Monday, May 5, 2008

Goodbye

Hello everyone.
For personal reasons, I have decided to stop blogging.I wish you all the best for the future and thanks for all the comments!
Bye. :-)

Friday, May 2, 2008

Paris Part 2

A street scene from Montemartre, with the Sacre-Couer in the background.Notice the artists on the streets and the bustling atmosphere!Beautiful.

Us drinking coffee and eating our picnic lunch in the Luxembourg gardens, what a gorgeous, hot day, loved that park and cannot wait to take the kids there!

Luxembourg Gardens, in the background - the French Senate.

On the Champs-Elysees - The Arc de Triomphe behind us. This was another hi-light of my trip, I loved the atmosphere here and the Arc was awe-inspiring.

One of the mansions in an area called Maison Layfitte where we went for dinner. Lovely leafy suburb of Paris.

I had to slip another little picture of Montmartre in the top there, what a lovely atmosphere. Its also high up, and so the views of Paris and the Eiffel Tower from up there are amazing.
The next pic is of us having a delicious picnic in the Lux Gardens,( just INCASE...I am NOT the skinny, pretty blonde lying down!) The weather that day was glorious.
That night we went shopping on the Champs-Elysees, I loved it so much. Such a glamorous beautiful atmosphere and as for the Arc de Triomphe - breath-taking. This was one of the best parts of my trip!

The last day - Sunday - we went to the flea markets, I will post pics of that next!

Paris Part One

Typical Parisian street scene - a Cafe on every corner, loved that!

The famous and beautiful Notre Dame Cathedral.

One of the many Carousels we came across - I was amazed at the detail and beauty of them.

Of course - The Eiffel Tower, I was blown away by the magnitude of it, and how much work must have gone into building it.Beautiful. I would like to go at night the next time!

The Sacre-Couer - one of the hi-lights of my trip. What a sight as you walk up the stairs! This is a view from the side in Montmartre.

"Confidence is going after Moby Dick in a row boat and taking the tartar sauce with you." - Zig Ziglar

What a great quote, don't you think!

Firstly, thank you to all for your well wishes before I left!

Wow, I don't know where to begin about my trip to Paris...it was all so beautiful.
I have to do it in 2 parts as blog spot won't allow me to download more than these photographs at one time.
Paris was a lot bigger than I had imagined it would be, getting around was quite a challenge - even with Jodie, who was fluent in French, (she had studied it in college, and had lived in Paris for 6 months - her enthusiasm and love for all things French helped spur on my excitement about the place!)

Our apartment was in an area called Gare de l'Est, which is pretty central. We caught the metro everywhere, which is quite an economical way of getting around.
The apartment was VERY Parisian and decked out very well, but also extremely small! Fine for 3 women trying to get dressed and put their make-up on (not!!!) No - it was really fine, such a nice personal space to go to at the end of a busy day.

Day one - we arrived late and so freshened up and went for a beautiful dinner at a restaurant in the Latin Quarter. Experienced the lively streets for the first time, I think I was in awe the whole time.
Day two - we went shopping, had an amazing lunch (crepes and wine, yummy) and went to the Eiffel Tower. That night we visited Montmartre, which houses the Sacre-Couer, an amazing church and piece of architecture. All around Montmartre there are artists doing portraits, the Salvador Dali museum and a rich assortment of cafes, bars and restaurants. It was bustling and the atmosphere was unreal.

Day Three - We woke up and got fresh pastries which we had in our apartment with coffee and Earl Grey tea (very la-di-da).
We walked around the streets of Paris, went to a couple of lovely vintage/thrift clothing stores and then to the Luxembourg Gardens, which were amazing...I will continue in my next post....x

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Au Revoir!

Hi there!I just thought I would say goodbye, I am leaving for Paris in the morning.I will tell you all about it when I get back. x

Monday, April 21, 2008

Our Kitchen






"The great question is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with failure" - William Shakespeare

thank you for your comments on my previous post, I really am excited to be going on Thursday, but nervous to leave my babies, not because I think they will not be okay, but because I may not!
As I make their lunches everyday, bathe them and brush their hair, I have a method to everything and I guess I get scared that my husband is not going to do everything the way I do it...
Sound strange? I guess it is just from spending most of the time with the children and that is really my "job" - my world!It always feels strange to hand the reigns over, even if it is to my beloved hubby!!
But I shall hand the reigns over - and be CALM about it! :-)

Anyhow, I thought I would write a post about our kitchen, as I think it is my favourite room in our house. I love my stove and I like my white shelves, with all the colourful tins, plates and nik-naks.
However, I am ready for a change and a total de-clutter. Looking around my house, I really feel that there is far too much clutter...too many walls that have been left half-painted and pieces of furniture that I no longer want. I need to do a clean out...
What I would love to do, is change the kitchen cupboards to ALL glass doors, and paint the walls white.


