Oh a trip to Ikea, lucky you Rhiannon @RhiannonRoseJewellery love the place, love how they can fit so much into such a small space, but there are NEVER half finished knitting projects lying around, or open mags with a picture that inspires!
Here is a photo of the patchwork Hama bead project
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Wow it looks lovely.
Afternoon folks! Looks like people are keeping busy!! That pattern is lovely and bright too!! 
Iām on the cusp of a dilemma at the moment- well, my husband and I are. Weāre looking into moving house- we currently rent and have lived in this house for almost 5 years but now our landlord wants to downsize here- not until next spring/summer but I donāt want to wait until the last minute to look for anywhere .
We live in a lovely seaside village with every amenity I could need- and thereās just me, my husband and our bunny. I work at the top of the street (2 minute walk) so we donāt want to leave the area.
Weāve been given the option of 2 places to live- a flat just up the road, only slightly more than we pay now but a larger flat- first floor, lovely big bay window, high ceilings, 2 bedrooms (so a studio room) and really well decorated - we know the owners as well & theyāre happy with our bun. So that seemed like the obvious decision.
Then the other day something else came into the mix- literally the smallest cottage around here! But so cute! right on the headland on the other side of the village in a super quiet area- newly renovated, small living room/kitchen (open plan) bedroom up pretty much some ladders on the mezzanine floor and then a hatch out to a roof terrace over looking the river. - it comes with a garage so will have storage space. Itās cheaper & we also know the guy that owns that and heās happy with the bun too.
I have hypersensitive hearing- and our current flat (people upstairs) makes it very noisy- and the nice flat up the road will probably have the same problem. Whereas the teeny cottage is totally detached and in a mega quiet area anyway.
I donāt know!! Husband is having same dilemma as me as well- fortunately we think very similarly. Haha
So itās very much a head versus heart thing!!
What would you do?
Those Hama beads are lovely Suzzie @thistledownandHOPE. Sad to say they were banned in my house a very long time ago as they resulted in a trip to A&E!
IKEA worked out well, didnāt spend so much because loads of bits and pieces were 50p or 35p (OK Iām talking plant pots and candles) but a very satisfying trip. Even managed to fit in a trip to a sofa shop (kind of essential as both of ours are dying!) Will now have to take OH to make the final selection.
I love the holidays having my kids around (not really kids, theyāre 18 and 19) so Iām making the most of themā¦which means the house is in a complete tip and my art is taking a back seat for a few weeks, although I still have to paint or Iād go mad - itās a compulsion for me. Come October theyāll both be gone (uni) so Iāll have plenty of time to clear up and sort out my business properly then!
@Rozcraftz Roz your dvd is on its way. Donāt worry about the postage, it wasnāt much.
@hobbitgirlie1880 sounds tough, hope you get your meds sorted.
@thistledownandHOPE Suzzie I prefer the veg to the puddings 
Those hama beads look amazing.
@RhiannonRoseJewellery I too love Ikea, although our trip there last week (also uni shopping) was disappointing, couldnāt get half the stuff she wanted.
@curiousseagull Susannah If youāre fit and able to get up and down those ladders Iād go with the cottage for the peace and quiet. Unless you can test drive the flat first to see how noisy the neighbours are?
Oh thanks Stephanie @StephanieGuy - looking forward to receiving it, maybe then I can see the whole film without dropping off and missing bits!
Love Ikea too but always costs a lot even when we only go to āhave a lookā! Must admit I also found a lot of uni stuff, especially cooking things were a better buy at the local supermarket though.
Difficult decision Susannah @curiousseagull. If I was alone I would definitely go for the cottage as I really donāt like being in large places on my own (Iām currently in a large 4 bed house with just one daughter remaining and I hate it when she goes away) On the other hand if I was living with someone else I would need a bigger place cos I need to have my own bolt hole!
You say the flat is on the first floor - would there be anyone above you. Generally you donāt tend to hear noise coming up as much as going down so as long as you are at the top it probably wouldnāt be too noisy (unless they are into loud music). People walking/running about and moving furniture etc above you always generates loads of noise especially if the floor isnāt carpeted.
Dawn @hobbitgirlie1880, hope you are feeling a bit better today
Just finished work and off to Asda now to stock up with some goodies for my daughter to take to Leeds fest tomorrow. Cant say I envy her camping for 5 days with all the rain weāve been having but then I suppose thats the music festival experience for you!
Lol camping in your teens is a whole different experience to camping in your middle years! Sheāll have a ball, who needs sleep anyway?
Unfortunately the flat would have someone below, above and on either side. Totally surrounded. In my current flat Iāve only got someone above and thatās noisy enough. So the cottage would be a dream come true in terms of the quiet.
@StephanieGuy wouldnāt be able to road test sadly- would just have to move in and hope for the best.
The ladders donāt really bother me. I think itās just not having enough space that worries me- but as my husband has said- itās a good excuse to get rid of a load of stuff we donāt want/need anymore.
He also put the case of- how much of the house do you really use? Heās right really.
Hoping to view the teeny house later so hopefully that may make things a little clearer for us.
