The Key To Our Future

Ola Senors! 

Finally the day has come where Mr. Warehouse and I are within touching, tasting and smelling distance of our new home! To that in less than 24 hours I will be officially a homeowner, joining the league of people who end up staying at home binging on box sets and not going out on the lash for lack of money as every penny is been eaten up as they have joined the mortgage club. 

Gone are the days of controversial blog posts about "The Story of a Generation Robbed" and Wish I Was Born In The 80's! where I felt like a disadvantaged generation that has to fight for everything just to make ends meet. The world has moved on from the days of past generations and whilst I am now able to pay for just about anything using my mobile phone and share my opinion on something called "social media", my generation still struggles with the simple things such as getting a fair wage in the workplace and a decent place to live - Rented or Mortgaged! However, a few weeks ago I had a phone call from the Housing Association stating that the list of snagging given to the builders the last time over a fortnight ago had not been done at all and now we were to be expecting a provisional new Handover of 31st October 2018. But on top of all that was the bombshell that the floor plans we were initially shown at the point of sale were wrong. And not by a little either. 

The plan that my Fiance (I still like saying that) and I were sold was that on the ground floor as you come in the front door you would be greeted by the staircase on your right hand side. To your left would be the kitchen in a horse shoe shape with the door facing the oven on the exact opposite wall. Next door on the left hand side would be the downstairs bathroom which would include a privacy window facing out to our driveway. Entering through the door at the other end of the hallway to the front door would be rectangular Lounge/Diner, stretching the length of the property and leading out into our large garden through a patio door which would also have an adjacent window. Whilst the layout of the ground floor still contains the staircase on your right hand side and the same horse shoe shaped kitchen with the door facing the oven on the exact opposite wall, the downstairs bathroom was now to be positioned under the stairs on the right rather than the left meaning that a privacy window would not exist. Continuing through the door at the other end of the hallway to the front door would be a now "L-shaped" Lounge/Diner, stretching the length of the property and eating into the area where the downstairs bathroom was supposed to be. 

Upstairs on the first floor following on from the stairs positioned on the right-hand side of the property, we were expecting to have the main bathroom right in front of us with a large privacy window so as to allow for natural light, followed by the two double bedrooms to the front and the back of the property. Although this had changed from our initial plans and now will be the main bathroom sandwiched between the two double bedrooms and will not include a privacy window potentially making it dark and unnaturally lit.

After getting over the fact that the Housing Association knew all along that the floor plans, initial dimensions and specifications for the house had changed in the very early days of the build process, even before any bricks had been laid, I calmed explained that Mr Warehouse and I will need to view the property in person before we make any snap decisions. 

Of course she obliged and despite asking for months and months for a viewing of the property in whatever condition or state it was in within a few hours and by end of play that day we had a two hour slot to visit our new home and it's all new layout. Our contact at the Housing Association assured us that because of all of this that we would be well within our right to withdraw from our contract to buy going on to state that the responsibility would also live with the housing association in order to make payments to our solicitors, mortgage lender and mortgage broker, reimbursing us totally for our cost and making us at ground zero again. The other option we have is to suck it up and live with it, literally. 

Once my future Hubby and I had seen the property and had a chance to measure up not just the windows but also every nook, cranny and corner in order to draw up our own floor-plan we were already in the knowledge that both of us were highly committed to this purchase and with such a huge investment, the biggest any one person or couple will ever make in their lifetime, every penny of our savings we had was in this. The next few days myself and Mr Warehouse consulted our solicitor and further legal advice in order to ascertain what our next steps would be. With this in mind though, we did not have much choice but quite frankly selling us a house that was built completely wrong and not in the specified way we were told it would be is not on and I was angry. Still between decisions, I received an email from the Housing Association detailing that, nearly a week early, they had taken handover of the property finally and that we should probably consult our solicitor with a date for completion and move. 

A slightly presumptuous move I thought given the fact that we had not even accepted the property in its current new format, however after months of handover dates being missed, moved and postponed coupled with constant snagging and the odd issue thrown in for good measure, we finally had some good news! After looking at a couple of properties online and making the conscious decision that if we were to live in the flat much longer we would go insane or end up killing each other Mr Warehouse and I decided to take the adults decision and accept the property as it was. 

