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

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.

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?

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!

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.