The magic of the to-done list

I first wrote about my to-done lists for issue 9 of The Procrastination Paper by Zabby Allen (it also features on Zabby’s blog and in the first annual of The Procrastination Paper too, which is amazing!). Here is the original article that I wrote in 2019, to explain a little more:

I have always been the kind of person who has at least three different to-do lists on the go, and that’s not counting the mental lists that I make of stuff that I need to or would like to do at some point! Writing down a list of tasks can be helpful, especially when you’re juggling a lot of things, but when our second child was born in March I began to feel a little overwhelmed by my to-do lists. I just kept thinking of more and more things that “needed” to be done, and wondering how on earth we would ever tick anything off! I have always just added extra things that I have completed to the bottom of my to-do list anyway, so I decided to try making a to-done list instead.

A to-done list is a list of things that you have achieved in a day or a week (or longer if you prefer, but I like to keep it short). Instead of writing down everything that you “should” do, you make a list of things as you have done them. For example, you could write down tasks that you have completed, such as ‘cleaned the bathroom’ or ‘posted my friend’s birthday present’. But it could also be things that seem like much smaller achievements ordinarily, but are actually huge things if you’re going through a difficult patch. Things like ‘cooked myself a nice lunch’, ‘went for a walk in the sunshine’ or even ‘got dressed today’. It doesn’t matter how big or small they are – seeing what you have achieved on a to-done list is brilliant, and it has had a really positive impact on my mental health.

Sometimes I even sit down at the end of the day and write my to-done list, rather than writing it as I go along. It’s lovely to give myself time and space to sit and think about the day and what I have achieved, and more often than not I am surprised by everything that I have managed to fit in – yay! Don’t get me wrong, the to-do lists still exist (I am so forgetful that I need to write things down!), but the magic of the to-done list has helped me to view tasks more positively and put my mental health at the heart of that.

Top tips for writing a to-done list

• Try not to put any pressure on yourself to have ‘X’ number of achievements each day.
• If you have only done two things today but it was seven yesterday, that’s ok! Having quieter, more restful days are important too.
• Make sure that you write it down. Sometimes I do it in my head and that’s great, but being able to see it on paper is really helpful.
• Look back on what you have achieved. You could stick your lists up on your wall or in a notebook, so you can see everything that you have done!

How will this help me during the pandemic?

I’ve been writing to-done lists for a while now, and what I’ve really noticed is that its’s really helpful during times of uncertainty. I’ve felt a bit lost at various points since the start of the pandemic, but writing these lists has helped me to see that in spite of everything that’s going on, I have managed to keep going. I have achieved things on the toughest days, even when it has felt like I haven’t.

Once you start writing the lists, you’re able to see a bit more of the bigger picture too. As I said in the article above, some days you have one ore two things on the list and others it’s more like seven – but any number is absolutely fine. This bigger picture of achieving things over a week or a month has been helpful to me both in lockdown and during the pandemic more generally.

You could write your lists on a notepad, or in a notebook if you prefer. I designed these notepads back in 2019 and have only a few more left (they won’t be restocked once they have sold out). It really is good to look back on what you’ve achieved at the end of the week – particularly now as the days and weeks feel the same! I’m combining it with writing a little gratitude journal this year, and the combination feels very positive. I’m trying not to worry about missing days here and there either – at the end of the day, we can only do what we can right now. Sending you huge virtual hugs! Let me know if you give the to-done list a try and what you think about it

You may also like…

Get creative with some more projects from my blog!

Make some easy easy fabric drawer inserts:

Fabric drawer inserts

Make some super colourful curtains!

Pantone colour chart curtains

Make yourself a little treat:

White chocolate rocky road

Treat your embroidery projects to some thread conditioner:

Thread Magic thread conditioner

The post The magic of the to-done list appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

Well, I wasn’t expecting to write a post with the title ‘Life in lock down’ in 2020, but I’m guessing that this is pretty much how we all feel about the current situation! I’ve been drafting this post over the last few weeks, thinking about what to say about life in lock down. These are obviously unprecedented times for everyone, and with lock down easing recently (here in the UK at least) things feel even more uncertain in many ways. After much thought, I decided the best way to start was to ask: How are you feeling today? It’s a question I ask a lot over on my Instagram account, because I feel that it’s an important one to ask each other and particularly yourself. Personally, I’ve found that it is important to allow myself to feel whatever it is that I’m feeling. It has been a complete roller-coaster over the last few months, hasn’t it?! If I have tried not to feel angry or frustrated, I’ve actually made myself feel worse. So I hope today has been a good day for you. If not, there’s always tomorrow.

Documenting life in lock down

I really wanted to document life in lock down here on my blog, but as usual I’ve mainly been doing that on Instagram! Although not every day. Because being present in real life has felt much more important. Even though there hasn’t been much going on in the diary, there has been a lot going on in life. Two days before we first went into lock down back in March, we had to unexpectedly leave our house due to some unwanted visitors in our bathroom (an ongoing problem, but they finally got into the house – ugh!). On Mother’s Day, of all days! Don’t think I’ll forget that in a hurry. It was a big and sudden upheaval, and we were very lucky that we were able to go and stay with Tom’s Dad. It made a surreal situation even more surreal!

We celebrated both our kids’ birthdays during the two weeks we were there, I tried to keep my small business running, was in the process of final edits for my book (more on that later) and having to deal with sorting out the house remotely. But despite all the stress, it meant that we were together to adjust to life in lock down for the first two weeks and I think it actually helped us all. I look back on it now and it feels like years ago!

When we got back home, we then had to adjust to new normal again. This was the hardest part for all of us – Little One missed nursery so much, and I found it really hard to get my head around not being able to do normal things. This actually felt harder than adjusting the first time for me, and it felt like we were starting from scratch again. But it got easier, although it definitely comes in waves. Have you found that? Some weeks seem fine and then others are really hard. Someone described it as like having a newborn again, when the days are long but they weeks fly by. This sums it up perfectly for me! I’ve been trying to be extra kind to myself and take time off if I need to. Being self-employed now does make this more difficult, but I know I need to do this and have the evening off a couple of times a week to recharge.

One of the huge positives for us is that Littlest One has had the time of his life all the way through, which has been wonderful to see. He just loves that we are together all of the time. He has learnt to walk, explore and has started babbling away. It’s a reminder that in all this, there are some amazing things to hold on to! Another was a day spent celebrating a friend’s birthday with a relay run/walk (we obviously chose to walk). It was such a beautiful day, and we took a balloon on our leg of the relay too! So lovely to see photos from everyone else’s walk, and it felt like we were in touch with friends and seeing different places. Amazing!

Keep Going kits

You may already know that I went self-employed in January this year (I mean, what a year to choose, but never mind!). I miss teaching my workshops so much, and it has been sad seeing all the reminders popping up in my phone about ones I had booked in. One of the things I had wanted to develop this year was my range of hand embroidery kits, and this Keep Going hoop seemed like a perfect one to work on in lock down. Back in April, I launched it on pre-order and was so overwhelmed by the response! I needed to sell 10 to be able to afford to purchase the thread, and I had sold way more than that by the end of the first day. Incredible! I had a massive stress when the thread went back to France – twice – but thankfully, my lovely customers were so patient and kind. It has been wonderful to see people stitching them and knowing how much they are enjoying it during this difficult time.

If you’d like to purchase a Keep Going kit, you can find them here. 15% of sales in June will be donated to The Black Curriculum.

