Happy Heart = Happy Soul

Yellow door love :)

2011-04-11T19:43:00.001+01:00

Oohhhhh....man I love sunny yellow doors :)

Doesn't it look like it must lead into a magical secret wonderland?? Our own little abode has a rather pretty windy path with a yellow door...brings a smile every time I walk up the path :)

Stripey Progress II

2011-02-22T09:45:00.001Z

Progressing well with the stripes - man I love this project, big bundle of colourdy goodness to pile on top of you.....can't wait to finish though and enjoy it properly.

Paris

2011-02-20T11:31:00.000Z

Paris is always a good idea - Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina.

Simply c.a.n.n.o.t. wait until we go again in April......

Spring is springing!

2011-02-20T09:44:00.000Z

Ah Spring! You're finally on your way!
My first daff poked it's head out yesterday, and my beautiful bleeding heart (not my actual heart, but the plant!) is sprouting again and holding raindrops in its leaves as delicately as ever.

The majority of my Saturday was spent pottering, god I love a good potter...I think I should move to Portland, Oregon since I read somewhere that it is where young people go to retire...sounds great!

Coffee from my new cup, freshly baked ginger and chocolate chip biscuit and a potter around....

Off to bake some bread now! Such a simple recipe from the lovely Lorraine Pascale and her show Baking made easy - recipe here.

Stripey Progress

2011-01-30T23:27:00.000Z

Even though the winter sunshine was a welcome visitor this weekend I still spent the majority of my time striping along watching films....lush...

Ain't it looking puurrrrttyy?? So loverly and colouredy :)

It is taking me quite a while to progress with this though! What you see there is the result of 13 hours (yes, 13) of striping, me oh my, this is gonna take a while :)

I must also show off my favouritest purchase since Christmas. I have had this calendar for ages....

But.....now I've got a much nicer Irish version :)

A bad case of the wanties...

2011-01-23T22:46:00.000Z

oops.....

I need to see a doctor as I have a very bad case of the wanties...

Things I want include, but are not limited to (that is a useful phrase as it allows you to add more to your list without feeling like you are a complete shopaholic...)

Russian doll tins, which I have absolutely no need for, perhaps they could stand empty on a shelf and be symbolic of my bank balance after I buy all these items??

A Greengate latte mug....I don't even drink lattes, but her life looks pretty good and she drinks them right? Note to self: start drinking lattes in order to become a super-cool Scandi girl who wears chunky knits with ease and probably has some chickens out in her slightly overgrown but impossibly charming garden...

While a part of me wants to be that Scandi-chicken-girl, another bit wants a trendy urban European life, and this Ikea print screams "Yes, I actually am that cool; no, seriously, I'm too hip to even be talking about it frankly....cigarette??" (trendy Parisian artistes smoke with no side-effects; fact...)

And finally, some Rob Ryan plates, because even though bits of me want to be the super cool Scandi, or the chain-smoking Parisian artiste, really I just want things that make me smile - like these plates!

Projects

2011-01-16T14:04:00.000Z

A few snaps of some of my recently completed projects....if you consider 2 months ago recent that is!

Crocheted scarf for little sister for Christmas....made with beautiful yarn from Liberty in London....man I love that shop...sighhhhhh...

The now infamous Christmas jumper :)

With lights.... :)

And a baby quilt for my friend's new baba.....isn't he so cute!

2011

2011-01-16T13:12:00.001Z

Ok - I have been decidingly lacking on the blog-front in the last several months! But as the new year is now well under way it is time to get busy again!

First up in my crochet project queue is a Granny stripe blanket (Lucy over on Attic 24 made such a lovely one, isn't it so purrrty?!). I love the colours in this one from Flickr...

I've just been to the new craft cafe 5 minutes from out house (no excuses now Ailish!!) - Winne's.

It's really a beautiful shop and cafe, really light and bright with lovely food and loads and loads and loads wool.....though I still have not found a really nice yellow shade for my blanket...why is a good yellow so hard to find?

I'll post some more later with pics of some of my finished projects from the last few months.

Ta-ra for now!

Black puppy for a black day

2010-11-24T17:54:00.000Z

Its another black financial day in Ireland, so what better to distract me from it than a itsy-bitsy cutie-pie puppy...

A new project!

2010-10-26T20:52:00.000+01:00

I am very excited about the possibilities of this new project! I found the pattern on the Lion Brand Yarn site, they have loootttsss of free patterns which is great. I'm going to make a massive big floppy head on mine with the biggest pom-pom you have ever seen :)

Tuesday night make and do

2010-10-19T23:14:00.000+01:00

T was off out tonight so to counter my boredom I had a little make and do session. Apologies in advance for the cruddy photos as they were taken on my Iphone, doing some research into new cameras and potentially might even get one from Santy this year!

Anyway - take 1 boring cream pillowcase and some ribbon......

And with a very little sewing and some Sukie transfers you get....

(Note to self.....practice with transfers....and put newspaper down so they don't go through to your lovely Ikea throw.....sigh.....)

Also, made good progress on this fella too....a present for some friends, all gorgeous washed and worn vintage fabrics along with some Liberty prints too.

Love this!

2010-09-26T21:14:00.000+01:00

Crochet tortoises

2010-09-16T12:42:00.000+01:00

Ain't they cute!! Nicer than the tortoise we have in our back garden for sure.

via http://iminlalaland.com/

I'm back!!

2010-09-03T11:54:00.000+01:00

Hellloooooo!! It's been oh so long but I'm back :)

Have some great plans for the next few months so do stop by regularly

As for this weekend, I'm going to see can I make myself a lovely skirty-table-thingy like this striped beauty.

Have a lovely weekend!

