Home Sweet Home: Part 3...We're in!

Day 20

Friday, August 30th

We're in!!!! I'm sorry I haven't updated for a few days, but we had no internet
and then even when it was installed, due to having the floor done, we couldn't connect it up. Rubbish! Anyway, we're back in the land of the living now.

So, Wednesday 28th was moving day and after the hectic day previous, we were ready to get it done and dusted ASAP. I had to go over for 8am because the Sky installer was arriving between 8am - 1pm. He arrived about 9am and was really quick, installing everything and making sure he didn't do too much damage in the process! I was watching the freshly painted walls like a hawk!
Then Woody came over with the removal guys and all the furniture. Good job we cleared out the dining room as it's now chocka block with everything we own. 

The poor rats are confined to the dining room until the living room is functional - shouldn't be more than a couple of days, thank goodness.
You all remember how the living room floor looked after we pulled up the carpet, right?

Well, TA-DAAAA!

I'm still in shock at how lovely it looks. I keep going in just to stare at it. 
It needs 48 hours to dry before we can put heavy furniture onto it, so by Sunday we should have a functioning living room - finally! At the moment, only 1/3 rooms downstairs is accessible, and upstairs, other than the bathroom and toilet, only 1/3 bedrooms is useable. So it's a bit squished. Once the living room is okay to use, it'll free up the dining room and we should be more comfortable.
It also means that unpacking has had to wait as we just don't have the room for it all yet. Luckily, we have full use of the kitchen and have unpacked all but one box - even though it appears now that the old cooker doesn't work but that's being replaced ASAP. 

So we're in. And we have a new member of the family to introduce you to, of course! But he deserves a post all of his own.....
It's hectic, especially with a puppy who thinks he's a newborn baby, but it's finally all coming together and we're so happy!

I also have to add how much we're going to miss our old neighbours. We have grown so close, especially recently, and they're so important to us. It made me really sad today sat with her thinking we can't have these chats in the hallway anymore and check each others pets during the day, neighbourly things we do for each other. But I know they will both always be a part of our lives, and I'm so grateful we met them!

And so is Scout!

Keep checking this post for regular updates on the house!

xo

Day 23

Monday, September 2nd

We are finally able to unpack and settle in now, and the floor in the living room
is finally ready to have furniture put on it! It feels like the longest wait ever.
We decided to just move everything in, except the accessories and photos, and then whilst I'm working in the week, hubs will finish the painting so we can start hanging up our frames and buying little accessories to add our stamp to the room.

The walls look so bare. I can't wait to get the mirror and frames up!

It looks really odd because the skirtings arent on, and obviously we still have the old curtains, sofa and fireplace. But we're in! And we can finally sit and watch tv and chill out. 

As for the rest of the house, the dining room is still full of boxes and the kitchen is still the hub of the house. Upstairs, the bathroom is Scout's bedroom, and the bedroom is still being unpacked, but they're both tidy and usable. The two spare rooms, however, are full of boxes, the other bed, furniture, etc. This weeks plan it to sort everything out. 


xo

Day 31?! (really?!)
Tuesday, September 10th
 
Wow. We've been at it for an entire month now.
It's time to sit back and reflect on how far we've come.
A month ago, we had a lovely house that needed an entire update.
In that time, we've stripped, plastered and painted the living room, removed the skirtings, had the floor completely sanded and varnished, and bought new skirtings ready to go on soon. 
We've stripped and prepped the main bedroom ready for 
decorating at a later date. 
Perhaps most importantly, we've completely moved everything from a one bed, top floor flat into this 3 bedroom house and it still doesn't fit (yet!). 
 We've unpacked the majority of our belongings, with the rest waiting for the living room to be finished. 
We've completely taken back the garden, although there's a lot more work still to be done but that's a job for next summer (pond, veg patch, replant flowers when Scout's old enough to know not to eat them...!).
 But what we've really done, is make a house into a home. It may not be finished yet, it may have a few holes and cracks, but they're ours to fix. 
-
Yesterday, we cleared all the boxes from the dining room up into the future nursery. Although they're still sat waiting to be unpacked, they're tidy and organised, which couldn't have been said for the way they were downstairs! 
That means that the dining room is slowly coming together now. We set-up the computer ready for me to start my Masters degree in 2 weeks time (yes, I'm bricking it!) and Woody hooked up the internet. The only things left in there really are the frames, mirror and a few other bits to go up in the living room when it's complete. This last bit of painting and skirting board attaching keeps getting put off but it's our mission to finish it before the end of this week!!!!

