Long bank holiday weekend!

So we have a date the 13^th June. I got an email through a week ago today that it would be available from the 11^th June. We were hoping to get in on the 12^th, I had planned on taking a half day and heading off to pick up and Matt and get the keys. Alas they are unable to do it then, so 9am Saturday 13^th June (which my grandma will be happy about as she keeps telling me it is unlucky to move on a Friday) is when we will move!

This weekend I had 5 days off in total. I had booked some time off as we were going to a gig in London on the Wednesday, but we started really packing and getting bits for the moved. I spent a fair amount of money this weekend on bedside tables, washing basket, iron, pans etc… all the bits I could think you need to have. I got some pretty good deals too. I didn’t realise how much work it takes to move. I think 9 years of us living in one tiny room means we have crammed so much stuff into every nock and cranny that was in there… We have thrown over 10 bin bags of stuff away. I think I took about 8 bin bags to the dump this weekend, including two big A3 printers. It’s such a shame to see a lot of this stuff go, but I of the attitude at the moment of if you can’t think of a time you will use it, then it goes.

We have filled my Grandma’s garage and its spilling into her spare rooms’ haha! It will only be for 2 more weeks. I can’t believe it is this close I am so excited, however at the same time I seems so bloody far away.

Other than packing and more packing and generally being exhausted and eating ice cream everyday… I had two nice days.

The first was Saturday and a trip to Brighton with my Grandma! We got some bits she wanted and did a bit of shopping, had fish and chips and an ice cream by the beach and we took her first selfie haha!

Wednesday was the day I was really looking forward to. After all the hard work of packing I was looking forward to a day of relaxing. We headed off to London about midday. I had my new dress on and felt very swish and summery. The weather was stunning and to make the most of my travel card we went to forever 21 first to return something and then the natural history museum. We did the dinosaurs which was very cool and headed off for dinner at Pizza Express. That was a lovely meal I really enjoyed that..

The gig started at 7:30pm at 100 Club on Oxford Street. It was a tiny venue but really nice, had a nice atmosphere. The support band was…. Let’s just say not to my taste at all. Astronautalis came on about 9pm and he was fantastic. The reason I started to listening to him was because of his stage presence when he supported Tegan and Sara and he hasn’t lost any of that. I didn’t know many songs as I have a few favourites I tend to stick to, but it’s made me want to listen and get to know more now!

It was my first gig with Matt for YEARS! And I really enjoyed it.

Now I cannot wait to for the next two weeks to come and go. I imagine it will go quickly this whole year has done so far! Fingers crossed all goes well.

Happy Thursday all…. And have a fab weekend. 

Moving house update...none boo!

So not much has moved forward after the excitement of putting down a holding deposit!

I was hoping things would go quickly and we would have some more news, but alas it has been a slow process. I chased on Thursday and had to give my manager a nudge to send off my reference, but on the plus side I found out that we have passed the credit checks and everything else. So now it is full steam ahead and just waiting for a date.

We started to pack at the weekend. We have so much to sort out its silly! We wanted to make a start as soon as possible so we weren't going to be in a mad crazy rush at the end. I am glad we did. I would say we have done a quarter maybe a third of the room. We have packed 3 big boxes and I have 3 bin bags of soft toys. We however got rid of 4 bags of soft toys and about 4-5 bin bags of rubbish and a huge box of CD’s and unwanted DVD’s. It is a nice feeling to just get rid of so much stuff and so much clutter.

This coming weekend is the bank holiday. I plan on taking my Grandma to Brighton for a day out on Saturday. After that we are off work until Thursday, we have a gig to go to on the Wednesday but Sunday-Tuesday I think we could get LOADS of stuff sorted and start storing some boxes at my Grandma’s. I am hoping to get a MASSIVE chunk done this weekend. I would say we have thrown away more than we kept which is definitely a good start.

With the crazy rush of trying to get the flat and the excitement it has all died down now, things are much calmer and I have some more time to think. I am still so excited though and I cannot wait!

I keep picturing all the little things I will do to the place and how my things will look in there and stupid things like getting out of bed at the weekend and having breakfast and making a cup of coffee! I am hoping maybe only another 4- 5 weeks fingers crossed. 

