Big New Things

Hello again, at long last. It's been a while, but big things are afoot - HUGE things, even.
It's been so long between blog posts - I'm not going to lie, blogging has been at the bottom of the list of priorities lately. Life is a whirlwind, a relentless nerve-wracking rollercoaster and this is the last ever blog post I will write sitting at the computer in the hallway of this, my dear old house.
I'm sitting here typing this on a whim when I really should be packing boxes because...
WE ARE MOVING.

After 11 memorable years here, it is time for a fresh start.
I love this house so much. SO MUCH.

But it's a lot to manage. It's old, and high maintenance and I am but one person with a bad back and two broken toes. And most importantly me and the kids need a fresh start, a blank slate.
It's kinda hard to move on with a new chapter of your life when you're surrounded by the ghosts of the old one.
So we've found a new home and we're moving there on January 8th.

It's very very different to where we live now.
Instead of hundred-year-old charm and character, we have brand new and shiny.

Our new house is part of a pocket community, a small private development just a stone's throw from where we live now, on the other side of the creek, just over the border of the next (slightly cheaper) suburb. The big kids will be able to stay in the school they're already enrolled in (Miss Fab starts high school in the new year!) and we'll be able to maintain the valuable relationships we have with our amazing friends in Mt Albert.

This move is huge (the kids were so young when we moved into our house, they don't remember living anywhere else). It's exciting (but bloddy stressful too).
But at the end of all this, in just mere days, we will be living in our brand new home. With A POOL! (a pool I don't have to maintain because it is shared by the pocket community).

The idea of the pocket community is that the neighbours will know and connect with each other, how fantastic is that for us? For me on my own? A real sense of community and security.

Our new house is gorgeous. Brand new with recycled wooden floors, a gas fireplace and an outlook over Oakley Creek and bush to my beloved maunga, Owairaka/Mt Albert.
I can't believe we get to live there.

(These are the home-staged real estate photos - I can't wait to make this house our home, with our eclectic mix of vintage, old and new. I've spent months selling off furniture I think won't suit the new house and collecting some new things. I will share the photos once we're in and set up, I promise)

Here's hoping this new move (and the new year) will be the beginning of happier times for all of us.

So wherever you are, however your Christmas went, I hope you get a chance to relax and enjoy some peace, and have a Happy New Year.
See you all on the other side...

Goodbye 1920's Bungalow - our home for the last 11 years. You were good to us and we will always love you. (My house stories collected here)