It's all good!

Hello! Hope you are all completely wrapped up in the spirit of Christmas...I know I am! It's all getting very exciting :) Finished wrapping my presents this afternoon...I just have one gift to buy and I'm done..hurrah!! The weather here has been fantastic...temperatures in the -4 to +2 degree range but with no wind and bright blue skies...heavy frost every day so great crispy, crunchy, Christmassy weather!

It's been a while since I've been here...as you will know if you read this little blog on any kind of a regular basis, a lot has been going on in my life what with being made redundant etc...the good news is that I spent the first 3 weeks off from work, trying really hard to find work, attending interviews etc.. and it all paid off...I actually ended up getting TWO JOB OFFERS on the one day!!! It is really shocking at this time in Ireland with so many people losing their jobs everyday...I cannot believe my luck...I landed a great job, in a great company with wonderful perks and I don't have to start until 11th January!!!!! That is my news!! This all happened over two weeks ago, so I have been on a high since then...I feel so fortunate and am thanking all my lucky stars and all my family who were praying hard for me!! I am so looking forward to a wonderful 2010...I believe it's going to be a good year for us all! Yayyy!

I am off down the country for Christmas with my parents, then back up to Dublin for a few days before heading down to the South West Coast of Ireland...to Dingle, Co. Kerry for New Year's Eve! I hope to have some lovely photos from that trip which I will share with you anon!

I would like to wish you all a happy, happy Christmas, full of festive fun and frolics and I hope that 2010 will be a great year for you all! Sending big squeezy hugs your way!!

A few Christmassy shots from our home above!

Just...stuff!

Hello! I had a very relaxing weekend and hope you did too! The weather was utterly dreadful yesterday...raining all day long, heavily and consistently...lots of people in the midlands and the west are suffering bad flooding at the moment so I feel lucky not to be one of those families...it must be so awful for them. So with such awful weather outside, we holed up in front of the fire and watched TV (X Factor) and some DVDs (The Proposal and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button). I liked both movies (not so sure about hubby tho!!).

Anyway, today is a gorgeous day and I have just come back from the park where I did two rounds with the woofers...stunning...frosty but sunny, my favourite! So, back on the net and came across this Swedish artist, Anna-Carin Dahl, who is based in Denmark...isn't her work lovely...you can see more here..

Oh so pretty...

Spotted in Brown Thomas (posh department store in Dublin)...love these Alessi porcelain pieces...very delicate and so pretty...




Lotus flower dish, Sushi Set and Soya Sauce Pot

Liking....

Really like the Noa Noa (Danish) brand and Avoca Anthology (Irish) and a number of their pieces are available on the web via Inisonline which is based in Scotland. I have selected a few of my favourites below...I purchased the white shirt yesterday!

London's calling...

Am hoping that I if I can bag a job soon, with a view to starting after Christmas, that I might just treat myself to a few days in London. I would usually stay with friends but this time I think I might like to stay in nice hotel. I love this one in Chiswick. Like the fresh white with the zingy greens, reds and yellows - would be a lovely place to stay. You can check out more images on the website here. I have a few more I fancy and will share those with you shortly too!

I'm back....

So much has happened in the past two weeks....life has been really stressful around here! My Aunt Kitty passed away the weekend before last and I was glad that I was able to spend the night with her at the hospital before she died. It was very sad but we are all glad that she did not suffer and passed quite quickly in the end. She had a wonderful life and really lived to the fullest extent...I need to take a leaf out of her book...she was in so many societies and clubs - amazing for an 81 year old!

Then, the Friday before Kitty passed, I had "that" meeting at work...yes, the axe has finally fallen!! I was laid off/made redundant...of course, I have been waiting for this for well over a year now and as much as you prepare yourself and think you are ready, when you finally hear the words, it is both shocking and upsetting. However, I quickly pulled myself together and realised that I feel very positive about it all...I actually feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders and am feeling a strong sense of relief. I am sure that things will work out for the best - that's generally the way!

Now you know why I haven't been posting or visiting recently! Trying to get back to normal now...so weird not having to go to work (thankfully, I don't have to work out my notice which is fantastic!).

So, now back to all things design! I love Russell Pinch's furniture and saw that he unveiled some new pieces at 100% Design in London recently. On foot of that I went exploring the Pinch Design website. He and his wife, Oona, make up this fab design duo...here are some images of their work...I love these photographs and the first is my favourite...such a beautiful room too! The pieces are so elegant, understated and stylish...not trendy but I think, timeless, with beautiful lines and gorgeous materials...oohh I could wax lyrical all day but check their work out yourself below and on their website...






