Now all of us pee in the bathroom

No Tom hasn't been sleepwalking (actually that's WAY more likely to be me, I am quite the chatterbox in my sleep apparently), but 2 members of our family have been going to the toilet in the dining area, which isn't very nice.

After writing the post from last week I started to wonder why we hadn't sorted our litter tray situation yet. It's one of those things that you live with for a while and really it isn't the best solution but you just don't get round to changing it as there are more pressing things to do. Reading the post back though and how many times I said that the set up we have 'wasn't ideal' or 'wasn't great' I realised that I really needed to look at it again.

The original plan moving in was to put it in the hallway (maybe under the armchair in there so out of sight) but turns out we have to keep them out of there due to a busy road outside the front door and because they pee on the doormat. Cats are so fun sometimes.

It ended up between the desk and turtle tank in the 'office' and when we turned that into a dining area it became less than ideal having the litter tray in there.

I was just in front of the turtle tank for months and we would scoot it round the corner into the bathroom when eating in there but I got sick of looking at it all the time. Also it was a high traffic area being next to the living room, bathroom and bedroom and having it in a thoroughfare isn't good as it puts the cats off using it, not what you want as they will go somewhere!

I moved it to under the dining table for a few weeks, which got it out of sight but really wasn't very nice. Whenever we wanted to use the table we had to move the tray into the bathroom and then sweep or even mop under the table. Not conducive to a nice relaxing meal, meaning we weren't using the table much. They also kept going behind the back table leg or under the benches, I think because they like privacy.

We never had it in the bathroom at our last place because there just was not the space (unless it went next to the bath, which ran the risk of me accidentally standing in it getting out of the shower without my glasses on...ewww), but I had a think about it and realised that there should be space in our bathroom here we just had too much stuff in there. I had a little move around and managed to clear a space for it. Really all I had to do was move the loo roll basket to the other side and put the wicker drawers under the sink, I don't know why I didn't do it before.

We just need to get used to leaving the bathroom door open when we aren't in there, but this definitely is an improvement we can use the dining table whenever we want to and the tray is out of sight in the bathroom. If I want to have a long bath I might pull it out into the dining room but that's going to be less often than vice versa when we wanted to use the dining room before. We had Sunday dinner yesterday and it was great to just be able to eat at the table and not have to spend time cleaning it. Also bonus is the bathroom has an extractor fan, so we don't get smells hanging around, and they are confined to the bathroom anyway if they do happen to be particularly stinky that day (I swear we feed them the same every day but some days the smell is 100% worse!)

Jazzie chose that moment to need a pee, so pan to the sink!

The drawers fit quite nicely, that's some sea glass on top of them in the dish that I picked up in Albania last year. I might just get rid of those scales behind the sink, I never weigh myself so I don't know why I have them.

Anyone else been solving some glaringly obvious problems? Feels great to make a big change by doing literally 5 minutes work!

Renting with pets – Part 2 – preparing your home

Once you have found a place that accepts pets and is suitable for you and the animals, then you need to prepare your home for your new addition or make some preparations before you move your current pets in. Anyone getting a pet will need to do this but as a tenant there are some extra precautions you need to take:

• Make sure you have plenty of puppy pads or cat litter ready, or that they can easily get outside to go to the toilet if you’re letting them outside straight away. We've never had to litter train our cats so can’t comment on how easy or hard it is, but as a tenant it would be a good idea to get pets that are already house broken.
• Look around your current or prospective property for spots for things like litter trays, pet beds, food bowls etc. These ideally shouldn't all be in the same place, we keep the food and water in the kitchen, the litter tray in the dining room (not ideal but we scoot it out into the bathroom when we’re eating) and they never slept in the beds we got them (they prefer the sofa or our bed) so we don’t have one for them any more but if you had a dog or cats that would sleep in a bed a nice warm area not in a thoroughfare would be best. 

