New In the Kitchen

Having a little change around in the house, which happens on a daily basis if i'm honest. This time round though I want to get rid of all the pink that I have in my kitchen. I just think I have far too much in one room and i'm far too old to be doing such a thing. So first up we have some new tea cups. They are seriously the cutest!

Hugs & Kisses

xoxoxoxoxox

* Edit - Cups are from Next

January Cleaning

I went out and bought myself some pretty flowers to make myself feel better. They did the trick, I forgot how much of a difference flowers can make in a home. There I was me complaining that my house looked horrible after all the Xmas decs came now, but all it needed was some colour.

Flowers can be an expensive treat, but not always. These lot came from Tesco and all came up to the grand total of £7. Not too bad, but I would have liked more flowers for my money, either that or I need smaller vases. Add a million candles and some Haribo = the perfect night in.

Hugs & Kisses

xoxoxoxoxox

Living Room

{Next candle holder}

The house is slowly coming together, so I thought i'd give you a quick look at my living room. It's sooooo far from being finished (in my eyes), I still have to get some side tables, wall hangings and shelves, blankets and update my pillows. Having said that, it 100% feels like home, even on moving day when all I had in there was a pair of sparkly shoes. As it's a new build, the house lacks nooks and crannies that give a house some character, but I'm sure when I add the finishing touches that, that won't matter.

{Gift from the bestie}

{Tray from Achica}

{Fake flowers from QVC}


{Pillow from Next}


{Vintage style boxes from Next}


{Full view}

Hugs & Kisses

xoxoxoxoxox

Bird Cage

{Bird cage from Dunelm}

I down sized everything that I owned before I moved into my new house, which included beauty products. However, I have now lived in the new abode for 2 months and the beauty products have literally exploded everywhere. Since I open my bathroom door every morning with a sigh at the sight of it all, I decided I had to find a way to store it and also to make sure it's still accessible. So let me introduce you to the birdcage. I'm sure when Christmas comes it'll be covered in tinsel and then when spring appears, I will decorate it with flowers.


{Ivy Garland also from Dunelm}


{Fasten the ivy around the cage}


{Cute butterfly details}


{Finished product}

Hugs & Kisses
xoxoxoxoxox

Living Room Inspiration

My sofas are yet to be delivered, i'm so disappointed with Next's Home delivery service. The sofas started out with a 5 day delivery which quickly changed to 5 weeks and now it's been 7 weeks and still no delivery date. So sad that i'm still sitting on cushions and wish I just went with DFS. So until they turn up, I can't really decorate the living room, so inspiration pictures will have to do.

Image 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 6

Hugs & Kisses
xoxoxoxoxox

WC

{Beauty products for guests to freshen up}

I read in a Martha Stewart magazine, that if a friend calls to say she's coming over unexpected, and you only have ten minutes to tidy your house, then you should make sure that the guest toilet/ bathroom is sparkly clean. Whats the reasoning behind this? It's the only place your guest will spend anytime alone in one room during her stay. So I made sure that when I moved house, the guest toilet/ bathroom was the first room that was fully decorated and pretty. It also smells of strawberries and cream - it may just be my favourite room. Sorry about the lighting in the pics, no window so made it impossible!

{Chalk board to leave any silly notes or thoughts or just general abuse}

{Cute towel hooks from Next}

{Gorgeous mirror to make a tiny room look bigger}

{So pretty}

Hugs & Kisses

xoxoxoxoxox

* Products featured - 

Soap and Glory spritz

Cowshed hand cream

Next perfumes

Ikea stool

BHS mirrored tray

Sainsbury Heart butterflies 

The Range chalkboard

Next towel hooks

Matalan towels

Matalan mirrors

Next soap dispenser

Buying a new Build: Part Four: The Problems

The problems

Now don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change my house for a billion pounds. I absolutely love it, but just because it's a new build does not mean it doesn't come without it's own problems.