Katie daisy

2010-06-08T11:59:00.000+01:00

I've really fallen for Katie Daisy's illustrations. They're so full of life and colour and happiness :)

Her bio on her website is so cute too - makes me want to be her new best friend :)

"Katie Daisy is a wandering artist whose home is the prairie. Originally from a small farm in Illinois, Katie is greatly inspired by rural life. Ms. Daisy makes her way by enjoying simple country pleasures such as a sweet goldfinch song, swimming in lakes, canoe trips that creep into the night and sipping chamomile tea with honey."

Summer afternoons

2010-06-06T09:48:00.000+01:00

Love what is close to you

2010-05-17T17:26:00.001+01:00

All great civilisations are based on parochialism. To know fully even one field or one land is a lifetime's experience. In the world of poetic experience it is depth that counts, not width. A gap in a hedge, a smooth rock surfacing a narrow lane, a view of a woody meadows, the stream at the junction of four small fields, these are as much as a man can fully experience.

Patrick Kavanagh, Kavanagh's Weekly 1952.

A code to live by

2010-05-16T12:07:00.000+01:00

Poor doggie :(

2010-05-13T21:20:00.000+01:00

Look at this poor chap!

But the little baby is having so much fun!

What to do, what to do.....

2010-05-05T22:05:00.000+01:00

My Granda would have loved this. Once I was worrying about settling into a career and what to do with my life etc etc and he told me that he was 74 and he still didn't know what he wanted to do with his life!

I like that attitude :)

Tee-hee-he

2010-05-03T12:01:00.000+01:00

This really made me snigger this morning - a 1940's American advert for car-pooling. I ride with Hitler everyday apparently ;)

Bluebells for love

2010-05-02T21:43:00.001+01:00

It has been almost one month to the day that I was last in Mount Usher gardens - on the last visit you could how so many trees and plants were just about to pop into life after our hard winter, so I was eager to get back to see their progress.

And oh how lovely it was - my parents came along too and we really enjoyed our wander through the shady paths of the gardens. I've seen my first butterflies of 2010 in the last week or so also, and the gorgeous male Orange tip, and the Speckled wood were about supping on nectar (I used this brilliant website to check on the species, it has fantastic distribution maps and a really easy-on-the-eye layout)

We also came across a pet cemetary in the gardens which I had missed on my last visit - each pet given their own headstone (especially loved all the names, with plain ol Paddy on the last stone!).

And as it is now May, there were many bluebells nodding their heads in the undergrowth, reminding me of the opening verse of one of my favourite poems;

There will be bluebells growing under the big trees
And you will be there and I will be there in May;
For some other reason we both will have to delay
The evening in Dunshaughlin -- to please
Some imagined relation,
So both of us came to walk through that plantation.

(Patrick Kavanagh - Bluebells for love)

Courtyard garden

2010-04-27T21:12:00.001+01:00

Our little courtyard garden is looking quite lovely these days if I do say so myself. We get morning sunshine, but once its after 12 that is the end of our sunshine flirtation :( boo

Still, I've managed to collect over 30 different plants into our shady corner, and I do love stepping out with cuppa in hand for a little nosy about. First stop is the honeysuckle (which is doing brilliant in a full shade corner) which the caterpillars of some moth have decided is an excellent home. There are a few cocoons in the process of being spun, I wonder what will emerge?

I have little hooks and nails for candles everywhere so at night it is a little twinkly haven (albeit a cold one since Dublin nights are not quite balmy enough for alfresco dining as yet!).

Tim gave my little Ikea chairs a fresh coat of red paint so they look very cheery now. I sat in the dapply sun on Sunday morning, drank peppermint tea made with my own peppermint, read some of my new book, and listen to this song about, oh, 10 times in a row?! I love it - a very GMHM* all round.

* Good Mental Health Morning ;)

Kilruddery gardens

2010-04-25T18:47:00.002+01:00

Another Sunday, another jaunt to poke around some gardens :)

This week it was the turn of Kilruddery House in Bray. I used to work right beside this place in my pre-loving-of-the-gardening days but I had never visited before this morning. It has been used as a filming location venue for lots of films and shows, most recently the Tudors, so is pretty impressive and grand, although the house wasn't open today. I was kind of glad really - the family still live and work there and I already felt like a very nosy intruder wandering through their garden!

It is the oldest surviving 17th century garden in Ireland so it has some fabulous garden design ideas (long ponds, lime tree avenues, beech circles, orangery modelled on Crystal Palace) but it was what was going on on ground level that interested me most.

So many wildflowers and primroses, and beginnings of bluebells. I don't know what this gorgeous little green plant that was flourishing away in the grass is called - no doubt someone more knowledgeable than I would call it a weed, but I think it is beautiful in it's greenness...

When the day finally comes that I have a patch of grass to call my own, I want nothing more than for it to be full of daisies, springy with moss and be generally overgrown. Pristine lawns hold no interest to me. Oh - and I also want a ferny glade, with a bed of lemon balm....but that may have to wait :)

(click on the collages to enlarge)

The daffodil selection was also luscious - from bowsie flouncy stems to more muted minimalistic heads.....

And the garden cafe was bedecked in lovely jaunty bunting, which has inspired me to whip up some of my own for our little courtyard.

Bye for now!

Spring flowers from the garden

2010-04-22T21:50:00.003+01:00

The first flowers of the year that I've been able to pick from our very humble garden. They make me very happy :)

They were picked at the weekend in the early morning, whereas these ones were from the local shop for only €3 - bargain; well bargain by Dublin standards, maybe not by Colombia Road levels though.

And guess who else I met on my morning wander.