• If you will have a tank, vivarium or cage look for the best place to set it up, on hard flooring is best as there will be inevitable drips or spills when cleaning and it’s easier to clean up from hard floors, a rug or mat underneath will also help protect the floor. As soon as we viewed our flat I knew the turtles would go in the hallway or the dining room as there is hard flooring for easier clean-up, it's near the bathroom for easier emptying and refilling and there just isn't the space in the living room (having them in the bedroom is a no no as they're nocturnal and make a lot of noise at night)

• Get into good habits from the start, if there are any areas that should be off limits (we keep our cats away from the hallway as they pee on the mat and we also don’t want them getting out the front door onto the busy road) then keep these areas off limits from the start, it helps to establish the rules if you are consistent. Before you get the animals think about how you can enforce any rules or block off areas you want them kept away from.
• If they do get into bad habits or behaviour like scratching door frames or going to the toilet where they shouldn't there are repellent sprays available to keep pets away from things you don’t want them near. We got ours from pet smart when the cats started pooing behind the turtle tank, they had never done this before at our last house but just after we moved in here the litter tray was near it and I think they just got it into their heads that behind the tank was included in their toilet area, I doused the back of the tank in cat repellent spray and now they don’t even go behind it let alone go behind it. I actually haven't had to re spray after it wore off, just the one time seemed enough to break the habit.
• If you do have a litter tray when setting it up just be aware that animals don’t always have the best aim or judgement, our cats sometimes go next to the tray (or right on the lip of the tray, because they like to be awkward) or kick the litter (and whatever is buried in it) out while digging in there. We now have a mat under the tray and it really helps catch anything that is kicked out or doesn't quite make it into the tray. We already have an XL tray but also have large cats that aren't very bright so the mat is our solution, but make sure you have a large enough tray and change the litter regularly. We find if the tray gets too messy our cats won’t use it and this is when we get problems with them going elsewhere. We change ours as needed, but having 2 cats sharing a tray it seems to be around every other day to every 3 days we change the entire tray and we scoop it in between.

• Make sure cats have a scratching post or mat, and dogs have plenty of chew toys and stimulation, especially if they are very young or are going to be left alone for any period of time. As you don’t want them scratching the door frames or chewing up the furniture.
• Letting animals in and out can be an issue in a rental, as you often can’t just put a hole in the door for a cat or dog flap. We used to leave a window open for the cats at our last house as it was a small window which we felt comfortable leaving open when we were out and it went into the spare room so the draught wasn’t an issue. During the winter we closed it and they just had to be in or out. However we found they got the window frame, window sill and the glass very dirty going over it constantly and we actually had to repaint under the window to cover where I had cleaned it so much the paint has started to wear off. Now we tend to leave the back door open when we’re home for them to come and go (as longs as it’s not too cold) and if we’re out or it’s raining or cold so we want to shut the door they just have to be in or out. We give them the option to come in and if they don’t then they stay outside. They seem to have gotten used to this pretty quickly. Think about how you will let cats or dogs in and out.

• Stock up on carpet cleaner before they arrive, puppies and kittens might have a few little accidents occasionally and a good spot cleaner can really save the carpet! Cats also throw up a lot and ours (especially Jazzie with her long hair) get furballs, so having a good spot cleaner to clear it up really helps. I then shampoo the whole carpet once in a while to really get any marks out.
• Sometimes what you think will work doesn't end up working so go with it and try to work around it. For example when we first moved in we thought it would be perfect for the litter tray to go in the hallway, it's not a room we would spend a lot of time in so private for them and we don't have to look at it or smell it all the time. However it turns out that if left unattended the cats will scratch up or pee on the doormat, because of the texture I think but also because cats are mean (joking of course, but they do wreck a lot of our stuff). Also we didn't want the chance of them getting out the front onto the busy road. So now the litter tray is in the dining room which isn't ideal.

I'm not a vet or an expert, but I've rented with and without pets, and have brought new pets into a rented home then also moved them from home to home. Those are my tips on moving to a new rented place with a new pet or an existing pet and how to minimise the stress for you, your pet and your landlord!

Renting with pets - Part 1

I promised this post ages ago back in one of my first posts, as we rent with pets I get a few questions on how that works from friends and family wanting to know how we get on or looking to maybe get a pet themselves. I've broken this up a bit otherwise it would have been a long wordy post, so this is the first part on how to find a pet friendly rental.

