So it has been just over a year since we relocated so I thought it was about time that I updated those of you who have been following our story as we reach this milestone. I can’t actually believe it has been a year already! It has gone so fast and I am truly loving our decision.

When I did our 6 month update we were at the beginning of our first summer living on the beautiful South Coast of Dorset and WOW what a summer it was, we were at the beach at least four times per week and would often head to the beach for dinner after school and work. We made the absolute most of it and life felt like a constant holiday. One thing I am very aware of this year is that as we head into Summer 2020 we need to watch the pennies more than last year. Let me tell you, ‘That holiday feeling’ did not just come from spending time at the beach, it came from living a life of maybe a bit too much ‘sod it lets get a round of ice creams’, stopping at the supermarket to pick up beach picnic food and a few too many cheers bubbles! The little treats all add up so this summer although I intend to have just as much fun, I also know we need to rein in the holiday vibes ever so slightly.

I believe my last relocation post was one of my first ever blog posts. I am now further into my blogging journey and it is one of the best things I have ever done, at a time where I was feeling a bit lonely and daunted with my new social situation i.e.. new place and no friends, blogging rescued me. I joined the Bournemouth Bloggers network with a bit of encouragement from my lovely friend Emma who runs the network, who I had met at a local messy play group. I have been to some incredible events this year and met some truly amazing people. As someone who has suffered with anxiety over the years, the blog is a great outlet for me and the social aspect of the events has really pushed me out of my comfort zone at a time it was needed. I have been fortunate enough to see huge growth on both my social media and blog and this in turn has led me to work with some great brands in the past 6 months. I am and will always be extremely grateful for opportunities that come my way and the continuous support of my followers and readers.

The littles have settled in to school very well and no longer have that newbie feeling. It has amazed me how accepting they have been to change. They had the best summer of their lives and now 2020 is here we are all on the countdown to those warmer days. My husband started a great job shortly after the move and not only is he loving it but he also spends a lot more time at home than he ever has done before, with the added perk of an early finish on a Friday meaning we get extra weekend time, the balance has been perfect for adjusting to our new lifestyle and it has been great having him around more for extra support at a time of such great change.

The house is coming along well, we have near on completed all of upstairs, which including taking a wall down and a full bathroom refit isn’t bad going. We will be taking a bit of a break after we do the landing, stairs and hallway to recoup some money, enjoy a bit of rest and save up for phase two. We are hoping to begin planning and potentially starting our extension in 2021 but we need to pay down some of the debt we have encured from renovating to make sure we are in the best possible position when it comes to taking on an expensive and time consuming task like an extension. As with the renovations we have done so far, even when we stop for our break we will still have plenty to do! With buying a fixer upper half the battle is making things temporarily liveable and that is exactly what we will be doing with downstairs. With potentially another two years until the extension is done we need to give downstairs a temporary makeover, also on our hit list for this year is the garden, doing up some furniture and snagging some of the finer details of rooms we have already done. So don’t worry, there will still be plenty more renovation updates coming from us this year.

As always being honest and real is my priority and while this blog post seems sickeningly happy of course there have been obstacles, darker times and struggles since my last update. Renovating around three children is tough, tougher than I ever thought it would be, I feel a lot of guilt sometimes that they live in an imperfect home with busy and often stressed parents, but like everything in life I try to keep in my mind that this is a phase and will pass. I love renovating and we are enjoying making our house a home but I can’t deny that we crave a bit of the old normality that we used to have at sometimes. I have always struggled with anxiety, especially in times where I feel out of control or like life is a bit upside down, life is often upside down these days and I feel as though doing up the house has meant that we still do not have much routine even one year on. As a result I have gained weight this year and my mental health has been a bit up and down at times. This year I will be tackling becoming more healthy and concentrating more on my wellbeing, these tend to go hand in hand with me and tackling one naturally results in improvement in the other. All in all a whirlwind but very exciting year, I look forward to updating you all again in the near future.

Chynna xxx