Christmas time equals no time

Late night decorating the tree, inbetween cooking christingle making and panic sketching greeting cards - it is most definitely the season to be jolly.

It's rather comforting, transforming the lounge which is used to pale blues and stone shades into accepting bold reds, glitter and extra foliage from the garden. 

Ivy, holly and mistletoe are all making an appearance, as is the fire. We've finally stocked up on kindle and wood so we can enjoy a warm and toasty evening Nd marvel at our first, real, Christmas Tree. 

A real spruce has more character and a better smell than the fake ones, and we are learning how to care for it and keep the pines off the carpet as best we can. 

A further signal that we are approaching winter is that we have finished the bramble jelly made in September. I am looking forward to seeking out more berries next autumn, and perhaps be more prepared and make a larger batch.

For now, it's time to make the Christmas preserves and puddings, with only weeks to go we better find more hours on the clock.

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Layers of leaves, layers of clothes

Putting extra blankets on the bed, starting up the fire, placing towels on a radiator before showering, cooking stews and making hot chocolate have fully replaced the habits of summer. 

A welcome change. It's an ideal time to experiment and play in the house, getting to know it more. It feels different when it's colder, relying on it more to help you through the frostier season.

We can't wait to buy our first real Christmas tree and bake spices treats for gifts and piggy moments. A month today and it will be that time again, time to reflect on how fast the year has gone by when at points it felt so slow. 

We're very lucky and still in awe that we have managed to move into our home, and fortunately both have had promotions in our positions which will help us on our next quest for 2014, the arrival of a puppy.

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The rise of the hemline

Has the supposed housing boom affected the hemline of skirts?

Seeing as the property industry is bright and busy with house prices on an incline, I wonder whether the wider influence its having on the economy could be having on the receeding hemline of our skirts.

As we know, the longer the length the more troubled our times are, the shorter the more carefree.

The early 1990s was a prosperous time and it's making its firm appreciation once again in our high street. Now officially registered as 'vintage' this era brought with it the reincarnation of the mini skirt, crop tops, masculine structured jackets and boxey leather shoes. Punchy and grungy, not a flowing floral in sight.

Have you been noticing the slits introduced to our maxi skirts? The skater swing skirts or the skort style items back into the shops? Could this be a sign recovery is on its way? The hemline is rising, and so could be the economic outlook. 

Just a thought. X

Home sweet home

What does it feel like?

It's been a month since we moved in and no one has revealed that its actually a cruel joke thus pointing us in the direction of our old haunts.

We often feel a little like naughty children, someone surely is bound to take our new favourite toy away, so we are on our best behaviour making sure we run the house like clockwork. 

If nobody notices, or notices we are doing it well, than maybe we can keep it. I hope we can as its very difficult to imagine not living here, it's our home.

There's so much to look forward to. The garden needs another couple of seasons to really heal and grow. The discovered apple tree is one example. The vegetable patch is starting again from scratch, so not expecting any goodies until next summer. It's exciting to realise our decorating plans, but we are quite good at this patience malarkey, it will all come in time we know.

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Moving day is 3 weeks away

Rather excitingly moving day is only 3 weeks away. I realise I haven't posted in a while, but to sum up the past couple of months since our offer was accepted, we've basically been sitting very patiently. Part of the perils of being in a chain is waiting for your sellers to find their home. Luckily that happened in early May, so we could really kick start the buying process.

After sifting through many confusing documents, posting our personal information and sitting through lengthy insurance meetings answering the same 'what would you do if this happened' questions, exchanging on the house could happen any day now. It was meant to be last week - but in true house buying fashion, delays are common and we are more than prepared for these. One thing that won't change is the move date - 18th July we will be collecting the keys!

I've started packing up my bedroom, it's unnatural the amount that I own. Granted, most of it was things stored away for the house.. The kitchen is safely kitted out that's for sure.

Now to wish the next 3 weeks away. At least I have some exciting weekends to look forward to, next weekend is Henley Royal Regatta, and the weekend after we are travelling up to York for an end of year ball. Oh and of course, spending my days with my friends cutest miniature dauchaund puppy, Bennie is always the best.

(Update on 1st July, we finally exchanged!)

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Offer accepted!

On the 11^th March, an offer on our dream house was accepted. We smiled and literally jumped for joy for five minutes, until we realised that the hassle of moving will now cast an angry looking cloud above our heads for the next few months.