I love our pets, and once we get our own house we will have a dog (the cats will not be impressed), but I would be the first to admit being a tenant and having pets can be a bit of a tricky situation. So how do you go about finding somewhere pet friendly or convincing your current landlord to let you have pets? We got our cats when we lived at our last property which we rented from family. This was therefore a lot more lenient, and we had no trouble getting the cats, but when we moved it proved to be difficult so here are some hints and tips on what I found when trying to find a pet friendly rental.

• Just ask. If the advert says no pets then it’s probably no pets, but if it doesn’t mention pets at all then it’s worth asking. If you really like the look of a place but it says no pets then it’s actually probably still worth phoning and asking, if the property has been on the market a while and the landlord wants to get a tenant they might consider it, and the worst they can do is say no. The same goes for your current landlord, if you moved in with no pets you probably didn't ask if pets are allowed, so just ask.



'Don't look at that look at MEEEE'

• The split I found was about 80% no pets, and 20% yes to small pets. Although this will differ on area and type of property (e.g. large family homes in the countryside might allow pets more often than small flats in the city). Obviously that 20% was then reduced further by location, price, our requirements and taste etc, so about 10% of places I rang to enquire about were actually viable for us and our pets. That sounds like a terrible ratio and it was a little soul destroying being told no time after time, but we got there in the end to our lovely flat. It just takes more effort to find a rental when you have pets.

• Having pets will limit you while house hunting in more ways than one, as you also need to find somewhere suitable for your animals as well as somewhere where they’re allowed. For example we saw some lovely 3^rd or 4^th floor flats but we wouldn't have been able to let the cats in and out so they were not a possibility for us, we wanted ground floor or a very low 1^st floor.
• The turtles have never been an issue, once people find out that they never leave the tank they’re pretty OK with them. So I’d say things like fish, lizards, snakes, frogs etc that live in tanks and rarely come out and mess up the place are likely to be pretty acceptable, although definitely check first that they are allowed.

If only they stayed this small!

• We found that private landlords are more likely to allow pets rather than going through an agency. Often agencies will have a blanket rule for all their properties with regards to things like pets, smokers, benefits etc, and as it is not their property are not going to bend the rules.
• Be upfront and honest, I ask about pets on the first phone call to enquire about a property. Some people said to me to go and view a place first and show our interest then once we have said we would like to take the property say we have pets as the landlord is more likely to allow it if you are already there. I personally don’t think this is the best way to do things, it seems like a waste of time for everyone involved. In this rental market places go so quickly that I don’t think it makes any difference to the landlord that you are keen on the place if they do not allow pets, as they will find a tenant with no pets just as quickly.
• Although it doesn't hurt to play up your positives, for example Tom and I could move in right away and had a deposit ready, we have both been in our jobs for years and have great references from work and our previous landlords, we have great credit and are looking for a long term let…but oh yes we have 2 little cats and 2 even littler turtles.

• You might be asked to sign a pet clause in the contract, or pay an additional deposit. Think about what you would be prepared to do, we just had an addition to our contract that we have 2 cats so would need to rectify any damage they caused but obviously we would expect to do this any way. We weren't asked for any extra money on the deposit but I have heard of people being asked to do this, the amount that would be reasonable to ask for would depend on the rent of the property.
• If the place you are renting now allows pets, or you ask your current landlord and they say yes, think about what would happen if you had to move. The nature of renting often means you move more often than if you owned a place and it is not always your choice, so just bear in mind that you might struggle to find another pet friendly place. Maybe research the market in your area first and see how many more pet friendly places there are. I wish we had done this before getting our cats, we might have waited otherwise or would at least have been prepared for how hard it was to find somewhere else.
• There are definitely places around that allow small pets like cats, turtles, fish, hamsters etc even if they are hard to find. Dogs and multiple pets appear to be more of an issue though. Think about what animal you want to have and if they are going to be a problem for future landlords.



Who could say no to that face?