Black Lives Matter

We all need to be having more conversations about racism. Black Lives Matter. Over the last few weeks I have been reading, listening and learning to find out how I can be an ally and be actively anti-racist. I’ve posted once or twice about it on Instagram, but when I haven’t it doesn’t mean that I haven’t been doing something behind the scenes. I’m in this for the long run. As a white woman I can never fully put myself in the position of a Black person to understand what they experience every day. But I can recognise my privilege, speak out, apologise when I get things wrong (we ALL get things wrong – admitting it and saying sorry is important), and learn. We all need to do the work. Racism runs way deeper than you think. I am guilty of not realising this sooner, and I am sorry. If you think that this isn’t a problem in the UK, then you really need to read up on this and realise that it is something that we all need to work together to fight against.

I want to work out how I can use my work to support Black communities, and this is something ongoing. That’s why I’m donating to The Black Curriculum this month, and I’ll give you more info about what I’ll be doing in future when I can. There are lots of really helpful resources out there at the moment – Leonie Flower has shared some excellent ones if you’re looking for a place to start. I have recently discovered the work of Aurelia Durand, and you must check her out. She has illustrated some excellent books which deal with racism, which you should also add to your bookshelves. I’ll be talking about what I’m reading in a future post, but I’d love to know what you’d recommend so let me know in the comments.

Colourful Fun Embroidery

I mentioned earlier in my post that I was editing my book when we went into lock down – well, here it is! Colourful Fun Embroidery will be released on 30th August by White Owl Books and I am beyond excited! It features 24 projects, and is designed to help you take time out to be creative. I’ll be writing a much more in-depth post about it really soon, but you can pre-order it now! I also have book and kit bundles that you can pre-order too, if you fancy getting some materials for one of the projects.

Easing into more normal things

I must admit that I feel a bit strange getting back into doing a few normal things. The biggest step for us was getting Little One back into nursery at the start of June. She was absolutely thrilled! We agonised over it to be honest, as the biggest challenge for us is getting her there on public transport. But thankfully, it has been quieter than we expected overall. Little One has been amazing at wearing her masks, and we couldn’t be more proud. She’s leaving at the end of the month, and we’ll be starting our home education journey. More on that in a future post too!

Being on the bus again has been weird. So many people without masks, even though it is compulsory (although I completely understand the bus drivers not being able to enforce anything). So many people with masks only over their mouths, but not their noses! I can’t get my head around that. We always wear them on the bus and in shops, and on the 2 occasions that I have braved the city centre. We don’t do these trips frequently, but without a car we have to do it sometimes now. Whatever you’re doing to keep your family safe, do what’s best for you. If you need to stay at home then do it.

Our key workers are absolutely amazing and we really do appreciate all that you do. Thank you!

I’ll probably leave it there for today, as I have rambled on for a while now (thank you, if you’re still here!). I wonder what it will feel like reading this on 25th June 2021?

What has your experience of lock down been like? How are you feeling about unlocking a bit now?

The post Life in lock down appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

This post is a bit more personal than the ones I usually write, but I have found that during this time, talking has helped so much and I want to reflect that more on my blog too. I have been using my Instagram as a micro blog over the past few months, mainly because it is often easier to write a caption than a full post. Here, I can write in a bit more detail about things that I want to share. I won’t be sharing all the things, but I hope that what I do share will be helpful to others. The support from people I know well, people I know a little and also from complete strangers has been amazing! Thank you so much to everyone who has contacted me. So if you want to get in touch about anything, do just drop me a message in the comments or email me if you’d rather.

Coping with miscarriage

It was the Friday of the late May Bank Holiday in 2018 and I knew that something wasn’t quite right. I had felt a bit weird all week, but I had just kept going. We walked along the river to the park that day and Little One had the best time! It’s a good 30 minute walk and I remember at the time thinking that I had overdone it, but looking back I don’t think it was that. I had a phone appointment with the GP later that afternoon, having rung in tears when we got back. He told me what to expect, noting that as a middle-aged man he couldn’t explain exactly because he obviously didn’t have first-hand experience (which stuck with me as he was just so kind when he was explaining), but that I could go to A&E if I felt worried over the weekend. I didn’t end up going because I knew.

I had a midwife appointment booked for the following Tuesday. When I arrived, I could see what would have been my book of notes on the desk – as I explained what had happened, the midwife moved it away and took my hands before giving me the biggest hug. I asked what I thought were ridiculous questions, and she very kindly talked me through everything. The thing is, nobody really talks about miscarriage, so you have absolutely no idea what to expect. You feel so alone, so helpless, like your world has stopped when everyone else’s is carrying on around you. It’s a  bit like with pregnancy, in the sense that everyone has a different experience for something that has a general term. I had extremely painful contractions later in the week – having given birth before, I knew exactly what they were once they had started. I felt like I had all of the pregnancy symptoms, with nothing left to show for it at the end. We were heartbroken.

I was on holiday when it happened, and went back to the day job the following week. With hindsight this was not a good idea, but hindsight is a wonderful thing! I think I just felt a pressure to get back, to try to get into normal routine even though nothing felt normal. I knew that going back was going to be really hard, and I just wanted to go back and get it over with. But it was hard, and looking back I realize that I could hardly concentrate, so it’s a wonder anything got done anyway.

To anyone experiencing miscarriage, please give yourself the space and time that you need. I wish I had done this. Be kind to yourself and know that you will get through it, even though it is one of the most painful experiences both physically and mentally. Talk about it if you can. I had the support of Tom and my family and that really got me through. Little One was amazing too – she was two at the time, and kept asking why I felt sad and giving me cuddles. We hadn’t worked out what the due date would have been, and in many ways I’m glad that we don’t know. But late January/early February will always be a sad time now, as will that second May Bank Holiday. I found it really hard this year, but maybe next year will be a little easier. The letter board quote in the photo above is something I reposted on Instagram this year to mark the first anniversary, and you can read that post here if you like.

I’ve written a book!

In case you missed it, last year I wrote a book! At the start of 2018, I was contacted by someone who is working with my publisher to discover work by new crafts people, and I was one of them. I was just so thrilled! After that there was a lot of working on top secret stuff, and it has been really really hard not to share. My book will feature lots of colourful embroidery projects, and I’m so immensely proud of it. It still feels a little bit surreal talking about it to be honest, even though I have written it – this is really the stuff of dreams and I can’t believe it’s happening to me! The photos are being taken by an amazing team, and I can’t wait to see them. It won’t be coming out until August 2020 so there’s a little while to wait yet, but it will be worth it! I’ll be keeping you updated here and on Instagram as I find out more, and you can also sign up to my newsletter too.

Let’s talk about mental health

In September last year, I decided to take some time out from the day job because of my mental heatlh. I have really struggled there for years for various reasons, and basically there was a big thing that happened and it was the tipping point really. Admitting that you need to take time out is really hard, and being more open about it to more people has been hard too. But it is the best thing I could have done. I kept thinking that I needed to keep powering on through, but that was making everything worse – especially when it started to affect my home and family life more significantly than it had done previously. I realised that I needed to put myself first and took myself out of that situation. I had some CBT counselling at the start of the year, and it has helped enormously, and I feel like the practical tools that I’ve been given are really helpful. There’s still a way for me to go, but I have come such a long way and I feel so proud of that. Here’s me in my amazing tee by Kayley Mills, which I absolutely love!

A new addition to our family

When we found out we were expecting again after my miscarriage last year, I couldn’t believe it! We were so lucky that it happened so quickly, as this doesn’t happen for lots of families and it’s such a tough time. The pregnancy felt a lot different this time around. We didn’t tell people until much later this time just to be sure, and I felt really nervous the whole time. It just changes your perspective on pregnancy once you’ve lost one, and it’s a very strange mix of excitement and fear. I was also worried that people at work would just think that I was taking time off because of my pregnancy, but the majority of people have been so supportive and I’m so grateful for that.