And so here we are with less than a fortnight left in our old, 18th-century-converted one-bed flat just outside the heart of Bedford Town Centre, I will soon be reporting to you from the idyllic countryside estates of Cranfield! Within the next twelve-hours money will be transferred several times over eventually ending up in the solicitors hand ready to go and for Mr Warehouse and I to finally get our hands on those stainless steel set of keys to our first ever home ...

'Til next time, Love A.Lou xx 

Festivities for Two!

Good Morning, 

So it would appear after the fun that I had last week I had forgotten to do a blog post. But surely I can be forgiven for it was Christmas day after all. However with all the last minute planning and preparation that went on it was a bit of a higgledee-piggledee day. I mean to put into contrast up until a fortnight before the big day me and Mr Warehouse had nowhere and no one to spend the big day with apart from our usual Christmas Day brunch at the home of one of Mr Warehouse's Brothers. On a casual chat to my Nanny Pumpkin we had arranged that Mr Warehouse and I would join her and my granddad to celebrate Christmas together. I suppose that some people would say we should have spent the day with our significant others families, however we've both Mr Warehouse's mum living too far away and my dad not making plans until the very last minute we decided to go it alone. 

With Christmas day falling on a Monday, in the days leading up to Santa coming Mr Warehouse and I set about seeing all the family members that we wouldn't normally see on the day itself, going round for tea, cake and seemingly collecting presents like they were Pokemon's. The evening before Mr Warehouse and I joined Miss Tweedle-Dee, Miss Tweedle-Dumb and her fiance to give our presents and enjoy possibly our last meal together since Miss Tweedle-Dumb's and her Hubby-to-be are emigrating to Canada after he bagged a job out there. Miss Tweedle-Dee, Miss Tweedle-Dumb and her fiance treated me to a travel wallet, gel nail manicure set, Bumble-Bee necklace and a few more things for my wish list. After what was a lovely meal at The Fancott near the M1 and Toddington we all parted ways and hoped the other had a wonderful Christmas. 

Waking the following morning it was strange not being met with my dad and his cooking for breakfast. No Eggs benedict or Eggs royale or even a slice of toast. Mr. Warehouse was so kind enough however to wake me up with a fresh cup of coffee. Opening our presents from other people we were pleasantly surprised and delighted with the wonderful gifts that everyone had thought of.Mostly from my aunties and uncles as well as my dad we have a lot of different things to do over the next few months. Lots of vouchers for meals out, cinema date nights and a birds of prey experience. This is in addition to the many boxes of chocolates, biscuits and other sweet treats. Mr. Warehouse spoilt to be with gifts of make-up, make-up brushes, jewelry from Pandora, a driving car experience day and lots, lot more items from my never-ending wish list. 

Heading over to brunch with Mr Warehouse's Brothers and family we were gifted more items of joy including beer, a ball launcher (mainly for the pup I think), yet more chocolate and other lovelies! Joking around with the idea that maybe next year Mr Warehouse and I can host Christmas Brunch in our own home. Bought or rented, well that is a whole other question. Following on from seeing the children open their presents, me and the bae headed to my grandparents house to continue our Christmas day as planned. 

And so with the big day over and the next few days off I settled in for a little R&R. The day after Boxing Day was spent by jumping straight back into the swing of things with getting my personal training sessions. Snow falling heavily Britain has definitely missed out on a White Christmas this year by a smidgin. Nevertheless I had plans to go into town hitting the shops in order to find a few bargains in the January sales that as usual had started earlier than January. But I left my TV and sofa called and so I spent the rest of that first day on my bottom. Unfortunately the following few games I was in too much aches and pains from my gym session with my Personal Trainer to do much. The remaining games off for me was spent on the couch, although I was able to get out on Friday and Sunday to hit the shops for a spot of retail therapy. 

As the days melted away I started to plan and look forward to spending New Year's Eve with Mr Warehouse's family welcoming in 2018. Disappointingly this turned out to not be the case as the establishment we were planning to spend the last few hours of 2017 was closed with very little warning. Pissed, I desperately began trying to ring around and talk to other venues in the local area that may be able to accommodate a large party consisting of both adults and children. A few were available but after all the effort Mr. Warehouse and I had decided to don the Jim-Jams and welcome in the New Year alone. 