Moving on to some general ramblings from the week,

We went and saw Mad Max Fury Road on Saturday after an exhausted day of cleaning and lugging boxes here there and everywhere… All I will say is WOWZA that film was EPIC, with a capital E! I haven’t seen the originals, but now I really really want to! Perhaps tomorrow night as I am about to pass out today. I need a good snooze.

I also had a little accident surprise surprise. I slipped in the rain on Thursday down a ramp that leads to the underground car park at my work. I fell down it and then skidded down it. These are my war wounds! 

Ouch is all i have to say! I took pictures because I think they look impressive and when you hurt yourself that much, DAMN IT you want it to look impressive :p
I had a pretty annoying limp on Friday and to be honest 5 days later it is still pretty sore!

Oh and on a good news note I got a pay rise last week. It wasn't amazing but it is better than nothing and I will get a little extra back pay this month which is PERFECT timing a little extra cash for moving out!

As I said above we have some time off this weekend and me and Matt are off to see Astronautalis live. I am pretty excited, we haven't been to a gig together for years and I saw Astronautalis live supporting Tegan and Sara years and years ago! I've been waiting for him to come and play in the UK for ages. We are going to head up to London (I will be boring and return something to Forever 21) and then we will go and maybe do a bit of shopping and the I have booked a table at Pizza Express (cause lets face it, I FREAKING LOVE PIZZA EXPRESS) and then we will walk across the road and go the gig :) So I am very much looking forward to that! 

So roll on Friday and happy Tuesday all!

New blog posts of my new journey!

So I start this with GOOD NEWS! We got the flat and put a holding deposit down hurrah! As long as the credit checks go ok and everything goes swimmingly this time next month we should be getting ready to move! Eeep it is exceptionally exciting.

I was very stressed out last week. I thought that I would know by the end of Tuesday if I was able to put down a deposit. It wasn't until Friday morning that I heard back and I excitedly put down my holding deposit!

Friday was a great day, I was in a great mood from that news and then a cider at lunch put me in a pretty jolly mood for the rest of the day! I then got home and the Friday before I had won a competition from Punky Pins and my necklace and collar clips had arrived as well as my Mumford and Sons album.

We filled out our forms and Saturday morning we headed off to Redhill to hand in our forms for the flat. We weren't in a great mood, I was stressed from trying to sort out car insurance and I have no idea why Matt was annoyed. We handed in the forms and then got Matt some lunch ate that in the car and on the way home I swung in to look at a second hand furniture store.

We were hoping not to need a new bed, but it looked like we would need to get one…. Our current one is quite mouldy, the slats keep snapping and it’s ripped holes in the carpet! It’s annoying as the bed is only about 2 years old! We went into the store had a good look around; I had no plans on buying anything just to get some ideas. Upstairs there were lots of beds, most looked in good condition but used (curled up corners and bobbling etc.) However in the corner there was a Divan 4 draw base and mattress. The thing looked almost perfect, and there were even strikers still on it. There was absolutely no sign of wear on it, only a few marks that looked like it gained from getting it into the warehouse! I had been looking at getting a base and that worked out at around £200-£300 for a cheap one with 2-4 draws…. I was however a little put off with the fact that it was a the cheapest I could find. One thing I have learnt is cheap beds are not always a good idea they tend to fall apart.

We noticed the bed was a ‘Sealy’ bed and we looked that up. It is a well-known brand and their beds vary between £500-£1,500! It’s a long going brand and is sold everywhere! There however was no tag in and we worried it had been sold… BUT SUCCESS it hadn't and then the even better news……. It was £95! £95 for what looked like an almost new Sealy divan 4 draw bed! We were so excited and few phone calls to my folks and then my grandma, we bought it! Took a trip home in the car with the draws and then 2 more trips in my Dad’s van but we got it back and it is now sitting in my Grandma’s garage. I am SO SO PLEASED with this find and that’s ones big expense that is now sorted out.

So my Saturday disappeared in the blink of an eye, I didn’t even have time for any lunch. We then went to see the film ‘Big Game’… it was awful…. So so bad I’m not even going to write about.

