The First One To Get a House!

There are always moments with friends where you find yourself sat in a group circle talking about "who do you think is going to have kids first?" ; "I think _______ is going to be the first to settle down and buy a house" ; "And you, well you will just be young forever!"

I'm going to begin this post by showing you around first, then we'll close with the Back Story. Just to give you some context, this was my third visit to my best friend's place. Her name is Shaira and she is schooling life at the moment.

The house

So of course, I had to go in there and take pictures of absolutely everything, and share the tips and tricks that Shaira had up her sleeve in order to make her house a home.

Hello MTV, come and check out my crib...

So one thing I caught on to when I first drove into their estate was how beautiful it was! The amenities within the estate for one were amazing. All of the houses were newly built and it just seemed like such a great place to raise a child! When Shaira had taken Hans and I to see the lot before it was ready to be moved into, I noticed that their property was in a terraced block so I knew that for Christmas I was going to have to get her a personalised acrylic plaque so that the postman and her visitors would be able to distinguish number 4 from afar! (SIDENOTE: Obviously, I didn't get her a plaque with a hand pointing to the door, data protection and that!) I think it's a nice little touch, and if you too were looking to add that touch to your home, it doesn't come at too expensive a price. There are plenty of eBay retailers that will personalise and get it to you within good time! It's definitely worth checking out.

Where the magic happens...

Kettle & Toaster: B&M- £30

To me, the most important part of a household is the kitchen/dining room. Some of a family's best memories are made in the kitchen. I am an avid believer of keeping good company over good food. As you can see, the kitchen is very spacious and takes on an extremely modern touch with accents of creams, white and chrome. Despite being a west facing home, the big windows on both sides of the room allow for a beautiful light to filter in and fill the room.

Clock: The Range- £30

Dining Set: Argos- £112

What really adds vibrance to the room in my opinion is this staple clock. Genius idea if you ask me, I can tell the time and check myself out simultaneously. In a kitchen, mirrors tend to be a rare sight as it tends to be the room where you cook and you eat. However, by having this mirror-feature in the clock, it subtly creates the illusion of bigger space- talk about multipurpose.

Cookie Jar: Ikea- £3-5 (including the Oreos 😏)

Flowers & Vase: The Range- £5

Of course, let's zoom in on the cookie jar. Yes, derived and inspired by Khloe Kardashian and her infamous cookie jars, you know Shaira had to add this into the kitchen. The joke is this jar is for decoration only. No one is to eat the Oreos in the jar and if you wanted any, you could help yourself to the ones in the cupboard. Oh, the struggle.

Knife Set: Tesco- £25

Flowers: The Range

Crystals: The Range- £4 (x2 portions)

Vase: Gareth's present for Shaira from a long time ago

What you will find a lot of in Shaira's home is a fair few flowers/plants. Plants in my opinion just add a really great accent to a room, and what's more is their holistic power to naturally clean the air in the room. When I asked Shaira about her plants, she told me that like the cookie jar, the only purpose they served were strictly decorative. I have encouraged Shaira to take on the challenge of nurturing her own plants one day, as there is a real solace in doing so but I guess if you, like her and Gareth, are first time parents, perhaps looking after an array of plants would be the last of your priorities so I would definitely say if you don't have the motivation for real plants, fake it till you make it. They still look beautiful but are far less stress!

Vase: Tesco- £6

Flower: The Range- £3

Candle: Tesco- £5

More fake flowers in one of my favourite places in the house- the downstairs bathroom! I mean, just look at the shape of that candle. I know it will never, ever get used, and if I were to ever come back to see it waxed out, I will be extremely upset. This little set up is true to the phrase "simple, yet effective."

Mirror: B&M- £12

Shaira will hate me for getting her maternity pads involved in this picture, but it is what it is. At least it abides by the theme! Just take a moment for the mirror though, please. The chain detailing is just so chic, and again it fits into the chromatic theme across the whole house and effortlessly creates the illusion of a bigger space!

