First ever blog post. No pressure!

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Massive picture of my face which no one wants to look at on a desktop, trust me!

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So, here’s the thing. I am not going to pretend that I am a creative writer, nor an interior designer. This blog is about having a little weekly share, debate, indulgence, brag, and diary for ME, and hopefully for YOU to enjoy too. I’m going to try and keep what I write short and interesting, primarily so I actually bloody do this and keep it going. Granted, that’s a bold promise to be interesting to you all, but I’m going to give it a shot and just hope you get inspired reading about my little projects and adventures around our house and garden.

If you’ve landed on this page, you will hopefully know by now that I’m Katie, and I live with Will, a.k.a ‘The Boy’. He’s my boyfriend/partner/best friend/bully and manages to me keep me on my toes at all times. I thought I should start this blog with with some more info about me to help set the scene for my world, and future blog posts, hopefully!

Naturally, I’ll talk about this in relation to the places I’ve laid my hat and called home….

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Born in the 80s, and raised in Northampton.

I grew up in a modest family home and was raised by a single Mum after my parents divorced. I have a great relationship with both my Mum and Dad, but it’s fair to say my Mum was the 1980s power woman who did it all - she went from being broke to having a brilliant career, raising two kids, running the house, mastering DIY and craft (she’s taught me everything I know) and putting me and my brother through university. She’s an inspiration! I get my drive, determination and love for a good project all from her. (I get my skills for drinking, partying and love for food from my Dad!).

My Nan features a lot in our home. Just like me, she was a hoarder and a treasure seeker who loved being at home and filling her rooms with epic finds, mostly iconic mid century furniture (THANK YOU NAN!). Her home was the heart of our family for a long time and I knew that one day when I had my forever home, I would do the same and faff about with treasures just like she did. I am so lucky, privileged and honoured to have inherited so many pieces, from dinner sets to chairs, the Ercol day bed, to the best 1960s Ercol arm chair that still has it’s original tropical print fabric and brown fringing that I LOVE and promised my Nan I would never change.

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I went to Aston University to study Marketing…

and it was the best decision of my life! Sometimes I wonder what my life would be if I studied architecture or interior design, but 17 odd years ago I had the fear of whether I could make a career out of something I wasn’t sure I was even good at. My brother was the creative one (and has gone on to become a mega successful Creative Director) and rightly or wrongly, I never felt as creative. Marketing was the next best vocation. I enjoyed it. I was good at it, and it felt the right thing to do, so that was that. Mum packed me off and she cried all the way home and all weekend whilst I was having the time of my life getting shitfaced meeting new people who went on to become my life long best friends. I can not share a single photo from my uni days. Apologies!

Will and I first met 10 years before our first date

at Aston University through the Hockey club. We only met a few times during Uni despite having so many mutual friends, but in the summer of 2007 one of my best friends lived with him after we graduated and we had some big nights out together. He had AMPLE opportunity to ask me out. He never did! I didn't see Will again until April 2015 when he finally made a move at a friends birthday party, bought me a McDonalds, and swept me off my feet.

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From London to Harpenden to Germany

I had the best send off from Vauxhall to Germany (this is just the card!)

After University I started on the graduate scheme at Vauxhall in Luton and did what most grads do in their 20s - work hard and play hard. I look back now and have no idea how I could go out in the week and survive on 4-5 hours sleep a night. I was also young and naive and thought I should live in London and commute out to Luton. That lasted about 9 months I think. Stupid idea! So I moved to Harpenden and had my first home for just me. It was a ground floor flat in an old victorian detached building with bags of character and features. I loved it and soon realised how much I enjoyed decorating and thinking of interior design ideas. I can’t tell you how annoying it is now to realise I don’t have a single photo of this flat other than a few dodgy ones of my drunken friends hogging the entire photo and my beautiful home barely visible in the background.

I was 25 when an incredible thing happened. It was a pinch yourself, this is real kind of moment. I got a new job working at the head office in Germany and on an expat contract! I was given a stunning city centre apartment in Frankfurt and for 3.5 years I had the time of my life. I worked bloody hard, probably the hardest I have ever worked in my life, but I also had that city centre life I always wanted. I could literally stumble home after nights out. I had bars and restaurants on my street. Even the Frankfurt Christmas Market was outside my building door (lethal throughout the entire month of December).

My apartment was huge, modern, industrial, open plan, typically German with quality parquet flooring, huge windows, and premium fixtures and fittings. WHY DID I NOT TAKE MORE PHOTOS!!!! WHY DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT STYLING!!! These are literally the only photos I have that Mum and I took just after we finished unpacking everything and it started to look homely. Yep, my Mum came to stay to help me move in and settle. What a woman! I do shudder now at my design choices but we are talking 10 years ago here people. Try not to judge.

I think I’ll leave this one here for now, as my next move was coming home to England, oddly enough back to Northampton and to the first house I ever bought. The house I first lived in with a Boy. That needs it own blog post ok!

This is fun.

Loves all round

Katie x

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