Yes, this is the sleeping arrangement of choice for Dynamite the tortoise - buried under grass cuttings and keeping one eye on all that's happening. Kinda cosy looking actually!

P.S. - did you notice my fancy collage-type pic of the tulips?? Have finally figured out how to make a collage in Picasa three months after downloading it! I think it looks great :) Am going to have to find a new theme/background for the blog though as the current format cuts off my pics if they're too big - but that's for another day!

Thursday puppy

2010-04-22T11:12:00.000+01:00

Ach isn't he so cute!! What a wee pudge!

Note to self....

2010-04-18T21:27:00.000+01:00

This is mayonnaise...........

But this is moisturiser that you left in the kitchen sitting upside down.....

Number one goes very nicely with a toasted ham and cheese sandwich.

Number 2 does not :( and the taste will stay in your mouth for hours :(

Remember this.

Aardvark Manifesto

2010-04-15T12:34:00.001+01:00

New poster from the same people who co-ordinated the resurgance of the Keep Calm posters - I love this, I think I will buy and put at the front door so every day before I leave I'll get a motivation boost!

Found via India Knight.

Edit - ordered and the lovely folk in the Keep Calm Gallery have already shipped it! Woohoo!

Dynamite the tortoise

2010-04-14T22:25:00.001+01:00

We live in a section of a big old house in Dublin, a wing of the house if you will. The main part of the house was built way back in the mid 1700s, but our section was just added in about 1850, so it's only a wee whipper-snapper yet :)

Our lovely neighbours in the main house have the most fabulous, and enormous, garden which we can use and enjoy whenever they aren't about.

Last weekend as I sat reading (and burning....why didn't anyone remind me that even though it is only April you will still burn!)...anyway, where was I, oh yes, I was sitting and reading and then in the corner of my eye I thought - hey, that rock moved.

As it turns out it wasn't a rock, it was Dynamite - the resident tortoise who was just out of hibernation after a very cold winter!

He is over 50 years old, and our neighbours have had him for over 35 years. This winter was so bad that they really didn't think he would survive, but he's back out and about and looking for shoe leather to chew on - seemingly its his thing, would explain why he was chasing after Tim (if one can use such a speedy sounding word to describe a tortoise!)

Kinda freaky looking isn't he?!

Ardgillan Castle

2010-04-12T22:44:00.004+01:00

Another lovely long weekend.....and what fab weather to boot! I just love love love those first Spring weekends where you are out and about in a tshirt and everyone just seems happier - know what I mean?

Well Friday saw me with a sneaky day off work and the morning was so smashing that I had to use it wisely. So, off I took to Ardgillan Castle in north Co. Dublin. It is a beautiful castle, park and gardens owned by the council so it is also free free free. Even better.

Being Easter hols and all I thought I should head off early before the hoards of kids landed - I love children and all but Friday was all about me, and as such I needed peace.

And I was duly rewarded with my early rise - the grounds were still, quiet except for chattering birds and the occassional dog bark.

The walled gardens were a joy - the beginnings of buds and shoots and petals peaking through. Some early blooms offered up their nectar to the greedy bees.

I stole a peak through locked greenhouse door to glimpse the loveliness within...

The best part? Wandering into the herb garden, grabbing some leaves in my hand...

Scrunching them up....

And breathing in the scent of lemon balm deeply. I would gladly plant a huge springy lawn of this plant and sleep on it forever more.

Heaven. Or at least my version of it.

Puppies on a washing line

2010-04-08T22:04:00.000+01:00

Its puppies in onesies on a line! What's not to love!

via http://weheartit.com/entry/1850643

Gardener's apron

2010-04-08T20:35:00.002+01:00

I wanted to make a nifty little half-apron that I could use for gardening or other such chores which would benefit from the addition of a few pockets to an apron.

A quick look through my growing selection of sewing books threw up a cute pattern in Cath Kidston's "Sew" - a pretty good book for a beginner like me as it has all the patterns on a nifty life-size mega-fold-out piece of graph paper.

Was the first time I had used bias binding and thought "how hard can it be?" Harder than I thought when you're a bit of a ninny....things didn't turn out quite like they were supposed to (read exposed stitching and creased binding)....sigh....

Buuuuttttt, I still loves it!! Ain't it cute?!

Peaceful garden

2010-04-06T21:57:00.002+01:00

Sunday morning saw myself and T take off to Mount Usher gardens for a stroll. A lot of the gardens had been flooded during all the extreme weather over the winter so I wasn't sure if there would be anything to see at all!

But since the gardens are laid out in natural Robinsonian style, nothing appeared too damaged.

Don't I sound so knowledgeable?? Truth is that I only found out that Robinsonian means gardens laid out in a style inspired by William Robinson, an Irish man who liked things to run a bit wild and was the antithesis of the structured formal Victorian gardens of his era.

Hence Mount Usher is carpeted with bluebells and daffs, and wildflowers flourish in shady pockets. Magnolias and rhododendrons work their way towards bursting into flower.

Everything is gardened organically and when you get up that bit earlier in the morning you get to enjoy peaceful shaded walks along the Vartry river and through azalea-strewn woods.

Just lovely.

Wow....

2010-04-05T11:03:00.000+01:00

Wow - came across this on IMGfave, not sure how true to life it is but a great picture none the less....I wonder what his story was...

via http://www.tumblr.com/dashboard

2010-04-04T11:37:00.003+01:00

Problem = dull sofa with wintery coloured cushions

Solution = 3 new cushion covers that I made yesterday - aren't they purrty?!

A long weekend

2010-04-02T13:39:00.000+01:00

Am very glad that we have a long weekend this weekend since this sums up how I feel about work today!

via http://www.tumblr.com/dashboard

Paris.....