I feel the need for simplicity, in line with the desire to simplify my thoughts and my life...I really do believe that your surroundings have a huge effect on your mind...so I want to do a lot more posts on this subject and take it room by room.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

A lazy afternoon in Kinsale and...Paris here we come!

Steph and I in Kinsale - the most beautiful view!

Kinsale harbour

The Bulman Bar and Restaurant in Kinsale. Its lovely there, we sat and had a glass of wine and enjoyed the view! If you ever visit Ireland, be sure to visit some restaurants in this beautiful town, it is the gourmet capital of Ireland...my favourite place to go on the weekends!

"The hardest challenge is to be yourself in a world where everyone is trying to make you be somebody else." - E.E. Cummings

Hello hello...I am so sorry for taking so long to write a post...
It really has been a mad two weeks. I feel like my head is spinning!
How have you all been? I miss blogland when I have been away for a while..
Anyway, the good news in my life is that my Passport arrived back from Dublin this morning with my Visa inside - and that means I will be able to go to Paris next week Thursday! Yahoo! (this is after delays with the embassy, postal strikes etc). So I am relieved.

I wrote a post on here a few months back saying how it has always been my dream to go to Paris, and we have been in Ireland 7 years and I thought it would be easier to take trips to Europe, as a lot of countries are a mere hours flight from Ireland.
Well, I guess life doesn't work out that way, with Kids and a house and finances, sometimes you need to wait a long..long..time for your dreams to become a reality!

I am going Thursday next week with two friends of mine (Steph in the photo above and her daughter Jody), we are staying in an apartment (which from the website looks very charming..very Parisian) and we are just going to see the sites..the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower etc..and people watch and eat lovely food and drink lovely wine!
But, I have to say, I am very apprehensive about leaving my kids, I am not very good at that at all and I am NOT a good flyer at all...in fact I hate flying! Do any of you feel this way, or get anxious when taking a trip away from your kids?



Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Lovely things and a clean spare room...


"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort, " - Herm Albright

Hello everyone, I was in Avoca in Dublin as I mentioned in my previous post, and I tried these beautiful shoes and dresses on, and fell in LOVE. If I had enough credit on my visa or cash in my account, I would soooo have bought one in every colour, the shoes also came in Brown, Red, Purple...and probably a few other colours I can't quite recall.
All I do know, is the clothes in this shop are EXACTLY what I would love to wear, everyday...I simply adore them.
They are pricey - I won't lie...but really quality and they fit so well. I am going to put a bit of money away here and there, and get on that bus again to do some shopping. How often do you come across a shop that has exactly what you were looking for all along, and with prices that are not TOTALLY totally out of your.........reach?!
oh dear, I definitely have a thing for shopping and lovely things.

Below, I wanted to show you how I spruced up my spare room (all in a day, I may add) - for my friend, Lisa's visit. Sorry, there are no "before" photos, but believe me, they are not pretty!




Monday, April 7, 2008

Dublin,purchases and the Clarion Ball - Updated


Me and Lisa at the Clarion Ball 2008

I bought this tin from Avoca and this really cute Cath Kidston passport holder. They also had CK luggage tags etc, I could have gone a bit mad shopping!

Avoca in Dublin - one of the most beautiful shops!
A street scene in Dublin city - Grafton Street where all the lovely shops are including Habitat, Avoca, Brown Thomas, Laura Ashley - to name but a few.

" Humanity is never so beautiful as when praying for forgiveness, or else forgiving another" ~ Jean Paul Richter

Well, I am back in Cork, sorry I have been gone from blogging for nearly a week - I have been so busy, but having a good time as well!
Last week Tuesday, I traveled to Dublin to apply for my French Visa (which was a bit stressful I have to say). Anyway, I am hopeful that I will get it as I have now supplied all the documents they asked for.
The bus trip was three and a half hours, when we got there I went and had a peaceful cup of coffee at Starbucks and a lovely look around the shops, just soaked up the atmosphere in Grafton Street.
Then I took a taxi to the French Embassy and after that, I was exhausted - more Starbucks frappucinnos and paninis and a stroll around Habitat. Bliss in a world where kids and housework usually rule the day!
I will be posting about my planned trip to France later in this week!

On Wednesday evening, my good friend Lisa arrived from Manchester for a Ball we had been invited to on Saturday. It was great seeing her again, we have been friends since we were 17 and she is practically family. Here she is with my little boy Max.

We booked into the Clarion on Saturday afternoon and got ready. The Ball started at 7pm and we had a four course meal, which was beautiful.
Then, we went back to our room at about 3 am and woke up to a wonderful breakfast at the hotel. What a treat.
We spent the rest of the day at the Mall and had loads of coffee, saw 2 movies (I know, talk about indulgent) and then I took her to the airport (sob). I'll see her again in July.

