Maybe Not Love, But At Least Contentment

This weekend, P and I moved into our new rented house: a lovely three bedroom semi-detached family home. It's less than a mile from where we used to live in the Victorian cottage, but a whole world away.

I have forgotten how wonderful it is to be in a modern house where the building insulation is effective, the shower doesn't have a mind of its own going from hot to cold and hot again all in the space of two seconds and where mold doesn't lurk in every damp and dark corner. We also have two 'pp rooms' in this place, yahooooooo!

It was hard work but we managed to move everything within a day. Although we are not 100% there yet, we are close. We are in a wonderful little cul de sac of about a dozen houses, most of which are inhabited by retirees and families. There are other Asians here too and our immediate neighbour is a lovely lady from Tom Yum Land.

This is the view from our front yard:

On the day we moved, so many of them came out to meet us. We already have a dinner invitation from one of the Fragrant Harbour families two doors down! I'm happy.

Chynna loves it here too. She has had so much attention from everyone and she enjoys tearing round and round the back garden. And yes, this time, we have grass! Plus perfumed rose bushes, my absolute favourite flower.

We still need bits and pieces of furniture and once it's all completed, I will take photos and update the blog.

In the mean time, I have a 'sneak peek' of what is to come. The only room that is finished is the master bedroom. It is in my favourite shabby chic style with whites, creams, light browns and pale greens making it a calm oasis.

This is the view into our room from the hallway:

As there wasn't enough drawer space, I used two white open book shelves that the landlady had left behind for my sweaters, jeans and folded clothes. However, not wanting to leave it open to 'collect dust', I came up with the novel idea of using two of my vintage hand worked lace tableclothes to cover them up. I think it looks really pretty.

White baskets, lace and vintage chandeliers are the order of the day:

Best of all, our room overlooks the back garden:

I can't wait for the rest of the house to be finished. It will be amazing and I think you all will be particularly impressed with the dining room conservatory.

And while I may never love this country, at least in this house, even though we've only been here a few days, it feels like it could be home.