Soap Dispenser: Home Sense- £10 (reduced to £7)

I'm sorry, but how has she found hand soap that matches the shade of pink everywhere else in the bathroom? The little accents in this room just fed my eyes. I left feeling satisfied.

Moving on to the living room...

Storage Cupboards: Ikea- £25 (x2)

Just to be clear, these flowers are actually real! They were a gift from Gareth's grandmother to Shaira for having the baba and they are super beautiful. As you can see, the storage compartment that the cards are resting on just fall underneath where the television has been mounted to the wall. This storage unit not only acts as a table space in the living room but also can hold up to 4 cupboards full of stuff! I imagine this is going to be extremely useful for when Zach becomes a little older and begins hoarding an insane amount of toys! It will be a quick tidy up for Shaira and Gareth!

"zzz"

Couch: DFS "The Elban Range" (4 seater pillow back lounger and cuddler sofa)- £1600 (inc. delivery)

This picture here, is the calm before the storm. Baby Zach at around a week old! I'm sure Ninong Hans and I have had a moment like this on this couch too! It's great to see him already taking after us!

A similar set up to the cards on the picture above is this chest of drawers in the master bedroom. Really beautifully laid out, and I love the perfume tray. Again, no real meaningful explanation from me here other than it fed my eyes!

The guest room...

Wardrobe: Ikea (Pax)- £250-300

Bed: Ikea (Hemnes)- £369

So this is obviously where I stay every single time I visit. How beautiful?! First off we have a sofa bed that pulls out into a nice double great for keeping and providing space where necessary! I was particularly impressed with the storage unit in this room where the majority of clothes are kept. As you can tell, Gareth doesn't really have much say in this room other than the fact that his XBox is mounted on the wall (and that you can't even see). But realistically, this is Shaira's beauty room when there isn't a guest staying.

The main event

Chair: Home Sense- £199

So this is probably what gassed us the most in the room! This couch. Retailing at around about £200, it reclines, it does the most to look so slick in the middle of the room. I believe this was initiated by Gareth, assuming it will be his gaming chair. Hans felt right at home on this piece, sitting down and never wanting to leave.

The Back Story

So back in May 2017, Shaira became pregnant with my beautiful godson (yes I called it)- Zachary James. Zach was born in late January 2018 (sharing my birthday month, so he is definitely destined for greatness). Before all of this came about, I know that Shaira struggled so much with the aches and pains of her pregnancy, but the biggest challenge I felt she had to overcome was telling her very traditional Filipino father about the pregnancy.

Shout out Ralp, the realist.

To paint the picture for you, Ralp was always stern in his parenting. I was witness to this growing up and Shaira's fear lay within telling her father she was with child before she had finished her degree and accomplished the things she wanted to before having a child. It is Filipino stigma that you must finish your schooling before entertaining the idea of "boypren" and "babies." With Shaira not being able to live up to this stereotype, it took a lot from her to finally admit to Ralp that she was having this baby.

A picture says a thousand words they say because look at the smile Ralp has on his face. It boasts pride, it boasts joy, it boasts accomplishment. What a sight to see, Lolo Ralp with his first grandchild, and all that worry eased by the gift of new life.

Shaira and Gareth were catapulted into adulting a lot faster than I know they would've hoped for and what an achievement to have both become parents and homeowners in the space of less than a year. I knew there were moments of doubt (especially in Shaira's head) whether it was going to be possible to manifest all of this in such a short space of time. But, I guess that's why they call it the miracle of life.

The house is absolutely stunning, the decor, the amount of love, effort and thought that has been invested into it, but if it were up to me to call it, the house truly became a home when Zachary arrived.

It is truly the biggest accolade to be given the opportunity to be amazing parents and what a great start Shaira and Gareth have already had in trying to fulfil that!

I am extremely proud of how far you guys have come along, and I especially cannot wait to see Shaira in her cap and gown next to her boys this coming summer!

More power, more life!