When I picture my dream home, I imagine a large porch where I’ll relax and eat ice cream on warm summer nights, waiting for the fireflies to come out.  A large chair where I can curl up with a book, with windows all around and trees that will grow with my family.  A basement that can be taken over with toys, Barbies and Legos and board games.   A yard big enough to practice softball and grow cherry tomatoes, and a place for a swing.

I would also settle for this:

That’s the HGTV Dream Home for 2011, located in Stowe, Vermont.  I’ve entered frequently over the last two years, but I think this is finally my year.  If I won, I would take all my friends there for the weekend, cook with my mom in the high-end kitchen, sit in every luxurious arm chair and admire every piece of art.  And then I would sell it.

Because really, part of the dream is finding the home.  Spotting something set back from the street, laying eyes on it and knowing it was meant to be.  Dealing with its quirks and wishing for improvements.  What would I possibly do with a house that came with no work, just a giant mortgage?  I want to build my dream home from the ground up.  But I could get cozy in this one for the meantime.

[You can enter to win this mansion twice a day until February 18th.  Good luck!]