Quite fun though!! I quite like having this conundrum. I am desperate to move so looking forward to upping sticks!!
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Thatās quite a hard decision @curiousseagull The larger flat sounds perfect apart from the possible noise issues. The cottage sounds like a lovely place for a holiday away from it all, but can you live permanently in two rooms?
I knowā¦ The cottage is in an amazing spot as well. Arrgggā¦it doesnāt help that Iām incredibly indecisive anyway. I shouldnāt be given options! Haha
I am seriously going to have to way things up- a pros and cons list is needed I think (I do like lists!)
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Susannah @curiousseagull I have just noticed something interesting. Read your descriptions of the two places. You speak about the cottage in glowing terms. Every time you mention the other place it seems to be: it would be good, BUT. Then again, I couldnāt move anywhere smaller. Done it once, never again. Even though we only have 0.5 of a child left at home!
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Hahaha I know- I am thinking about the stupidly tiny place much more as well. Clearly the proper flat up the road is the much more sensible choice- but, I donāt always make the sensible choices. Haha
Part of me feels like this is probably the last time we can live somewhere totally impractical (but fun- I hope!) as well. My husband and I are 27/28 and in less than a year heāll be finished his PhD so who knows where we may end up after that I guess.
Though I still have a feeling Iām going to look at the hobbit house and just think- nope- faaaar too small. And I would like to have a totally seperate room for my artwork again- I currently have a basement that Iāve got as my studio- so canāt really imagine having it all in the living room- and a small one at that.
Iād already decided I was going to get an overly sized Christmas tree for the bay window up the road as wellā¦ See- I am probably the most indecisive person I know! Itās a good job the only thing Iām responsible for is a bunny.
Me, my husband and our bunny are all pisceanā¦it says a lot to be honest. Hahaha 
How about moving all your stuff into the bits of your current flat that would give the same amount of floor space as the ācute cottageā? This would allow you to start the pre move clear out and figure out if you could manage in a teeny tiny place (possibly with some different multi functional furniture - have you ever watched tiny house nation?). Space wins out everytime as far as the OH and I are concerned, I have to have a workshop/ bolt hole and he has to have his space/ dumping ground and we probably would kill each other if the two ever intersected.
Good luck with (not) making a decision.
Hope.you work out what you are going to do susannah @curiousseagull
Well I have a photo of one of the cards I made what do you. Think?
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Hahaha thanks! I have about a month to make this decision for definite- so I should get there in that time!
Thatās a good idea! I definitely need a clear out- quite looking forward to it actually. We donāt have much rubbish as such, just probably more things than we need so hoping to make a bit of money from getting rid of things too- weāll probably be sticking as much as we can on eBay/gumtree. Might make some Ā£ to help with the move!
Despite my heart clearly wanting the hobbit house- I still have a sneaky feeling Iām just going to panic and take the decent sized flat. My husband makes surf boards as well so he is always out in his garage making those so at least that keeps us out of each otherās faces when we need a break. Haha I know what you mean though- it is really nice having your own space away from everything/one.
I will decide- and be in our new house in a couple of months- and by Christmas the move will all be a distant dream away!! Haha
Thanks guys! Good to talk things out and rationalise things- and get ideas!
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To be honest space isnāt everything, weāre renting a large house at the moment as weāre extending our cottage (as we talked about in the recycling thread) and whenever weāre at the cottage I wish I could stay there and not come back here to the big house even though the surroundings are fine.
I agree with your o/h about getting rid of stuff too 
easier said than done though.
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Susanna @curiousseagull, did you say it was only for a year? Go with the one your heart yearns for. I have lived in so many scenarios, village centre, gardeners cottage in the middle of nowhere, new build housing estate and now a mid terrace by the sea. All had their pros and cons, you are creative and can make which ever one work for you, hubby and bun.
Thanks for all the Hama bead love for my daughter, it has really boosted her confidence in the project. But having read all the replies to her I have had to promise a trip to Ikea!! Oh what s chore!
Miserable day here, we have village fete at the weekend, and I am in charge of the cake stall, surprisingly! But my bake today are dog biscuits in the shape of bones to be sold at the dog show! Stock knitting coming along a treat, so I feel good.
Suzzie x
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Thanks for the logicial thinking folks! Itās appreciated!
I guess we have nothing to lose, so going to have a good look at them both very soon and then just go with my gut. Hubby is happy for either so heās sort of leaving it up to me- though he is useful for bouncing ideas off as well- itās good living with someone who thinks similarly, it can make decisions a lot easier! Haha
Hopefully weāll know for definite in no more than a fortnight. Either way though weāre going to go through our things and get rid!
Weather is biblical and the christmas garlands for my xmas stalls/ open studios have just arrived - can any one confirm if we are a) nominally still in āsummerā or b) actually had a āsummerā? Wondering if I over slept one day and missed it.
Right back to dismantling somoneās inherited jewelleryā¦
Sasha
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Weāve had an ok summer (ish) though August has been fairly wet. We had a lovely June/July. I would like it to last much longer though. I always feel as though summer is never long enough but winter just seems to go on forever.