The festive season for me has not entirely gone to plan and with my Granddad now in hospital recovering from a Thoracentesis procedure to drain the fluid from his lungs it has not been the best start to the year. I am hoping that 2018 will be good to me with a nice luxe beach holiday with Mr. Warehouse, more travelling and most importantly, lots of saving to be had in order to reach the goal of eventually Mr. Warehouse and I owning our own home, hopefully before the festivities of next year again. Better to start sooner rather than later! 

'Til next time, Love A.Lou xx

New Year, New Me and All That Bollocks!

Hello Dears!

Happy New Year 2016! I hope that your New Years was as manic and amazing as mine, although maybe some of you would prefer the Non-Alcoholic-Mocktail version since I have pretty much drank enough beer, wine and spirits to sink the Titanic. 

Suffice to say though that I have had a very relaxing Christmas and New Year. Crazy and very busy at times but more often than not I found myself smiling and laughing with everyone around me. Most of the days I have had off from work on my shut-down, I am not proud to say, I spent in front of the Telly chowing down on the mountain of chocolate I got rather than visiting friends and family. But that is something I need to work on next year: Seeing more friends and family in those lazy days between Christmas and New coming year. Hopefully though I will be in my very own little car and be on the road by then, although I feel this is an incredibly optimistic stance on what is shaping up to already be a very busy year. 

Although before I commenced 2016 I was found spending the last few days of 2015 hanging out in the Bedfordshire Countryside with Mr. Warehouse and his doggy, going for walkies (even if they were just down to the local shops for yet more food!) as well as that one, somewhat productive day, when Mr. Warehouse and I went shopping and yet spent no money at all after having a wonderful time catching up with my family at a local Costa Coffee (yes, I know I betrayed Starbs but it was the families choice not mine!). 

But as New Years Eve rolled around I still had no set plans. So when head of Mr. Warehouse's family called for everyone to come down to the local social club for a few then who was I to say no, especially when there is a DJ and the potential to sneak in your own alcohol! Which I might add that Myself nor Momma Warehouse had any involvement in doing - Those miniatures were there already! 

Sat at the kitchen table, workstations (designated areas of a room to get ready for a night out in AKA drinking/refill stations, make-up stations, hair stations, ect) inadvertently already set up in every corner of the room we had finished the fun of dolling up ourselves and with half hour to spare Mr. Warehouse, Momma Warehouse and I thought it would be a good idea to play a drinking game. Unfortunately I forgot to bring my Cards Against Humanity game and so we got by with drinking our overly boozed beverages every time we heard the title to any song. First on the list? The aptly named 'Shots' by LMFAO. This was a disaster! around 70 times that bloody song has the word 'Shots' in it! Wasted by the time our lift arrived, queue Momma Warehouse and I falling into the local shop to get some cash out and buy cigarettes and then diving back into the car before anyone could see how pissed we were already! 

Walking into the venue we realised whilst we were not the only ones seated around the dance-floor, we were certainly all related in one way or another. It was like a family/work reunion with some family faces from both the office, warehouse and Mr. Warehouse's family. Near enough downing a few Screwdrivers (Orange Juice and Vodka) I hit the wooden floor, covered by this point in lazers, strobes and fog. Although it wasn't long before a few little faces made it into my personal space and started trying to play a god awful game of 'Tag - Your It'. I soon quietened their pre-pubescent selves with a little Macarena and Cha-Cha-Slide therapy and a strict "No! I'm drinking and getting wasted now - Go away children!" and that seemed to do the just the trick. 