We found out that we were having a boy and were just so excited. We didn’t find out when I was pregnant with Little One, but this way it meant that we could prepare her for his arrival. She kept kissing my bump and talking to him and it was just amazing. Our little rainbow arrived in March – yay! He is such a poppet and he adores his big sister, which is wonderful to see. He is a very long baby and has inherited our big feet (!!), loves cuddles, singing and gets very excited about reading books!

I had such a terrible time with breastfeeding this time around, which I wrote a lot about on Instagram at the time (see this post). It just completely took me by surprise because I fully expected it to be like riding a bike and it really wasn’t. I’m intending to write a blog post about our journey this time around as I ended up exclusively pumping for a while, and I thought it would be helpful to share my experience. Let me know if there’s anything you’d like me to include in that post in the comments or by email.

Conversations I didn’t expect to have with a 3-year-old

When Littlest One was only 3 weeks old, Tom’s mum was diagnosed with cancer. It was a huge shock and an absolutely devastating blow for our family, especially after just bringing a new life into the world. Experiencing the beginning and the end of life simultaneously is a very overwhelming thing, but it makes you realise that there are significant parallels between the two stages. One brings you unbounded joy; the other brings an overwhelming sense of sadness and helplessness. At the time I was struggling with feeding and my hormones were all over the place, and it was a particularly difficult few weeks. I really wanted to support Tom and his family the very best that I could, but I just felt so frustrated because I didn’t feel like I was in a position to do a lot. That feeling of helplessness is so, so hard.

We were open and honest with Little One about Grandma Helen being poorly. Little One visited her a couple of times, but not towards the end as we want her to remember her how she knew her. Little One is 3 now and is inquisitive, so she asked lots of questions. We were amazed by her resilience and compassion; she knew that something wasn’t right, and she was kind and caring. When we told her that Grandma Helen had died, we all cried and held each other tightly. She was very matter-of-fact about the whole thing, as only a 3-year-old can be, but the way that she processed the situation is just amazing. I’ll never forget having a conversation with her where I explained what the word ‘grief’meant and how it made us feel at different times. This was prompted by her saying that she was “frustressed about Grandma Helen”, and I think that is just the most amazing word to describe how we all felt! She still talks about these feelings now, but also about the things that she did with Grandma Helen too. I feel so sad that Helen and Littlest One won’t get to know each other, but so very happy that they did meet. Those precious moments will stay with me always.

So what’s coming next?

During the past few weeks, we’ve had a bit of time to settle into a new routine and work out what new normal is for us (on so many levels). The kids are doing great, and now that Littlest One is 3 months old he’s a bit more settled. We’re getting to the point of predicting feed times, which is super helpful for planning time and activities! As Tom and I are both creatives, we need to make sure that we’re both getting time to work on our things. I feel really strongly that just because we’ve got a bigger family now, it doesn’t mean that we should stop following our own interests or doing things that make us happy. So Tom is finding time to compose music again, which I am thrilled about. I am working on my blog again, and stitching and designing embroideries for my shop. I’m currently working on developing my website shop too, which is really exciting! I have kind of half done this in the past and taken it down, so to get it up and running on a small amount of time will feel like a HUGE achievement. We’re taking each day as it comes, being thankful for our time together as a family and the time spent following our creative dreams.

If you’ve read this far, thank you for staying with me! I hope to post again really soon

The post My goodness, what a year (and a bit)! appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

My thoughts about Shared Parental Leave

We thought it would be helpful to start by sharing our own thoughts about Shared Parental Leave, so I’m up first!

I was really excited when Tom first said that Shared Parental Leave was a thing. At that point we knew we wanted to start a family, but we weren’t quite ready – but we knew it would be something that we would do. When it came around to thinking about it more seriously, I wasn’t really sure what ‘share’ actually meant. Did Tom want half of my leave?! I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t up for that! But that isn’t how it turned out and I did say that I wanted at least 9 months off, which is about what I’ll have in the end. Before my leave started I did wish that I could have a whole year off, but now I know that it has been so worth giving up some of my time for Tom. We don’t get brilliant pay, but to be honest the time is way more important. I would do it all again in an instant.

The first few weeks after giving birth are a bit hazy – your whole world is turned upside down by this little person who relies on you for everything. If you get dressed that’s a massive achievement! So having Tom here through that time was brilliant. We took it in turns to look after Little One while the other slept. And sleep is magical, especially in those first weeks! They say to sleep when your baby sleeps, and I think that would have been much more difficult without Tom, and it meant that he got to sleep too. Because we had some sleep, I think we were far less stressed than we would have been. He wasn’t having to rush out to work every morning, and we weren’t having to think about prepping lunch or ironing shirts. We didn’t have any schedule and could just take each day as it came. It didn’t really hit me until Little One was 2 weeks old and we were thinking about how Tom would be back at work if we hadn’t shared the leave. I spent a lot of that week crying about how glad I was that he was here!

I think that it has also helped with Little One’s sleep. That might sound a bit weird, but we started a bedtime routine with her as soon as she decided that she liked having a bath, which must have been around 3-4 weeks. At first we would take her up to bed late in the evening, but as she got used to the routine we moved it earlier. We do the exact same thing every day, and Tom has been here to be a part of that. She’s now sleeping really well and I’m sure it’s because of the consistency. I guess we’ll never really know how much the leave has influenced this, but I’m pretty sure it has helped!

At first, I found breastfeeding particularly difficult at night. No matter how much help you have in the day, nothing can really prepare you for the night feeds (breastfeeding or bottle feeding). It’s really hard! I spent a lot of that time crying too. But Tom was brilliant, and would get up to settle Little One if she needed it. This was possible because he didn’t have to be up for work. There was no sleeping in a separate room – we are all together and he did what he could, whether that was settling her or going to get me midnight snacks (seriously, I have never eaten so many Cheerios!). Being a parent is a full-time job, and I take my hat off to all the Mums who get up in the night and look after their baby all day too, and to all the single parents out there. It’s really hard work. But taking shared parental leave has allowed us to share things a lot more, and we’ve all benefitted from that. One of my friends recently said that she thinks that if all partners had time off it would help with post-natal depression, and I’m sure she’s right. We had some tough days, but mainly great days and Tom has been there to support me through that. We’ve been there to support each other.

One of the best things about our leave is seeing the relationship that Tom has with Little One. Because he has been around so much, he hasn’t missed out on anything and I’m so pleased about that. He got the first smile, he plays with her all the time, he sees how she’s developing fast. And blimey, it sounds like a cliche but it really does go SO fast! I’m pleased that he has been an integral part of that. We know her really well, and she knows both of us. Now that she’s a few months old she’s doing so much more, and it feels like she’s changing and learning something new everyday. He hasn’t missed out on that, but has been a part of it and I’m so glad!

We’ll both miss him now he’s back at work, but things have settled down now and I feel like I’m in a much better position to cope with things because he took that time off. Yes, there will be difficult days, but we’ve both emerged from that foggy first few weeks and that time together has really helped. I genuinely don’t know what I would have done without this time together. I would have just got on with it I guess, but it would have been much tougher on everyone. If you’re considering taking Shared Parental Leave, then I can’t recommend it enough. Even if it’s just a short time, it’s time that you can all appreciate in so many ways.