I think a lot of the issues that people raise regarding new builds is the aesthetics - it's brand new so why shouldn't it be perfect?

So a lot of my problems were things like 

• Grout on my pearlescent bathroom tiles that hadn't been cleaned.
• Hole in wall paper in the hall and dining areas.
• Pencil left on walls from measuring whatever builders measure.
• Bannisters were a bit rough around the edges

and the list goes on ........

These can all usually be fixed up the day you notice them and they are not much of a problem. However, I read after committing to buying a new build and off plan, that you can expect to find at least 10 faults with the house itself, teething problems if you like. My heart dropped when I read this and I was just dreading the day I moved in.

My teething problems included

• Leak under the kitchen sink on day one - I put my single girl skills to good use to fix that leak! Superwomen!
• Upstairs en-suite radiator had a leak 
• Bathroom toilet also has a leak
• Ridiculous carpentry (that still hasn't been fixed & probably won't be)

• Getting a washing machine delivered instead of a washer dryer - that will be delivered this week.

These again can be fixed by the company that you bought from. I have to say I have been really lucky with mine, they fixed any problems (nearly) on that day. I have heard some horror stories though, like roofs falling through and houses sinking - yikes!

Hugs & Kisses

xoxoxoxoxox

Buying a New Build: Part Three

I have now moved in all my bits and pieces, sorted out all my furniture and decided on what artwork I want in my hallway, put up curtains, bought a dining room table and decided on a bar cart for entertaining purposes - Phew! Moving into a new home and starting all over again, brings with it lots of excitement and brokeness (im inventing a new word). 

You really don't realise how much you need to have sorted when buying a house and filling it with lots of lovely nice things. One thing that didn't even cross my mind was home contents insurance, which is essential. I have to admit I didn't have that the last time I moved out, which was very naughty of me. So many of my friends have had their houses broken into and literally everything stolen - laptops, computer games, clothes, jewellery - you name it, all gone. So I now have that sorted - woopie! Next up - I NEEDA KETTLE! For some reason this has literally been the hardest choice and I don't even drink tea!

Can't wait to show you pictures.

Hugs & Kisses

xoxoxoxoxox

Buying a New Build House: Part 2

As requested by you guys (seen here), here are the pictures of the 2 show rooms that sealed the deal. It's not until you go further into the buying process - when you get to decide on decoration options (if you buy early enough in the development), that they inform you that everything in the showroom is an upgrade and you will have to pay extra if you want that type of tile or wall colour or tap. It's also good to ask what does not come with your house. For example - grass is not included in mine (stupidest thing ever), also a fence that divides my neighbours garden from mine (even more ridiculous). Buying a new build is an amazing opportunity as you get the house that you want without the fuss (supposedly), but there are a lot of hidden costs and I mean a lot.

Hugs & Kisses

xoxoxoxoxox

•Not my house - these are the show rooms - I finally move in to mine at the end of next week.

Buying a New Build House

As mentioned previously I have recently bought a new house. I have still yet to move into it as I made the decision to buy a new build. This happened back in Feb, when my house to be was literally 5 bricks high. The whole process itself has been easy as I am not part of a chain so I don't have to sort out my old house or anything, but the waiting seems like forever. I am ready to move in now and get it all sorted. I know buying a house is a commitment, but I swear buying a new build is an even bigger commitment due to the fact that you are buying blind. The show rooms were lovely, hence buying the house, so if you would like me to do a post on the show rooms then let me know. These pics are from my house a couple of weeks a go - it's supposedly going to be ready in 2 weeks time. I suggest if you ever buy a new build - never go to view it at first fix as you will leave crying, thinking that you have made the biggest mistake of your life. That might just be me, as I am a tad dramatic, however this is in fact the best decision I have ever made. I don't think I will buy a new build again, unless it's for convenience. I really am far too impatient, however I am very lucky that I was even in the position to buy a house and even luckier to have some amazing parents that have helped me along the way.

Hugs & Kisses

xoxoxoxoxox