Life on the Avenue

Monthly Cinema Pass

2026-10-28T04:12:51.318-07:00

After considering it for years, I finally signed up for a Monthly Omniplex Cinema Pass which gives you access to every movie release in the Omniplex Rathmines for a flat rate of €17.99 a month. It is a no-brainer really, given the amount of cinema visits I make every month.

So after having my pass for a few weeks I have gone to the following films:

The Social Reckoning

Digger

Sense & Sensibility

Street Fighter

Forever is now

As you can see it is a mixed bag of all of the films that I have watched and out of them, I probably woudn't have gone to some of them except for having the pass. The first one I possibly may have given a miss would have been "Digger" given the reviews. After seeing it I can say that it is a weird whacky doozy of a movie.

The next one that I wouldn't have gone to would have been "Street Figher". Another bad film and this one had very few actors that I recognized. Two people got up and left the cinema which tells a tale in itself.

And then the final one that I might have given a miss except for the pass was "Forever is now". This was actually really good but the reason I might not have chosen to see it if I was paying for a full price ticket was because it is a documentary and I knew that it was going to be a heavy watch. It is a film about the last 18 months of Green Party Leader Eamonn Ryan's time in office. A good film but not light entertainment which is generally what I go to the cinema for.

For me my favourite of all of the films above was "Sense & Sensibility" and absolute delight of a film with Jane Austen's story standing the test of time.

So which film is next for me?! It's "Verity"....this afternoon because I have a random day off work so it seems like a great thing to do!

Postcards from Shanghai

2026-09-11T03:22:02.135-07:00

As you know from reading my blog, one of "my things" is to send postcards from the different countries that I visit.

Well my recent trip to China was no different and one of the first things that I did when I arrived to Zhujiajiao was go to the old post office which dates back to the Qing Dynasty. It was quite the experience and I loved writing my postcards out on the back porch facing the water and then posting them in the ornate dragon decorated postbox. They even had a selection of ink stamps that you could stamp your postcard with before you mailed it.

Here's a few photos of my postcard session.

Commemorating Fr Pat Noise!

2026-08-03T06:57:36.906-07:00

Well I had heard about the hoax plaque commemorating Fr Pat Noise for a few years, and today I actually stopped on O'Connell Bridge and had a good look at it, as well as taking a picture.

What is this hoax plaque you might ask?!

Well the story goes way back to the late 1990's where an installation was commissioned by Dublin City Council. It was a digital clock screen that was placed in the River Liffey and it was going to count down to the Millenium.

Unfortunately the clock did not do well in the river water and became covered in algae and other material. In Dublin, there is a history of naming our public installations and statues (you might know the Molly Malone statue, otherwise known as "The tart with the cart") and the clock garnered the unfortunate name "The time in the slime".

The clock didn't last long and was removed by DCC, before it got to the Millenium, leaving a hole in the bridge where the controls of the clock had been.

So what happened next is that a few years later in 2024 a plaque commemorating "Fr Pat Noise" was placed in this empty hole. Placed by who is the big mystery!!

When it was brought to Dublin City Council's attention, they promptly removed the plaque.

And well, you can imagine what happened next......yes another plaque arrived in place!

The second plaque got a reprieve and it has been there for about 20 years, brightening the days of Dubliners when they find the plaque and look in to who Fr Pat Noise was.

You can see the plaque in my photo below and read more in detail about the saga here

Spidey Sunday!

2026-08-02T11:19:50.112-07:00

So Sunday....

I got a lot done between packing for China and also doing a few other chores, as well as buying a few things needed for work this week. All done in Rathmines, where I also went to the cinema to see the new Spiderman movie.

The movie was shown in one of the Maxx screens which is always a good experience. Seemingly Irish people go to the cinema a lot, some figures say we are the highest cinema goers in Europe. I wouldn't disagree after seeing the full cinema today for the earliest showing of Spiderman and with perhaps 5 more showings of it later!

Honestly it's been nice to take it easy this Sunday because I've had a lot of socialising over the past 3 weekends so I am enjoying just chilling this weekend.

Tomorrow I will get in to town early where I need to buy a small gift for someone and I also want to see if I can get a light pair of PJ's to wear in Shanghai. If I can't find something suitable here I will buy them when I arrive to China.

The other thing I will do in preparation for my trip is start to go to bed earlier and set my alarm for earlier than usual. By the time I get on the plane next weekend, I hope to be getting up perhaps an hour or two earlier than usual......this is all being done to try and counter the effects of jet lag. Will it help? I don't know, but it is worth giving it a try!

Bank Holiday in Dublin!

2026-08-01T13:39:54.629-07:00

Friday started off great when I found a postcard from PIGSY in my letterbox. Check this out - it's the third one that he has sent me from China and I think this is my favourite.

