January 2024 was a huge milestone month for us as we bought and moved into our house! Prior to this we had been renting a furnished apartment close to Manchester city centre, so the move has been a big change for us and has involved buying all sorts of furniture as well!
Now we’ve been in our home for 6 months it’s really nice to look back and reflect on that first winter season in the house. The second quarter of 2024 has been much more comfortable and a lot easier and cheaper than the first, but those first 3 months is a time I won’t forget. There’s something very charming about those early memories of “roughing it” a little. Here’s just a few of my favourite, now “core”, memories:
Getting the keys in December.
We wanted one last relaxing and peaceful Christmas in the apartment before moving in. But we made many trips to B&Q and the house in those weeks, trying to do as much painting and DIY as possible before moving in in January.
Spending a whole weekend moving our stuff.
This involved a lot of carrying boxes down from our 7th floor apartment to the car, and driving back and forth multiple times to the house. It was exhausting and felt never ending, but worth it in the end for…
Our first night in the house!
It was a freezing January evening and I remember being surrounded by chaos, ordering a takeaway curry and huddling around the gas fire for warmth on that first night! But we finally had everything in the house! I only truly felt like we were “in” when Hamela our hamster was there, and she came out to say hello and see her new surroundings. I’ve definitely romanticised this memory!
Sleeping on a mattress on the floor in the living room for a month.
This is because we started our first DIY project – our bedroom – straight away and it was a building site up there. And we didn’t want to build our bed downstairs only to have to deconstruct and move it later. Sleeping downstairs wasn’t actually too bad though. Our new mattress was super comfy, and it felt cosy and fun camping downstairs. I definitely won’t forget those times!
Finishing and moving into our bedroom about a month later.
This was such a big milestone and changed everything!
Struggling for comfort with no sofa for about 2 months!
We were lucky to be able to borrow a couple of fairly comfortable upright armchairs from a friend to see us through. But there was nothing quite like the feeling of the day our own sofa got delivered! It was like pure luxury!
Since then, spring and summer have brought loads of new discoveries, projects and memories, such as enjoying our garden, finding real homes for everything we own, and DIY projects that need a sunny day and a bit of outdoor space to complete. And we can’t wait to see what the rest of the year brings too!
English Rose from Manchester's Blog 