As you've obviously gathered from the title, our little family is growing by one more in June 2017. I'm sorry I didn't put more of a surprise twist into my announcement but we are just too excited to keep it a secret any longer. (We have been hiding it for around 11 weeks now!) Before I had children I had been told by my doctor that the likelihood of me ever having children of my own was very slim. So when we found out that we were expecting our first we were so overjoyed that we couldn't wait to tell our family and friends the good news. But this time we fancied keeping it to ourselves for a little while and came up with a way of surprising our family and friends. Last Friday was the date of an annual Christmas Fayre in a neighbouring town and the whole family was due to attend plus a few friends so we figured that would be a great time to make the announcement. It also just happened to be the day of our 12 week scan which luckily was in the morning. After the scan we headed straight to the fayre to meet our families who were already gathered at a restaurant awaiting our arrival. Once we got there we continued for about an hour or so into the meal acting normally and engaging in normal conversations. I remember whenever I caught my fiancés eye I couldn't help but smile knowing we were keeping this secret. Finally the moment came and my fiancé casually asked his mum to grab the white card from inside our daughters bag. Watching her face try and figure out what it was, and then seeing the surprise appear was truely amazing! It wasn't long before everyone got the gist and started hugging and congratulating us. I know it wasn't an elaborate reveal, (I have seen some truely fantastic ways online with other people revealing their latest editions.) but it was really lovely and special to us having everyone there and letting them all in on the secret at the same time. Our daughter who will be 2 in February, seems to be taking the news really well (although I'm not sure she's really taking it in at the moment) and to make her feel extra special we bought her a big sister top. I'm so nervously excited about the next part and I would truely love to hear your stories on how you or anyone you know may have tipped off that they were expecting. I would also love to hear on how you managed with more than one child. Thinking about those early few weeks juggling a newborn and toddler does make me very nervous, so any hints are welcome!
Thanks for reading! Georgia Day of Knights
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Making a house a home is not something that happens over night. Usually it takes time, patience and memories for your home to start feeling your own. And the first thing you want to do when you move in is fill it with lovely things but it can become quite addictive, let alone expensive. When we moved into our current home I was about a third of the way through my pregnancy with our daughter, so we didn't have a large budget for furnishings. But through careful purchases and shopping around we soon able to fill our new house with some lovely home comforts. With that in mind, I've listed a few bargains that we've managed to grab over the years. And hopefully that may give you some inspiration on how you can furnish your home on a budget. 1) Freebies - We managed to furnish a great deal of our house through free items. Some of which came from websites like guntree and free pages on Facebook, and others were passed on from family and friends. We actually 'bought' our 3 seater sofa from gumtree, for free, and it was from a very nice home in great condition. Another great 'purchase' was one for our bathroom, as we had a large space to fill I was looking for a large mirrored unit and low and behold someone was giving away just that. So be sure to keep an eye out for any specific or key items you may want or need, because someone's trash literally could be you're treasure. (Also don't be afraid to do a little DIY. The unit was just plain wood when I brought it home, but a few coats with some paint and I managed to get a beautiful customised unit which fit perfectly with my decor, all for the price of a tin of paint.) Auctions/Charity Shops - If you are finding freebies in your area hard to come by, then you may want to look in your local charity shops or auctions. What's great is that you will often find good quality, solid wood items which in any retail store would be priced well above 3 times what you will pay at an auction or charity shop. When we were decorating my daughters nursery we bagged a child's wardrobe and matching end table for a total of £5! (That's £2.50 each!) My fiancé's granddad bought a corner unit and wooden rocking chair from a charity shop near him for £5 each. I painted them with the chosen colours for her nursery and without breaking the bank we had lovely matching nursery furniture for grand total of £15! Budget Stores - Sometimes it can be nice just to own something brand new. Especially if you're having difficulty finding anything that takes your fancy in auctions or online. When we first moved into our house a little over 2 years ago our bedroom furniture was made up of a mix-match of hand me down items. And whilst we were really greatfull for them at the time, we recently decided that we were ready to get a matching bedroom set. We purchased all of the furniture from Ikea, for just over £1000. I know what you are thinking; that's not cheap? But that price included, a king size bed with a mattress, an end table, 2 chest of drawers, 2 wardrobes and a half wardrobe with 4 internal drawers. And in comparison to other furniture stores we tried, we were actually able to save over £900! Which I think is a great bargain! If that is a little out of your price range then you can always try somewhere like 'B and M'. When me and my fiancé moved into our first flat, we bought our bedroom furniture from there for around £215. And whilst the quality and size was not quite what we have currently with Ikea, it was very affordable at the time and it did last us over a year and a half. So there you have it, my three tips on how we furnished our home on a budget. I hope that you were able to find a tip to suit your own budget and maybe some inspiration too. And remember don't be shy, let me know if you've managed to score any bargains over the years, id love to hear your stories. Thanks again for reading.
Georgia Day of Knights |
About Me.Hi, I'm Georgia. Working Mum and Fiance. Join my Family as we try and navigate this roller coaster they call life. Archives
August 2017
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