Functioning work station!

It's so weird having to disassociate myself from the memories of each room, and forget where things were, or what rooms were used for. It's nice to have the photos to look back on. I'm hoping to Shutterfly a book to show how the house was, and how it is now, so that our children can see how it's changed.

A family Christmas.

I'm sure I'll have more to tell you by Sunday. We have the disc cutter tomorrow so can remove the old masonary nails from the wall, meaning the skirtings are free to be attached straight after. Let's hope I can show you a finished room soon! 

Over & Out 
xo

Day Whatever!
Monday, September 16th

We had our friend over for a Sunday roast yesterday so I spent the morning getting the dining room into a suitable state. 
Although it still looks like DFS with the amount of wood in there,
it's coming together nicely.

Everything everywhere....

to a more civilised room...!

I love having high bookshelves - I don't feel like I live in a library anymore, as before in the flat I had too many books for our bookshelf. 


We also bought a shower today as this house only has a bath, and we decided to look for two wall lights for the alcoves in the living room. Originally, they looked like this...

Pretty vile, right?! 
We wanted to go for these beauts...

but eventually found these lights that we just loved. 

Although they're 'city' themed, and don't go with our beachy, cottagy feel,
we just loved them and they look really effective and cosy in the evening.
We may well end up putting them in another room one day, and getting more 
natural ones to match the living room furniture, but for now, we love them. 

We also finally got the mirror up! It's the one thing I've been banging on and on about for days. (Poor hubs...)

BEFORE

AFTER!

My favourite part has been slowly adding little ornaments and accessories.
We haven't finished the skirtings or painting the other wall yet, but I've taken it upon myself
to start putting little things into their places, and free up some space upstairs.

Believe it or not, the photo of me (L) as a baby was taken sat
in the dining room window of this house. I may have to recreate it
when I have kids of my own here :)

xo

Sunday Social 25/08

It's nice to take a break from decorating for this weeks Sunday Social!
Today's questions are all about your childhood, which is something I love reminiscing about 
:)

1. What do you miss most about being a kid?

No worries. Government? Bills? Work? Life was fun, and the 
only thing you had to think about was who to play with at playtime. 
I miss all living in the same house, waking up on a Sunday morning to the smell of a roast dinner cooking, having been shopping on the Saturday so I had a new game or toy to play with. Knowing that we'd go to the park later or my cousin would come over. Ah. To be a kid. 

Me, my sister and our cousin were inseparable.

Me!

2. Did you have a nickname growing up? What was it?

Fluffy, after Buffy the Vampire Slayer (thanks, Dad).
I wanted to be just like her, but I couldn't hurt a fly, so I was the non-violent version Fluffy the vampire slayer. 

Kerri, my sister, always called me Haira, and my friends in school called me Blondie or Shazzle.

3. What was your favorite thing to do at recess?

In primary school it was make up dances to Spice Girls songs.
In high school, me and my 3 BFF's used to play hide and seek around the whole school. It sounds lame but it was really fun!

4. What did you want to be when you grew up?

To be honest, it took me years to decide. I wanted to be 
anything and everything at one time or another. 
A vampire slayer or a cheerleader probably. 

I'd quite like to have been a fairy Princess, too.

