So... I bought a house!
Hi! Long time, no blog. We've all got our stories on how we've found the last year. For some it was difficult (puts hand up) and others are just waiting for normal life to return (also hands up), but for me, moving house has been a beacon of hope after a bit of a low time. I won't go into how 2020 impacted my mental health too much, but let's just say it hasn't been great. Between a cancer scare, waiting over 7 months for the house to complete and dealing with depression... it's been a bit of a year. But, we can only look forward, right?
So, I thought I would write about the little things that have made me so happy and the bits I will never, ever take for granted now that we have a house!
Having Our Own Bin
This seems like such a silly thing, but if you've ever lived in a long street with back lanes and a lot of houses, or an apartment building, you'll have dealt with other people and communal bins. It's very tedious when you're neat and put things where they're supposed to go, but other people don't. So I'm so excited to have my own bin! And live in an area where people give more of a shit!
Outside Space + Grass!
I haven't had a garden since I lived at home with my parents. Of course, when you're a teen you don't really appreciate it, but as I'm older and enjoy a good sit outside in my own space, I'm very appreciative of my new garden especially with it being quite private. Apart from having a go at growing some veg, I have no idea what else to do with it, but it's there and I can hang washing up which feels like a privilege and a half.
Cupboards
As we've always lived in flats and typically upstairs flats, we've never had much cupboard space before. We could have built some in to our last flat, but we didn't and I stand by that choice as we just cut down on our possessions instead, but it meant we had to keep things like paint and the vacuum under our bed which wasn't ideal. But, in this house, I have not one but two cupboards under the stairs, a utility, a large loft space and a shed! I have nothing to really put in them, but having the option feels like such a luxury.
Neighbours
Our house used to be a mid-terrace, but at some point between the time it was built in around 1903 and someone purchasing it in 1921, it became an end terrace, according to the previous house deeds. So, we're lucky to only have neighbours on one side and that side is the stairs, so we hopefully will never hear them. The other good thing about moving to the country (and living on a private road) is that the majority of our street is 40+ so it's rather quiet. Everyone we met so far seems so nice, so I think it's a very welcoming place to live.
An Actual Dining Table
We've never lived anywhere that was particularly large, so a dining table has always been off the cards. We've eaten every meal off the coffee table or our laps for 6 years now, so the idea of having an actual table is quite something.
Having Our Own Areas
As many of you may have experienced, when both of you work from home it can be a lot. Phil and I work together on our business too which is absolutely fine in terms of work structure, but the lack of space was definitely getting to us. I think it's the lack of separation between work and home that has been the hardest but, as the previous owners had the attic converted, he is going to have his own floor which will be really good for him. My office will be in the back bedroom and will be nice too, as he's often on the phone or zoom. Also, the cats will have more space to run around which they'll love!
A View
We have a countryside view from both the upstairs and the attic rooms and it's so peaceful. I never thought I would be that bothered about a view, but it is lovely to have one even if it's not stretching for miles or has houses infront.
So, that's a few things I'm really excited about in my new house! I will be documenting everything on my Instagram @thelovecatsinc so please do follow along to see more.
