A few months later I got a very good job offer meaning we would be able to comfortably afford the mortgage repayments on a small house of our very own! How exciting!
Both of us had been brought up in the same village with the vast majority of our extended family still living here too, with that in mind and the fact that neither of us could drive we quickly made the decision that we wanted to stay local. We had a meeting with a financial adviser, a lot of questions late, we were approved and the search began . . . .
After contacting some local estate agents, we quickly realised there really wasn't a lot available in our local area, so we knew we were going to have to sacrifice some aspect of our "dream house" in order to stay in the village we both grew up in.
After waiting for a few weeks, and viewing everything available in our price range, we finally narrowed our viable options down to two.
The first option was a lovely two bed terraced house complete with a quirky attic bedroom, newly fitted (albeit super tiny) kitchen. It was decorated in neutral colours throughout, including the carpets and nothing really needed doing before moving in. The only downside we could see was the garden was completely separate from the house. You literally had to go out of the back door, walk 2 minutes until you came to a big patch of grass separated into sections by chain link fencing. No privacy at all and unsurprisingly the majority of them where over grown and generally not looked after. Not ideal at all.
The second was again a two bed terrace, slightly bigger than the first - even the kitchen! Also decorated neutrally throughout with lovely flooring and a small, attached back yard - bonus!
This is where the fun started, Barry liked the first house purely because of the quirky bedroom, while I argued that as we wanted a dog and a family someday, not only would the attached yard be better but also the wooden flooring.
Of course he finally saw sense and I won the debate! We placed an offer and bought us a house! We still live in the same house now and I must say it has served us well.
Over the last few years, two dogs and a Daughter later, we have painted, wallpapered, added and taken away many things but one thing that we have never really been happy with is the tiny kitchen. We are under no illusion that extending is an option - we know that is way out of our budget and would also take up the only garden area we have. Instead we would love to start with a blank canvas and design the space ourselves as we honestly believe the space although small could have been utilized in a much better (and modern) way.
Of course we talked about the possibility of moving after spending 12 years here, but its not something either of us wants to do. This house is more than bricks and mortar to us, there are so many reasons we don't want to move house.
My Father in law helped us view and decide on this house before he suddenly passed away, every room holds so many precious memories, even the stairs! I remember so clearly screaming for Barry when the pregnancy test I had just brought downstairs with me finally showed two lines, the sight of him running down the stairs with half a face of shaving foam still makes me giggle.
I can picture having my hair and make up done on our wedding day, walking through the door as Parents for the first time, so many special moments have made this building more than a house to us.
We simply aren't ready to leave! If one day we are graced with another baby then we would have too, purely for space, but for this is home and will remain so!