5. Did you participate in any school activities?
Bahaha. In primary school I was in the enrivonmental club. I know, get me. 
I played the flute too. Don't be jealous.
In high school, I started a cheerleading club which didn't last long but was fun, and I was a peer mentor for a while. So no, not really! 

6. What is the funniest thing you did as a kid that your parents still remind you about?

My Dad reminded me of something yesterday actually.
When I got my first bike and helmet, I cycled along, pretended to fall off, and tapped my head/helmet on the floor. My parents asked what I was doing, to which I replied 'testing my helmet'.

You can't make this stuff up!

Your turn! Answer the questions, grab out button, and link up

Next week's questions

These are all about the fun you've had this summer!

1. What was your favorite trip/vacation/activity this summer?
2. What was your favorite outfit look/clothing item of the summer?
3. What is one thing you wish you'd gotten to do this summer?
4. What was your favorite song of the summer?
5. What was your favorite movie/tv show of the summer?

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Home Sweet Home | Part 2

Day 10

Tuesday, August 20h

 Day 10 already?! So many wasted days what with having to wait for tools and workmen, but here we are...with only a week left, we've hit the final stretch! The plasterers finished up today and I'd like to give them a shout out and say how great they were - people of Plymouth, Paul Hall and Plymouth Plasterers are your people! 

So with the plastering now out of the way, finally, its full steam ahead on the finishing touches. We're hoping to find somewhere with a sander free first thing tomorrow so Woody will be doing that all day, whilst me and my lovely Mum who I've roped into helping will finish stripping the bedroom. We might even, stripping dependent, be able to start painting the undercoat and primer. We shall see.

LIVING ROOM, BEFORE PLASTER OR SKIM

LIVING ROOM AFTER PLASTER, BEFORE SKIM

BEDROOM AFTER PLASTER, BEFORE SKIM

BEDROOM AFTER SKIM. BOOOOOTIFUL!

   
Hubs' mum said to me when we first started 'make sure you take lots of photos so you can see your progress when you get in a rut' and she was so right. It might not seem a lot but what we have done is real progress. Just because it doesn't look finished doesn't mean we're far off.
 

Over & out.

Xo

Day 11
Wednesday, August 21st

When it comes to DIY, never, ever plan ahead.

With the floor sander hired, Woody got started downstairs, whilst upstairs, me and Mum started coating the bedroom walls with paper stripper. Once that was ready, we used the steamer and got to work.

Mother Duckling's help was fantastic.

 

BEFORE

AFTER

AFTER

Can you believe, though, that in 5 hours, all we managed to strip was ONE measly wall?! The wallpaper was so stubborn, and because it's slightly plasticy in places, it wouldn't soak up the stripper. But hey, one down, one and a half to go! 

Woody was having trouble with the floors downstairs. Whilst the light wood was coming up slowly, the dark edges (where a previous carpet had probably been glued on) were not budging, and just kept ruining the sand paper. 

We decided that the best option is to have a professional come round tomorrow and price up the rest of the job, otherwise we just won't be done in time. 
But that won't stop us - we're buying undercoat and primer tomorrow to start painting the front room, and then the bedroom once I finish stripping it. 

Oh, and only a couple of twingy stomach pains.
Thank god for that! Hopefully it was just a 48 hour bug. 

 xo

Day 12
Thursday, August 22nd

We didn't do much in the way of decorating today due to other commitments. However, we did take some cement to the tip, and moved all the unwanted furniture from the dining room into the garden ready to be removed ASAP. This freed up loads of space for us to start moving our boxes over and start unpacking!

Whilst out buying new bowls for pup, we came across this (photo coming) stunning wooden mirror! Its what we've been looking for for months, and there it was, reduced to 1/3 of its original price. We had to have it!

 

Seriously love this mirror!

