The beginning

My name is Clara and for the last 14 years my husband, Chaz, and I have dreamed of buying a little house in France. We spend time in France at least once a year, and our two children have become adept at finding things to do on a cross-channel ferry! Why France? We craved the easy-going lifestyle, the people, the food and the slightly sunnier climate. But ultimately we were looking for a place to escape to. Different enough from our lives in the UK, but still familiar and accessible. Initially, I thought that what I wanted was a pretty, picture-book stone town-house, with blue shutters and flowers in the window.

We have looked at property up and down the country, from town houses to unconverted barns, and have come to realise that we want a 'project'. Somewhere once beautiful and now forgotten, that needs to be brought back to life. That realisation was, admittedly, partly assisted by the realisation that our budget would only stretch to a 'do-er upper', but that's far more fun anyway!  This week, our little dream came true when we took ownership of a lovely, albeit dilapidated, little stone house in a pretty Normandy village. We will update this blog as we go about renovating and updated our 'Maison Normande'.....