So we sort of moved. Again. Yup. It tends to happen every 2 years like clockwork around here. Except this time we stayed in the same country and even in the same town! A first for me!!! Pretty much a miracle. I've also had to promise never to move again. At least not in the next 2 (or 3 or 4 or 5) years. Soooooo, this is it! Our new home for the foreseeable future! It's smaller but big enough, with 3 bedrooms (or 1 bedroom and 2 offices that both double as guest rooms), a garage and 2 bonus rooms in the attic for storing all sorts of stuff, as well as a cellar for storing all sorts of stuff unless you're scared of big hairy spiders in which case it's nice to have a husband around to fetch the water and the wine when you need them. The flat's biggest selling point initially was that it is oh. so. quiet. Goodbye cobbled street, goodbye tractors and lorries speeding past at 5 AM and making the walls tremble, I will not miss you one bit.
I was slightly worried that I would miss the old wooden floors and high ceilings though, so before I started packing our things up 3 months ago I took a few shots of my favourite spots in our grand old noisy flat.
I never felt quite at home in that flat so I didn't make a real effort to get it perfect, but here are some of my favourite spots:
The living room was undeliably the star of the show, although we never did manage to hang a lampshade in there. The stepladder was a teeny bit too short and I love my husband a teeny bit too much to want him to risk his life for the sake of decor.
The dining room had a few nice corners too.
I'll miss the view of the church, although I can still see the steeple from my new office window and I can still hear it loud and clear, so no worries there. We even have a stork family living really close by, on top of the building just opposite ours, AND they just had triplets!!! Pictures soon!
Husband has managed to keep all his dark moody furniture AND buy a new piece and fit it all into a much smaller office. How does he do it? Easy. He does not really care about feng shui or esthetics as long as everything is in it's place and he can play the guitar.
As much as I loved our bedroom, I have to let you in on a little secret: we didn't use it. Actually, I used it as my office for the last year or so, but it was just too noisy to sleep in. Didn't stop me from making it look pretty though.
Husband bought this moneybox in an antique shop last time we were in Hebden Bridge. The inscription says:
THRIFT
Neither a borrower nor a lender be
For loan oft loses both itself and friend;
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
Quite the conversation piece I think!
So we ended up sleeping in what was originally the guest room as it was quieter. Once the upstairs neighbour was asleep, anyway. She's a lovely lady but never wears her hearing aids when at home and likes to watch a lot of TV before bed. As her bedroom is right above this one, we, in effect, "watched" a lot of TV too.
This is where you get the one and only photo of the grey carpet that was in 2 of the three bedrooms and the massively long and whide hallway. So not the nicest bedroom, as you can see. I definitely do not miss it!
Now the new place... had this view a few weeks ago...
It also has a balcony overlooking a garden, and a quiet street, and we can actually stand on it without chocking on exhaust fumes. Pure luxury, I know!
Although who needs a balcony when you have a ... *drumroll* ... GARDEN !!! Yep, with grass and ants and spiders and everything! Including a vegetable patch (at least the beginnings of one)! And strawberries! And raspberries! And lots of other surprises that have yet to be photographed! Hopefully before the next move ;)