I noticed that Russell Pinch also designs for a number of other retailers and brands including SCP, Ercol, Conran and Jamie Oliver’s JME home-ware range. What a talent!

Hope you have a lovely week and I will be dropping by to visit you all soon :)

Long weekend....

Hello! Gosh, these last few months my posts have been fairly thin on the ground! My life has been kind of hectic since, well, pretty much the end of August and now that I have started back on the second and final year towards getting my Masters it’s going to be even more hectic! I really want to keep blogging but realise that I will only have time to post once/twice a week and now that I have made a decision on this I feel a bit better as it was verging on becoming a chore for me which is not the idea at all, at all!!

So, what have I been up to…..well, we had a long weekend here in Ireland last weekend and money being tight these days we finally took up my brother-in-law's offer for us to stay in his holiday home in Wexford (on the South East coast and known as the “sunny south east”). It’s kind of a “holiday village” and I had a lot of preconceptions about this and thought I would not like it BUT I was wrong and must now eat a rather large slice of humble pie. It is not at all what I had envisioned (heaps and heaps of holiday homes strewn together without much thought or planning, not well kept, over run with people renting for weekends not caring about the environment etc) so I was very pleasantly surprised to find a well-planned, well laid out green park land type scenario with lovely little cottages strategically placed so that all have a nice view and privacy…backing on to a beautiful links golf course with a lovely winding path through it for the residents to access the Clubhouse and also to reach the most gorgeous mile long beach…all two minutes from your door! The little “estate” is really well kept and there are tennis courts and a nice play area for kids…lots of nice green space everywhere. Also, it seems that most of the people visiting own the properties so they are really well cared for.

We had such a lovely weekend! We went for lots of walks on the beach which, as mentioned was just a stroll away. We took a few jaunts out in the car to some of the other beaches in the area and we were blessed with stunning weather….cannot believe we are having this weather at end of October (it's 18 degrees today)! We still lit a fire every evening tho…atmosphere you know!

Some pictures of the beach below…the woofers loved it!






Hope you had a lovely weekend and are enjoying your week :)

Printed tea-cosies ....

Hello...came across Maxine Sutton's little online shop via Elle Decoration's November issue. Maxine makes these really cute and sweet hand printed tea-cosies and lavender-filled spoons and hearts. If you fancy making your own, you can purchase one of her little crafty kits...

Aunt Kitty...

My poor Aunt Kitty, 81 years old and quite a lady is very ill and in hospital. She has lost two husbands (the first died when he was just 41 and the second a few years ago). She does not have any children so we, all her nieces and nephews, are visiting her regularly at hospital to keep her company and ensure she is not alone for too long. Things are not good and she is not expected to last much longer. She loves Oscar and Sadie and so I made her a little card which I will bring with me when I visit her today...I think it will make her smile :)

Saturday morning...

I made some brown soda bread for breakfast this morning...and what a morning...the weather here in Dublin is just beautiful - hurrah!! My parents are coming to visit and are taking us out for birthday lunch then we'll most likely go for a nice walk with the woofers :)





Hope you are enjoying your weekend!

My journey home from work...

So, it is a beautiful Friday evening here in Dublin, and as always I'm thrilled skinny to be out of work and heading into the weekend! I had my little digital camera sitting beside me in the car so thought I would shoot my journey home from Baggot Street to Kimmage on Dublin's leafy southside...of course, I was careful and a lot of the shots I didn't even know what I was taking so excuse the very bad pictures and the blurryness - you'll get the general vibe tho (hopefully)!!

Starting off on Lower Mount Street...



Piebald horse with cart and tourists!



Up Merrion Street...



Both corners of Merrion and Baggot Streets...





Corner of Leeson St and Fitzwilliam Street Upper..



Adelaide Road...are you bored??



Approaching Portobello Bridge (over the Grand Canal) towards Rathmines...



Rathmines Village..





Leinster Road...



Kenilworth Park...almost there!



Getting closer...more modest housing you might note!!



Ooops quick detour to Donnybrook Fair for my bottle of Provo Reggio (a delicious Portuguese Sauv Blanc)...it's Friday afterall!



The little park beside my house...



My little street...



The front door...



My welcome home...two very excited and newly groomed woofers...awww...



Some gorgeous evening light..



And my glass of wine....ah..bliss..



Hope you enjoyed the trip - it's a nice drive (tho I should be on my bike...only a few more weeks before I don't have a choice on that one!)...just so you know, it is 3 miles (about 5k I think) and takes me about 20minutes - hope you have a wonderful weekend :)