(Dress is Glamorous, rucksack Ted Baker, shades Chanel).
So if you follow me on social media then you’ll know that the family and I made the big move from Yorkshire to Windsor last week, and what a roller coaster it’s been too!
It’s been around three years or so since our last house move and I’d honestly forgotten how tiring and emotional moving, actually is. All the life admin you have to undertake from packing up boxes to finding new schools has aged me by 10 years…No wonder they say a house move is one of the most stressful life milestones there is.
I’m missing my close friends and family back in Leeds so much that it physically hurts so there’s been a fair bit of sobbing (mostly at night when life seems to slow down a little) but also a lot of smiles and happy vibes to have moved somewhere so beautiful and welcoming.
I know in my heart of hearts that this move is completely the right thing for us as a family.
I’ll be closer to London for work for one thing, with just a half an hour’s train ride to Paddington and one hour to Waterloo, which is exactly why we moved: so I can see more of my kids and less of the train as I’d often need to be in London once or twice a week with 7 hour round-trip going from the village we lived in near Harrogate, to Central London.
I was tired as can be, and so ready to move back down South after living in London for 11 years, moving when Oliver was a baby.
As many of my regular readers will also know, we’ve been debating this move for quite a while now and after sharing on the blog not long ago, that we were off, we subsequently postponed the move when a close relative fell ill again.
Thankfully, that person is now better, and having found a trustworthy tenant for our house back in Yorkshire, who has promised to love it as his own, we felt now was the ideal time to spread our wings and fly over the M1 and back down South (!).
It’s funny how life turns out, because we nearly bought in Windsor years ago pre-kids, but opted for Barnes instead as I personally felt that Windsor was too far away from London with my TV Directing schedule which often meant 15 hour days! Roll on all of these years later (too tired from unpacking to remember exactly how many-soz) and we’ve moved here now, with two kids in tow as well, and it certainly feels close enough to London for me to happily commute.
I adore and NEED the countryside too so Windsor-dwelling provides us with the best of both worlds-shops and a buzzing centre, yet sprawling parks and greenery as far as the eye can see to meet my nature-loving ways.
The short distance to London is also making life so much easier, already.
I was there twice last week amidst the move/unpacking to appear on Good Morning Britain (you can see it below if you fancy a watch) and I was back in Central again the following day for a fun radio day with LeapFrog sharing my ‘Starting School’ tips.
(Dress c/o Wallis years ago when I featured in a campaign for them).
This week coming sees me working in London again for three incredibly exciting days (more on that soon) and had I still lived in Leeds, I would have had spend a week away from home to meet my commitments, meaning time away from the kids which I find hard to bear.
(Dress is Warehouse, flats River Island, new shiny metallic rucksack of dreams, Office).
Now as Peter has some time off, and most of the boxes are unpacked allowing us to feel more settled and relaxed (as you can see I’ve fallen for flats too, as a mostly heel-wearing gal as we’re walking everywhere), we feel happy and lucky to be calling Windsor home.
I can’t stop shopping (help) though, so need to curb that one as it’s becoming addictive living in the centre and being so close to Topshop, Zara, River Island and practically every other store I love, on our doorstep.
We’re also just a few minutes away from The Long Walk and Windsor Castle which is literally picture-postcard pretty plus there’s a magical playground right next to our new place which reminds me of the parks the kids love to play in, in the South of France. DREAMY, basically.
It feels truly idyllic living here, I just wish I could ship over all of my Leeds-based friends and family so we can all be together again. Thank goodness for FaceTime and Facebook Messenger, and I’m furiously planning a Leeds date stat so knowing I’ll see everyone soon, feels reassuring.
I also have tons of close mates in London and the surrounding areas and I can’t wait to catch up with everyone soon.
I must say, everyone has been incredibly welcoming in Windsor too. I thought being closer to the metropolis, people would naturally be more stand offish than the North but it’s been the complete opposite. Readers have stopped me in the street to say ‘hi’ (someone even tweeted me to say they had a pedicure next to me in a nail shop, earlier) and being recognised here has made me feel like I’m never alone.
My nails from earlier btw, this shade is weirdly called Naked Naivety by Shellac (nice though).
I’m now firmly crossing fingers that the kids get into a nearby school so I can make lots of mum and dad friends in the school playground. The borough have assured me that there are places close by, and all the schools near us in the centre we’ve listed, are outstanding or good so that’s reassuring.
Life is an adventure after all and pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone, will inevitably help us all grow, and hopefully flourish.
..I love these shots at the Bachelor Acre Park (just look at those waterfalls and Xander’s sulky face because he’s not centre of attention *baha).
So there you have it, our Windsor update. It’s achingly beautiful here with Instagrammable houses at every turn (I’ve been posing in front of many of them so MASSIVE apologies to my neighbours but a blogger/vlogger’s moved into the area)- and I know we’ll be happy here.
We already are.
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