Buying Our First Home - Putting In An Offer

Following my previous post about choosing a home

- which you can read here -

This post talks you through our experience of putting in offers and negotiations.

So there were two houses we liked and wanted to put offers on. One was similar to the house we had previously put an offer in but was on the market at a much higher price. The other was a small cottage which needed work doing on the kitchen to make it bigger.

Using Zoopla we were able to find out what prices they were bought for by the current vendors. I found Zoopla really useful but at the end of the day you have to make a decision based on how much the house is worth to you and what you can afford. Using Zoopla we realised that one of the houses had been purchased 7 years ago for more than we were able to offer for it, this meant that we were prepared and expected to be rejected, but we felt it was worth a shot anyway!

Both offers we put in were under the asking price by at least 7.5%. On the larger house because this was the top of our budget and on the smaller because of the work that we would need to do on the kitchen. We also offered fairly low on the smaller property so that we wouldn't have to pay stamp duty.

The offer on the larger property got rejected pretty quickly, which we had expected, so we told them that that was as high as we could go and that if they changed their mind they had our number.

The offer on the smaller property was also rejected, but we were willing to increase our offer by quite a bit on this property so were willing to negotiate. As this is the first time we have bought a house we went to our parents for advise on negotiating. My dad suggested that we offer a larger amount which would cover the cost of some of the simpler work we wanted doing on the house, plus a bit more, as long as the vendor did the smaller jobs for us (putting in the wood-burner and a new carpet in the living room). This offer was also rejected and the agent said that the vendor wanted an extra £1,000, however this would mean we then had to pay stamp duty. I told her we were unsure about this and she spoke to the vendor who then accepted our first offer!

We couldn't believe it! We put in that offer as a bit of a punt and were really surprised and overjoyed it got accepted. The lower price means that we will be able to do some of the work we need to do sooner than we thought we would and our mortgage is obviously a lot smaller than we were anticipating.

Next steps: Finding a solicitor and sorting out the mortgage!

Putting in offers on the properties was so scary, especially the thought of negotiating. But remember that there are always people you can ask for advice and taking your time isn't a bad thing.

Have any of you had experience of negotiating with vendors? What is your advice?

Bella x

Colour Run - Birmingham

The Happiest 5K You'll Ever Run

This weekend I took part in the colour run in Birmingham with friends. It was so much fun and would definitely recommend it, don't worry you don't need to run the whole thing!

Every 1K that you run/jog/walk you go through a check point where a different coloured paint powder is thrown on you and at the end there is a paint party! Here are a few photos from our day:

Have you ever done a colour run?

Bella x

Makeup of the Day - Wedding Guest Edition

What's On My Face

I recently attended the wedding of one of my best friends, it was an amazing day which I will share more of at a later date. But for now I'll tell you what I wore on my face.

I loved getting ready for the wedding, me and some girlfriends even went for blow dries in the morning which was a real treat. It did however mean that we didn't have as much time for make-up as we would of liked! 

My main aims was for simple make-up that would last for a long time. 

The Products:

- YSL Youth Liberator Foundation (B10)

- YSL Touche Éclat

- Hourglass Hidden Corrective Concealer (Fair)

- Nuxe Reve de Miel Lip Balm

- Mac Eyeliner (Coffee)

- Nars And God Created The Woman Palette (Shimmery nude as shadow and dark brown as eyeliner)

- Nars Deep Throat Blusher

- Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder (Dim Light)

- Chanel Vitalumiere Compact Powder (10)

- Urban Decay Subversion Lash Primer

- Urban Decay Perversion Mascara

- Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Lipstick (Aventure)

- Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray 

I was pretty impressed with the lasting power of the make-up, in particular the mascara, even sitting out in the rain at the end of the day didn't affect it that much! I think that the setting spray was the main reason it lasted, I also tried to use thin layers of foundation a tip that Lisa Eldridge recommends.

Here are a couple of photos from the day:

Bella x

Buying Our First Home - Choosing Our Home

Has anyone always known where they would end up living? As in no matter where you travelled and lived you knew that eventually you would end up settling in a certain place? - I have!

Ever since I made the decision to move 4 hours from home for University, I knew that one day I would be back in 'The Shire' (the shire in question here is Derbyshire!). Since my time at University I have been fortunate to have rented a couple of beautiful properties in Harrogate and York respectively. The problem with this is that I have lived in beautiful places knowing that when I buy a home I will never be able to afford somewhere as nice as where I have rented...or so I thought!

Like I say, I knew that I wanted to move back to Derbyshire one day and that this would be where James and I would buy our first property. We have only recently been able to afford to consider buying a home together and a few months ago made the decision to begin our home buying and relocation journey.

First things first: Where?

As I grew up in Derbyshire it has always felt like 'my' place. With this in mind I wanted us to move to somewhere that was new for both of us. Recently some friends of ours had moved to a town called Belper and loved it, we had also heard from other people who had moved there are really enjoyed it. After a few trips, where deli's were visited and streets explored, we were sold. Great travel links, reasonable priced property, greenery and even a cinema for the city boy! I would really advise getting advise from people about where to live if you are moving somewhere new we have found it so helpful, especially when the advise is where NOT to live!

