julicorn's journey

julicorn

Thank you @Karmacat and @beanielou !

I'll continue to take it slow. Went outside in normal shoes today, only to the end of the road though because it made it pretty clear that my ankle is still quite swollen. Not too much pain walking around at home though, so that's something. 

I finished section 1 of my interior design course today (out of 4, but 1 is by far the shortest). So I'll have a bit of wine tonight to celebrate! I'm allowed up to 3 years to complete it, but am going to aim to have it down by the time we move (which may be next year, who knows). 

Sistergold

Hello @julicorn
Good to hear that your ankle is better! Wow interior design course, that sounds exciting! Well done on completing the first part! Xx

julicorn

Thanks so much @Sistergold, and sorry for the late reply - I only just saw your post  

The ankle is lots better now, still playing up a little but not really holding me back from doing anything anymore. It's lovely as well because we're going to Center Parcs in 2 weeks, so it's nice to feel better in time for that. I did actually put in a claim with the council (pot hole injury), not really holding my breath for that but we'll see if anything comes out of it. 

The interior design course has been a little on ice, because I'm making what feels like a thousand paper flowers for a friend's wedding at the moment. Still got until mid July to finish her bouquets and table decorations, but that date will sneak up on me sooner rather than later. 

The exciting news on my end is that I negotiated a significant pay rise, which means we'll be in a much better position to buy a house here in Brighton/Hove next year (or at least a bigger flat, depending on how central we want to stay). Gonna have to crack open a bottle of bubbly tonight

In mortgage-related news, we're currently in the process of remortgaging, going on a tracker rate for half a year or so before moving. It's been a fairly slow process so far, and they did an in-person survey for some reason (I was convinced it'd be a desk one, just based on the LTV only being around 39%, but whatever). We should hear back on that one fairly soon hopefully. 

I hope you're all enjoying your weekend!

South_coast

Hurrrah for the pay rise - well done you 😀!

julicorn

South_coast said:

Hurrrah for the pay rise - well done you 😀!

Thanks so much! I played hard ball, so it's actually a really hefty increase from what I was on before. Means we might not have to compromise quite so much, depending on how house prices develop over the next year or so

julicorn

Gosh it's been a while since I last posted! 

All good here, with the following updates:

- The remortgage with Nationwide all went well, which means that I finally managed to throw some of that savings pot at the mortgage, and we're officially under £100k now! Around £93k at the moment, with payday still to come. We left £12.5k in the savings pot, which is now a bit of a 'moving savings pot' - we're looking to put our flat on the market early next year, and buy either a bigger flat or potentially even a house, exciting stuff. (I should mention that we're on a tracker rate with no early repayment fee, so nice and flexible)

- I've gotten really into sea swimming, with the goal to keep swimming over the winter. If anyone has tips and tricks to stay motivated in the cold, please let me know

-We went on a little holiday to York with my parents - it was great seeing them again for the first time in a year, and York is such a lovely place! Not the most MSE exercise because we went to the 'Designer Outlet' as well, but let's not talk about that   

How are you all getting on?

beanielou

Good to hear from you 

julicorn

Thanks beanie! I hope you're doing well?

This weeks is a bit of a full-on week for me (in a good way!) - got an interview for a study about sea swimming today, a full moon swim and Bake Off viewing tomorrow (I'm trying to make Nanaimo bars, have any of you had those?), drinks to celebrate a colleague's engagement on Wednesday, webinar on Thursday, leaving drinks on Friday... Went to a succulent wreath making workshop yesterday, and the cinema the day before. Definitely not like me to have plans every day, but I'm quite enjoying it. 

Karmacat

The sea swimming sounds wonderful, especially the full moon, wow.  And lovely to see your parents - and really, since you've got the money, who cares if you splash out?  We've had to shut down for 18 months or so, lovely to get out and open up.  

I just had a peek at the nanaimo bars recipe on BBC - my word    it sounds fantastic, but too much dairy for me (and too complex, sadly - I don't do layers if I'm actually cooking).

Congratulations on the remortgage.

julicorn

Thank you! I'm hoping the sky will be fairly clear tomorrow so I actually get to see the moon, but swimming after sunset is quite fun either way. I take a tow float with some bike lights insight, so just look like a little glow worm from a distance  

Going for the vegan version of the Nanaimo bars, so won't have the dairy problem, but yeah, it does have the three layers. The recipe I've got is no bake though, so I'm hoping it won't be too tricky. Fingers crossed. I enjoy making stuff for out little bake off watch parties, and the colleague who I'm taking to the pub on Wednesday is Canadian, so hopefully she'll enjoy the little nod to her heritage.