2010-04-02T10:20:00.000+01:00

via http://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/25/486928555

Smiley seedlings

2010-03-30T23:02:00.003+01:00

Look at the little smiley face that was grinning up at me from my seedlings on the windowsill - ain't he cute?! hehe

Too much??!

2010-03-30T17:24:00.000+01:00

Now I do love my crochet and the granny square is where its all at these days but this is still a bit too much!

It's soooo heavy

2010-03-29T17:18:00.000+01:00

What a little pudge of a puppy!

yeeeeaaaahhhh

2010-03-28T09:20:00.000+01:00

Man, I bet that feels goooodd!

London calling...

2010-03-25T23:41:00.002Z

Gees....what a week - have had sucky sucky internet connection all week long, been taking an aggggeeeee to load my photos :( booo to you O2 and your sucky internet :(

So, I was back over in London again last weekend - this time I went with my lovely mammy and what a lovely weekend we had. It is always so great to get away and see new places - as much as I love living in Dublin it does sting a bit when you see the amazingness that is London......

We were staying with my auntie over in east London, really close to the Olympic village, and East is the new West dahling!!

When I was in London at end of January the work was really tipping along, but I couldn't get over how fast it had progressed when I was back last weekend. Look at the stadium, and you could see the aerodrome for the cycling. The pics were taken from the roof terrace in my aunt's new apartment - imagine how fab it will be to be up there for the opening ceremony fireworks! Woohoo!!

If we swivel about 180 degrees, we get another brill view over Victoria Park towards the city and the Gherkin. So lovely to have such a great park close-by; we have no real green areas near us in Dublin (ok ok, the beach is about 5 mins walk but sometimes you just need green right?!).

The initial idea for the weekend was to tie in with the Ideal Home show, and that we did. We got there as the doors opened on the very first morning, and somehow managed to dodge the ginormous queue and sneak right in - lovely jubly! There was a great selection of bits to see there; gorgeous gardens, lovely bedroom ideas and even a yarn stall! Yippee!

But it got sooo packed that we left within a few hours, and headed in the direction of a long lunch at Zizzi's in Notting Hill, yum yum yum :) and such fab painted murals on the walls (there was a particularly super painted bicycle mural on another wall but too many people in the way!).

Sunday morning saw us rise bright and early again and off we headed to Columbia Road flower market.....w.O.w.....what a fab place! Such beautiful spring colours and smells, and such beautiful prices!! What a killer to be a tourist when you visit here, and how sickening to then come home and see bouquets for over twice the price in the shops.....sigh :(

Tucked in behind all the stalls are great little shops chocked full of garden treats, antiques and, lo and behold, to my utter delight, Rob Ryan's studio!! I love his work....so intricate...do click through to his site to appreciate it in better detail.

From Colombia Road we ventured to Spitalfields, another market adventure.

A pit-stop at Patisserie Valerie boosted the energy of the troops.

Most random thing of the whole weekend?? A dog dressed as a caterpillar (??!), and this seen on a map at a bus stop......

Like something from Harry Potter!

Think good thoughts

2010-03-25T13:53:00.000Z

Love this - let the good thoughts shine out of your face like sunbeams!

Puppies in a box

2010-03-24T09:07:00.001Z

What's not to love - its puppies in a box!! too cute :)

Printable CD cases

2010-03-22T21:54:00.001Z

Well, how handy and fab is this?! Free printable cases for cds - love it, great way to wrap a mix cd for a present.
Via How about Orange - Download and print free them here.

Corners of our home

2010-03-19T06:57:00.000Z

There's always so much to look at and ooh and ah over in the Corners of my home flickr group - I'm beginning to really prefer looking at these real life shots rather than the overly styled pics you see in a lot of interiors magazines (sometimes they're just so devoid of all the personal bits that make a home).

I still manage to buy 2 or 3 of these magazines every month though....just in case...

The photography in Country Living is so beautiful most months that it always finds its way home with me.

These are just some pics of the new things I have to look at around our house - new prints from the Free Art Project, my little shrine to Paris, and the fab bird mobile I bought while wandering by the Jardins du Luxembourg.

Am in danger of going overboard with the Parisian theme so it's a good job I'm off to London again this weekend - will hopefully find a few cool bits to bring home with me.

Brrring, brrrring

2010-03-18T08:49:00.000Z

Ooohh.....love this phone...fab colour

Paddy's day pottering

2010-03-17T10:09:00.003Z

How lush to have a day off in the middle of the week! And although it's a bit dull and windy (strike that, the sun has just come out!!), the temperature is supposed to reach the giddy heights of 15 degrees today - that's right, I said 15 degrees!!! w.O.w ;)

This surge in temperatures has had me mulling over plants and gardening books - Spring just triggers something inside that makes you want to grow stuff! The colours of my bought bulbs are so cheery in our shady little courtyard, my kitchen window jasmine is filling the air with its beautiful scent, and my brilliant yellow tulips are sooo happy looking.

Time for a little garden planning so - in previous years I went crazy on the ol seed growing and had far more than I needed, so this is is the year of the plan. We have a small, very shady courtyard so the choices need to be given some thought.

See my little-ickle colouring pencils?? I bought those in Merci in Paris, ain't they cute?!

Dogs love treats

2010-03-16T13:31:00.001Z

Hehe.....love this :)

What do you think this is??

2010-03-14T12:00:00.000Z

What do you think this is?

Another angle?

Well?

What about now?!

Hehe - its a moustache cup!

Had never heard of such a thing until I came across this little beauty in the local antique yard. Seemingly they were invented by one Harvey Adams in the 1860s. Back in the ol Victorian days, the dapper dans used to wax their moustaches, so that extra flamboyant curl was well maintained - a modern day version of Elnett if you will.

