The house warming party

Well it should be more of a soiree really, and the theme will be beige! This is because I have really light carpets and I simply can't afford to get any stains on them for at least 6 months otherwise I'll be really upset.

Why oh why am I getting so protective over my carpets? I think my mother is definitely rubbing off on me. I never used to be this way... but then I never actually had my own place before with really light carpets. I think I need rugs... yes rugs will soothe the mind...

Anyone know of any cool rug shops in London? I need SOMETHING that doesn't come from IKEA!!

I'm all moved in

Yep that's that - I'm all moved in and have even put together my first bits of furniture i.e. a chair and a bookshelf. What more do you need? Well a sofa would be nice and maybe a table of some description. My furniture is being delivered in 'the first week of March' don't ask me exactly when... I'm debating whether to have the house warming before or after the furniture gets delivered. Before limits the risk of damage (although no-one's allowed to drink red wine anyway on account of the beige carpets) but after the delivery means that everyone can sit down... ooh I suppose it'll have to be after - I know what you're thinking - you're glad you're not invited and yes, debating about whether my guests should or shouldn't have a chair to sit on is perhaps a little harsh.

They could always use one of my floor cushions, or better still bring their own!

The ceremony of the keys

Hooray!! No more cold flat for me, I'm going to be getting the keys to my new place tomorrow! Then all I need next is a bed to go into the flat... I can't believe I'm going to have my own place - how fabulous!!
By the way if you're looking for furniture that makes an impact, take a look at www.maisonsdumonde.com. They have some brilliant designs - all different styles and not horrendously expensive either. The one draw back is that the furniture gets delivered from France.

So I'll be getting my keys tomorrow but probably won't be moving in there until a week later as the furniture isn't arriving till then! Ah well another week won't kill me and I love my housemates anyway so it's not going to be too much of a chore! Apart from the fact that they keep stealing my food... and toothpaste.

If you've ever lived in shared accommodation then you'll understand my pain (well, I say pain - it's more just slight irritation, but still worth a mention!). I absolutely love this book called 'I lick my cheese' - can't remember who it's by but it's a brilliant book that's made up of scanned messages sharers have left for one another. The notes illustrate the sublime, ridiculous and the downright dirty habits of our fellow humankind. Definitely a good read for those of us that need to be reminded that stealing cheese and toothpaste is slightly irritating but that it could always be worse!

Next time I'm here I could well be settled into my wonderful little flat! I'm so unbelievably excited!!

Freezing cold flat

I've still yet to move into a house that I can call my own but moved into a temporary house-share at the beginning of this month with some lovely blokes in Herne Hill.

Great area, great people and I'm really impressed with how tidy it's kept - especially seeing as they're all boys!

The only thing that's making me want to move out is the fact that it's soooo cold in the house. I go to bed in about 5 layers with my bed right up against the radiator and clutching a hot water bottle. The house itself is an old Victorian terrace with these huge sash windows that rattle and lose heat at an alarming rate. The heating itself is fine, so it's not the responsibility of the landlord to sort out insulation (or so I'm told). I've just checked the direct gov website and here are the criteria that must be met:

A property should be free of serious health and safety hazards, which means your landlord should ensure that problems in the home are dealt with before they lead to poor health or accidents.

Hazards can arise in the home because of its design, wear and tear, or a lack of maintenance. The most common hazards involve:

* inadequate heating, insulation and disrepair
* a lack of handrails, steep stairs and pool lighting which lead to falls
* damp and mould growth
* problems with personal and domestic hygiene
* fire

In practice, the landlord should check to ensure that the home is a warm and safe environment for the range of people who live there.

They do mention insulation so I'm going to write a letter to my estate agent (citing this paragraph) and see what they say!!


Wish me luck!

Home ownership here I come

It's been absolutely hectic at the moment - CRM newsletter is about to go live, we've started a new relationship with Shelter which is fantastic and we're reviewing all our site and email content too... not only this but I've got to sit down and think about my 2009 CRM/content plans. End of year madness - made all the better by the fact that I'm going on holiday next week!

'What am I going to be doing on holiday?' I hear you question. Well, dear reader, I'm sort of 'between houses' at the moment. Looking to rent in the very short term (which could prove costly) but then if I'm lucky, I could manage to get a place to buy! In either scenario, I'll mostly be spending my holiday surrounded by parcel tape and cardboard boxes/bin liners, deciding what out the multitude of cosmetics and clothes I can donate to charity or throw in the bin.

Entering the world of home ownership - the thought of owning an actual mortgage is terrifying! However my Mum's going to help me with the decoration - it's OK she's got good taste (or at least has the same tastes as me) and also has the most wonderful way of getting houses decorated and sorted - the perfect nester. Very well experienced in making a house a home, because she's done it so often, I have complete confidence that my Mum will be able to create ultimate IKEA fashion like some whirling dervish of style.

And yes, IKEA it is as every first-time buyer should know. If it weren't for IKEA, we'd all be crafting makeshift furnishings and tea-lights. I definitely won't be able to walk out of IKEA without one of those pointless bags of 100 tea-lights for £1. Potentially the ultimate impulse buy?

Geoff Capes tosses tradespeople

what's been going on then? Well, we've been really busy with the site re-launch and settling our user base into the new look and feel. Which hasn't been too taxing but still quite time-consuming. We did filming for our viral campaign on Monday. We managed to get Geoff Capes throwing people into a sand pit which worked rather well in a campaign to show that there are some tradesmen that you wouldn't trust as far as (yes you've guessed it) Geoff Capes could throw them.

Even the local ITV news team got involved! Other than that, I've been plugging our new Facebook fan page and sorting out my CRM campaign which is going to be implemented in the next few weeks.

Speak to you soon!