Well now the week I have been waiting for is finally upon us: we move on Friday and though I am up to my eyes in boxes and muddling through the packing up process all by myself because Ste is working such long hours, I am giddy with excitement and simply cannot wait to begin the process of making our new house a Brocante Home. We followed the recommendations of friends when it come to choosing a realtor to help us, and there were so many recommendations made but the infamous Eddie Yan stood out to us. There are of course mixed emotions… some of me feels as though I am abandoning my Mum here in the bungalow. That she will be forever alone once we have packed the final boxes in to the van we have hired and I can’t seem to quite put this plainly silly idea to bed, though the rational me knows I carry her with me wherever I go. Finley is woeful about moving: flinging himself between crying and raging and accusing me of all manner of things from having stupid hands (?) to failing to provide him with the security of a permanent residence over the past three months between selling our little house and moving in to the next one! And Ste meanwhile is thoroughly non-plussed and though I have tried to instill the spirit of BrocanteHome in to him, he keeps reminding me that a house is just a house and it doesn’t matter where we live. Doesn’t he know I am Mistress of HOME IS ALL THAT MATTERS?? And so in-between stroking the head of a sad boy with a permanent tummy ache and sending Ste to the tip whenever he can spare half an hour, I am getting on with the business of packing everything from hangers to hammers, spending many an hour trying to decide which of Mum’s belongings need to cherished in our next home and which can be safely recycled – and indeed trying to make the whole business as puttery as possible… To that end I have been making Ste simultaneously giggle and roll his eyes with my rather lovely “Moving House Box” which I am stuffing with all the teeny things I need to transform the shell of a (lovely) house into a place that feels like home and from a practical point of view (for I can be oh so very practical from time to time!) gathering all those fiddly little things I don’t want to hunt around for on moving day. It is so stressful moving house, trying to get everything in order, so we wanted to make sure we got a top moving company to help us get all our lovely house stuff in order! It’s not just the process of putting your whole life in boxes that can be stressful. It’s also finding a home that you want to move to that can be a lot for anyone to deal with on their own. No wonder why some people check out sites like williampitt.com to hopefully make finding their dream house a lot easier. Plus, who wouldn’t want the help of real estate experts, as they’ll be able to give anyone good advice to do this properly. It’s something I sort of wish I had looked into more, but I know for next time (if I ever move again). Anyway, you want to know what’s in my box? My favorite Amber Noir candles. A few bottles of Hyacinth Zoflora (the fragrance of home). A packet of good biscuits and some tea-bags. A picture hanging kit (For a reason I can’t explain pictures is a worry on my mind). A stack of new tea-towels. Some batteries. Our phone chargers. A new dish-brush. A gorgeous glass bottle full of sandalwood air fragrance. A bottle of peppermint oil in case I get flustered (because I am prone to fluster don’t you know?). A tiny notepad and pen. Two bars of my favorite orange coal tar soap. A bottle of Method Grapefruit surface cleaner. A bundle of microfibre cloths and a bottle of Kalms in case I accidentally smash my oh so precious terracotta bust of a girl wearing a bow tie and find myself throwing the kind of dicky fit even Finley couldn’t match. So yes: I am almost ready. Today I am laundering all the bedding ready to be thrown on to the beds on the first night, placing a food shopping order for delivery the morning after we move in and spending lots and lots of time snuggling Alfie because I am going to miss him so very much but know he will be more than happy in the bedlam of Helen’s house with my Dad, the dogs, and the boys. Tomorrow the WiFi will be switched off here and sadly Sky has not yet confirmed when it will be switched on in the new house so service here at Brocantehome may yet again be intermittent for a while, but very, very soon order will hopefully be permanently restored and I will be able to blog my little heart out thereafter. This m’dears feels to me like the end of one chapter and the start of a new, happier one. Life has been intensely difficult over the past years and I am so very ready to move forward and live the kind of life I have long been designing in my head. Thank you as always for your ongoing support and dedication to me and to BrocanteHome. I truly cherish it. I will be back soon, refreshed, inspired and ready to create the kind of routines and rituals that will take Brocante in to all of it’s tomorrows. ?
Create your own Brocante Life Book, plan Christmas, set up routines and rituals or live life the BrocanteHome way with my guided workbooks and planners.
Hot dawg! How I miss having home access to the internet: it’s causing me no end of grief! How’s a woman to call herself a good housekeeper if she’s so wrapped up in her own fur lined little bubble, she didn’t even…
Sunday Baking He thinks she cannot see him through the window, smoking his cigar in the slow Sunday dusk. That’s what these evening are for, smoking and reading an easy magazine. From a chair on the porch he moves to watch her,…
At six o’clock this morning a good morning shout from Finn’s bedroom pierced a dream I was adoring and left me feeling shaky. On morning’s like this one I love my child dearly but wish he’d go and live in China….
Oh I know! But darlings, the minute September comes a calling, this HouseKeepers mind turns to Christmas. So I thought I’d get carried away and scare you silly in August! I don’t know about you, but until I got organised (ish!!), Christmas…
This is a thank-you to all those of you who have already bought and downloaded the Christmas Planner: I truly wasn’t expecting such an enthusiastic response and I want to tell you how very, very grateful I am… Finley has caught a…
As you can see from the picture above I’m going bonkers. This isn’t a new state of affairs but some weeks are worse than others in the bonker stakes. My Dad says that like him, if I can’t be a good example…
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Don’t worry about unpacking everything all at once! Give it 6 months to unpack and rearrange how you want it. Slow and steady!
Praying for a peaceful, joyful move. Transitions are hard but I am excited at that we will share the fresh energy that you will have in setting up your new, happy home!
I am ashamed to say there is still a moving box in the garage that we have never unpacked, 15 years on. And I know exactly what is in it; the china we saved from Peter’s Mum’s house when she died and I (at 8 months pregnant) was clearing and choosing. There are engraved glasses that I know i want, but wouldn’t use when the kids were small (not dishwasher safe, either… but just right for my bedtime water) and a photoframe or two… probably of David as a baby, since she never knew the other two. Steve is right, a house is a house. Your home is where you are and I know by the time you have Brocanteed your house it will be your home. Have fun… when it’s all over!
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Don’t worry about unpacking everything all at once! Give it 6 months to unpack and rearrange how you want it. Slow and steady!
Good luck with moving, Alison! I hope it goes smoothly. And very best wishes for life in your lovely new home. 🙂
Praying for a peaceful, joyful move. Transitions are hard but I am excited at that we will share the fresh energy that you will have in setting up your new, happy home!
Can’t wait to hear about (and see?) the new home! Best of luck with the move!
Here’s to a most pleasant and easy move to your new home. It will all be worth it.
You’re almost there! So happy for you.
I am ashamed to say there is still a moving box in the garage that we have never unpacked, 15 years on. And I know exactly what is in it; the china we saved from Peter’s Mum’s house when she died and I (at 8 months pregnant) was clearing and choosing. There are engraved glasses that I know i want, but wouldn’t use when the kids were small (not dishwasher safe, either… but just right for my bedtime water) and a photoframe or two… probably of David as a baby, since she never knew the other two.
Steve is right, a house is a house. Your home is where you are and I know by the time you have Brocanteed your house it will be your home. Have fun… when it’s all over!
Good luck today Alison! Wishing it all goes well and life can settle down again for you.