Below: My good friends Stephanie and her husband Bruce.



Jody, my friend and the girl who hosted the Ball.

Monday, March 31, 2008

Trip to Dublin and Preparations for the Ball

"When I was young, I used to admire intelligent people; as I grow older, I admire kind people."
By : Abraham Joshua Heschel

Hello all you lovely bloggers. Well, I have a busy week ahead of me - but an interesting one, too.
I am on the early coach to Dublin tomorrow, to apply for my French Visa (I will tell you all about my trip in one of my next posts...) I love going to Dublin, its a 4 hour bus ride, and I just sit and listen to my Walkman, read, look out the window...pure bliss and peace for the day!
I will be sure to take some pics and do a post about that wonderful city upon my return...

In the meantime, my bestest friend arrives from Manchester on Wednesday evening and we are going to do some shopping on Thursday and Friday. Then we check into the Clarion Hotel on Saturday afternoon and the Ball is at 7 pm.
I will be sure to tell you all about it!


This is the dress I am wearing...It looks very nice on, quite flattering...although I was planning to lose a good few kg's before saturday, so am now on the hunt for Spanx. Apparently, Trinny and Susannah have come out with pants that suck everything in, may give those a try!

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Country Living Magazine and the New Cath Kidston Catalog


"He who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away, " - Raymond Hull

Firstly, I must apologize for being away for so long, I wasn't anywhere exotic, sitting on a beach drinking cocktails (I wish...) - My husband was first really sick, and in bed for 3 days and then he was away in Dublin for 4 days on business, and I ran the fort for that time...needless to say, I am exhausted, I spent a fortune entertaining the kids and I am ready for a break.
Now it is saturday morning, my daughter is at a friend and my hubby has taken our son out for the morning, so now is my chance to catch up, yay!

Look at my lovely award to the left from Claire at Serendipity Loves New York...I am so happy about it, thank you so much Claire!Its my first one!
The above quote means a lot to me, because I try everyday to just be myself and not always feel that I have to fit in to be liked. Hard to break the habit though, but so important I think.

The latest Cath Kidston Spring 2008 Catalog arrived yesterday and it is really one of the most beautiful issues I have seen. I love the picnic pages, really stunning.



















I love the latest issue of Country Living, there is a gorgeous house in there and I love the article on Heavenly Hideaways...beautiful!

The house below is amazing, I just love that shade of red. Gorgeous!

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Glanworth Mills


Glanworth Mills

Max waiting for his Panini The entrance to the boutique, the
Bistro is on the left
Below is the view from our table, so
peaceful and the sun was shining

"Any fool can count the seeds in an apple. Only God can count all the apples in one seed." - Robert H. Schuller

I love the above quote. I find it difficult to understand men (women...) who feel that they are above Who created them and everything around them...that they don't need to acknowledge a Creator and a greater being,and that they are so infinitely wise. Their abilities and wisdom were given to them by God, if it were not for Him, they would not exist.
Rambling a bit there - just my opinion on things...

Anyway, we were at Glanworth Mills yesterday, which is one of my favourite places in East Cork.It is an old mill that has been transformed into a Boutique come Bistro, and it is in such an idyllic setting. There is a river running through the most beautiful fields and there is a bridge going over...What I love is that after we have had coffee and cake the kids can go running around or as mine did yesterday, go up the ancient stairs to the top of one of the ruins and explore.
Yesterday they found a dead crow, yuck, which of course they both found very exciting!

They have a selection of gorgeous furniture and other things for the home. The Bistro is fantastic, with a selection of beautiful home made cakes, quiches and pies. Really nice atmosphere there. A great afternoon out!

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Great days out and some new purchases..

Well, we have had some beautiful weather here in Cork (I am not going to look out the window today...seems a bit dark...).I bought this bucket yesterday and have not quite decided what to use it for, perhaps a plant or dishtowels.

I bought these candle holders on sale at Marks and Spencer.They are more for outdoor use, but for now I think they look great on my kitchen table.



I bought this table cloth yesterday from a Farmstall in Cork, I think it looks very Cath Kidston, and it was so reasonable...I have been searching for an oil cloth table cloth for ages, and have not been able to place any orders with CK due to a lack of funds...:-(...oh dear
But, we have had some great days out since the holidays began, the picture on the right is of the Kids with their friend Conor in Donorail park, which I only discovered exists this week. What a fantastic place! Wide open spaces, lots of trees, a lake, a waterfall, an old Manor House, a playground and even some deer.What a fab day!

Quote for the day:
"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars, " - Oscar Wilde 1854