Tips for starting your first home

Phase 1 of my life in the flat will be drawing to a close very soon. After being here on my own for nearly 6 months, it’s time welcome Pete into my home and let the place become our home. I do love living on my own, but I am looking forward to having someone to come home to every (most) nights.

Before the flat takes on the radical transformation from being a home for one into a home for two, I thought it would be worth reflecting on what I did to make this place my home.

Buying a new build has had it’s ups and downs. Downs being lots of little problems that need to be fixed and little things getting rectified by the original builders. Not to mention the massive problems I (and other residents) have been having with the communal hot water system. The system has had some massive problems over the last 6 months. These problems though are to be expected with a new build. Hopefully everything will be fixed and all residents can get on with their everyday lives.

On the up side, I’ve got a huge blank canvas to stamp my identity on. I’ve always loved looking at interior design and used to spend loads of time flicking through the Ikea catalogue as soon as it hit my parents doormat. I used to watch Changing Rooms, Home Front (both versions) and Grand Designs to be inspired by what I could achieve. So, when this blank canvas got handed to me I had to take a step back and make sure that all of my ideas didn’t come spilling out at once. 

I’ve dreamed of this from a very young age as my parents refused to let me decorate my childhood and teenage bedrooms. When I was 15 and I ended up with a dark blue and yellow bedroom (I blame the late 90’s). This has made me very cautious about doing anything too drastic in my new flat.

But, I know for some this can be a bit of a daunting task, so here are a few tips that have helped me along the way.

1 - Keep everything simple

The furniture I chose was very clean, simple and relatively inexpensive. Doing this means that everything you chose can go with it. I’ve always loved a vintage look, but doing a style like this is expensive and takes time to find the right pieces. Once you start on a very stylised path, you can’t really go back. The only strong pattern I have is on the curtains in the living room and cushions on the sofa, which means that I can change it when I need to.

2 - Pick an accent colour

Even before I moved in I knew that the key colour in my flat was going to be green. Once I knew this, I built the rest of the flat around it. Choosing very simple furniture to go with it. My sofa is green, I have a green rug, tea towels, green lamp shades in the hall, green bedspread and even a green watering can. By only using it on a few things means that If you don’t like it after a few years you can always change it. That is also the good thing about Ikea sofas, you can always buy new covers.

3 - Don’t put anything on the walls

This pains Pete, but I haven’t hung any of my pictures on the wall yet. In most new builds they say not to decorate or put things on the walls for the first year. This is so you let the building settle and can get the builder to fix things if cracks appear. I also know that as soon as I put in the first nail, that’s it. I have lots of things leant against walls (very Carrie Bradshaw in her apartment in Sex and City) and am prone to move paintings around until I have decided on the perfect location.

4 - Let things develop and leave space

When I put together my first furniture list I tried to include everything I could. I would've needed a huge budget to buy everything I wanted. So, I sat down and took non essential items off the list and I’m so glad that I did. I have consciously left myself space in rooms, and a few extra pennies, to buy more furniture if and when I need it. Also, if I change my mind and start moving things around, it won’t be an issue.

5 - Treat it as your home, not a show home

It’s great to flick through a magazine and see beautiful homes. But, most of the time they look very soulless. Don’t be afraid to put up and show what you want. It’s your home and no one else's. For me, this means that I have my Daleks, Lego figures and Superman figures on show. I haven’t hidden them away. Make sure you have space to show your stuff.

So just to show you what I’ve done, here are a few pictures of my flat. The before and after. A few spaces, such as the hall and the 2nd bedroom are still in development. This will happen over time. Phase 2 (as I like to call it) is already planned so I will show you more when it happens.

What advice do you have? Have you just moved into your first place. Tell me more in the comments below.

Memories

My Grandmother

It’s only when you start looking through an old box, you begin to realise the memories you have kept. The things that remind you of where you have been, the adventures you have had and the people you have loved and lost.

Last weekend, at my parents, I found a box. This box contained photos, articles and important papers relating to two generations of my family. Old photos of family members that I don’t even recognise and papers that I had never read before. I’m lucky that my mum is a bit of a hoarder and keeps all of the important family papers together like this. I feel very lucky to have a great sense of my family history and some of the amazing adventures they went on.

