On settling

Hello bunnies! Long time no see. 

Sorry, the last couple of months have been busy to say the least. You'll be happy to hear we're settling into our new home very nicely. After a rocky week following my last post, we actually really lucked out and found an amazing flat in Munster. I'm going to try not to use too many superlatives here, but god, it's the biggest and prettiest and brightest and at the moment, hottest place I've ever lived! Before I bore you with the story of just how lucky we were to end up here, some pictures of our humble abode. They're not the best pictures but I couldn't wait any longer to show you!

Some of the furniture and a lot of the layout is temporary. Please ignore the coffee table and the too-small rug and the lack of things on the wall. We're definitely still settling in.

However I have already found an addition to my collection of 50's furniture: this pretty little cabinet that cost me €20 and is in mint condition! Perfect for displaying my Japanese ceramics from San Francisco. Oh yes, one of these days I will start posting about our trip to America! So much to say, so many photos to edit... but I've started! So stay tuned...

Recognise the cabinet? The ceilings are so high here it's a little bit intimidating, but handy for storing pictures that seem to have lost their hanging wire at some point.

So now for the story of the flat: months ago when I announced our intention to move to Munster on facebook, one of my friends and former colleague virtually introduced me to one of her friends who lived in Munster. We had a little chat and said how nice it would be to go for coffees and to know someone in our new town even before living there.

After the preemption incident I posted a little ran on facebook (like you do), to vent my anger and frustration. The same day, this lovely girl got in touch, saying she was in the middle of moving out of a flat in Munster and would she like me to have a word with her landlady. After seeing a few pictures of the flat (I'm looking at you, chevron floors), I was pretty much sold. To top it off, our landlady is the sweetest (oops, another superlative) and didn't question our (financial) situation for one second. She didn't even want a bond, but we gave her one anyway. She went out of her way to make the move as smooth as possible for us and as she runs the shop downstairs, we see her all the time and get little discounts on all sorts of cute stuff. Also, her parents (who used to run the shops and own the building) live across the hall from us and have already given us a melon from the South of France (when they got back from holiday), a huge courgette from their garden, and a jar of home made quetsche jam. I almost forgot to mention that the rent is extremely reasonable and that for the first time ever, I don't even feel frustrated that I don't own a home. So the little bank incident was quite definitely a blessing in disguise. We're now taking our time and looking at all our options before we make a move towards buying a property.

Can you tell I'm slightly in love with my new rubber plant? The leaves are going brown though, I'm hoping they stop soon because apart from not watering it (apparently I overdid it) and putting it right by the French doors, I don't know what to do

Although we're on a very busy street, we do have a georgous balcony for growing plants on. With the heat wave we've been having, they're doing extremely well and I'm feeling like an accomplished gardner.  

Lots more pics to come, of our (3! Three!! As in 2 and then another one) bedrooms, formica-infused kitchen and lots of other bits. Oh and the lake that you go swimming in when it's too hot. So basically as they say in French, we're like a fish in water and pretty thrilled with our new life in the land of cheese (so many cheeses! so good!)