A couple years ago I wrote a post deriding Zombie House Flipping (although I can't seem to find it now).
I gave it another chance a few weeks ago because there wasn't anything else on that night worth watching and discovered that either the format or the crew—or more likely, I—had changed, and I actually didn't hate it. Yeah, there's a hell of a lot of poorly staged, obvious drama, but by and large the houses the guys flip actually look pretty good when they're finished.
I love what was done to this house. It was from an episode where the sole girl on the team was given full reign over the project. It was a sad, dreary little 60s-era box that disappeared into the vegetation. Now it stands out and screams 21st Century. I really like the colors and materials they chose for the remodel, and while I'm not as enamored with some of the design choices that were made on the interior, enclosing the open carport—turning it into a proper garage—and rotating the roof ninety degrees to its original orientation after determining the entire structure needed to be replaced was a stroke of design genius as far as I'm concerned.
After one brief visit to Florida in 1993, I've always fantasized about living there, but the politics, the hurricanes (and now the inevitable rising sea level) are what have kept that fantasy at bay. Still, I like what I saw of the lifestyle (at least on the west coast where I was staying) at the time, and if the place wasn't so sure to be underwater, it still might be something to consider.
But then there's the humidity. And the bugs. Oh lord, the bugs…
Marriage/relationships are not what everyone thinks it is. It's not waking up early every morning to make breakfast and eat together. It's not cuddling in bed together until both of you peacefully fall asleep. It's not a clean home and a homemade meal every day. It's someone who steals the covers and elbows you in the face. It's a few harsh words, fights and the silent treatment, it's wondering if you've made the right decision. It is, despite all of those things, the one thing you look forward to every day. It's coming home to the same person everyday that you know loves and cares about you. It's laughing about the one time you accidentally did something stupid. It's about eating the cheapest and easiest meal you can make and sitting down together at 10pm to eat because you both had a crazy day. It's when you have an emotional breakdown and they hold you and tell you everything is going to be okay, and you believe them. It's about still loving someone even though they make you absolutely insane. It's not perfect and it's hard, but it's amazing and comforting and the best thing you'll ever experience." ~ Troy via 