Then: Finding the House

We then very quickly stumbled upon a property that we fell in love with, it was bigger than we had hoped for, needed no work doing on it and had a proper homey feel to it. After a couple of visits we put our offer in, unfortunately, we weren't the only ones! So many people had put offers in for the full asking price that in the end the vendor went with the first offer that came in...which wasn't us.

After quite a few tears and a lot more searches on estate agent websites and Rightmove we found a few properties that we wanted to view. Another trip down to Derbyshire it was, we put aside 4 days for house viewings and had booked second viewings as well so that we could be thorough. 

That weekend we found a couple properties we really liked, although both we felt were over priced and needed work doing. 

So we had some big decisions to make as to what to do next...which will be in my next blog post!

Are any of you going through buying a house at the moment? Feel free to share any tips or just have a moan about the stress!

Bella x

Simple Summer Salad

For those days when you want something that tastes and looks amazing, but is super quick to whip up.

This recipe can be adapted to omit or add any ingredients you like. I have made it before using prawns instead of chicken, adding avocado and new potatoes.



Ingredients (for 2):

2 x Chicken Breast
1 x Fennel Head
4 x Eggs
1 x Onion
Handful of Small Tomatoes
Cucumber
Lettuce
Salad Dressing
Chicken Stock 
Herbs of choice (I favour Thyme)

Preheat the oven to cook the chicken (180C should be great)

To start, cut half the fennel into strips, do the same with the onion. Put the fennel and onion in the bottom of a dish then place the chicken on top. 

Add the tomatoes in and around the chicken. Pour the chicken stock around the chicken, drizzle everything with olive oil. Add the herbs and season well. Pop into the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until cooked through.

Boil a pan of water ready for your eggs. When boiling gently put the eggs in (I find using a slotted spoon helps.) I trust five minutes at a boil for a soft boiled egg and then put into a bowl of cold water once ready to stop the cooking process and stop them from burning your hands!

Whilst that is cooking pour some salad dressing into the bottom of your serving bowl (this is a tip I learnt from Jamie Oliver). Roughly chop your salad leaves and slice cucumber and the rest of the fennel. Place into the bowl and stir with the dressing.

When your chicken is ready take it out the oven and chop into pieces. Put the cooked onions, fennel and tomatoes into the salad. Now add the chopped chicken.

Finally peel the eggs and cut in half. I found the easiest way to peel them is cracking them onto a chopping board and then rolling them lightly until they are cracked all around, the shell should then flake off. Once they are peeled cut into two and place in salad.

You may want to add a bit more dressing or seasoning at this point to taste.

Hopefully you find this salad easy to make and completely scrummy, let me know how you get on :)

Bella x

For the Love of Pinterest

I am a self confessed Pinterest addict. 

I can and will while away the hours pinning almost anything, from cute puppies, to great shoes all the way down to some great looking doughnuts! I think it is a great place to get ideas for home decor and tips and advice about almost anything.

However, I do worry that my life won't live up to the Pinterest dream. What if my wedding does not have a rustic wheelbarrow full of ice and beer? What if my house doesn't constantly look like a show home in a catalogue. And what if I don't have constantly perfect hair (trust me on this one, I definitely don't!)?  Social media has led to so much of our lives being public it's easy to feel jealous of the things that are going on in other people's lives and forget that they obviously aren't going to put the rubbish times on-line (except for those moany people on facebook and twitter!).

So I have made a pledge to myself to stop being jealous of people's lives on-line and accept that my life won't be Pinterest-Perfect, but that doesn't mean it isn't great! I'll continue to pin to my hearts desire and take advice from pinners, but it isn't the end of the world if my live isn't as pretty as a picture.

Here are some of my fave pins:

What are your favourite things to pin?

Bella x

You can find me on Pinterest here

Review: The Goldfinch - Donna Tartt

Mooching around Nottingham I spotted a huge sign in Waterstones for a half priced book, naturally I sauntered over. In the window was one copy of The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, the cover of the book completely caught my eye, so in I went!

I had previously heard about this book and reviews seemed pretty positive so I decided to give it a go. This was a bit of a change to the books I have recently been reading which is mainly chick-lit and light reading for the train journey to and from work. However, I was willing to give it a go.

Instantly this book grabbed my attention, it opens in Amsterdam with Theo, the novel's narrator, confused, panicked and frantically searching for his name in newspapers that he doesn't understand...what has he done?! The book then jumps back to his life as a child where his mothers tragic death leaves him alone in New York with nothing but an old man's Signet ring and a famous painting of a Goldfinch by Fabritius. The story follows Theo's life as he is shipped from caretaker to caretaker and decides which path his life will take, eventually leading him to Amsterdam.

I absolutely loved reading this book and felt gripped throughout. I felt that the story which unfolded was driven by Theo's love for people, his mother and his best friend and although a lot of the novel felt dark and at times upsetting, it was always love driving Theo on.

If you are in the market for a new book I would definitely recommend this one, the writing is superb and it was a joy to read.

