Settling In

WE FINALLY GOT THE KEYS TO THE DOOR...
I REALLY COULDN’T ASK FOR MORE....
IT’S BEEN SO EASY TO SETTLE IN....
THIS IS WHERE OUR NEW LIFE BEGINS...

Hello,

I am writing the first blog from my new conservatory in my new house and it feels really good! Time seems to have passed very quickly and I can’t believe it is now a week since we moved in.

Our dream came true and I picked up the keys last Thursday at around 4.30. It was an anxious wait whilst the money transfer whizzed around in cyber space before hitting the previous owner’s solicitor’s bank account! I am told by friends this is normal when you buy a house and why people say the whole process is stressful. The thing is when, you have actual cash you know exactly where your money is; it’s in your purse or in your pocket. When banks start transferring money to each other it seems to disappear completely for a few hours and it’s quite an insecure feeling!

Finally when the call came to pick up the keys I set off with my mum to the estate agents. I brought my mum as official photographer to record the moment forever! The estate agent said in her whole time in the job she had never seen anyone quite as excited as me to be collecting their keys! I literally walked through the door jumping up and down like Tigger possessed, shouting yippee!

When we opened the door for the first time Sam and Luke both held the keys and we did it all together.

I was lucky not to have the pressure of getting absolutely everything moved on the same day. I still had a week left on the tenancy of our old house, so Rob and I started loading boxes one by one. On Saturday Rob’s friend came round with a big lorry and moved the big stuff. I had also donated Luke’s bunk beds to another friend, and her husband kindly volunteered to come and help. In the end there were 7 helpful people who all did the back-breaking work of moving all my worldly goods, or junk as Rob calls it!

There was a moment when I looked at all the piled up boxes filling the sitting room and garage and thought, “how on earth do I unpack all that and find homes for everything!” It did look very daunting. I did discover a new passion though: going to the tip. I found it very therapeutic to take all the old boxes and things we no longer need and throw it all into the huge skips at the dump. I am now actively looking for more things to tip and have gone from a squirrel that stores everything to a minimalist overnight. Rob was very happy to see Luke’s first bike go as it had caused many arguments in the past. I know I can be over-sentimental and totally admit to it, but the last time I took Luke’s first bike to the dump I came back with it in the car and it stayed in the garage thereafter as I just couldn’t let it go! It’s the bike he learnt to ride on. Rob says normal people keep their children’s first shoes or first paintings but not their first bikes that are all rusty and just take up space in the garage!

In the end everything did find a new place in the new house and I set off to buy the essential things that were missing, like curtains in a couple of rooms.

My one big extravagance was some beautiful thick curtains and new bedclothes for my bedroom. When you rent houses you either put up with someone else’s curtains or if you buy your own, you buy cheap ones in case you move again and have different sized windows. It felt amazing to choose the styles and colours that I actually wanted. Sam looked at the end result and said it now looks like a “posh hotel room”!

I also received some beautiful flowers from all the team at Iceland. I can’t say it happens very often, but when you open your front door to a person with a huge bouquet saying “delivery for Mrs Taylor?” it is a very nice experience!

I also spent a long time cleaning our old house before handing the keys back. It’s always a strange feeling being in an empty house you have once lived in. You think of all the memories and happy times you have had there, and believe me there were many. After all, it was in the kitchen of that house that I sat down at my computer one night amidst the noise and chaos to apply online to the “New face of Iceland” competition, not realising for one second how my actions could actually be changing the course of our lives forever.

Normally it is a sad feeling saying goodbye to a house, because regardless of whether you rent or own it, it is your home. This time it was different as I knew our new house would be forever. We have been in a week now but already we are totally settled and feel like we have been here forever. Sam and Luke have been out on their bikes and scooters continuously, as we now live on a quiet cul-de-sac instead of a busy road. For the last two years Sam’s bike has sat in the garage as it wasn’t safe to ride it.

Lots of Sam’s school friends are nearby and we have already had lots of new visitors. I have been told we are going to be sent some lovely Christmas food from Iceland to test soon so I have lots of willing volunteers lined up!

Please come back next week when I can tell you about more delicious food testing and also the next exciting engagement for Iceland, which at the moment is still top secret!

Ellie

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