While going down this memory lane, I wish I had kept more bits and pieces about my life from the last couple of years. I have some old photos from my teenage years (many I would rather forget after some disastrous hair cuts) and a computer full of things from uni, but I don’t have anything physical, nothing that I can hold or anything that couldn’t be lost by a computer malfunction. I’ve tried for many years to keep a diary and take photos of important moments, but as usual with projects like this, they get forgotten about and left to fester. But after seeing the things in this box, I knew that I have to do something about this and make sure that I have some things to hand down.

The trouble is that in this day and age, we keep everything digitally. We live for the now and don’t plan for the future. We keep our Timeline on Facebook for everyone to see. We record our lives in blogs for people to read and comment on. We ‘check in’ to our favourite places and we adjust our photos to make them look beautiful so that we can share our lives on instagram. BUT, what if one day, the internet broke and we lost everything? Then a lifetime is lost as memories and stories fade away into the abyss.

In our heart of hearts I think we all want to be remembered for something. So my plan is now to keep a diary of my life so that someone in 40 - 100 years time can look back and think, “Wow, Great Uncle Steven did that, he was there when that happened.” I’m going to try and include some trinkets and some photos for people... because this is not about preserving memories for myself, but preserving my stories for future generations.

Make Summer Amazing

This week has been glorious, let's just hope that this is the weather will be back in time for summer?!

But, even if the weather is bad, I want to make this summer amazing and I need your help!

I want to pull together a playlist of great summer songs. You know what I mean, those songs that make your want to dance around and throw your hands in the air, that song that makes you smile on your morning commute or that song that would make your evening BBQ absolutely perfect.

Please get involved by adding your tracks to my collaborative Spotify playlist >>> Make Summer Amazing. Why not get your friends involved too, so please share the playlist!

Go on, spread the summer love and #makesummeramazing

Why hello 2012...

I will admit it, for more most of January I have been doing a little bit of hiding. Spending time in my cave, cleaning, sorting and asking myself lots of questions about life, the universe and the number 42.

With January fading into the background, it is time to greet February with a big hug and a happy smile. I have a birthday to look forward too (I turn the scary age of 27), lots of other birthdays to celebrate, Valentines Day and a date with my housemates to see this The Other Cinema - Brief Encounter.

So grab my hand friends and followers...lets shake off the January blues and say hello to Fun February.

It's time to Geek Out, but where do I start?

I am a bit of a foursquare addict. Those who know me, know that wherever I go, I spend the first minute fiddling with my phone trying to check in. Be it a coffee shop, restaurant, pub, park or my favorite shop. The check ins you make show you what type of person you are and your mayorships define your character. More mayor ships at pubs? You are a person who likes to go out drinking most evenings and weekends. Mayorship at of your local comic book store, yes you are a geek.

My partner is a self confessed geek (you can read his blog here) and through being with him, I have learned to appreciate my love of TV, Sci-fi and love my little quirks. So, if we are in London, wondering around Oxford Street, Soho or even Covent Garden, we usually end up in Forbidden Plant. While looking at all of the action figures one Saturday I take my phone out and check in in. I click the button and stop and stare at my phone. "You are 1 Day away from becoming Mayor".

I turn to my partner...."Have I become a geek?" I ask. He just stares at me with his cheeky grin.

So yeah it's time to admit it, I am a geek and I love it.

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I am a Doctor Who fan and I have recently just started watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer (I didn't watch it when I was a teen. All my mates were watching it and I was trying to stand out by not watching it....you know the routine) and have been loving it. But something else has hit me too.

I suddenly have a new found love for Superman.

I have always been drawn to the man of steel and remember spending Saturday mornings (before Live & Kicking) watching The New Adventures of Superman with Dean Caine and Teri Hatcher. My partner brought me a little Superman figure and I have been bugging him to to bring over the original Superman films staring Christopher Reeve. I now have a lovely mug which I love. It has got me thinking that it's time to find out more, maybe start at the beginning and read some comics.

But really....where do I start?

I have turned to a couple of friends with this question and got a few blank expressions.