Tom’s thoughts about Shared Parental Leave

The fact that few people have taken up Shared Parental Leave so far is perhaps not too surprising, but hopefully over time it will become more of a norm. The legislation is not perfect by any means – there is still a retrograde notion that the mother has to ‘give up’ some of ‘her’ leave, and I would favour a system where each parent has a period of leave on a use-it-or-lose-it basis with an additional period of shared entitlement. But hopefully over time more people will take advantage of it and tell others of the huge benefits that taking Shared Parental Leave can have. For whilst it is not hard in some ways to imagine having gone back to work soon after Little One arrived (as all our friends with older children have done), I appreciate now how much I would have missed of her first few months, how much harder it must be to do everything on your own, and (though it can never be proven) how much it has helped Little One to have two relatively relaxed and rested parents around. Sharing the workload – whether by doing something together, taking it in turns, or doing one task in order to free up the other person to do another – is what we’ve done for years to some extent, but having Little One magnifies the workload greatly and therefore the importance of sharing it and the rewards that come from that.

For some, of course, the role of traditional career-building bread-winner is their preferred way of sharing the workload, and Shared Parental Leave doesn’t appear to even be a choice in this role. But I see it less as one big choice but rather a whole series of interrelated ones where one choice makes a subsequent one easier or harder. We have both chosen ‘jobs’ (i.e. work-life balance) over ‘careers’, meaning our time away from work will certainly not be detrimental to us in the longer term, or – since we are merely small cogs in a large machine – place undue stress on our colleagues in the shorter term. Clare’s choice to go part-time several years ago (which may have appeared strange to some at the time) means our adjustment to living without two full-time wages had already taken place. And choosing to save up as much money as possible before Little One arrived (something made possible by our choice to live in a part of the country with manageable living costs) meant we could supplement the rather meagre statutory pay and not feel like we were losing out financially. All of these choices, and many more besides, made the one of whether or not to take Shared Parental Leave a very easy one, and one of the best we have ever taken.

Disclaimers

We just want to say a few things about this post – disclaimers, if you will!

We realise that Shared Parental Leave isn’t for everyone. Some people might not want to do it for financial reasons, or because a career break just isn’t possible. Or you just might not want to share your leave – any of these reasons (as well as any others not mentioned) are obviously fine! Whatever you decide to do is your decision as a family, and we’re not writing this post to try to persuade you to do this but to just give you an idea of our experience of Shared Parental Leave. Everyone has different circumstances; these were ours and we wanted to share them with you.

The company we work for does not offer any additional maternity benefits, so we receive statutory pay. You may find that the number of weeks of pay differs depending on the package provided by your workplace.

All external links are correct at the time of writing this post (August 2016) and we cannot account for any future changes. We are not claiming to be experts on this subject! Any resources referred to in this post are things that we used or consulted during the process and found to be helpful. Any specific questions that you have about the process should be directed to your HR team and/or manager.

It may be that you are the first person to be considering this in your workplace. Our advice would be to do your research first and work out what you want to to. We both work at the same place in our day jobs, which made the process easier to some extent (except for having to fill in the same form several times!). Before discussing it with the HR team, we sat down and worked out exactly what we wanted and we read up on it so we knew what we were talking about. So we’ll start with a few of the basic things that you need to know.

Further information about how Shared Parental Leave works

Shared Parental Leave works in a similar way to maternity leave, and is designed so that you can be more flexible in the first year. It is a legal entitlement for eligible parents of babies due, or children placed for adoption, on or after 5 April 2015, but you must qualify for maternity leave to be able to take it (read more about that here).

The amount of leave is worked out based on the mother’s entitlement to maternity or adoption leave, which allows for up to 52 weeks of leave. In that there are usually 39 paid weeks out of the 52 to play with (for those of us on statutory pay) leaving 13 unpaid weeks, unless you have a super dooper maternity package. If you qualify, you can share the paid or unpaid weeks with your partner, so it’s up to you how you want to work it out. There are a few important things to clarify:

The 52 weeks does not include the 2 weeks of Paternity Leave, so the father will get these in addition to any Shared Parental Leave

You can be on maternity leave and Shared Parental Leave simultaneously

It is possible to tag on holiday to the end of your leave

Yay to all of these things! Another good thing about Shared Parental Leave is that you don’t have to take it all together in one block. You could have a few weeks off, go back to work and then take a few more weeks off. This means that you can really make it work for you, especially if you want to take extra time off but not all in one go. We didn’t do it like this because of working in an academic year in our jobs, and it made more sense for Tom to take a few weeks altogether.

Some important things to consider

The most important thing we found was to be organised with working out what you want to do. Everything needs to be agreed in advance with your employer(s), so the earlier you can work it out the better. You don’t have to tell them straight away, but you do need to give notice that you will be giving up some maternity leave for Shared Parental Leave, and that you both intend to take Shared Parental Leave.

Don’t worry about getting the exact dates right here – it’s just to give an idea of what you will be taking. If baby arrives 2 weeks early or late, these will change anyway! But getting the paperwork in place will be helpful for you and for your employer, especially if you are planning to take Shared Parental Leave in separate chunks. You need to give them to your employer at least 8 weeks before the start of any leave. The links to the forms are in the last section of this post.

When working out your leave, remember that mothers have to take 2 weeks maternity leave by law, so these first two weeks for you will be called ‘maternity leave’. What you need to do is work out in advance when to end your maternity leave and transfer it to Shared Parental Leave. For me, the first 6 weeks were maternity leave as I received 90% pay for these weeks. After that the amount would be statutory pay anyway, so it made sense for me to change at this point. But because you can take leave simultaneously, Tom was on Shared Parental Leave at the same time. We found it helpful to make a calendar showing who was off when, and when the paid weeks would be. We gave a copy of this to HR so that they have this information too.

As with maternity leave, you don’t have to confirm your return to work before starting your leave. At time of writing, I still have not yet done so. I am going to be working out when I am going in for Shared Parental Leave In Touch (SPLIT) days and what holiday I will have at Christmas, and then I will be in a better position to do so.

Your employer(s) should have a policy for Shared Parental Leave, but you may find that if you are the first to do it where you work, it might not be in place. Make sure you have done your research beforehand, so that you can question anything with them.

Some useful links

The Acas website is incredibly helpful, and their good practice guide is a very good place to start (quoted above in this post).

The forms that you need to fill in to give to your employer are also on the Acas website. The ones we used are the Shared Parental Leave forms for maternity, but there are other forms for adoption as well as covering letters and useful documents that you may wish to use on the website too.

There is also some useful information on the Government website.

As I said earlier, we are not experts on the subject! The best people to speak to are your HR team and manager if you have any questions about technicalities of Shared Parental Leave and how it would work for you and your family. However, if you have any questions that you would like to ask us about anything else, please leave a comment below or get in touch via the contact page. We hope that this post has been helpful!

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So yes, creativity takes courage. It takes time, and it sometimes needs inspiration and encouragement from the people around us. And that reminds me of another quote from Albert Einstein: ‘Creativity is contagious. Pass it on.’ I feel very grateful to my friend for passing it on to me – thank you for the inspiration!

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I spent a lot of my working at home days during my pregnancy sleeping – that was one thing I hadn’t really anticipated! I’m not going to lie, I lost a bit of enthusiasm for crafting and my blog which was a bit disheartening after all the effort I had been putting in to it. But in the last few weeks I regained my crafting mojo and was able to complete a few projects for Little One. The fabric buying ban was still in place (and still is, actually!) so I raided my stash for all the plain colours I have. So these are a mixture of mainly Kona cottons, Moda solids and a few other random ones I had. There are 21 colours altogether, and I used 3 squares of each – Tom helped me to work out how to lay them out so they were ‘random’, and I’m really pleased with how it turned out. It reminds me of Elmer the Patchwork Elephant! The backing fabric (pictured above) is ‘Mother Goose’ by Windham fabrics and it’s just gorgeous – I got it from Fabric Rehab with a birthday voucher (which certainly does not break the fabric buying ban haha!). As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to get it for this quilt.