Count down beginning I thought back to last New Years 2014/2015 and realised that at this precise moment I was either in the toilet or in a muddle puddle at the bottom of a children's slide missing the countdown. This year however I was in the middle of the dance floor, dancing with my dearest Mr. Warehouse, his family and our friends surrounding us and as we began to count backwards I suddenly became scared and anxious about what the next year would bring me and my life. Over the next year I plan to learn to drive, buy a car, go on a few more nice holidays and even maybe a few other surprises! As the DJ stopped to ring out the bells of Big Ben in London I felt overwhelmed and as I was pulled in for a loving hug by my boyfriend I felt more excited and happy than I think I ever felt. Squeezing each other tight we didn't let go. But eventually we were prised apart by Momma Warehouse yelling at her son to "Get down to one fucking knee and propose to the poor girl already!" Ahh yes, she was slightly sozzled bless her little miniature bottles ... I mean heart! Laughing it off as normal we went around everyone in the pub that night wishing them and their friends and families to come a very Happy and healthy New year and to make 2016 an even better one! 

Waking up the next morning with a fuzzy mouth and an achey head I took some time at breakfast with Mr. Warehouse and Momma Warehouse to look back on the previous evenings activities. Starting the evening with selfies and cute close-ups, I had ended my evening sitting in the living room, legs a kimbo, Labrador on my lap and my fake eyelashes now off and stuck underneath my nose in a very unorthodox salute to a tyrannical leader of 1940's Germany! 

So it seems that my new years is off to a good start and I mean to carry it on well with the coming months churning out a trip to Dublin and southern Ireland as well as a Christening in a few weeks. Spring will bring me birthdays galore and all the engagements that come with such celebrations. Summer will hopefully see me off on another rumbustious holiday with Miss Tweedle-Dee and Miss Tweedle-Dumb as well as a wedding with Mr. Warehouse and his family down in Newquay and a new baby will be arriving sometime in the summer, making Mr. Warehouse an Uncle for the fourth time. September will bring about yours-truely and her special day and then into the winter months I plan to spend some time travelling cold, snowy Europe before passing my test and buy a car so that Christmas and New Years 2016 can be just that little easier logistically. 

So my New Years Resolutions are as follows I am hoping you have a successful time as me:
1. Get up off the couch, put down the Cadburys and Cheetos and get to a more happier size. Whilst I realise that every year I say "get into a size 12 by Christmas" I actually want to do it. Well at least I want to think about it anyway?!
2. Save enough money by working unsociable and unhappy hours at the call-centre so I can learn to drive and buy a car ergo ensuing many more adventures, places to see and things to do. 
3. Finally face up to the fact that I am, at some point, going to have to let Mr. Warehouse move in with me. 
4. Try and go on more holidays and work out where else in the world I can go that isn't going to cost me an entire years salary. 
5. And on the subject of money ... Get more of it!

A Happy and Safe New Year 2016! 

'Til next time, Love A.Lou xx

Fiery Frumps, Fabulous Furs and Festivities Galore!

Evening All, 

And a very Happy New Year to everyone. Hope 2015 has been treating you well and that you are all now mid-binge, scoffing chocolate and downing wine from all your Christmas/New Years Resolution-Detox. I love a good binge! But alas I have set myself some New Years Resolutions for myself for the coming year. Loosing weight never works and actually I think I am happy being a wobbly but normal looking lady. I am in no need to slim down because the man I am with finds me sexy just as I am. What a darling?! I am however cutting down on take-out and am sticking to once or twice a month at most. Secondly I plan to improve my time-keeping and not be late which will no end make my nearest and dearest happy, especially long suffering BFF's - Miss Tweedle-Dee and Miss Tweedle-Dumb. Other than that though I have not much planned although I would like to travel more and maybe even learn to drive? No doubt I shall keep you informed on my going-on's as today I celebrate over two-years of writing for you all. 

One thing that New Years also does is encourage people to get out there and drink to oblivion, partying into the wee small hours and kissing strangers at the stroke of Midnight. No this is not Cinderella, it is I ... Abbey-Lou. Despite being quite pissed by the time I left my work colleagues on Christmas Eve last week and continuing the festivities well into Christmas Day and Boxing Day (Clocking up into the double figures on bottles of Rose I might add), I still felt the need to completely obliterate myself on New Years Eve. Spending the last few hours of 2014 with Mr. Warehouse and a few friends including Mr. Creepy-Warehouse-Guy himself. Starting on the Prosecco with four-hours to go I started slow but bubbles always get me wasted and very, very quickly too. Nevertheless I was slightly sozzled by the time we reached the local pub in Marston Mortaine in Bedford. 