But oh the dilema - when hot hot cups of coffee or tea were brought up to the mouth the steam melted the wax and sent it right into the cup! Quelle dommage! Their popularity dropped after about 1900 when moustaches of the long, flowing and curled variety began to fall out of fashion.

But then, I doubt that Mr. Adams knew that one day fabulous, frothy and creamy cappucinos would one day again necessitate his deisgn being called into use!

Free art project

2010-03-11T22:43:00.011Z

Ooh, what a great site to come across. I see such lovely art and prints all the time on walls in magazines and blogs, and I keep bookmarking or turning down pages for inspiration for my picture wall.

I've started with my large Paris print in the center over our sofa, and plan to have a organised jumble of prints around it - plan, plan, plan, but never do! But now since I've come across this site I will start the ball rolling, and then can just change out the pics for new ones if I get fed up! Hooray!

Found via Saidos da Concha (so worth looking at this blog, she is a lovely Portuguese girl who has recently moved to England - she takes gorgeous photos which will give you serious lifestyle envy so approach with caution!).

Pic credits: Lillian Day, Anne Sage, Bento Barista,

Free Printable Notepads

2010-03-10T09:01:00.000Z

Am very cheekily re-blogging this from Creature Comforts and not going to even change her wording since it was perfect!

Free Printable Notepads / Lists from A Print A Day: "

A quick stop on over to the wonderful blog A Print A Day will give you an excellent dose of inspiration for your week. Yasmine (illustrator/blogger extraordinaire) very generously shares a fabulous assortment of free printables and her notepad/lists are just the thing to help motivate and organize my Spring cleaning attempts in the weeks to come.

There are a bunch of fantastic and free notepad/list designs to choose from. Just follow these links:

Folky Birds

Lace

Dreamcatcher

Garden Bunny

Orange Blossom

Mushroom

Feathers

Doilies

Watercolor Hearts

Fairy Tales

Kokeshi

Matrioshka

A Tuesday puppy

2010-03-09T09:07:00.000Z

Prettiness for free

2010-03-08T22:45:00.000Z

Ooh - just look at these gorgeous free printable notecards from Posh Paperie.

Found via Love.Obsess.Inspire

Bummer!

2010-03-08T08:45:00.000Z

Oh to find a golden ticket.....

2010-03-07T21:18:00.001Z

Kusmi tea

2010-03-07T20:13:00.000Z

Ooooohhhhh....isn't it puurrrrttyyy :)

Have had a very bad dose of the "wants" for this for a long time now....seems like can barely open an interiors magazine without a trusty Kusmi tin popping up in the styling somewhere.

I was hoping I may have found it in the scrummy food hall in Selfridges when we were in London, but no joy. So how happy was I when there it was, all shiny and colourful and fab in its packaging in Le Bon Marche in Paris! A sensible person would have chosen their tea of choice based on flavour, preferences etc etc, but not me, give me the purrrtiest and most colourful tin there is please!! And so, my purchase of "Russian Morning" was complete :)

And to my delight, it is also yummy and a beautifully flavoured tea. Of course though, I paid an outrageous €20 for this tin of leaves in Paris, and the same can be found on the Kusmi website for a lot less....but then one doesn't get that lovely warm fuzzy memory feeling everytime one happens to glance upon an internet purchase though does one?

Life is as peachy as I make it to be :)

2010-03-03T15:56:00.000Z

via http://sayingimages.com/page/4/

The land of the little people

2010-03-02T19:25:00.006Z

Don't the weekends just fly by?? Seems like no time until you're back in work :( sigh :( But the weekend just past was pretty great all round. It was full of family and friends, and laughter, and food and drink, and some nearly springlike sunshine - smashing!

Sunday was also particularly important since Slieve Foy in Carlingford was officially declared as a protected habitat for the little people (leprechauns.....that's right, I said leprechauns....)

On Sunday afternoon we were entertained by local musicians, got lots of little freebies from some more adult-sized leprechauns, and had a presentation by the very nice lady from Brussels! And, the national leprechaun hunt itself is in only a few short weeks on 28th March (better get exercising if I'm to be trudging around the mountain on a hunt!)

Who's that in my shot??!! Oh - it's Auntie Anne :)

Another Auntie :) home from London. And even the babies were getting in the leprechaun spirit

There were some real little leprechaun people about though.....they even needed help from the more human-sized ones :)

Happiness is.....

2010-03-02T14:29:00.002Z

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”

Mohandus K. Gandhi

Oooooooo!!!!!!

2010-03-01T09:18:00.000Z

It's a little ickly baby lion!!

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Friday Joke

2010-02-26T16:01:00.000Z

Did you hear that Willie Nelson was knocked down by a car?

He was playing on the road again

Doggy cuteness for a Friday

2010-02-26T08:25:00.000Z

via http://www.tumblr.com/dashboard

Science nerdiness

2010-02-24T11:52:00.000Z

via http://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/26/392940812

Cute penguins

2010-02-24T10:51:00.000Z

via http://loveyourchaos.tumblr.com/page/151

Views from on high

2010-02-23T21:51:00.005Z

Well, from high-ish anyway!

On Saturday we took to the hills above Dublin for a lovely walk and to enjoy the winter sunshine.

Aren't the views lovely? All the shady parts of the paths were coated with a smattering of snow from the night before. That "smattering" turned into a lot more though that night giving us another snowy coating across the city.

Sigh. Is it summer yet??

Oh - but look, along with the fab-o heart shaped sugars I got in Paris I also picked up a box of jumbled other sugary bits and this is what came out first to plop on my coffee on Sunday morning when I opened the box - isn't it pretty?

