Welcome to our blog!
Where to begin? Well, I'm Catherine and with my fiancée, Magali, we live in London and have been for the past 8 years. We've been lucky enough to travel a lot and discover many beautiful and interesting things. But in 2014, an opportunity arose to buy Magali's grandmothers house in France that we couldn't say no to. It took many trips between London and France, a lot of paperwork and much translation on Magali's part, but last year we were finally able to call it our own. We're now ready to start planning to make all the changes we want to. Our plan is to make a Home and a Bed & Breakfast that not only is a lovely and relaxing place to be but is also self-sufficient in all that we use.
To achieve this, a lot of work is needed. Firstly, on the house itself as it's from the 60s and currently has the worst ratings possible for Efficiency. We need a new roof, insulation, possibly plumbing and overall makeover of the interior. Secondly, as it's on two hectares of land, there's a lot of work to be done there too. Over the years, Magali's grandmère collected a lot. And I mean a lot. So there's loads to sort through to see what can be reused, recycled or given away. We need to manage the current vegetation and plant new things, and we also need to put in a sanitation system due to the latest French law.
We both believe in ecological and sustainable living so want to make the house as self-sufficient as it can be. We want to be able to grow our own food, create our own power and also recycle as much waste (yes, all waste) as we can. We know the challenge that lies ahead so we're both excited and scared but are hoping that it will be the best thing we can do both for ourselves, for others and for the planet.