As the evening continued I danced the night away to hits including the Macarena, The Cha Cha Slide and even catching the end of Mambo Number Five after being so drunk I couldn't get off the toilet. With about half hour left before the New Year Kicked in Mr. CWG suggested that beyond the children's Slide in the beer garden there were some swings. Now I love swings (Although I must stress I am no swinger although a consider-er) and upon hearing this fantastic and magical news I proceeded in platforms to discover such wonder and merriment. It was not to be found though as I soon discovered that not only was the ground soft and wet from the rain, but the grass was boggy and that it would only be a matter of time before I fell over. No sooner had I thought this I misplaced my footing and was plunged head first into a freezing cold mud pit. Tenacious through and through I stood and found my way to the swings. Cold and wet I realised that this was not one of the better ideas I had ever had and so went back to find the others and Mr. Warehouse. His face was not best pleased as I walked back through the packed public house with mud and dirt dripping from my chin to my toes.

After cleaning myself up in the toilets, finding more booze at the bar and throwing some shapes on the dance-floor I realised people were chanting. "...5...4...3...2...1..." I could hear them counting away. Realising it was finally New Year I grabbed my man and holding onto for dear life we kissed passionately before we joined a bunch of people I don't know and will never know to sing 'Auld Lang Syne'. The night concluded by me somehow getting home after falling over several more times and then being sick in Mr. Warehouse's dog's bowl. Nice! And with some recovering in the form of good food, great company and some well needed time to sober up the past few days, Mr. Warehouse and I decided to take a trip to London. 

Waking early on Sunday morning Mr. Warehouse and I struggled to not to have sex with each other as normal in the mornings let alone prise ourselves from the warmth of the bed sheets. Stepping out into the icy air I thought that it would soon warm up and after postponing for a day because of the weather already I personally was determined to do something other than lounge around and waste yet another day in front of the box. But it didn't get any warmer. In fact it only got worse. Minus-two-degrees-Celsius it got yesterday. Minus-two. Now I know to some of you in other parts of the world must have thought that this kind of temperature was normal, maybe even mild, but here in Blighty it was more than just a bit nippy. Frosty fingers and thawed thighs began to melt as Starbucks trickled down our throats, easing the missing of the first train. 

Soon enough though we were in the Big Smoke and strange as it were I was more anxious and dubious about going. It had been almost a year to the day that I had left London and my on/off relationship with Mr. Cheese and to be back was just odd. Constantly in a rush I kept feeling myself slip into the mode of Londoner whereby you want to get from 'A' to 'B' as quickly as possible. Nevertheless I really enjoyed my time with Mr. Warehouse, wandering around the sites of the City and major landmarks before heading to the Natural History Museum for some culture and to see stuffed animals, rather like a dead zoo. Now if you have not gone then I strongly suggest you do. Not only will you be walking around the Mammal section making up voices and tag lines for the lifeless soles but you will also be enthralled in the beauty of these creatures and just how spectacular life can be. 

After a few selfies with Hippopotamuses and Porpoises alike Mr. Warehouse and I headed to the luxury that is the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to visit one of the world's most prestigious stores ... Harrods of London! Immediately stepping out onto the Winter Knightsbridge pavement, Mr. Warehouse became alarmingly aware of his surroundings and just by looking at him you could tell he was completely out of his comfort zone. Trying to make him feel at ease I thought I would start with the Pet Shop. Asking the footman on the door as to where we were in the direction of he explained that this had been closed for more than a year. Instead I marched Mr. Warehouse and I to the womenswear department. Lift doors opening my eyes nearly exploded. All I could see was fur. Mink, Rabbit, Fox, Chinchilla and Alpaca, All of it real as life itself once was for these animals. I was in fur heaven! And the best thing about all of this was not only were the clothing and accessories made with real and bonafide, quality fur; But there was a sale on! All of the top designers were there: Gucci, Prada, Dior and my favourite Valentino were all hosting their coats and jackets. Dolce and Gabbana was one of the only boutiques I actually had a proper nose around and whilst Mr. Warehouse felt like a fish out of water I needed this. I couldn't go home to a fluffy dog and I certainly didn't have the money for the four and five figure price-tags on some of these outerwear so I had to indulge myself whenever I could. 

