FIRST TIME BUYERS | 1 year later...

Yesterday marked the first anniversary of what is now a very important date in my life. On 1 September 2015, Harvey and I collected the keys for our very first house together,  and officially became homeowners. 

If you follow me on social media, you're probably sick to death of hearing about the house, but just in case you're not, the anniversary got me thinking about what owning and living in my own house had taught me, and about what had been the highlight. As I don't own this house all by myself, I thought it would be nice to ask Harvey the same questions, with some interesting results... 

WHAT ARE THREE THINGS THAT LIVING IN YOUR OWN HOUSE HAS TAUGHT YOU?

HARVEY

1. Planning makes life much easier, particularly when it comes to meals and things that need doing;

2. Jobs and chores around the house take much longer to do than you think they will (unless you're in a real hurry, in which case you'd be surprised how quickly you can get something done); and

3. It's so important to have as much fun as you can, whilst still living within your means of course, because time absolutely flies. 

LAURA

1. Decorating and DIY is very time consuming, and often difficult, but definitely worth doing properly;

2. When laying a patio, buy large patio slabs; and 

3. I finally understand why my mum used to nag so much about keeping the house tidy, and clearing up after yourself! (Hi mum...)

WHAT HAS BEEN THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE PAST YEAR?

Surprisingly, this was hard for me. Harvey and I both agreed that the single event which has been the highlight of the past year was the Christmas party. We'd finally managed to get a decent amount of decorating done, and it was so exciting to show everyone the progress we'd made, and also to have lots of friends and family all in the same place. Plus, I absolutely adore Christmas anyway, so this was the cherry on top of the cake for me! 

Aside from a single event, the best thing about the last year for me, has just been being able to have family and friends round whenever, and to actually have people stay. My family all live in Essex, which although not a million miles away from me, is slightly too far for family just to pop round for dinner, or for a cup of tea. In the past year, my mum and stepdad, dad, grandad and my sister have all been able to come and stay with us, which has been so much fun, if not slightly weird for everyone else (probably except my sister) as the roles have been reversed! 

WHAT ARE YOUR AIMS FOR THE NEXT YEAR?

HARVEY: 

To get every room decorated. 

LAURA:

To take more advantage of having our own space and have people round more often, although this has proven tricky this year due to everyone leading exceptionally busy lives!

This past year has been incredible, and long may it continue!

Thanks, as always, for reading. 

Laura xx