I have had the most eventful one month or so I should say, where the ‘house’ project is concerned. It felt like for months together nothing was moving and then suddenly, in April, everything fell in place. When I was back from London, I had a properly painted house and almost done flooring. It looked like home finally and I feel like home finally! In the last few days or so, pretty much all the furniture I selected and ordered in London has arrived as well. Surveying all my handiwork, of course in the broadest sense possible ;), I feel a sense of pride, accomplishment, contentment,... a whole lot of emotions. I think of when I first had this idea of getting my place, the ups and downs since then, and this moment... and I want to pat myself on the back and hug me. I suppose in a very profound sense I am looking back at not just the last few years but even the first few years of my life... and the whole arc again feels very emotional to me (maybe a story for another day). The fact that I have almost done all of this stuff on my own also carries its own weight.

All this may seem easy-peasy to lots of people, but it's very much outside my comfort zone. One of the reasons for my sense of satisfaction is not just because I have a lovely house to live in and a lovely view to look out of (sharing a pic of my favourite nook on that point), but because of the growth I have experienced in this whole space of time. A year ago I had never booked a painter, did not know the difference between LVT, laminate and vinyl, did not know about the different kinds of curtains and the intricacies of getting them custom-made vs. buying readymade, did not know where I could get good furniture from, had never visited a John Lewis (ever) or an Ikea in the UK or local furniture suppliers, had never designed spaces for my own house, had never thought of size of objects vs. size of spaces to accommodate them in (I am now handy with my measuring tape ;)), had never laid on top of different beds to find out what suited me, had never interacted with so many tradesfolk, etc etc etc.... you get the picture? It's been a ride and it's been worth it in the end in more ways than I can count :)