I ended up with extra backing fabric and my Mum suggested making a cushion for tummy time – I found a tutorial online and it has turned out really well. I made some spare covers for it, which is why you’re probably thinking ‘but the one in the photo has cats on it!’ I’m going to do a separate review post about that pattern, so look out for that at some unspecified point in the future…!

I also managed to make some curtains for the nursery, using fabric from the duvet covers I had when I was younger. I loved them so much that I couldn’t part with them! It’s really nice to have been able to use them to make something for Little One.

Our nursery is quite small, so we kept everything white and decided to add lots of colour. My Dad very kindly came to re-wallpaper the room, and Tom did the painting. I think he’s all DIY-ed out now! Here are a few more pictures:

The piano stool has been useful in the nursery (added storage = bonus!), but I didn’t get the chance to paint it before Little One arrived. Something to add to the list of things I’d like to get around to at some point…

We are big fans of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Dr. Seuss My Mum picked up these cute bookends in the charity shop she works in. They’re fab!

This mini wooden seaside was a gift from Grandma H and Grandad K – we call it Maryport in a tin (that’s what it came in). We spent quite a bit of time there as a family, so it’s lovely to have this in the nursery. Little One likes to look at it now that she can focus in on things a bit more. It’s a good job that crabs and seagulls aren’t this big in real life – not to scale here!

The lovely prints on the wall are from Miri Studio. We wanted to have some pictures in the nursery, and had a couple of these frames from Ikea already. Katy from Miri Studio makes them to fit these frames, so they were perfect! And it’s good to support artists from the UK. I love them all, but the cheeky squirrel is my favourite!

I can’t tell you how long it has taken me to put this post together! A big thank you to Tom for the gift of time to be able to do it I’ll be returning the favour so he can do some composing! He has taken some extended leave thanks to shared parental leave, and it has just been wonderful having him around. Time is going so fast and it’s brilliant that he can be around to be with us. I can’t imagine what it would have been like if he had gone back to work after only two weeks – I have a lot of respect for everyone who does that. We’ve been able to muddle through the fog of the first few weeks together, and it’s so nice to be emerging from it and to be able to do a few more normal things. I’ve been getting back in to Instagram too, as well as posting a few things on my Facebook page, so you can pop over there to see more in between my blog posts if you like. It feels good to be back!

(I love this picture! It took a while to get it, but I got it! )

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The work we had done in the house was to have some super ceiling-height shelves built in our living room. I’m all about the storage right now, and these are perfect for what we need! I’ve had a little desk built in as well which means that my computer could come downstairs, which is really handy. All of my craft supplies (except for the fabric stash) are downstairs as well, which is so much easier than having to go upstairs every time I have forgotten something else. A perfect solution to not having a craft room I think! We are still organising everything (we have a LOT of books/music/stuff) so I haven’t actually taken any finished photos yet, except for one of my rainbow-organised craft books that you can see above. It was a lot of fun sorting them like this!

I haven’t really done that much crafting recently, but I have made Christmas cakes this year using the recipe that my Mum used to make. Can’t wait to try it! I was a bit late with getting the recipe up in time for this year, but I’ll be taking photos to schedule it for 2016. I marzipanned and iced it last weekend, which involved a lot of checking that the marzipan was ok haha!

In other news, I was so excited to see that Pip Lincolne (author of the amazing book Craft for the Soul) has read my review of her book and left me the most gorgeous comment! It really made my day! For those of you wanting to buy the book, it will be released in the UK next year – or if you can’t wait then you can read my review and find out how I got mine…

And finally, I have left my biggest news until the end…I am pregnant! We are absolutely delighted and can’t wait for Baby to arrive in the spring! So, when I first decided to extend my blog holiday I had a lot of morning sickness (which is such a ridiculous name, as it isn’t just restricted to mornings!) and was super tired. With that and everything happening at home, not forgetting a sudden and unexpected move to a new team in my day job, my crafting an blogging just had to give way for a while. I totally underestimated how tiring it would be, and even now that I’m well into my second trimester I still find myself falling asleep early in the evenings (or during the afternoon on my days off!). But I’m pleased to say that everything is going really well and I’m just SO excited about starting our family.

In terms of blogging, my posts will probably be more infrequent, although I am very keen to keep up with my blogging whenever I can. I know that life is about to change completely and so we’ll just have to see what happens! Hats off to all those blogger mums who manage to keep things going – I’m not sure if I’ll have the energy or time for that! But thank you to you all for sticking with me I still intend to blog about the things I make and do so that hasn’t changed. We’ve already decided that we don’t want to share photos of our little one online, so this won’t be turning into a baby blog – there are plenty of other excellent blogs like that already so I’ll leave it to the pros. I’ll try and put together a few more posts before Christmas, so there will be more to see here than there has been of late…thanks for your patience, friends!

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Lots of things have prompted this decluttering. The main thing is that since we don’t have a garage anymore, we have lots of things that don’t have a proper home. And we can’t do that thing that we used to where we would just chuck stuff in the garage and shut the door quickly (a bit like Monica’s cupboard on Friends!). Either we need it and we keep it and find somewhere to put it, or it goes. This is how ruthless this decluttering will be! Another thing that has prompted it is that we have wanted to build some shelves in our living room for a long time now, and we decided that the two things could go hand in hand. I also had to move my computer downstairs (because the internet signal is really bad upstairs) and we’re going to build a desk into the shelves too. You might be thinking that we could get one of those booster thingies and that would solve that problem, but it’s nicer being down here anyway (except for the temporary home on our old dining table…but it’s not for long!) and it’s helpful too, especially as I do all my making in the kitchen now.

I had a little look online for some decluttering tips – there is quite a lot out there about what is the best way to do things. One post I read said that you shouldn’t have a ‘keep’ pile, and that you should just find a home for the thing straight away instead. I like this idea in principle, but that’s clearly not going to work for us because we haven’t built the home for the things yet! So we’re sticking with the ‘keep’, ‘throw’ and ‘give to charity’ piles for now. I also like this list from Apartment Therapy, which is what not to do when decluttering. Tip number 2 is useful to me – I always try to do more in a short space of time than I can actually achieve! So I need to remember that this isn’t going to be a quick process…we’re not going to be building the shelves until we can take a couple of weeks off at the end of August/beginning of September, so there will be mess and there will be time to plan. Speaking of shelves, if anyone has any tips or can point us in the direction of some, that would be FAB! I’m like ‘yeah, we can build some shelves!’ but Tom is not a DIY fan and we’ve never done anything like this…my Dad has kindly said he will come and help us to construct them, but we need to work out what that actually means…

I have been trying to reorganise my craft supplies a little better so that I’m not forever going up and downstairs for something else that I’ve forgotten. Know that feeling too? I seriously spend so much time doing this – it’s really frustrating! So I decided that something needed to be done about it asap. This included buying one of those super cool raskog trolleys from Ikea (yes, I got the teal one – whoop!) and it has been brilliant. I’m planning on doing a separate post about that soon, so stay tuned. I have already begun to sort out my fabric stash (read more about doing an inventory here), so I feel like progress has been made already. Yay! Wish me luck for the rest…

Do you have any tips for decluttering?

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1. Take your time

This process is even more complicated than you think. Give yourself time to think about what you really want to have – get your friends and family over and tell them too! You’ll probably find that they will come up with an idea that you hadn’t even thought of, which could completely change what you had in mind. Think about the things you want from your new kitchen/bathroom/whatever. Is it more storage space? A particular layout?