• Attitude. One lady said to me on the phone that 2 cats was a problem but 1 would be OK ‘I suppose’ (like she was doing me a massive favour), would I still like to view the property? I said no, what was I supposed to pick my favourite and leave the other one behind? A lot of landlords and agents I spoke with had very negative attitudes to pets, and some were even downright rude when I asked about pets, even though their ad didn't actually state ‘no pets’. Which I did point out to a few rather rude agents and landlords. My pets are my family, I am not prepared to leave them behind or choose between them so I never even considered these very insensitive offers or comments. Unfortunately as a tenant sometimes you have to deal with rude landlords or agents, for some reason a few of them seem to view tenants as an inconvenience and if you ring with anything other than a grovelling attitude asking them to please please please let you view their property then they get rather annoyed. I take the opinion that I wouldn't want to rent from this type of person anyway if they are rude or unhelpful, I’ll take my money elsewhere.

That’s about it really, if you have anything to add please add it in the comments! Next month - preparing a rental property for pets and how to minimise damage in those key first weeks.

Cat's Crockery

Our cats have been eating from old plastic bowls for years, and while they don't care (They'd happily eat off the floor probably) I've been wanting to get them some nicer looking bowls seeing as I have to look at them every day in the kitchen. I've been keeping an eye out in pet shops but all the designated 'pet' bowls seemed a bit naff, they all have paw prints or fish or bones on them which doesn't really tie in with the look I'm going for in the kitchen. I started looking out in other shops for any cheap bowls that would be suitable for the job, even if they weren't necessarily pet bowls.

I was browsing in HomeSense after a trip to the big B&Q in Gloucester (The one in Cheltenham is closer but smaller) to get the materials for the runner, I was actually just killing time as I was meeting friends for lunch down the road and was really early but didn't want to drive all the way home then back. I do love a good browse in HomeSense as they have such pretty stuff and it's all at such good prices, but on this occasion I had no intention of buying anything.

Then I found this double bowl and got a bit of inspiration as the cats currently have a plastic double bowl for their water. Yes the fact this picture was taken in our kitchen gives away that I bought it, I also bought the small bowls for food, they're quite shallow actually like finger bowls or plates which is perfect as they're easily rinsed over.

The small bowls were £2.99 each, and the double bowl was £4.99, they would be nice for chips and dips not that they will be used for anything other than the cats now they've slobbered all over them!

I didn't get another double bowl for food because Minty can't have dried food as when we first got them she got cystitis and dry food can be a cause of this, but then when we took them recently for their jabs Jazzies teeth are really bad and she needs to go and get them scaled. She now needs to eat dried food to clean her teeth, they are probably so bad because she has only been eating tinned food for the last 2 years because of Minty. So we now need to try and give them different food a few times a week which is a pain in the backside but better than having to take them to the vets all the time for teeth cleaning or antibiotics!

Shopping Trip!

The bath mat under the cat litter tray was working well, it catches any litter they kick out and also while they are both very good at using the litter tray the cats do sometimes miss a little. I was fed up of hoovering and mopping in here every day so though adding in a mat underneath would be good so we can just shake out anything on there into the bin liner we use when emptying the litter trays. It worked well but the mat was starting to get a bit gross and I couldn't wash it every day, so on a trip to Primark I got 2 more so I could change them out every few days, this blue/teal one

And this darker blue one

I also got the rubber shower mat as our bath is a bit slippy, they were all £4 each, oh and I may have gotten distracted and bought these

 Ooops :)

Our Pets

I realised recently that while I talk about our pets a lot and there have been some photos of the turtle tank, and the cats do like to photobomb my pictures quite a lot, I haven't actually introduced them for those of you that haven't met them in person. Warning - This post really is just gratuitous pictures of our pets :).

Excuse some of the bad photos they are old phone photos taken pre blog, also I know I'm wearing the same hoodie in 2 of those photos, they were taken on different days (actually over a year apart!) that's just my scruffy hoodie that I wear at home when I'm a bit cold. It may have originally belonged to my friend Sam, who is 25 today, happy birthday!

We got our turtles years ago now when we lived in our second house, they looked like this at the time, were about the size of a 50p coin and lived in a small tank.

They've now doubled or tripled in size and live in the 4ft tank in our office, which we got 2nd hand for around £60 and one day would like to replace with a more modern one.

One is fat and the other is still a bit smaller (We think he's the boy as females tend to be bigger). Hence why they aren't often called their actual names of Michaelangelo and Rafael, but we mainly call them Fatty and The Little One.