Did you spy my new mug? Isn't it pretty too? I bought it from Petra Boase who makes some very happy mugs and notebooks and tea-towels.

And when the sun finally came out my tulips beside my Cavallini New York print looked so spring-like that I forgot all about the aforementioned snow.

Spring is nearly here! Tra-la-la-la-la!!

Have a lovely day!

2010-02-23T08:55:00.000Z

via http://everythingfab.tumblr.com/page/30

Friday joke

2010-02-20T10:47:00.002Z

Did you hear about the fella that got sacked from the dodgems?

He's suing them for funfair dismissal.

Best things in life

2010-02-19T09:04:00.000Z

Not sure about the Starbucks bit, but yes yes yes to all the rest

via http://vi.sualize.us/view/08d507edbcd2ef826af112f0ffc69e90/

Change

2010-02-19T09:03:00.000Z

via http://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/44/388991428

How genetics work

2010-02-18T19:54:00.000Z

City of lights

2010-02-17T10:43:00.008Z

Oh what a lovely weekend - want to hear about it?

Saturday morning and afternoon was made up of a snowstorm flurry, a wander around the Louvre, and a stroll through a very icy and cold Tuileries gardens with a cup of vin chaud in hand.

We now interrupt this broadcast to inform you that there shall be no pictures/stories from the match.....all that needs to be said is that we lost (which you knew already) and that it was the coldest experience of my life (which you may have thought you knew, but you didn't......it was baltic/artic/antartic/siberian with a good dose of bloody-freezing thrown in)

And now back to our programming.

A bright Sunday morning was met with cheerful grins and off to the Jardin du Luxembourg we meandered. Passed the most lovely shop along the way where I bought a gorgeous paper-craft bird mobile, and wondered if I could smuggle an Eiffel Tower past Ryanair staff on the way home.

Those with Seasonal Affective Disorder grabbed the rays while they could.

Our stroll continued on down rue Bonaparte along which we "happened" to come across two of the most famous patisserie in Paris, Pierre Hermé and Ladurée. As it was Valentine's Day, both shops were full of Parisians buying little somethings for their loves. Some pistachio, rose and chocolate macaroons from Pierre Herme were called for and savoured on the stroll further along the road to Laduree. And look at what we got there! Making sure that the lady thought it was a present, I got the full works of fancy packaging...oooooeeeeee :)

Feeling quite full and more than a little sickly at this stage, a bracing walk along the Seine took us to Notre Dame in all it's glory, so stunning. At this point we were suprised and delighted to see Chinese New Year celebrations taking place - so bright and colourful, and looked so wonderful against the traditional architecture of the square.

The walk continued on past the Pompidou and into the Marais past the famous fallafel stalls of rue de Rosiers, and gorgeous flower stalls and cafes. The covered walkways and arcades of the Place des Vosges gave some shelter from the still biting wind, so we were glad to head underground and metro it up to the Champs Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe. T was particularly keen on seeing the tomb of the unknown soldier as he had been at the similar site in Moscow.

Our walk (have you figured out that at this stage I was ab-sol-ute-ely besssshausted, a lot of walking!) then took us down to Trocadero and the Palais de Tokyo where we were greeted with our first glimpse of the big boy. We were aiming to be at the tower for the hourly light show, and it did not fail to disappoint - was so beautiful. Dinner in the Latin Quarter rounded off a pretty hectic day.

Monday morning saw me still tired and insistent on a boat tour (i.e. a nice sit-down for at least an hour).

Then joy of joys, I had the whole afternoon to shop! Yippee! First stop was the concept store Merci (and here also for photographs). The store was set up by a French lady who made her fortune with a children's clothing brand and now gives 100% of the profits from Merci to charity - pretty cool huh?

Then to the main event - Le Bon Marche......I heart it. I wanted just about everything I saw, but had to restrict myself to some baking bits 'n' bobs, a pot of teeny tiny colouring pencils and some of the cute cute cute sugar hearts from Can a Suc - aren't they fab?! I spent another excellent hour wandering the aisles in the gourmet food section of Le Bon Marche, Le Grande Epicerie, and all I can say is wow - it is chock full of the most delish looking goodies and makes me want to move to Paris.

A little lie down was then in order and a final evening in Montmartre (where we had the most delish meal in a cosy Italian place, washed down with an even more delish bottle of Prosecco, lush)

Oooooo---weeeeeee, quite the weekend eh?
Can't wait to go back!

Ah......Paris

2010-02-16T22:35:00.006Z

We got back from Paris this morning.....oh, how fabulous it was! We had such a wonderful time (well, apart from the actual business of the match itself but less said about that the better one feels)

Will be back with proper post about it tomorrow.

Friday jokes

2010-02-12T11:13:00.000Z

For over 10 months now, I have been sending out a Friday joke email to all my friends and workmates. I've missed the odd Friday here and there but by and large they've been winging their way through the internetty airwaves every Friday for quite a while now. They've developed quite the following too - they get forwarded on to accountants and bankers and court clerks and co-workers, all of whom tap their fingers in anticipation every Friday.

But back to the jokes. They all have one thing in common.....they're brilliant.

I mean it, true class these bad boys are.

3 key words though.............IN.MY.OPINION.

Many think they are so naff and terribly awful and give me awful grief over them. But they always want to be included on the mail the next week though don't they??! Yeah, they're gooood.
I blame my Granda really - he was a true master in the art of the bad joke, the worse the better, the more obscure the better, the more confusing and wait-a-minute-I-don't-get-it-ohhhhhhhh-nowwwwww-I-geddit-feck-that's-rubbish the better. It became a ritual, we'd trade terrible jokes every weekend, storing them up just to relish in the groans which would no doubt rise from the other - I loved it :)

So it seemed like such a good idea to just start putting all that great joke love out there. And it also now seems like this wee bloggy wog is a good place to start archiving and saving them all.....check in every Friday for some true groaners.

