A room with a… bathtub!

Last week I hinted at new pathways ahead and exciting changes on the horizon for my little family. Today, I have decided to let you on a little secret. We are buying a HOUSE!!!

Twenty years ago, I would have been 14 years old hahaha and my trusty ‘Dolomites’ account just wouldn’t have made the cut as I survey my closet fashion obsession, but the proverb rings true…! Whether it was yesterday, a year ago or 10 years ago, it doesn’t matter; today is a bright new day and there is no reason to think now is any worse off to make a change than ever there was.

Everyone says that the biggest things that happen in your life are getting married, buying a house and having your first child. Hmmm well the child came first in the form of our fur baby Winston (the best birthday present one could ever receive when you are told that you have incurable cancer), we got married in May and we are moving to our first, and possibly my ‘forever’ home at the age of 34.

This year, you can say has been a massive one for Ant and I, and I know I have been supremely quiet on my beloved The Naked Gardiner website platform that I created at the start of my journey with my cancer recurrence back in 2013. There have been so many exciting and new changes happening for my beautiful little family this year, and some pretty great wins along the way all while I continue to live my life with Stage IV melanoma. On a personal front our wedding, not surprisingly, drained me of every ounce of physical and mental strength that I had and I joked with many of my friends that I was going to go into an after ‘wedding hibernation’ once it was over. Ironically this has been true! Hello SPRING!!!! Hahhaha! In hindsight I realize that I should have sought a lot more assistance in planning our beautiful day but in true “Kathy control-freak” manner, I took the bulk of it on myself, not wanting to bother anyone with the choices that we made in getting married and in doing so I paid the price for the exhaustion aftermath that I created for myself.

Always a sucker for keeping busy behind the scenes though, my new hubby (hehehehe still sounds weird, love you Ant) and I have been busy looking at creating a new landscape for our partnership together. Enter house hunting!

Now I know, some of you may be sitting back and fretting in worry whether this is a bright idea while I presently face an incurable disease, but let me share with you a little about Ant and I. We are not ones to let the dark bubble get us down, life carries on and we both choose to move with it, through all its ups and downs. I have worked hard since I was 17 years old and I can’t deny that I have achieved a lot in the years of my career where I supported some of the most amazing people who have left their impression on me and built the foundations for a strong-minded, stubborn (yes, the one and only time I will admit this) and determined woman and we both have built the most amazing friendship circles in our lives. On top of that, both Ant and I have had some incredible travel experiences, together and separately, that most people would dream of but the one thing that we have always wanted was our own home (and a baby but that’s where Winston Flap-Flap Pukallus fills the void, our darling little healing pup)! This next step concretes the foundations for creating a better financial future for the two loves in my life.

Breaking into the housing market is pretty tough at any time, but breaking into the market when you have some major factors to consider, like your own longevity can be pretty daunting; strangely for Ant and I this whole process is seeming to be far easier than planning a wedding! Hahhaha (“Did you hear that…never again, you are stuck with me Anty!”). Our non-negotiables were our budget, the proximity to Brisbane CBD and the distance away from my hospital, a bathtub (finally!!!), a big kitchen (a must), a backyard for our ratbag furball and most definitely a place that oozes a unique character where we can create a sanctuary of own. We don’t ask for much, hey???

We have been overjoyed to find a beautiful post-war home, 4 minutes from our present leafy river suburb, within close proximity to the city and the hospital, with a huge backyard for Mister and space for a veggie garden and possibly a chicken run, ‘man-cave havens’ for my hubby, a single bathtub (with a shower… okay so a few compromises had to be made, hope Ant realizes how long I take in the bathroom now he needs to share! Cue long candlelit bath sessions for me!!!), a beautiful office space where I can throw myself back into my writing and design creations with renewed vigor and most importantly a kitchen where we can feel enthused about making delicious nourishing food magic again. And the icing on the raw cheesecake… my sister and the cutest chubby little redhead in the world are mere minutes from my door, oh yeah better not forget Ando too.

I can’t deny with exciting new changes on the horizon there are also mixed emotions. I never thought with my prognosis that we would ever be in a position to make a new home and to be rather frank, I honestly thought that I would be taking my steps to the spirit world from my current nurturing abode, but when opportunities arise you grab them quicksticks! I moved into my little home with my sister, fresh out of my childhood home at the age of 21. We’ve always loved our little leafy haven and the memories that we have made here. When I took off to live abroad it was so nice to return back to my little home and to escape the dramas that I experienced in my last few months of my time in London facing the diagnosis and treatment of my primary melanoma. We endured the 2011 floods and came away pretty ok only with minimal flooding, a miracle when you consider how close I am to the river. I have forged an almost 14 year relationship with my lovely next door neighbour who I consider an extended family member and who has essentially seen my sister and I grow from naughty little ‘piss-head travellers’ with a penchant for vino to grown women with our own families. For me this home has always been my safe haven! But even though it has been MY safe haven it’s time for Ant and I to have a place that we can call our own, we have a fur ball to consider after all.

People often say that there is nothing better than a change to refresh and renew your energy and mind. As my health continues to remain stable, I think there is no time like the now to introduce new positivity, freshness and create our own space for happy memories to be organically grown. Here’s to celebrating change!!!

Now who offered to help me pack???

With love, light and a sticky mess of packaging tape xx