The whole process takes a long time too, so bear this in mind before you start. If you’re aiming to start work at a particular time then plan things way in advance and be prepared for it to not quite happen as you expect. We had hoped to be building over the summer last year, but despite everything else being in place we couldn’t find a builder – and when we found one he couldn’t start until October. Which was then November because the previous build was delayed! So be prepared.

2. Planning permission

The planning permission process also takes time, so if this is something that you need to have I would recommend getting someone to draw up some proper plans for you. When we had our roof done, the roofer put us in touch with an architect/planner who turned out to be a really great find! He came out and measured everything, talked about what we wanted to do and drew up ideas and then re-drew changes. He also submitted the applications for us and responded to the council at various points – this was so helpful. If you can find a planner who is happy to do this, then go for it! Their inside knowledge is priceless, and it certainly helped the process to go much more smoothly for us.

3. Finding a builder

We came unstuck at this point – I’m not going to lie, for us this was a nightmare! We knew that we would have to get 3 or 4 quotes for the project (this is standard and if you’re planning a big project like this it’s a must) but it was really difficult to get reliable quotes. And by that I mean that builders were coming to talk about things with us and then not sending a quote for a month, or not even replying to phone messages to get them to come to speak to us in the first place! Anthony (our chosen builder) gave us a quote first and then we were let down by so many after that, including by people who had been recommended to us. With hindsight we would have picked him earlier, but even though we liked him we knew that we needed a few quotes and so the months ticked by… We have planning permission for a 2-storey extension but needed to do it in two stages – lots of builders were trying to put us off doing it this way, but we had to because of our budget. So basically, it’s a bit hit and miss! But you are in charge – it’s your money and if you don’t feel 100% happy then don’t pick them. Ask for and check out references if you can, to see what previous work carried out is like.

Anthony actually contacted us once our planning application had gone in. Your application will be public so that neighbours can look at the plans etc. if they wish to, and this means that builders can also access your details and may choose to get in touch with you about the possibility of carrying out the work. He sent us a brochure and a list of references, but other companies varied greatly! We were lucky in that he was obviously not trying to pull a fast one, but you need to be careful about choosing your builder. You shouldn’t really be paying any money up front but should see some work being carried out before any invoice is paid. Anthony has always been very up front with us about this from the beginning, and we felt very comfortable with him and his team doing the work. As I said before, you have to have confidence in your builder so don’t choose them if you have any concerns or doubts.

4. Your budget

Once you have got a few quotes, you’ll (hopefully) be able to choose a builder that can complete your project within your budget. But there are some things to bear in mind. The main thing is that unless you are some sort of multimillionaire, you will go over budget! We were so careful with our budget and had a good amount of contingency money, but things always take more time and money than you think. We needed extra work on the foundations, which meant extra costs for the planner and structural engineer, as well as the actual foundations.

People have different opinions on how much you should have as a contingency, and this will obviously depend on how much money you have. I’d say aim for a minimum of 10% of the overall budget, and then have a back-up plan in case you go over that (!!). Keep an eye on how much you are spending as you go along, and ask your builder to quote you for prices as you go along if you need to.

5. During the build

As the build is progressing, you’ll find that you spend a lot of time on the phone sorting things out! Anthony was brilliant at keeping us posted with what was happening, and he used to ring me every week to give me an update on what had happened that week and what they would be doing in the coming week. Fab! If your builder doesn’t do this, don’t be afraid to ask them to or to just ring them yourself. It was so good to know where we were up to. Be prepared to have questions about things that you haven’t thought about – where do you want sockets/light switches to be, for example?

Depending on what you are having done, there will be a lot of disruption in your house. With a kitchen there is obviously quite a lot – no washing machine, fridge and washer in the living room, lots of microwave meals etc. But remember that a) it isn’t for long, and b) it will be worth it in the end! We had stuff everywhere – the bed in the front bedroom was collapsed so that we could use it as a storage room. We did keep our bedroom clear just so that we could have one room without chaos, and I am SO glad that we did this! It was actually a lot more stressful and more tiring than I thought it was going to be. The kitchen fitting happened during a really stressful time at work, so I just felt completely overwhelmed at some points. During the last week, it felt like the end was so close but it was the longest week ever! I was desperate to get some sort of normality back, but at the same time I knew it was just for a few more days and I had to keep reminding myself that. So I guess what I’m saying is don’t underestimate how stressful your project could be, but try to keep your end goal in sight.

Just a couple more really random things to note: firstly, dust will get everywhere. In fact, it goes beyond everywhere! People told us this before we started, but you really cannot imagine how dusty it is until you actually do it. If you can pack things away or cover them up, then do that as much as you can. Dust will get in places that you didn’t know existed! Secondly (and this is an obvious thing to some), make sure you take progress photos throughout your renovation or building work! I’ve taken loads (partly to share on my blog) and it has been great to look back on the progress that has been made.

6. After the build

There will probably be some things that you need to wait to finish – this might be because of your budget or because you can’t find the right item, but that’s ok! We are yet to fit some blinds at the back because we can’t find what we are looking for (although we aren’t sure exactly what that is anyway!) and because we didn’t quite have enough money. We spent a while looking for a table too, and have arranged to pay for it in instalments to make it affordable. We’re not going to rush to get some of the other things we need or would like just so it can be finished either. Don’t be afraid to hold out for the perfect thing, even if it means doing without something for a while.

I hope you have found these tips helpful if you’re planning your own big project. It will be stressful, but I promise you it’s worth it! Don’t forget to leave your own tips in the comments if you’ve got any to add. And for anyone in the Newcastle area who is planning a project, I would highly recommend Anthony – you can find his contact details here. Tell him I sent you!

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If you saw my ‘before’ post, then you’ll know that we had a lack of space in terms of storage and worktops. Not anymore! We’ve probably got more workspace next to our new cooker than we had in the whole of the previous kitchen – it’s mad but brilliant! The kitchen we chose is from Howdens (who were brilliant) and it’s Glendevon in flint grey. We loved the curved corners and I’m so pleased that we decided to splurge on getting these, as it works particularly well on the bit that goes around the corner from the ‘old’ kitchen to the new bit.

I’m really pleased that we chose to match the floor with the worktops – it works so well. This is American pecan wood-effect laminate flooring and worktop. I love the look of real wood but we couldn’t afford real wood flooring! But it doesn’t matter at all – this looks just as good. We’ve got an area where we’ll put a table, and it will be really good to be able to eat in the kitchen. When it arrives we’ll be living in here I think! This is where it will go (you can just about see it – the light wasn’t great today as it’s pretty gloomy outside!):

I’m standing at the front window looking at where the garage used to be for this next photo. You can get a sense of how the old garage and old kitchen have been combined – it’s such a big space!

It’s lovely and light with the window and door. We haven’t got blinds for the back windows yet, mainly because we couldn’t find what we were looking for. We’ll have to get them put up soonish though, because it’s a real sun trap at the back! In the old bit of the kitchen, the sink has stayed in the same place, but the washing machine has been moved in there and we also have a dishwasher (yay!). Not that we’ve worked out how to use it yet, because we keep forgetting to buy some dishwasher salt…anyway, this is working out well in this area. We’ve got our cutlery canteen over here because it didn’t open fully where the upper units are. We got one of those pull-out larders, which we would highly recommend if you’re redesigning your own kitchen! The boiler has been boxed in here too, so it looks much neater.

Please excuse all my washing up here!

The units are really good quality, and it’s so lovely to have more storage space. We had forgotten about so many things that we had for our kitchen, and it was great to unpack them all. We also discovered that we have quite a mug collection!