They get on most of the time, or just leave each other alone, but sometimes Fatty does have a go at The Little one, mostly when it's coming up for feeding time. She also likes to dive off of the top of the tall ornamet, she climbs up then throws herself off the top. I have no idea why, as they they bask on top of the smaller barrell ornament so I don't know if she's trying to get closer to the light or just doing it for fun!

We got our cats about 2 years ago now, they were rescue cats and were 5 when we got them. They came as a pair, and their owner had died. They had been left in her house for about a year with her son going in to feed them, so when we got them they were a little anti-social, and really only associated food with human contact. Minty still is quite keen to be fed all the time (If you go anywhere near her bowl she is there meowing and getting under your feet), but she was quite fat when we got them so has been on a bit of a diet since and is not happy about it. Minty came around to her new home and to us quite quickly and was up on the sofa sitting on our laps within a few days, and she still really is a lap cat, I have to push her away when I'm trying to type as she always wants to sit on my lap in the desk chair and there's not enough room for my legs under our tiny desk let alone her as well. Look at that face though...

Jazzie on the other hand didn't come out from under the built in TV stand we had at the time for weeks, I started leaving food and water in front of it as I was worried she'd starve! Eventually one night she poked her head out and looked at us, then a few nights later she ventured out to eat while we were in the room. After this she gradually started being ok around us as long as we were sat down and quiet, she didn't come near us but was happy to be in the room with us for short periods of time. Then on my birthday (3 months after we got them) she randomly just jumped up into my lap! I was so stunned I took a photo on my phone and sent it to Tom

Since then she's gotten more and more affectionate and now she gets up on the sofa with us most evenings, although she still is quite timid and if we get up or make sudden movements or loud noises she runs away, and she never has sat actually in my lap again she just sits next to us now.
Although she is quite timid with us and is smaller than Minty we think Jazzie really is the boss

She is the one we have also had to take to the vets after getting in a fight and the one that always wants to go outside and spends nights outside. Minty will go outside but doesn't go very far at all and hates to be shut out, she'll follow us out in the summer and sit on our laps outside but she's a bit of a wuss really.

They do love each other really

However we do make sure they each have their own bowls, beds etc because they do sometimes fight, and we suspect that a recent trip to the vets for Minty was caused by a bite from Jazzie so we don't want to encourage any upset between them.

We also temporarily had a 3rd cat for a year, as Toms mum moved into a rented house and couldn't take her cat with her so we looked after her. Her name is Tinker, we thought she was a boy (And Tom and his family had thought she was a boy for 10 years!) until the vet informed us she was a girl. She is a lot more vocal than our cats, she never shuts up actually, and she's quite a lot smaller and more handleable. Our cats like to be fussed but hate to be picked up or restrained, Tinker loves to be cuddled!

Tinker now lives in our old house with Toms Dad, we didn't take her with us to the new house as 2 cats were hard enough to find a place for, 3 was impossible and would be quite cramped in a one bedroom flat any way. Also our cats never really accepted Tinker, she never really asserted herself with them and they were quite horrible to her, so we thought it best that she had a place to herself again. Tinker taught our cats to meow, so they both now are much louder, she also taught them to talk to birds. They used to sit on the windowsill and make this weird noise, calling to the birds, it sounds exactly like what you'd expect a cat doing an impression of a bird would sound like and it was hilarious! Search on YouTube for 'cat calling to birds' and there are loads of videos, but our 2 never did it before Tinker arrived and showed them how.

Also under surrogate pets are the 2 dogs we used to look after occasionally to keep my wanting to get a dog under control, firstly Charles the labrador who is owned by Toms friend Chris.

He used to come and stay every now and then, but while I loved having him he was a little big for our small house (He pretty much trashed the place) and the cats hated him so he never stayed for more than one night. Also check out the kitchen floor at our old place, orange and cream with brown baseboards, snazzy huh?

We also had my dog (Well my mums dog) Stella come and stay for a few nights

As you can see she immediately made herself at home, she's smaller and getting on now so a lot calmer than Charles, the cats actually didn't seem to mind her so much and we talked with my mum about us looking after her while she was on holiday etc but unfortunately now we've moved we won't be able to do this as no dogs allowed in the new place.