This is a story that has been going on for many decades now and has had many origin stories.  Do I start trying to collect the first edition of the DC Reboot happening next month? Or do I find an original book?

So I turn to you, people of the Internet.

What should I do?

Please send help.

Tips for finding a new job and PS I'm back

Before you look away and tut, I really am sorry for being away for so long.

Really, I am.

I have to say the last 3 months have been pretty tough for me.

Firstly, I decided that my job wasn't right for me. Not to say it wasn't a great company. I just really wasn't enjoying the work I was doing or the direction this role was pushing me. So with a deep breath, I handed in my notice and decided to look for a new job. I was able to give 3 months notice. After many chats with recruitment consultants, interviews and presentations, I found a new job, which I am really happy about.

Trying to find a new job in a recessions is hard work. You need to update your Linkedin profile and take advantage of any opportunity that presents itself along the way.

If you are thinking about a new job, here are a couple of helpful bits of information.

A good friend introduced me to a good list of recruitment agents on Twitter...follow them here

Also, another close friend has written a blog post about why he chose to change his career and what you should do.

But all you need to know is that I am back, so this blog and deartuesday.com should be back up and running in no time!

My new little friend from @peacockpete

All about the pink fizz!

Do you like the look?

Been craving this all week!

Just a sunny day in the office...nomnomnl

A Friday treat from @sohojoeuk

Burrito baby from the new Mas Burrito down the road #lunchtimewin

Saturday cupcakes...nom!

Came back to my desk to find two packages...something free andsomething AWESOME...can you guess which?

Strawberries and cream dinner! NOM

Sunday....coffee and cake! NOMs

DVDs - What should I keep?

When you realise that you have to move house, if you are me, you take a step back and gaze in ore to see how much stuff you have. Even over 12 months, my collection of books has doubled, I have a huge pile of magazines that I want to keeps, a mass of clothes and big stack* of DVDs.

I had quite a big decision to make as I realised that I would have to pack all of my stuff into the back of a Renault Espace. What should I keep, what should I sell and what should I give to a friend.

For me, the way I worked out what was going to stay and what was going to go, I took the following approaches:
1 - Is this a film that I want to pass on to friends, family and friends children in the future as a 'Must Watch'?
2 - Have I seen it? If not, is it one that I definitely want to see?

As I boxed away my DVD's to get rid of, I had a thought. Even though some of these films are classics or ones that I have never seen. I can always get them again. I could add them to my LoveFilm list or even take a gander through iTunes to see what I can rent.

Anyway, these are the films I decided to keep...What do you think?

My MUST Watches:
Breakfast at Tiffany's - Classic film and one that everyone should see!
Cruel Intentions - Loved this film as a teenager, brilliant soundtrack!
Little Miss Sunshine - A great Sunday afternoon film
American Pie - The original and the best!
Ferris Bueller's Day Off - 80's classic.
Love Actually - One of my favorite rom coms and one to get out a Christmas.
Romeo and Juliet - Just because it is brilliant!
Sex and the City - A fun film and a great chick flick
Batman Begins - Well it was the best 'Re-boot'.
The Dark Knight - Epic performances and better than the first one...
Die Hard: Quadrilogy - you can't got wrong with a bit of Bruce action! Well, maybe just the first 3...
My Best Friends Wedding - I can watch this over and over again! A great hangover film.
Juno - I love this film and has a brilliant soundtrack.
The Holiday - I love Jude Law in this....and it is a good, fun film.
A Single Man - A stunning film in every way and a brilliant adaptation of the book.
Shaun of the Dead - Who wouldn't want to keep this?
Pretty Women - a secret favorite...
Top Gun - 80's classic action film
(500) Days of Summer - An easy watch, lots of fun too and different from most rom-coms
MILK - Everyone has to see this at some point, so brilliant and thought provoking!
The Breakfast Club - 80's teenage film at it's best.
Moon - A masterpiece, one that everyone should see.
UP - I can watch this over and over again...and cry more each time.

Ones that I haven't seen and I should probably hang my head in shame over not seeing...<
Crash
Amelie
Brokeback Mountain

I know they are not up to everyone's standard, but I love them!

Did I make the right decision with these?

Needed one of these today!

A typical Easter Cake...with a Cheetah!