Although I love so many things about our new kitchen, our cooker has to be my favourite part. I have dreamed of having a range cooker for so long, and it’s amazing. We chose a Cookmaster by Leisure and it’s really easy to use, and with 7 burners we should have enough cooking space now! It took us a while to decide what to do about tiles, as we had seen these lovely mosaic tiles that we wanted to have. After much thought and discussion, we decided to have an upstand around all the worktops, with the tiles as a splash back only. This was a good decision – having these tiles all around the kitchen would have looked a bit weird, especially in places where the space isn’t very deep (like around the sink). I think the tiler was pleased too – it would have been a nightmare job for him!

We are so lucky to have been able to complete this project, and are so pleased with how it has turned out. It still feels really surreal to be honest! I can’t wait to get trying out new recipes and to get the final touches done. Here’s to fun times in our new kitchen!

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[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1422543195393{padding-top: 30px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”]I’m going to focus on retro style in this post, and I’ll start with an important part of the living room: a sofa. When it comes to choosing a sofa, I guess I’m quite practical. I would always choose something fairly neutral and classic in style, so that if you want to change the rest of the room at a later date then you can keep the sofa you have. These Mission fabric sofas in Mink would be perfect – easy to accessorise, they will go with anything! They would fit in with so many styles too, particularly with a retro feel.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”6873″ alignment=”center” border_color=”grey” img_link_target=”_self” img_size=”large”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1422543286587{padding-top: 30px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”]

These lovely geometric print cushions would be great on these sofas. I really like the combination of fresh colours that are used here – perfect for spring and summer! You could easily pick out any of these colour and find other accessories to match too.

Geometric prints are still big this year, so why not mix and match your geometrics too?

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You could always team up these sofas with a feature chair. This teal chair from Next would compliment the choices I have made so far in this post:[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”6881″ border_color=”grey” img_link_target=”_self” img_size=”large”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1422543107678{padding-top: 30px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”]But I am in love with this vintage 50s chair – it would add an extra pop of colour and would fit in brilliantly with the retro style! And I think one of those cushions would look great on this chair.

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1422543080083{padding-top: 30px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”]You might already have some chairs that could be revamped or you could look out for some at a vintage fair or car boot sale. Why not give it a go yourself? Match the retro look with some vintage paint! These colours are just beautiful.

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1422543055748{padding-top: 30px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”]Don’t be afraid to mix old with new when it comes to retro. Look out for pieces that you can renovate yourself – eBay is always a good source for this! But there are new retro pieces available if you prefer, such as this gorgeous sideboard. Sometimes you hear the word ‘sideboard’ and immediately think about flowery plates and doilies on display in your Granny’s house, but they are such useful pieces of furniture. If you go for something classic in style it will be a piece of furniture that you have forever! Use it for storing things away and for displaying some cool and quirky items, and the style of it can change as your style changes. Fab![/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1422543003077{padding-top: 30px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”]If you’ve seen my post about styling our kitchen then you’ll know that storage is key for me, and it’s no different in our living room. This storage would be perfect – the different sizes and shapes of the shelves are great for storing different things and the style and wood finish would compliment the retro look (from Not On The High Street):

Ladder shelves are big this year too – this one from Garden Trading would be a good investment.

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1422542897012{padding-top: 30px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”]Another thing that I’d love to do in the living room would be to create a fun feature wall with these lovely glass frames – I like the mix of different sizes here, and it’s good to be able to change the photos or prints when you fancy a change. It’s an easy way to be able to make little changes in your room.

Photos and prints are a great way to add pops of colour. These Jeremy harnell prints are brilliant! The Boom Box and Mix It Up prints are both from John Lewis.[/vc_column_text][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” interval=”3″ images=”6879,6878″ onclick=”link_no” custom_links_target=”_self” column_number=”2″ grayscale=”no” choose_frame=”default” img_size=”large”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1422542777785{padding-top: 30px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”]There’s one more thing to have if you’re going retro – an LP player! We gave our old one (which is not as stylish as this Crosley one from Urban Outfitters) to my Dad and he loves it. A happy home with lots of music is always a good thing, and this is in keeping with the retro style and can be made into a feature. It would look great on that sideboard!

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1422543534649{padding-bottom: 40px !important;}”]I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this post! I’m not sure when we’ll get around to doing our living room, but it has been fun to look at the retro trend for 2015. Have you got any DIY projects planned this year?

Please note: This post is written in association with Furniture Choice. All opinions are my own, and I received a Not On The High Street voucher for taking part in the project. Links to products have been provided and each link also provides photo credits.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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So the kitchen project is a really big deal for us – it’s the biggest project we’ve ever undertaken and it’s the first thing we’ve ever done from scratch with a blank canvas. I’ll be honest, it’s pretty scary! The budget wasn’t limitless and you don’t realise how much things are going to cost. This is amplified when you’re buying everything at once too! You want to make the right decisions, you don’t want to waste money, and there are some things that you decide that you really don’t want to compromise on. My friend Donna has a mantra that she lives by, which is ‘save and splurge’. She told me this before we started, and it’s so true! Save on things where you can so that you can splash out on certain things that you really don’t want to compromise on. When it comes to work like this, this is the best piece of advice ever – thank you, Donna!

I love looking through magazines/blogs/Pinterest at home styling and ideas for the home, and I often see things and think that we could make it work in our house too. But every home is different and a lot of things just wouldn’t work in ours. Although I really love having a nosey in people’s houses, one thing that bugs me a little bit about styled interiors photos is that I’m wondering what it looks like behind the camera! Just where do they put all that extra stuff?! I’d love to know! Anyway, we spent a lot of time chatting about what we thought the kitchen should look like. When it came to selecting the kitchen fittings, we discovered that we both found it easier to list what we didn’t like than what we did. Tom doesn’t like Bristol sinks (gutted – I really love them!) and I didn’t want anything too dark or old-fashioned. We had a little look around (and also at our friend’s new kitchen) and decided that we really loved the glossy units, especially the ones with curved corners. They are just so beautiful! We found the one we chose in Howdens, which is a trade-only company (lots of builders have an account there, so ask if you are planning this too).

We had a list of things that we wanted from the new kitchen, which included more storage (see below!), more workspace and more light. Our old kitchen was really dreary at night with its one little light! I also had two things that I really wanted: a range cooker and a dishwasher. Tom wasn’t so fussed about the dishwasher – we put it on the maybe list because if we couldn’t afford both then I would rather have the cooker every time! Howdens have a kitchen designing service, and they did a brilliant job of making the best of the new space. I’ve realised that functionality is a big part of our style – it needs to work for us and we need storage space! We have discovered that generally we have the same style too, although I’m probably a bit more adventurous than Tom when it comes to colour. Our kitchen will reflect that – we’ll have pops of colour but it will be predominantly neutral, but this will make it light and bright. Yay!

It has been weird having to make decisions about fixtures and fittings when we’re not used to thinking about stuff like that. The builders have been asking me things over the last couple of weeks about how we want things to be or look, and I’ve been like ‘Erm…’ – it’s mad really because we’ve had so long to think about it! It’s really fun to be at this point choosing the final things to go in there. Who knew that things like spotlight covers could be so exciting?! I can’t wait to share the finished kitchen with you! Although 5 years seems like a long time to have not done a lot to our house, I am so glad we’ve had that time to live here and find out what works and what doesn’t so that we could plan and think about what we really want to do. A lot of planning went into it, and I’m pretty sure it will be worth it!

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There were so many people working on our kitchen that day – the plasterers and electricians were here in addition to the usual team working on it. The tiler came over to discuss what we’re having and the cooker was delivered too. And in the middle of that I was doing my marking…crazy!

