

Do you have a dream for which you are saving?

I’d enjoy dreaming them with you.
 The porch that took 17 years to build has finally been completed.)

Front Porch

(I just love this front porch…it’s  epitome of a classic).
Porch

Never stop dreaming and setting goals.

Goal setting