1. What is your most prized material possession? This is a hard one to answer. Certainly my wedding band and engagement ring in terms of sentimental value. Our car and my computer in terms of day-to-day usefulness. The iPod, TiVo, and digital camera for sheer technological luxury. All the kitchen equipment (particularly my KitchenAid Stand Mixer and our knives). My tennis racquet.

2. What item, that you currently own, have you had the longest? I have t-shirts that are from grade school. A watch from my grandmother. China that belonged to my great-great grandmother.

3. Are you a packrat? Sort of. I like things (books, particularly) but I try to get rid of stuff I don't use. Visiting my parents last year drove me crazy because they are such packrats. I'm big on saving boxes right now because I know we'll be moving this year, but once we buy a house I'd like to get rid of most of them.

4. Do you prefer a spic-and-span clean house? Or is some clutter necessary to avoid the appearance of a museum? A little clutter is ok. I like looking at the pristine, minimalist houses featured in Metropolitan Home, but I don't think I could actually live like that. I have too many books, for one thing. I would like to have enough space (namely book shelves, kitchen cabinets, a linen closet, and a spare bedroom) so that fewer things would be out on flat surfaces or on open shelves.

5. Do the rooms in your house have a theme? Or is it a mixture of knick-knacks here and there? Right now it's a mixture, but I have themes in my head. I'd like our living room to be sort of Tuscany-esque, with our purple sofa and gold and tapestry accents (maybe even a faux plaster finish on the walls, but I go back and forth on that). I'd like our bedroom to be minimalist with ivory bedding and dark wood furniture (we found the perfect bedside tables at Pottery Barn last weekend). I'd like the future baby's room to have primary colors and a jungle animal theme. I'd like our kitchen to be white with shades of blue (which it is now, except for the crappy floor). I'd like the master bathroom to be somewhat tropical (turquoise blue and white) and the guest bathroom to be funky black and white. I'd like the house to be a biscuit-y taupe-y color with black trim, black shutters, and a red door. I'd like wrought iron to be involved in the landscaping. Who knows, maybe by the time we have a house I'll have changed my mind on all of these, but it's a start.