We took some photos on Tuesday after the builders had gone and it was brilliant to see the size of the new kitchen. I’m fairly good at imagining things, but the space feels much bigger than I thought it would. It’s so light with the big windows too – our front window is 182cm wide!

Since then it has been all go – the plasterers and electricians were even here yesterday (Saturday)! Our kitchen was delivered yesterday too, so that is going to be fitted this week. There are so many boxes in the kitchen now! We also have lights, which is just amazing – it means I can take better photos after they have finished for the day too haha

I spotted this on the box of handles – this is a musician’s joke, haha!

The rendering has been finished outside too. Pebble dash isn’t the prettiest thing in the world, but we had to have it so that it matched the rest of the house. As much as I’d like to paint it, I know that once we do it’s a job we’ll have to do every other year or so and I’d rather spend the money on something else to be quite honest! So this matches the house perfectly.

So, all of the construction side of things is complete now and there’s just a week to go! Can you believe it?! The kitchen will be fitted from tomorrow and the decorator is coming on Thursday. There’s just one thing that will have to wait until the week after, and that’s the tiling (because the tiler was fully booked this week). We’ve decided that we’re just going to have tiles for a splash back now, so it’s a small-ish job for the week after. I can’t actually believe we’ve got to this point! I’ll share some more photos with you next week…exciting!

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In many ways, society dictates that the ‘big 30’ is something to fear. I’ve found that the closer I get the less I think this is the case. For one thing, there isn’t exactly a lot that I can do to stop it anyway! But also my life has changed so much during my 20s and has taken me along paths that I never thought I would find myself walking down. Some of these journeys have been really difficult. Others have been really fun, inspiring or surprising! But each and every one has made me who I am today. That sounds a bit corny, but it’s true – you really find out who you are in your 20s! At times that has taken a lot of courage, and sometimes (especially in my early 20s) I have lacked the courage I needed. We all have occasions where you look back and wish you’d done things a bit differently, but that’s where having the courage to look forward is needed, instead of looking back and dwelling on what might have been.

So I’m looking forward to enjoying the last year of my 20s, and the new challenges and exciting things that the next few years will bring. If my 20s were anything to go by, there’s plenty to look forward to. So here’s to courage, gratitude and living in the moment. I’ll drink to that with a cuppa!

As a little end note, here is a photo of me just after I turned 21 (this is what January birthday weather is like!) – there was a tag doing the rounds on Facebook last week to share your first ever profile photo, and this was mine! I had no idea what the rest of my 20s would hold, and I wonder what I’ll know in another 10 years time…

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The floor joists went in last week too, again with lots of insulation between them. It felt really good to walk on the floor of the new bit of the kitchen – I know that might be weird, but it was!

This week, we were hoping that the windows would be fitted. A different company is fitting them, and despite our best efforts to get things scheduled in advance, they are delayed until next week. This doesn’t seem like a huge setback, but we were ahead on the build (!!) so it is a little frustrating. There is plenty to get on with though, so this week some plasterboard has been fitted in the new bit, and our old kitchen units have started to disappear!

The other bit of steel is now on the inside as you can see! It is definitely out of action now, so it’s a good job we moved everything out last weekend. We even have a little tea corner in our living room now – this is the most important area as far as I’m concerned!

The way through to our hallway has been knocked through this week too. It feels so much bigger in the hall now, which I didn’t really expect! The stud wall has been removed and we have gained a couple of extra feet of space, but it feels like so much more than that. Maybe it’s the light? Who knows?! We’ll have a proper cupboard under the stairs here too, which will be great. I should point out that the horrid saloon doors will be gone soon too – yay! Here’s a ‘before’ shot:

And a ‘during’ shot:

An ‘after’ shot will follow over the next couple of weeks!

So we are ready and waiting for the windows, and it’s all systems go next week. The construction should be finished by next Friday, and the new units should arrive a week on Monday…so it should all be complete by the end of the month! Yippee!

We’re choosing tiles, paint and lights this weekend – I’m probably more excited about this than I should be haha! Hope you have a great weekend, whatever you’re up to

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The builders discovered that our garage didn’t have any foundations (!!) so extra calculations and building control approval were required before they could go in. For a while it felt like we had bought a big hole! But then the happy day came when everything was approved and the concrete arrived!

Now it felt like this was really happening! The foundations and part of the floor went in last week, and the walls have been going up this week. It’s good to get to this point, and now we’re really able to picture the size a bit more easily.

In January our new roof will be going on, and then once the windows are in the old kitchen wall will be knocked down to make a big L-shaped kitchen. Exciting!

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I am SO excited that our latest project is finally happening – it has been well over a year in the making, but this week we are finally starting our kitchen renovation! I can’t believe we are starting really, although having spent most of this weekend packing up our kitchen, I really should by now… 

Let me tell you a bit about how we got started with this project. When we bought our house (which we have now been in for almost 5 years) we had intentions to reconfigure some bits of it, starting with the kitchen. At the end of last year we had our plans drawn up and submitted to the council, and planning was approved early this year. Then it took us ages to find a builder – have you ever tried to find one?! You’d think that it would be relatively straightforward, but no. We were let down by several at the quote stage (never a good sign!) but had been told that getting 3-4 quotes would be a good idea. This is right of course, but it was slightly frustrating to have watched several months pass by waiting to hear back from various people, only to choose the first one! Hindsight is a wonderful thing! But this way we have chosen a builder who we are very happy with, so it was worth it.

We were hoping to start the work over the summer, but by the time we had chosen our builder he was booked up into early autumn. The weather has delayed things slightly, but we are just so happy to be starting! Although we have got planning permission for a two-storey extension, our budget only allows us to do the ground floor at the moment. We currently have a garage at the side of the house, which will be knocked down and rebuilt with sturdier foundations, and then one of the walls in the current kitchen will be knocked through.

Our kitchen renovation: a few ‘before’ photos

I thought I would take some ‘before’ shots to show you – this was the kitchen yesterday as we started to pack things up:

As you can see, we don’t currently have much workspace…or cupboard space – this is it. We’ll be doubling the number of cupboards we have, which will mean no more keeping loads of stuff on the worktops – yay! We were trying to work out how old these units are, and we think they might be the original ones. They are Schreiber units and have obviously lasted a long time, and we think they must be at least 20-25 years old. So they have served the house well! I remember when we moved in we were really hoping that the previous owners would leave the cooker (because we didn’t have any money left to buy one), and thankfully they did! I have often wondered if it would last long, but it has kept going for us. We’ll be very glad to have a new one with a fully-functioning grill though – the one in our previous rented flat didn’t work either, so we haven’t had one for about 8 years!

This is the door to the garage, and it is this wall (the one with the wall units) that will be demolished to make one big kitchen. You may be wondering why we have got our fridge freezer squashed in here – it is because we used to have it in the garage, but one really cold winter it stopped working because it was too cold out there! There is a cupboard behind the fridge freezer, which will be knocked through so that the kitchen can be accessed from the hall as well as the living room.

The garage currently has a downstairs toilet, but as it is generally inhabited by spiders and woodlice we’re getting rid of it (and also because we never really use it, and the space for the kitchen would be more practical really).

So, that’s the ‘before’ tour done! Hopefully I’ll be able to share some progress photos of our kitchen renovation with you soon…please pray/keep your fingers crossed/make a wish (delete as applicable!) for dry weather as we get started and for a smooth build overall. We have 5 weeks before Christmas and hopefully, the garage will be demolished and will be up again and water tight before then…that’s a big ‘hopefully’! I know that for our builders this is a relatively easy job, but for us it’s like our very own Grand Design and we can’t wait

Post updated 17th February 2020.

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