Sunday my sister talked me into going to ‘Cowpie’ which was a farming event! I sorted out my car insurance (which I am NOT HAPPY WITH AT ALL! It’s gone up!) and I popped round to see my Aunt and me and Sarah went to the Cowpie…. I actually ended up having a wonderful time and wish we had gone a bit earlier as it was a BEAUTIFUL day and there was so much to do! I took a few photos….

Sunday was quite relaxed compared to Saturday, although I think it went even quicker. We enjoyed ice creams while watching ferret racing, looked at craft stalls and went and looked at lots of farm animals… my highlight was that I got to hold a tortoise!

Next weekend I think we need to start to sort out all our junk. I may possibly take my Grandma to Brighton as we were meant to go this Saturday but she was unwell. Worked out well or we wouldn’t of found the bed! Other than that we are under even stricter MUST SAVE EVERY PENNY RULES! Every little counts towards us moving…. The flat is available a month today (11^th June) but now they are going to re-carpet the place so I think we will be looking at either the 20^th or the 27^th June or around there. I am hoping maybe even 4^th July because that means I can save a little extra money before we move in… and hey it’s only an extra week or two to wait… I’ve waited about 4 years so far!

I am hoping this week goes nice and quickly and maybe I will continue to be blessed with this good fortune I have had recently! Have a lovely week all. 

My first experience of flat hunting

So, yes the title says it all, my first experience of flat hunting. On Friday around 4pm a flat popped up, it was in an ok location and it was a good price, however the pictures really didn't sell it to me. I've seen loads come up and go and I’ve not bothered because I planned on saving some more and start looking at the end of May. Something pulled me in and requested a viewing not thinking much about it. I agreed to 1:30pm the following day. To be honest I really wasn't bothered about seeing it, I was sure I wouldn't like it.

We turned up and luckily the estate agent actually turned up this time, unlike our first ever viewing. We went in and we were really impressed. The décor was a little run down, and the carpet was a bit past it. However the rooms were huge, much bigger than I imagined. We had a good look and were impressed by all the storage.. there was something that really took our fancy with this flat.

We then left actually seriously considering it. I hadn't realised but it wasn't available until mid-June so it worked out perfectly timing wise. It is close enough to Matt’s work he could walk and the location was minutes away from the town centre.

We then got in the flat hunting mood and ended up seeing another flat… we hated it. It was run down tiny smelly and horrible. We were told to ‘use our imaginations’ ugh! I was so excited on Saturday that we ended up going off to Ikea for a trip to get ideas and feel homey!

On Sunday I made the decision that YES! We were both happy and we both wanted to go for it. It was the bank holiday however which meant I had to wait all of Sunday AND THEN all of Monday. First thing Tuesday I called up with some questions.

HOWEVER, the estate agent has been waiting to get hold of the Landlord. I believe my questions have been answered and he is now waiting for the landlord to choice between us and another person. I haven’t had much contact and to be honest with you it has been PAINFUL… I am so tense. I think we put FAR FAR too much hope in this little flat. I started to picture living there, where furniture would go and how I would do my Christmas decorations. I have learnt a lesson, well a few lessons. Lesson 1. Don’t put all your hopes on it! Lesson 2. What questions to ask in the viewing! Lesson 3. How it all works now.

So it is now the end of day 3 and I have restrained myself from calling every hour to check how it is going to just a friendly ‘any news?’ email. Part of me wanted them to call today and rather than my ready meal and the gym me and Matt would go off and celebrate with a huge dinner.

I was just so excited to get my own space and really start a fresh. I know I have been planning this for a long time but it has happened so quickly this week and weekend. I am trying to stay calm now and I have booked more viewings to go to on Monday so let’s hope these pay off. I won’t lie, I don’t have high hopes this will be ours and I hope next time I post I will be celebrating. 

On the plus side perhaps we can put moving out off for another month which means I will have over double the savings to spend afterwards and maybe even get that holiday I have been dreaming of!

For now I will try and keep my heart rate and blood pressure down and try to stop phone watching…. Maybe if I refresh my e-mails enough SOMEONE WILL CALL??!!!???

I will just keep reminding myself that it will happen, and it will be soon. Not a 'this time next year' situation like it was last year! But maybe this time next month! *fingers crossed*

Happy Thursday all.