Nearly Cherry Blossom season

2010-02-11T09:25:00.000Z

via http://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/2/235815138

Puppy!!

2010-02-11T09:21:00.000Z

via http://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/2/376612685

Banana bread

2010-02-09T22:23:00.009Z

I got another baking buzz the other night, and when I realised that I had a few bananas which were nearly ready for the bin, then a recipe incorporating bananas was always going to be on the cards! I found this recipe online and once I had converted a few of the American weights using Delia's online conversion tables I was good to go....

btw - recipe makes 2 loaves, one to eat, one to give away!

Ingredients:

300g plain flour
150g sugar
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsps baking soda
1/4 tsps salt
2 or 3 medium sized ripe bananas
75g butter, softened
3 tbsps milk
2 eggs
1 good handful chopped walnuts
1 good handful chocolate bits (ok, make it 2 handfuls, yum)

Preheat oven to 180C

Combine the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and half of the flour. Add mashed banana, butter and milk. Beat with electric mixer on low speed until blended, then on high speed for 2 minutes.

Add eggs and remaining flour. Beat until blended.

Stir in walnuts and chocolate bits.

Pour into 2 greased loaf tins, bake in centre of oven for 50-60 mins until inserted skewer comes out clean.
Cool for while before removing from pans.

Break off a big crumbly lump, smear it with butter, and devour

Leave the rest until fully cool so it is actually sliceable :)

Puzzling

2010-02-09T09:32:00.000Z

Tumblr: "
via http://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/6/319001832
faved by Melissa"

Making + Giving = Lovely feeling :)

2010-02-08T22:00:00.011Z

I finished another sewing project the other evening, a baby quilt/throw/playmat/whatever else you'd like to call it. It had been a while since I sat down at the machine, but my friend was due her baby so it was time to sit back down and get to business! Of course it did help that we finally draught-proofed the spare/craft room so I could actually sit at the machine without freezing solid :)

Since she knew it was going to be a little baby girl I had great fun picking out cute and funky fabrics (especially from this shop, gorgeous Japanese fabrics, and soooo fun and funky). I had a plan for the quilt/playmat - I didn't want anything too sweet so I used some great fabrics including one with lots of cool pics and symbols like little punky skulls :) very cool, and I also used a fab Russian Doll printed cotton which is very cute.

It came out a little off-centre with some of the panels, but I kinda like it that way, adds to the homemade individuality! The whole thing is backed with a lovely Cath Kidston floral which works really well.

And then I got to wrap it up all pretty which I love. Hopefully little Naoise will like it too!

30 Printable Valentines

2010-02-08T19:53:00.000Z

Great, and free, Valentines ideas all nicely rounded up by The Long Thread

30 Printable Valentines: "

In case you’re behind on the handmade Valentines, here are some quick printables:

Heart Crayon Cards from The Long Thread.

Lovebirds Card from The Long Thread.

Valentine Card Envelope from Natalie Jost.

Color Your Own Valentines from Up up.

Candy Matchboxes with downloadable paper from Brooke Reynolds, featured on Brides.com.

Vintage Valentines from Vintage Holiday Crafts.

Dog Valentines from Hotcakes.

Sweetheart Cards from Bunny Cakes.

Cute Printable Cards from Oliebollen.

Zebra Cards from Bunny Cakes.

Kiss Cards and Wooden Valentines from Mmmcrafts.

Vintage-style Printables from Ruffled.

Goodie Bags and Brownie Bags from Twig & Thistle.

Bird Valentines from Ollieblog.

Owl Cards from Living Locurto.

Animals from Secret Agent Josephine.

Snail Lollipop Cards from Zakka Life.

Je t’aime Cards from inside a black apple.

Love & Rockets and Giddyup from Cottage Industrialist.

Pretty Love Card from Little Miso.

Ladybug Valentine and Butterfly Lollipop Cards from Skip to My Lou.

Vintage Valentine Sheet from Altered Stuff.

Printable Cards from Maquette.

Valentine Maker at Invys.

Do you love me? Card from Indie Fixx.

Cute Kids’ Valentines from Style Crush.

More bunny loveliness

2010-02-07T15:16:00.004Z

Following on from my Lemon and Coconut buns, I used the same basic recipe but made a marscapone and blueberry topping - extra yummy

Teddy ER

2010-02-06T15:51:00.000Z

via http://limperointeriore.splinder.com/?from=150

How-To: Blow A Kiss Flipbook

2010-02-06T14:31:00.000Z

How-To: Blow A Kiss Flipbook: "

How lovely - from Color Me Katie, a DIY tutorial for making a cute little blow-a-kiss flipbook for Valentines.

Magic Juice

2010-02-05T21:45:00.001Z

via design sponge

Lemon and Coconut buns

2010-02-04T18:45:00.006Z

More yumminess...I made Lemon and Coconut buns last night.....lush lush lush

Recipe:

125g self-raising flour, 125g caster sugar, 125 g softened butter, 2 eggs, finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon, a bit of icing sugar, desiccated coconut to decorate.

Preheat oven to 190C
Sift flour and beat with sugar, butter, eggs and lemon zest until smooth
Spoon into bun cases and bake for 15-20mins
Take out from oven and leave to cool in tray for minute or two
Poke/stab/prick the tops of the buns a couple of times with a skewer
Spoon about a teaspoon of lemon juice onto each bun
After another few minutes remove buns from tray and allow to cool
Make a little icing glaze with rest of lemon juice and icing sugar
Spoon glaze over, sprinkle with coconut, eat

Then go make tea and eat some more :)

(ps - above pic is not of the actual buns I made since mine were made at night and were no longer in existence once the bright light of day made itself available for photography purposes!)

