A 2012 pledge

2011 has been mental.
This time last year, me & Joe were talking about one day owning a house and what we would do with it (mostly Joe dreaming about having a Star Wars room and me having my own zoo), but all with a pinch of salt. We didn’t realise that the year ahead would make that pipe dream a reality.

In 2011, our attention was aimed solely towards solicitors, paperwork and money money money. It was a really long and painful process and it has truly been the most stressful thing I’ve ever been through. I know people warn you about it, but jeez louise, what an effort it is buying a house! BUT, it was totally worth it.

Since moving into the house in September, we have done loads of DIY. Seriously, loads. It looks completely different and certainly feels like home more these days. In fact, without a lot of help from our family, and a lot of DIY forums online, we wouldn’t have been able to get so much done.

And Christmas has also given us a helping hand. We were spoiled rotten in all honesty, and apart from a few amazing individual gifts, our joint housey-type gifts were my favourite. It just got me so giddy thinking about making the place more homey – as opposed to the building site it once was.

Here’s a few goodies…

The bed throw that I’ve wanted for months

Curtains for the lounge! Woohoo! This back window that they are covering isn’t double glazed so can make the room very cold. We’re going to get matching ones for the front window in January

This fab photo frame which I’ve wanted for a while. One thing our house is missing so far is pictures. We don’t have a single picture of us/family anywhere in the house. This is going to change.

A vacuum cleaner! It might sound sad but I was so happy to get this at Christmas. Especially since we have carpet in the house now, so we really need it!

Not a bad start to the year eh?

Apart from a few personal things I want to achieve, our resolution this year is to get the house finished by this time next year.
We want all the rooms done to a livable standard. They don’t have to be flash or fully decorated, but if a wall needs plastering or if a floor needs carpet, this is what we want to do. Apart from the kitchen, which is a start-from-scratch job (we’re saving this huge huge job for 2013) we don’t want to be living in dust anymore. Who knows whether we will get there, but I think you get more done when you’ve got a goal in mind.

Joe is tiling the bathroom as we speak which means by Janury we may have a bathroom.

I think I’m going to go and make myself useful. Maybe I’ll vacuum the lounge or something. Because I can!

Have a great NYE everyone. See you in 2012.

Karen x