More hols..

Hello! Gosh, I thought it would be much easier to do this on hols but...no, it's not...too busy being out and about, loving our surroundings and soaking up the beauty of it all...can't imagine ever getting tired of this place..every day we do the same 4 mile journey off the island along impossibly narrow, winding laneways and everyday I gasp in delight, really, it's just breathtaking!! I so love it here...want to give up the whole city thing and come down here forever...sigh!!

Some more snaps...have taken soooo many and am being very lazy here, not thinking too hard about which ones to pick..sorry!! For Trudi...we have two doggies, Oscar and Sadie, both Bichon Frise, twins and the only two in the litter - they are 6 years old!! And yes, Mary is a Connemara pony and they are a well known breed...there are so many of them around here...I can't describe how wonderful it is to see a beautiful pony run by your living room window...gasp!! Feel like I am in a movie sometimes!


View from top of Connemara National Park towards the Atlantic Ocean


Local cow taking her time moving out of our way on lane home!


Road sign on the Bog Road..gotta love it!


A very still 5am shot from back of cottage


Old farm buildings/barns on the island


Shot of Sadie sitting at front door..cute!


B with O&S near Gurteen


Sadie with her squeezy ball!




Pretty clouds, evening sky...



And more pretty clouds!!

That's it from me for another few days...sorry I haven't been visiting you much but promise to visit when I get back from hols and of course, and as always, thanks for your lovely comments :)

Connemara...

Hello...here we are - hurray!! It was a pretty dark and misty evening when we arrived but right now the light stretches almost to 11pm - I managed to get a shot of our special friend, Mary the Mare..she is beautiful...so gentle and friendly...this is the back of the cottage...Mary is just over the wall...she came over for a catch-up chat as we hadn't seen each other since Christmas! We are all so excited to be here, especially the woofers...so much space for them to run around.



This is at about 5:30 this morning from our bedroom window...



We went for a walk at Dog's Bay...our favourite beach...





Then through Roundstone (the local village) on our way back to the island..there was a Regatta on and all the traditional Galway Hookers were out on the bay...they are quite strange...look ancient and eery...particularly with the black sails (which I have never seen before). Hookers were introduced to Ireland by the Dutch in the 16th Century and are still used as working boats in Connemara today...







Then back to our little cottage to take in more of the wonderful views and then an introduction...Miss Sadie, meet Miss Mary!











I know this is a lot of photos and hope I am not boring you!! See you again in a few days...the forecast is for RAIN...every day...we'll see, I don't believe it!

Holidays!

Yay...officially on holidays until 3rd August!! As mentioned previously, we are off to Connemara for 2 weeks - am so excited! Have been running around this morning doing chores, one of which was to pick up my new "polaroid" camera from the Post Office - it is so adorable...have just taken one photo so far and I love it!! Will post more about it whilst on hols...my plan is to post briefly, via photos mostly, over the next few weeks. Enjoy your weekend :)

Oops...and Swap...

Ooops...have been neglecting my little blog this week - things have been a bit all over the place I'm afraid...am really busy at work and am also preparing for my HOLIDAY!!! Can't wait...I finish work today at 3pm...yayyyyyy!!

Now, I have been meaning to post about my swap with lovely Catherine of the delightful Little Glowing Lights! So here goes...Catherine sent me these gorgeous resin dishes from Dinosaur Designs along with the cutest little brooch (all handmade and designed in Australia)! Loving them all LOADS!!

Granny Squares...

I am sure you have seen this before but I had to post it, if only so I don't forget! I think this is so amazingly beautiful...from Sandra Juto on Big Cartel. It has been sold..to some lucky person in Australia if I remember correctly! Drool!

If only I had a tree!

If you have a lovely garden with a big tree...then lucky you! I would so love to have this in my garden..what a simple, smart idea...take one old wooden rocking chair, remove legs, add flat base, rope and some brightly coloured paint and VOILA!! How gorgeous is this?? Love the yellow too!

Simple things (round two!)...

Christina at Soul Aperture suggested another day of celebrating the simple things...so here are a few more "simple things" that make me happy....

: mashed banana sandwiches (with butter) and a cup of tea

: fresh flowers in my living room

: rolling over in bed on Saturday and Sunday mornings and realising I don't have to go to work, that I can laze around a bit and have a long leisurely breakfast with my husband

: rolling countryside and open spaces

: soft pale blues and pinks

: I leave for work every morning just a few minutes before my husband...I am always in a rush but he has everything ready for me...my breakfast to take with me, my keys where I can find them etc. Then he stands at the window as I leave with our two doggies in his arms so we can all wave goodbye to each other!! Aw shucks!! It makes my day :)

: heading out of Dublin on the open road with rolling countryside all around me and being able to drive (ie, not being stuck in traffic!)

: roast chicken dinners with roast potatoes and my mother's stuffing

: being able to sit outside and kick back in the summer sunshine with a chilled glass of my favourite wine (doesn't happen a lot so extra special when it does!)

: my doggies running to me and fussing over me when I have screamed after stubbing my toe or tripping or falling (which I do a lot!)

: settling down on the sofa with my latest stash of magazines - a nice cup of coffee and some biscuits close at hand

: new notebooks and stationery

: my husband...always and all the time!

Oops...second post today - I forgot to mention this.....

I have just bought one of these!! Kind of a mini-polaroid...only available in Japan but you can purchase on ebay. I heard about it through the lovely decor8 blog! Am really hoping it arrives before I go away on hols...should be fun to use and of course I love the cute design!

Short and Sweet...

Really busy right now so posts will be short but hopefully sweet! Work is crazy this week but holidays aren't too far away so I have to keep the old mandible elevated! Anyway, a few really sweet pieces I have had my eye on...





by Hanne Rysgaard Ceramics


by Rob Ryan

I really love the Rob Ryan piece...so cute and perfect for somebody who had no interest in maths at school...equations like this are much more my speed. You can buy from Mister Rob here at Etsy. Lots of lovely work.

Liking the ceramic milk cartons too....you can buy them at Not on the High Street.

Mondays...

I don't usually mind Mondays but I am a bit grumpy today. This made me smile tho...



via here

Knitting....

...a RUG!! Check this out...absolutely amazing..really inspired and quite beautiful..wouldn't you just love one of your own...see more of this artist's work here





Have a lovely weekend :)

Scandi Style....

I found this link after having seen some gorgeous images on the lovely Deco Detective blog (you must check this blog out if you haven't already!).

Here are some more images...again it's the bright white with gorgeous punches of really bright colours...I am totally loving this vibe right now...my heart actually fluttered when I saw the images first (sad but true!!). I would strongly recommend having a look at the website...I am waiting to hear back from them as to whether they ship to Ireland or not...fingers crossed :) I noticed that they have products from Rice, Tinek and Greengate all of which I posted about here some time ago!
















I would love a couple of the little armchairs and the sofa (armchair for our bedroom, sofa and another armchair for our "snug" project - more about that later!)and I really like the bureau/drawer unit...would be perfect for that nook I posted about a few days ago!

And my cottage....

OK...not mine! I really like this one...it's in Shillellagh (lovely name - you don't pronounce the gh at the end so quite lyrical I think!) in Co Wicklow...about 55 miles from Dublin. It's been for sale for quite some time. 3 bedrooms (no photos)...all in the eaves...so picture sloping ceilings, tongue and groove cladding, cute windows! I'd love to get my hands on it and do it up ...it seems in pretty good shape. It's on half an acre so nice bit of land for the chicken run and vegetable garden (Fi!) and look at the lane leading up to it....gorgeous...now, where's my wallet :)













Ah...good to have dreams!