Have you read The Goldfinch? What did you think?

Bella x

Favourite Foodie TV Shows

 I am a huge fan of watching cookery shows, it’s something that James and I love to do together and it feels vaguely educational so I don’t feel like I’m just staring at the TV! 

This article from The Guardian website caught my eye earlier, it says that X of us have been inspired to cook more after watching cookery shows. This is definitely true of myself and below I have listed a few of my favourites to watch:

The Great British Bake Off

You can’t go far wrong with this show. Mary Berry, cakes and expensive cooking equipment all float my boat plus the bakers are amateurs. It is refreshing to watch a show where people occasionally make mistakes, especially as they are all mistakes we’ve all made before. Finish it off with a dusting of the comedians Mel & Sue and this show keeps me happy all summer! (Does anyone else have full debriefs of this show in the office the morning after?!)

River Cottage and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

There is a chance I love this show because I love the kitchen it is set in. But also the food that is cooked seems hearty and wholesome plus I really enjoy watching Hugh as a chef. One of my favourite dishes that he cooks is Chicken with Tomatoes and Taragon. It is pretty easy to make and really yummy. Let me know how you get on if you give it a try.

Jamie Oliver

I love all Jamie Oliver shows, he comes across as such a nice guy in all his programmes and makes cooking simple. He has definitely inspired me to try new things and I have a fair few of his cookery books.

Great British Menu

This show is one of mine and James’ favourites to watch together. It features professional chefs from all regions of the UK to win the opportunity to cook a course for an important themed banquet, for example this years banquet was for the D-Day Veterans. I don’t think I will ever attempt any of the amazing food that is cooked on this show, but I seriously enjoy dreaming about the food that they produce and the banter between the judges is always great fun.

I must also give a shout out to one of the shows that got me into cooking at a young age which is Two Fat Ladies. You can’t go far wrong with two women cooking delicious food and riding around on a motorbike with side-car.  

What are your favourite cookery shows?

Bella x

Our Engagement Story

This March some friends and I went for a long weekend in the Lake District, little did I know that it would be this weekend that James would finally propose!

Watching the proposal

I say finally because James and I had been discussing marriage for a while, I knew it would happen eventually, but I just didn’t know exactly when. (If anyone is a control freak like me you can imagine how frustrating this was for me!).
So I was just waiting to be proposed to, which meant that for a while every time we did anything I thought he might propose and was subsequently disappointed when he then didn’t. It got to a point where I was convincing myself at every event all the reasons he wouldn’t propose!

So imagine my surprise when we were on a walk with friends – surely he won’t do it when friends are around – and he called me over to look at something – I thought it would be a dead sheep – and he proposed! It completely threw me and I actually forgot to even say yes I was so overwhelmed! I am so glad he did it this way as it really was unexpected, plus my friends – who were all in on the secret – were able to take photos of him popping the question.

We finished our walk and when back to our beautiful cottages to celebrate the only way we know how, bubbles and board games!

I have now been engaged for four months now and wedding planning is in full swing, so expect numerous posts on here detailing my plans and excitement!

Have any of you got engaged recently? Or are any of you in the same position as I was where you are waiting for it to happen!

Bella x

Ps. The cottages we stayed in were part of the Hyning Estate near Kendal, I can not recommend them highly enough, it was great. You can find a link to their website here.

Pps. Here are a few photos of our trip to the Lakes.

Cycle Hack - Penny in Yo Pants

Thanks to this blog post from A Cup of Jo, I was able to cycle home comfortably in a skirt for the first time ever yesterday!

Normally every time I set off from work in a skirt and say I am going to wear it home all my colleagues roll their eyes and say they are looking forward to hearing about it tomorrow! I have tried to sit on my skirt, hold my skirt with my hand and even tuck it into the leg holes in my knickers at one point (Note: Do NOT try this!).

So the simple trick in the video below is a game changer for me and I love it!

Penny In Yo Pants from Johanna Holtan on Vimeo.

Thanks to Jo for bringing it to my attention and to the girls for making the video. I am one happy cyclist!

Bella x

Living La Bella Vita

So, today I decided to start a blog...

...aaaaaand then hit a brick wall.

What do I write? Who will see it? Will people like me?

Making the decision to start writing this actually feels like the first day of school, standing on the edge of the playground clinging to my mum's legs. But time to be a big girl and give it a go!

So, Hello, Bienvenue, Willkommen, this is my blog.

Let's start with introductions, here are me and my loves through the eyes of Instagram:

Me and my Fiancé (still can't get used to that word!)

I love cooking (and eating). Recipe and restaurant recommendations are always massively appreciated.

I have a dream to one day have a huge dining table and throw dinner parties.
I love having friends round for food. In particular murder mysteries always go down well!

Reading and eating cake is a keen pastime of mine...

Not being particularly sport I can handle a bike and a pair of skis but that is about it! (the 'fairies' on the ski lift are my lovely mum and sister.)

So there you have it, me through instagram. 

Looking forward to properly getting stuck in to blogging, and tips and tricks would be great, feel free to leave a comment!

Bella x