We also bought the soap wash for the walls, and finally got a big pot of undercoat & primer for the walls which Woody is starting tomorrow whilst I finish stripping the bedroom.
We're cheating a little with the floors. A friend of ours' Father has a flooring company so we've now got him on board to do the floors next week. It worked out quicker and cheaper in the long run and we get stains and finish included, so less work for us = focus on the walls and moving/unpacking.

In the words of Phil Robertson...
 everybody be happy happy happy!

 

Over & Out xo 


Day 13
Friday, August 23rd

Have you noticed I keep muddling up the dates and days?
Everything rolls into one right now.

Anyway, for those who asked about the lovely Phil above, he's from Duck Dynasty! Seriously, you must watch it. It's like Keeping up with the Kardashians if they were redneck duck hunters. Okay I'm only guessing now as I'd rather eat my own vomit than watch anything Kardashian related.

So anyways! Today was a good day. Probably more to do with the fact that we spent the afternoon with my parents hiking around South Devon. 
But this morning we spent an hour in the house. Although it wasn't long, I stripped a huge part of the bedroom wall, and Woody cleaned the living room walls with sugar soap and covered the largest wall with primer. 
We're planning on knocking out a good few hours tomorrow when I finish work at the ice rink, and then Sunday too, to get at least all the primer done in both rooms. 

We bought a Point 'n' Paint the other day, after reading some great rrecommendations online. Well, let me tell you, what a load of cheap, nasty rubbish. If you're considering one, don't. It fell apart after halfway through the wall and the coverage is terrible, it drips and it does not do corners and edges the way it boasts it does.

Sweating like a pig for an hour straight and managed this much.
I'll have it finished by the tomorrow evening :)

Living room primer going on

And a few from the afternoon ;)

Oh also, you may be wondering how the garden gate went.

Well. Let me tell you, the ruler Wickes used in their garden gate instruction manual seems to have been as reliable as using a banana. It still isn't built and probably won't be until the day we collect Scout. So much hassle for one little thing! When did DIY become so stressful?! (Don't answer that!)

4 whole days left to get the rest of the walls done and then it's moving day.

No point panicking... it'll be fine. I may have to rope in a few friends though.

Anyone? 

:)

xo

Day 14
Saturday, August 24th



I almost forgot I had work at the ice rink this morning, but luckily I remembered last night. It gave hubs a lie in and I got to see my lovely rinkies and skate the kids club. 

We started the day by taking back the point 'n' paint. The woman in Homebase didn't even question it - she said that we weren't the first to return one and knew exactly what had broken. Lesson learnt - you get what you pay for! Luckily, the undercoat was on offer and after exchanging the painter, we got the paint free and £1.60 returned. Bargain! 

We got back and attacked the walls. I was determined to finish the stripping the bedroom and worked myself stupid for 2 hours straight but it paid off - we finished! (Minus one wall but that's the easiest one. She says.) 

Woody undercoated the majority of the living room, but its going to need another coat before the final colour goes on. 

We have a van for Wednesday morning booked now to move everything so it's busy busy busy for the next few days! 

Worlds most stubborn wallpaper!

FINALLY!

Undercoat layer 1

Undercoat layer 1

"Patience is not the ability to wait but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting." - Joyce Meyer

xo

Day 15
Sunday, August 25th


The DIY bug officially got squished. I no longer enjoy decorating or moving of any sort. With only 3 days left yet so much to do, I think I'm minutes off having a nervous breakdown.

I started the second coat in the living room. Some of the paint had blistered where we assume the paint was too thick on the first coat, so we sanded it off and applied the second coat. As you can see, we used a whiter matte coat this time as it was so much cheaper. Why were we buying the small tubs again?!

One wall needs sanding before we paint it as when I started to paint it, it was flaking immediately. We're doing that tomorrow. Hopefully, it'll be ready for colour painting tomorrow however we're prepared for another white coat just in case. The bedroom is taking a back seat right now, as we have another room we can sleep in and it's less of a priority than the living room. But really, once the walls are ready for their final colour, there's not much left to do. The floor is being done on Thursday, so that's one worry off our minds. The only other thing is the skirting boards but we'll sort them next month (slowly running out of funds this month, what with all the petrol needed to travel between houses, and paying for an endless supply of DIY supplies). 

