As sustainable living and homegrown foods continue to grow in popularity, residents in the Capital region find simple pleasure and a sense of community in transforming their backyards into small-scale farms for feathered friends and livestock.

Are you one of those house-crazy people? You know, the kind who can’t resist looking through local real estate listings or driving past an open house without going in. Are you the party guest who wants the tour before a drink hits your lips? Do you find yourself oohing and ahhing over cool old architecture or keeping track of the renovation job down the street? No? Oh, well, then, definitely not us, either. We also aren’t especially geeked to feature four Lansing area homes that pay homage to the decade in which they were built ... please note the tone of sarcasm, and click on!

For the better part of a decade, Jake and Sarah Pechtel have had many opportunities to leave Michigan. Their shared passion for the arts and culture has often left them wanting more than what the Lansing region has to offer. A few years ago, however, the couple officially made the decision to stay and invest in the area.