ERM, WE BOUGHT A HOUSE

Three and a half months later and I'm finally here. Number 70. Sitting on my velvet sofa, watching 13 going on 30 and smelling the gorgeous smell of our first roast dinner cooking. Allow me to update you all on a brand new chapter in my life.

We bought a BLOODY HOUSE.

As soon as I turned 25 at the beginning of the year, I knew I wanted to move out. Together with a jumble of meeting my boyfriend last year who I consider 'the one' (ok, cheese, I'll stop), a relationship breakdown with family and turning the big 25, I wanted something to call my very own. I have a fair few things I wanted to achieve by this age and moving out is one of them.

Now I can light candles that I was not allowed in my family home and I have bloody gorgeous flowers sitting on MY kitchen windowsill in a jar that is meant for pasta storage, because c'mon on now, buying a vase is never on the list of things to buy when you get your own first place, is it?

This is the stunning Citrus Coulis bouquet from Appleyard London. A truly fabulous mix of cerise germini, tara roses, blue agapanthus and foliage to finish. I've had flowers from them before and can vouch they last for quite some time provided you change the water and I've also been spraying the flowers with a mist of water everyday to ensure the sun doesn't dry them out too much!

I had been looking at renting a flat since around February this year and it was an experience in itself. With me, comes Elsie and it was proving near impossible to find anywhere that would accept a dog. We had called maybe 30 properties in a week or so and only found one rented flat that would allow a dog... if we could pay a few thousand in advance. Nah, you're alright mate. Stick your average flat and £1200PCM rent where the sun don't shine.

I had never really thought about renting being dead money or the fact that renting is paying off someone else's mortgage. I don't think there is anything personally wrong with renting and it is something I would have totally done if it meant that Elsie could come with me. Even though some people may see renting as dead money and I agree that it ties you up with no freedom to make a home completely yours i.e decorating etc, I think renting is a great option if you want to experience living on your own/away from home and familiarity. Personally, I had to think of a plan B as it was either rent a property or re-home Elsie... and that was never going to be an option. 

With all of this flat rent hunting rejecting going on, I felt very disheartened and disappointed that I could not move out sooner than I would have liked. However, that's when the discussion of buying a property came up and it was like a non-stop roller coaster from there.

With a quick look at properties online, I have always said that the space I wanted to live in would be new-ish, bright and airy, with excellent transport links and a good circuit for dog walks. Well, I have literally hit the jackpot.

Our home is a 2 bedroom new-build house with a lovely garden, three bathrooms, transport links, a fabulous shopping centre 5 mins down the road and a local Chinese and chippy. Erm, what more could I ask for?

They say a house chooses you and I can't agree more. Most people go and view 5 or 15 homes before finding the perfect one for them. However, this was the first house we organised to view and within a week, we paid a deposit to secure it.

It ticks every box that we both had for a first home and is the perfect starter home for a young couple ready to start a family(😏)... not to mention it has a lovely and maintainable size garden for Elsie. I feel extremely lucky that it is a new build too, as we haven't had to do too much to the place; just a lick of paint in the odd place here and there (more on that soon!).

I never thought I would be able to afford to buy a house (like literally, EVER) but anything is possible when you work hard. I hardly dip into my wages, so together with that and my blog income, I have been saving for the past year with the goal to move out within the next 2 years. Together with my boyfriend, we was able to put down the fees; deposit, solicitor fees and a mortgage broker to help us find the best mortgage to buy our own home together.

I personally don't recommend paying a mortgage broker as it cost us £500 upfront and a whole load of stress on top. I am sure there's some better companies out there, but the one we used really made us regret not going to the bank ourselves to apply for a mortgage. We seemed to constantly be chasing our 'advisor' for updates and signed a few documents that had mistakes made by them... not good! My best advice would be that if you have the possibility of getting a mortgage off your own accord, then definitely do it. Otherwise hire the best mortgage broker in town!

The solicitor side of things was a smooth process in which communication was always made with us with updates and information on the next steps. We was given a move in date of 4th September, but that was pushed through quicker in time; luckily for Ricky's birthday. So, as of Tuesday 28th August, I not only moved out of my mum's house, but into my first home with a boyfriend.

I am in absolute love with my house and cannot stop buying bits for it including #hinchhauls (if y'know, ya know!) and am just SO excited to spend the next however many years here! I have so much to share with you, so expect lots of interior posts over the next few months. You can catch more regular and live updates on my Instagram though, so make sure you head over there and hit follow to be in the know!

Disclaimer: This post contains a gifted item. All photography, words and opinions are my own.