So that's our little gang, I know some of you want more on renting with pets and househunting experiences with pets etc so once I have put that all together I'll share it.

Bedroom Progress

After the new wardrobes arrived the bedroom looks so much better already

 We will get another ottoman for Toms wardrobe at some point I think

Although there is still a bit too much clutter on this side for my liking Under the bed looks better, we swapped the bedding out of the ottoman that's on top of my wardrobe for things like Christmas decorations, empty boxes and other stuff we aren't going to need very often. Because I can't reach into the ottomans it has to be things in there I can wait for Tom to get!

I also moved this canvas off the top of the tank in the hallway onto the trunk

This side of the room looks a bit bare and the other side looks a bit cluttered so I think I might move some things away from the window to balance it out a bit more at some point. The thing leant against the radiator is a guitar stand that apparently doesn't work very well so I'm going to see if Tom might want to get rid of it, the pile of frames underneath the radiator I'm hoping to find places for in here, and the thing on the radiator is Minty's cat bed

It's not exactly pretty but she loves it :)

Why we chose our flat

When we were given our notice at our last place we sat down and set our what we were looking for in a new place. I recommend doing this when you're house hunting, we both agreed what was absolutely essential for us in our new home, and we stuck to these rules when browsing advertisements and contacting agents or landlords. Our requirements were:

• Budget - around £600 per month
• Location - town centre or in an area between Gloucester and Cheltenham
• Accepted pets
• Parking (although on street was fine as long as it was readily available)
• Central heating and double glazing - I hate to be cold and we've had terrible experiences before with night storage heaters
• A larger one bedroom or a two bedroom, no studios (We have a lot of stuff as well as two cats, and two turtles in a 4ft tank, so a small one bedroom or a studio would be a bit cramped for us)

We found plenty that fit the bill on most points, but the pets were a problem. There were loads of places that were also taken by the time we called to inquire about them. We had to be out of our place by around the end of December, and by mid November we hadn't found anywhere, hadn't even been on a viewing in fact, I was getting pretty anxious. I then spoke to our now landlady, she was very polite (Not always something I experienced this time while making inquiries, and said cats would be OK,  so we booked in a viewing. The ad said 'lower ground floor' which I was wary of as I had never lived in a basement flat before and it didn't really appeal to me, but she assured me it really is lower ground floor as it has full size windows and its own front and back doors. At this point I was just happy to get a viewing booked for a nice sounding place that accepted cats! The flat met all of our major requirements before we even went to see it, one bedroom, under budget, the cats were welcome (In fact a previous tenant had one), there was on street parking, the location was perfect and the heating was all brand new.

I was pretty excited about this place, and once we went for the viewing it did not disappoint. Although it is lower ground floor, and we were viewing in the evening in November so it was dark, I could see what they meant about it not really being a basement flat, it does have full size windows and in the daytime is pretty light (Except the bathroom which gets no natural light at all, but I don't hang out in the loo too much so I don't mind). When we came in the front door into the hallway and other small room for a minute I thought these were the only living areas and was disappointed, but once we walked through and realised that there was the entrance hall, another small room (now our office) and the living room I was pretty impressed with the space on offer for the budget. The kitchen and bathroom were both modern and in good condition, the bedroom was a large double, and it had a courtyard garden. The flat also met all of our 'would be nice' points, which we set out secondary to the essentials as we could live without them, these were:

• Outside space
• Modern and recently refurbished
• A few ameneties within walking distance - With the town centre about a 10 minute walk away there is pretty much everything we could need within walking distance, but also just over the road there are 2 pubs, a local shop, a takeaway and a vintage guitar shop (which Tom was happy to discover). There are also within about a 5 minute walk parks, a swimming pool and a gym.
• Money saving features and more efficient to run - The flat had a freeview ariel so we wouldn't have to pay for TV and brand new heating.