Like most people, buying is house is not something you do everyday or know exactly how it’s meant to work. I’ve found that the key elements to get you through it and most importantly learn how to do it are, speaking to family and friends. The next is Google. Oh what a valuable tool Google and Martin Lewis’ website is. (Because who knew how complicated mortgages and surveys could be?) The final is gut instinct. Listening to yourself on what is right just helps solidify any (ir)rational thoughts or reasonings, and it works almost everytime.

To keep myself busy during this tense period, I’ve been expanding the bottom drawer of ‘bits for the house’, which means it’s now bursting from under my bed, and into the garage and shed. I can’t quite fit everything in, so if the move was to happen sooner, practically it would be happy days. Luckily most furniture is second hand, which is a blessing for the wallet and much more fun and gratifying than walking into Ikea. Each item is lovingly handed down with history, discovered in a charity shop or bargain bought online.

Oh and of course - bridesmaid duties, such as shopping with my friend looking for her wedding dress, what a way to keep you distracted!

One thing that is repeated often to us, so it must have some truth is that ‘if it’s meant to be, it will be’ - so fingers crossed this house is. 

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The house hunt begins!

And yet again I manage to blog post right before the end of the month – phew. Where do I start? This month has been a funny one. The house hunt has officially begun. We’ve both thought that starting to look at houses now is best, as the whole process takes a while anyway, so with each month; we will have that little bit more to help contribute to the piggy bank.

I knew it would be a difficult task but I wasn't prepared for how quickly I could fall in and out of love with houses. Especially when you view them on a crisp sunny morning, and they intentionally whack the heating up so you just want to sit on the sofa and have a cup of tea like you do at home. That ‘bake some bread’ before they come over theory really does work. I was a sucker for one house that put my favourite flowers, some tulips, on the little kitchen table. It was hard to concentrate and think with my head not my heart.

Then came the mortgage meetings, the long painful process of realising how much student debt can creep up on you and affect your allowance. Thanks student loan. We offered on our dream house but to no avail.

So with the week of Valentines and Pancake day filled with bad luck, it was the perfect time to get away with our friends for the weekend to Whitstable in Kent. We stayed in this lovely little cottage right by the sea – very picturesque – and set a task of overeating, milling around shops and visiting the local wildlife sanctuary. For a treat on the last day we made a trip to a very cold Canterbury to look in the cathedral. Entry to view inside was £10! But it’s huge and definitely worth the wonder about. 

What will be, will be I say! But keep your fingers crossed just in case! Hoping next month we might have more luck on the house hunt!

Oh saving the best until last, the highlight of February was meeting this little guy.

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Happy New Year!

I burst into the new year by playing silly board games, eating a tremendous amount of sausage rolls, drinking too much wine and dancing to 90's club classics such as Barbie Girl. I hope you all had a fab night whatever you got up to. I almost spent my night as a means to go on for the year, which is to hold back on being frivolous and just being with your nearest and dearest! Sorry to be a bore - mentioning my money woes, but I do have other resolutions up my sleeve that I am determined to even just try, as the results would be so rewarding. So here we go...

One - Obviously number one is to save money, to scrimp and save to move out. Watch this space to share my tips and tricks to spending little leisure money each month.

Two - Visit my family as much as possible. We're an awkward bunch, living hours away from eachother. I managed to visit my Auntie just shortly after Christmas and I'm hoping to be back down there soon for more dog walks, cosy evenings in with good food and wine. Maybe an added essence of Witchcraft also...

Three - Successfully look after a plant. I am not green fingered in the slightest. If the plant cried, I would be sure to water and feed it, but it doesn't so frankly it gets ignored. 

Four - A personal one, so here's a personal photo. I am often terrible at saying 'no' to things, and will almost always attend everything, for fear of missing out and boredom. But more often than not, it's not always in my best interest as too many late nights make for too many days of indiscreet yawning. It's also burning a hole in the purse which isn't great. Just cutting down slightly on 'extra curricular' or focussing more time on me might be in order.

Five - Switching off as much technology as possible when I'm home from work. I can't seem to get away from my phone or the TV as soon as I'm through the door. Taking time out, listening to this beautiful new radio with the many of books I need to read will do wonders for my eyesight fuzzing and brain frazzling...

Six - I just mentioned books, and books is another resolution indeed. I got some really useful books this Christmas packed with vintage ideas to create lots of textiles and how-to's to restore furniture. Great for present giving, I can't wait to start collating more materials and fabrics to start stitching some new things for friends.

That's it for now, let's see how I go! Another resolution I have that isn't too exciting is me experimenting with gluten free bread. I'm hoping it makes my tummy smile a bit more. My mum even mentioned me baking my own, so I might even invest in a bread maker if it's worth it!

Have you got any new year's resolutions? I'd love to hear!

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