Moving home... a year on

Unbelievably, the first anniversary of our move to our new home passed a couple of weeks ago! It's amazing to think that we've been here a whole year - boy, time flies...

In the time since we've moved in we've pretty much decorated from top to bottom, inside and out. It's a bit dispiriting when you spend ages making your old house look lovely before you put it on the market - and then find yourself having to get on the DIY train all over again when you move into your new home... But (I can say this now that the main part of the DIY journey is coming to an end!!), it HAS been worth it.

We've tamed the overgrown garden (so overgrown it had actually taken over the garage roof too), grassed, fenced, gazebo-repaired, planted and cleaned. And it's now actually a place where (next summer) we'll enjoy sitting out and having the odd BBQ and glass of wine.

We've put down new flooring, painted just about every room (just got the office left to do!), moved furniture around a million times and it's been worth all the aching backs and crunchy knee joints. Mostly!

I am so looking forward to the next year in our home - a year when we can actually spend some time enjoying the house properly, rather than planning the next project. A year when we won't be using paint charts as coasters in every room, and where we can wander into our local Homebase without the staff raising an eyebrow and saying, "back again, ha ha?!".

Home - as they say - Sweet Home!!
Sarah x

• Personalised 'New Home' house-warming print, from £14.50
• Home Sweet Home shelf blocks, £21.95
• Personalised 'I Love My Home' print, £14.50

Housework Horrors!

I was cleaning the oven the other day - a job I hate with a passion. I put it off and put it off and put it off, until it begins to become a daily obsession of avoidance. We spend a week or so eating dinners which can be cooked on the hob simply so that I can delay it just a bit longer. (Because once the spills get baked on enough in there, it makes your eyes sting when you heat it up…)

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not a slob. If you dropped by un-announced you won’t find anything too scary - there might be a pile of dirty washing on the kitchen floor, but at least it’s en-route to the washing machine and just waiting it’s turn for the spin cycle to end… You might not be able to see your face in the bathroom taps, but at least there won’t be any old plasters on the edge of the sink. If the dog is up to date with his haircut you probably won’t even see black fluff all over the carpet. No, my house, overall, isn’t bad. It’s quite respectable. (Most of the time.)

So while I was facing up to my demons and cleaning the oven, I was daydreaming about being rich enough to afford “staff”. Or even just “a woman who does” as they used to say. It was a friend who planted the seed in my head - it’s her birthday soon, and we were joking about wanting the “gift of not having to do housework”. But to be honest, while the idea might be lovely I’m not really sure I would want a domestic engineer in my life. It would be much too weird - on every level. Someone washing my knickers? No thanks! Someone cleaning my toilet? No! I’d even struggle taking my car to one of those valeting places that seem to be springing up in every Tesco car park. My car isn’t a festering pit, but then neither is it on first name terms with a Dust Buster. I do give the floor mats a good shake out every now and then though. But don’t put your hands in the cubby holes in the doors - you’re likely to come out with a fluffy half-sucked mint or a lolly stick stuck to you.

There are certain chores I could maybe farm out without too much problem. The hoovering and general dusting maybe. Floor mopping. Erm… struggling now. Oh, ironing I guess. But then Murray does that most weeks anyway so I wouldn’t really be gaining anything.

Anyway, maybe it’s just as well I’m not so wealthy I can afford to eat chocolates out of a heart shaped box while telling the cleaner I need them to de-fluff the under bed areas - I'm not sure that's really me to be honest (tad too much of a control freak).  My oven is sparkling now by the way and your eyes will stay pain-free if you ever pop round while I’m in the middle of a roast. But come soon to get the benefit.

Which housework jobs do you absolutely hate?

Sarah x

Good Homes Magazine, crikey!!

Win your own personalised print in my competition!

It's rapidly turning into a very squealy week at PhotoFairytales Towers - not only is one of my Fantasy Portraits being featured on the new Keith Lemon series, but one of my prints is also appearing in the September issue of Good Homes Magazine (on sale now).

WIN YOUR OWN PRINT!!

My "Ministry of Silly" prints were inspired by an afternoon listening to the budget on the radio, and there is a choice of 3 fun designs to choose from.

Because I'm so excited I've decided to run a competition to win one of my prints - just click on the image to the left for further details. The competition closes on October 1st 2012.

Good luck!

Sarah x