We took all the rubble from the plasterers to the tip, and brought loads of boxes over to store until we unpack. Once we're in there, it'll be lovely. You just have to focus on the end result when times get stressful. Once the flooring's done on Thursday we'll move out furniture into the living room and it'll be a functioning room. 

Oh and all this with an 8 week old puppy coming to live with us as of Wednesday...... uh oh!

xo


Day 16
Monday, August 26th

Today we headed over fairly early to get cracking with the final paint colour!
It's going to need another coat, but it's so rewarding to see the walls finally have some colour on them!

It dried a really nice colour eventually. Although slightly more 'wicker' than we anticipated, it's a nice neutral, clean colour that we can decorate with accessories of any colour. I think it'll compliment our beachy theme well.

Don't even talk to me about the fireplace. Its so revolting, but we have to wait until we
can afford the upheaval of its removal.

One down, one left.

The white wall on the right keeps blistering and peeling, so tomorrow we're re-sanding the left side of it, and hopefully getting the two coats back on top with no peeling. Anyways, that wall is going to be a feature wall, with this planned to fill the space:

This amazing idea is taken from my lovely friend Joanna's Pinterest.
We'd like to have this quote in the centre, surrounded by photos of family and friends, pets, etc. Things that generally make us happy. 

It's nice to be able to start thinking of the finishing touches like decor and accessories! I just know I'm going to be buying little pieces here and there all the time. The best place is charity shops - sometimes there are some amazing bargains. I'm always on the lookout for cheap things! :)

Tomorrow will be second coat day, now that Sky aren't coming until Wednesday. It also means that we have to get the majority of everything over to the house tomorrow so that on Wednesday, the removal guys can just take whats left - the heavy furniture. That leaves me to sit and wait for Mr. Sky installer guy at the house (and do a bit of dusting/hoovering/cleaning/unpacking).

Oh, and prepare for Scout's afternoon arrival! 
Did I mention that I cannot WAIT to go get him?! 

That FACE!!!! 
I'm in love with him already. 

Anyway. Lots of packing to be doing. 
Over & Out. 
XO

Day 17

Tuesday, August 27th

Well our Internet and phone line at the flat was disconnected this morning, making it all seem very real! Only 24 hours to go until the big move! 

The majority of the morning was spent at the house waiting for the British Heart Foundation to come view the furniture. They came but they only took one cabinet so we're hoping our friend can come remove the rest for us ASAP! 

We spent the afternoon cleaning the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom ready for moving tomorrow. At least with those rooms functioning we can have some sort of normality! We started to unpack our kitchen boxes too - it was nice to put our own things on the shelves, in the cupboards, etc. It's starting to look like our home now and less like my Grandma's old house. I guess after the front room is done it won't look anything like it used to, so that helps...then I'm free to do the fun part - finding homes for the photo frames, wall hangings, decorations and accessories!! That's got to be the best part, right?! 

We did a few trips to bring sole boxes across, then headed back for our last night in the flat. It took a while but we managed to pack all the electronics - labelling everything as we went - so we can set it up tomorrow for the Sky installers. We still don't have the garden gate up but that can wait. 

Plan for tomorrow? Moving van in the morning to bring all the furniture over and remaining boxes. Unpack! We can't put any furniture in the living room until after the floor is done on Thursday so that'll have to live in another room until then. No tv for 48 hours - but a puppy to keep us entertained :) oh yes. It's nearly midnight as I write this! So not long until the day we pick up our little bundle of fluff!!!! 

We're not there yet, but we're slowly learning to embrace the chaos and enjoy the ride, because we have the rest of our lives to make it perfect!

Over & Out 

Xo