Cuteness

2010-02-04T08:59:00.000Z

via http://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/39/239233992

Obama: The College Years

2010-02-04T08:57:00.000Z

Obama: The College Years - Photo Essays - TIME: "

Wet dog

2010-02-03T09:19:00.000Z

My sister got a new job in Oz at a dog grooming parlour........how jealous am I?? They get puppies in there too, sometimes as young as 6 weeks!!!

Yum yum yum

2010-02-01T23:00:00.002Z

Made this for dinner this evening, and was yum yum yum, and tres easy. And yes, of course anything will taste good when you fry it in butter and use loads of cream in the sauce but that is soooooooo not the point! I just used one of those nifty packs for fajhitas for the spice mix and gorgeous fresh egg tagliatelle pasta......and then licked the plate clean, mmmmmmmm!

Cajun Chicken Pasta from the Pioneer Woman

Tord Boontje

2010-02-01T17:25:00.000Z

Have only just come across the designer Tord Boontje, a Dutch aritst who has previously won Designer of the Year awards. He designs many types of things but his curtains and decorative panels have caught my eye.

This curtain is a laser-cut extra strong paper called Tyvex which can be trimmed with scissors to whatever length you need. No sewing - wayyyheeyyy! Wouldn't it be lovely on a window which you wanted a bit of privacy for but still wanted the light?

And you could put a coloured curtain (such as the sheer Ikea Sarita ones) behind it for dropping at night time, which would just enhance the design all the more! Or just as art against a solid colour wall? And it's really not expensive considering how beautiful it is (and definitely more beautiful than cruddy old net curtains!).

Am I going on a bit?!

Of course everyone else in the bloggy world knows all about him already and may be over their excitement, but I think his work is gorgeous. Want want want :)

Weekend Happiness

2010-01-31T17:26:00.009Z

Some winter flowers still holding their own.....

While some shop-bought ones (in my new, and half-price, GreenGate jug, isn't it fab!) bring colour inside

(see my new mahoooosif cup and saucer that I got as a present on saturday, isn't it gorgeous?!)

My bulbs are coming on well.....

Whoops.....those ones were bought yesterday!

The dresser is looking all snazzy with my new vintage green tea-set (Thank you Auntie M!)

Some London-bought postcards made their way into frames.....

The hyacinth is loving the winter sunshine....

As are the mini daffs......

And our new old Parker Knoll rocking chair fits perfectly into the bedroom......bought in Oxfam Home on Francis St for only €60! Completely bargainaceous.......and also very comfy and since it was bought in Oxfam it helps people other than Mr. Ikea (which is where I was going to head if Oxfam had nothing!)

And my sewing project is looking promising....

All in all, a lovely weekend

More scooter coolness...

2010-01-31T10:05:00.001Z

She's even standing up in this one.....show-off :(

Prohibition protest

2010-01-31T09:59:00.000Z

via http://lh5.ggpht.com/_hVOW2U7K4-M/SVMqdolfn6I/AAAAAAAAwKw/bnxyEqZdB_w/s1600/031_pics.jpg

Cavallini & Co

2010-01-30T17:08:00.000Z

Have you heard of Cavallini & Co? They are a paper goods supplier with the most gorgeous of products. I spotted one of their sheets of wrapping paper (though they call it "decorative wrap" which is infinitely posher) framed on the wall of a lovely home in, I think, Living etc magazine. So, I was very thrilled to find out that Eden, the home shop in Blackrock stocked it. I bought the Paris one ages ago, and it has been rolled up looking despondant until last week when I finally pulled it out and gave it prime position on the wall. Since we're off to Paris in a couple of weeks it's lovely to have it there reminding us that we'll be there soon.

Then today I treated myself to the New York one - it's a vintage map of Manhattan and is destined for the spare room wall. Pretty funky aren't they?

Work in progress......

2010-01-30T16:55:00.001Z

Started work on this the other night and was unsure about my colour choices

But in the lovely sun today the colours looked beautiful, so I'm happy :)

Need colour now.....

2010-01-30T15:00:00.001Z

Today is so bright and cheerful, these pics from the Rice website really grabbed me, you can find a lot of their lovely quirky stuff in Avoca

Le weekend....

2010-01-29T21:59:00.004Z

Ah, Le Weekend..........lush

2 full days of loveliness ahead, and lots to do! I have to finish making something very pretty and it will hopefully make someone else happy when they see it (pics later, can't spoil the surprise!).

There may also be some baking of sorts, definitely some hooky goodness, potentially some furniture shopping, and hopefully some blogs and coffee time :)

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

Spring is on the way

2010-01-29T13:23:00.000Z

The sky is blue, the sun in out, and although it's still cold you can tell that spring is just around the corner!

Via: Creature Comforts

Image credits: 1. red hair, 2. alive, 3. Untitled, 4. yellow gingham blouse

Ooh, how chic

2010-01-28T08:57:00.001Z

Notes on this photo;

1) I don't like motorbikes, or scooters, or mopeds or any wee vroom- vroom vehicles
2) It annoys me when people don't wear helmets
3) I don't like the "bare feet in my loafers" look
4) None of the above matters since they look cool and their lives must be cool, and thereby my not having a scooter or a piazza to zip around in means my life is incomplete :( sigh

via http://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/2/230377803

*

2010-01-27T20:34:00.000Z

Bobby (age 7) has me near in tears :)

via http://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/4/351628025