I look at houses online A LOT, and have done for years. I've been obsessed with BBCs Homes under the Hammer since I was pregnant with Lily (back when I was living in my tiny claustrophobic little flat and forever dreaming of a better way to live) and my obsession with houses just sort of grew and grew since then. (DIY SOS, Escape to the Country..you name it, I watch it!)
We've always had a backwards sort of plan. Babies, house, then marriage. That's just the way things have worked out for us.
First shot of the kids at our new home. (not keen on doing a full outside view for privacy reasons!)
We agreed after having Archer to start saving as much as we could for three solid years and then by January 2019 we would hopefully have enough in the bank to start our house hunt. And so that's exactly what we did. Except our dream house happened to show it's face a little early!
Like I said I always keep up to date with houses that become available in our area, it's something I've been in the habit of doing for years. I look at them online, nosey at the photos, but never once have I decided to actually go for any viewings. It's always seemed pretty pointless since we weren't starting our search until the new year. So when I sent James this message, I can't say exactly what it was that made me decide we should visit this particular house. But I'm so glad I did!
I could gush and gush about the first time I went to see it and how it was everything I ever wanted. The bay window, the 1920s fireplaces and the apple trees in the back garden. I could ramble for pages about how I knew straight away it was the one and all of that cheesy kind of stuff. Because it's all true. But instead i'll just say that it felt right. Looking round the place I could so easily picture living here with my family and instead of all the inner panic and concerns that should have risen in the face of wanting to buy a first time house before we were planning to do so all I could think about was how happy we could be here.
And my mum who came with me to view it that day (and who might I add is the most pessimistic person going - sorry mum!) well, she felt it too. We stood in the hallway of the house, with it's peeling floral wall paper and dusty floorboards and she looked at me and said "your going to live here, Ab." and I said "I know."
And with that, the ball started rolling. James came to view it the next day and fell in love with the property too (again like my mum he is an extremely realistic and hard to please personality so I like to think it's fate that he felt exactly the same way I did!) and with that we abandoned our sensible wait -till -the- new- year plans, threw caution to the wind and put in an offer.
The wait, although only short compared to how long most people tend to wait, it was hard. I'm a natural worrier and I did a lot of panicking. I just wanted it SO much.
But just 4 days after our offer I got the call we had been hoping for.
I even broke down in Lils primary school car park after putting down the phone and cried to myself out of happiness (and relief!)
& now here we are, 2 and a half months later, having just exchanged contracts and waiting to collect the keys to our dream house come Monday morning.
Life can be cruel and unkind, but it can also be good and whole and provide unexpected and amazing opportunities at the times when you need them the most.
I'm so thrilled about this move. I'm so looking forward to what 2019 will bring in our new home. And I can't wait to take you all on this home renovation journey with us.
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