Revelling in the luxury and hungrily running my hands over the garments made me feel happy. But my boyfriends face did not. And so sensing the shop assistant clocking that we were not here to buy and the fact that Mr. Warehouse was now tired and grumping we headed for the tube home. Unfortunately my dear lover's attention was captured by a lady at the till. Not for her stunning good looks or celebrity status, oh no! It was because she had just bought the red-dyed Mink fur cropped jacket and with a price tag more than what Mr. Warehouse earns in a year he took it completely to heart. Storming off and in a foul mood for the rest of the day until we got into bed he ranted on about this women and where her money came from, how she got it, where she spent it and what on. Nothing I did appeased him and as he ranted on about how that one item of clothing could have written off his debts more than five-times-over and how there were more deserving people of the money spent - Mainly him I figured?! He still wouldn't pipe down as we were sitting down to dinner, my treat, at Honest Burger in Kings Cross - Genuinely one of the best burgers I think you will ever have in your entire existence. If you haven't been there then go and if you have well what are you waiting for ... GO AGAIN! I think if I ever had to choose my favourite-est (yes that is a word) restaurant in the world then that would be it. With only five across the whole capital I am glad that I splurged but I just wished my boyfriend wasn't so hung up about money, especially since it wasn't even his.

Nevertheless we had a good day out and exhausted as we were we still managed to find time to fuck at the end of the day. Falling asleep in each others I whispered about how hard it is going to be not having him next to me as most if not all of the past few weeks over the Christmas and New Years break from work we have spent together, drifting off as one. I am so used to being spooned and only having to reach out for Mr. Warehouse at night, it is going to be strange not sleeping together. But alas I must oblige as the alternative of moving in with each other is far, far too soon. And besides, I like my own space and time away from him. I think it makes us stronger and better as a couple. 

Looking into 2015, I don't know what the world will bring me, but one thing is for sure, this year blogging-wise I plan to continue with my life as a twenty-something and enjoy life to its fullest keeping you all in the loop and giving you the scoop on what's hot and what's not in the world of moi! I will however be trying to shorten my tales of fun and frolics as I feel they are too long sometimes. How I do love to witter on. If however you would like me to continue writing big long essay's that fill up your coffee breaks at work and evenings in bed then feel free to message me, I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions as well as any ideas for making my life a little more interesting or what you would like me to do in 2015! Serious suggestions please I do not want to be bummed by Barack Obama nor do I want to give a hand-job to a slightly aggressive Yak. 

'Til next time, Love A.Lou xx

Welcome

OK. So firstly welcome to my blog and the first post of the new year. It is January the fist and like many other people across the country I have made a few new year resolutions for 2013. I firstly thought that maybe getting a job might be a good idea and then on Christmas eve I had a phone call from a interview I had earlier in the week and was told that the job was mine. So now I am a working women as an administrator and general clerical assistant for a local flooring company. I start tomorrow. Find a job. Tick!

Next on my new years resolutions list is to loose some chunk. I am not a BBW as they would say in the industry but I am not a skinny french fry either I like to class myself as a 'normal' sized women and enjoy flaunting the fact that I'm not a twig. But yes I think that I could do with some toning up and slimming down. At some point as well during the new year, I want to move out of my parents place and into an abode of my own. My friends have already started buying me things for my new pad and I cant wait to finally have a place to call and make home. Once I have my own place I want to purchase a little French bulldog puppy. I have no name ideas as yet but I kinda wanna keep it French but would be grateful for any suggestions.

On another one of my many growing plus points so far this year is a possible blossoming 'thing'. I don't want to divulge too much as I don't want to spoil something before it has even happened. He is a childhood sweetheart and we re-kindled our friendship just before Christmas last year. He is very sweet and extremely overprotective, which is an odd experience for an independent and self-sufficient young lady such as myself. We are planning a few dates and I really do enjoy spending time with him but I want to take it slow and not end up in he same train wreck that I did last time I said the 'L' word and fell head over heels for someone. Slow and steady won the race said the tortoise.

And so now I shall make like the tortoise and sign off for the evening. After the night I had last night I think I need a well deserved bath and a catch up with my telly.

'Til next time, Love A.Lou :) xx