The main plus points that really made this place stand out for us were:

• The 2 hallways/rooms, which would make up for losing our spare room and attic. Most one bedrooms I had seen comprised of a bedroom, a bathroom and a kitchen/living area which the front door opened into, with a spare room and attic full of stuff we liked the idea of extra rooms!
• The flat was finished to a high standard, the decorating, plastering, carpets and flooring were all new, and the kitchen and bathroom were modern - I don't think brand new but pretty recent.
• 5 minute walk from my work, meaning we could still only have one car. Tom used to walk to work and I drove, we could just swap and not have to get a second car.
• It had a nice amount of outdoor space and was self contained, so we'd still have our own front door and back door. 
• The landlords seemed nice, and when we said we wanted to think about it they didn't pressurise us by saying they had other viewings (something I've experienced before), they said they didn't have anyone else booked until the end of the week so to think it over.
• It was painted in white, not magnolia, I hate magnolia with a vengence (I didn't mind it so much 5 years ago, but renting does this to you) and white is so much easier to work with.

Even though this was the first place we actually viewed on our house hunt this time, we just fell in love with it and it met all of our requirements, and most importantly we could see ourselves living there. The only downsides we could find were:

• On a busy road, an A road in fact. Once inside you can't hear it, but we were worried about the cats. The solution to this was that the flat is in a long terrace of houses, so we figured if we let them out of the back only, never out of the front, they would actually have to go pretty far to get to the main road, and they never go much further than the garden or next doors garden usually. At our last house they also showed a healthy fear of cars, we lived on a quieter road but there were still plenty of cars going past, and they always seemed to go over the back garden not into the street. We now shut the door between the office and the entrance hallway before opening the front door to make sure they don't get out the front but to be honest they don't even try now, as they're used to going out the back I don't think they even realise there is a front door!
• It was the first place we viewed, so we thought we might just be taking it because we were in a rush to find somewhere and had found it difficult to find a place that accepted the cats and that we liked.

We thought about it and slept on it then when we talked about it the next day we both still really liked the place, and thought even if we viewed 20 others we'd still like this one and would be disappointed if someone else had taken it by then. So we decided to bite the bullet, stop doubting our guts and just take it. I haven't seen another property yet that makes me wish we'd hung on.

So that's what we liked about the flat, why we took it, and how we went about looking for it. 

I'll do another post later on house hunting in general, my experiences, funny stories and how we found each of our properties.

Office Additions

There were 2 small changes in the office recently, this canvas migrated into here from the living room

In our first ever post you can see it's just leant on the back of the sofa, but it kept getting knocked and we were having our housewarming party the evening after taking these pictures so I moved it out of the way. This is also temporary really as I think it will get damp on top of the warm tank.

I made this myself, I would do a how to post but I didn't take pictures back when I made it and to be honest it's so simple I can do it in 2 sentences. Stick wooden letters to canvas and paint over everything in your chosen colour to make the 3D word, or words depending on your quote. Write on the rest of the words using a narrow tip marker, I used a stencil and did it in pencil first because my handwriting is awful but you could freehand it if yours isn't.

Also I put our old bath mat under the litter tray becasue it had a hole in it (the mat not the tray, it's in the middle so hidden by the litter tray but made it useless as a bathroom mat), and I've wanted to have a mat to put under this for a while to catch bits of litter so it's not strewn all over the floor. Now if only I could train them to wipe their paws on it...

This room will have some more changes made to it eventually like:

• A new desk, larger than our current one, maybe a corner desk to maximise space.
• A new desk chair - probably without wheels as it's not great on the wooden flooring
• A new computer - This one was a hand me down and it works ok but it's massive (In the picture above see how the chair cannot fit under the desk because there is a monster sized computer there, also the desk is tiny) and OLD, seriously it's over 10 years old and until last year had never been connected to the internet, but it's keeping up just about. I'd like to get a laptop or netbook.
• Depending on the desk we buy (Hoping to get one with it built in) some office storage like a small filing cabinet, so we won't have to keep the paperwork under the bed.
• Some different art to go on top of the tank - As I like the look of the canvas there, but I think it needs to be something that won't be affected by the warm water underneath (Like in a sealed frame which I might DIY)

Although this room isn't a big priority as the stuff we have in here is functional and we have lots of other things to sort out first, so this will probably all be further down the line. Although you know I won't leave a room completely alone for long so there will be small upgrades along the way...