And after work I headed to Dublin City to meet up with the I Bike Dublin Crew for a Critical Mass cycle or BikeBop as it is known also. I was slightly delayed getting on the train so I skipped the first part of the cycle and headed to Dame Street to join in with them when they got to here. It was a great cycle and it felt particularly poignant to cycle down Drury Street as Glen Hansards "Falling Slowly" blared out of the big speakers on the leaders cargo bike.

On Saturday I got up early and headed to Yoga in YogaYard for a 9.30am class that was gifted to me by my twin sister - thanks Amy!

I was close to missing it, having slept through my alarm and waking up at 8.40am but I promptly got up, slung my gear in my bag and cycled quickly to Ringsend. It was so worth it because there was only 4 of us in the class so it was as good as a private class.

And then afterwards I went on the train to Dalkey where I browsed the Charity Shop and bought a dress that I had seen yesterday and regretted not buying. I also saw these skates and considered buying them for a hot second. But considering I haven't skated for a long time (see here) I put them back on the shelf for someone else to buy!

I then took the train to town and pottered around as well as getting some Chinese Yuan in preparation for my upcoming trip. Exciting!

I exchanged my euro in the Westmoreland Street branch of No1Currency and I highly recommend them. They are very efficient and friendly and centrally located in Dublin city. For my last trip to Mexico they helped out with my pesos and I was happy to return to them for my yuans.

2026-07-26T00:24:59.042-07:00

Twin visit!

I have finally got around to posting my twin sister's recent and very unexpected visit to Dublin, a little while back. Having sourced a great last minute deal, my twin sister made a very short impromptu visit to Ireland. It was a quick fly in and fly out long weekend visit but boy did we pack a lot in - I like to describe it as a curated weekend for her and indeed she let me handle all of the restaurant reservations and bookings.

Here's some pics of what we got up to.

To start it was wings with Alice in The Canal Bank. I can only imagine how jet lagged Amy feels in this pic but it was smiles all round as we took this fun picture of us all wearing our reading glasses. It was great to have this gang all back together and we even began to nail down some plans for our next trip to celebrate a big birthday that is approaching next year.

Friday night brought us in to town where Dublin was hopping. The weather had not hit our recent heatwave highs but it was extremely pleasant and only a light jacket was needed.

I had to work on Friday but I made a booking for L'Gueuleton on Fade Street for 6.30pm. However as I left Dalkey I experienced train delays so I was able to go online and push back the reservation to 7.15pm.

We had the Steak Frite which was just perfect with a glass of red wine.

Instead of a starter, at Amy's suggestion we opted for a glass of prosecco and some smoked almonds. What fun!

The ambiance in L'Gueuleton was everything we had hoped for and we got a great window seat facing out on to Fade Street where I was even able to point out to Amy where PIGSY held his last solo exhibition.

Virtuously on Saturday, we went to early morning yoga in Yoga Yard ,where we took a hot yoga class with Jenice. Yoga Yard is the most incredible studio I have ever visited and I convinced Amy to go with a promise of a "spa like " experience. Well while not quite spa like(!) it is a beautiful studio and we had a great class with a cool down afterwards in the garden just off the studio. Amy loved it!

After yoga it was on to O'Doheny & Nesbitt for the two things that Amy was hankering for - a full Irish breakfast and a Bloody Mary. Both well deserved after the early energetic start having completed both the yoga class and the 15 minute cycle to Ringsend and then a further cycle in to town from the studio.

Next up was a family meet up and then the Take That concert in The Aviva which I had long made plans for but Amy was able to snag a ticket for at short notice. I sat with my friends and she sat alone - but not really alone because she was surrounded by perhaps 50,000 Take That fans!

On the way to meet our family we stopped off in Stephens Green and explored the park, discovering parts we never had seen before. Here we are pictured at the little lake with a water fall and we also found a small area/amphitheatre known as "The Mount". This is well worth a visit and we really enjoyed seeing it.

At Aviva Stadium we had to go our separate ways to enter, even though we were not seated too far away from each other.

What a great Saturday in Dublin!

Followed by a wonderful Sunday with an evening dinner in the newly opened.....Dions

As I mentioned, Amy was happy to leave all of the reservations and restaurant selections to me. However, there was one spot that she absolutely wanted to go to and that was the newly opened Dions on the roof of the old Central Bank Building (designed by Sam Stephenson) in Temple Bar.

With 360 views of Dublin it is a stunningly stylish restaurant that is a must go destination for everyone - at least just once anyway!

We had a fantastic night taking in the views and enjoying great chats over a nice dinner.

Check out this amazing view of Dublin - what a great sight!

We even went for dessert which was divine!!

It was back to work for me on Monday, but I was able to book the afternoon off because Amy and I had big plans for more fun stuff which included going to get our hair done in a salon just off Grafton Street, And then on to The Shelbourne for a much anticipated seafood platter.

Look at this platter - it was sensational!

I am off oysters so we asked for them to leave some off which they very kindly did and substituted crab salad which was sooo good. With the relaxed atmosphere in The Shelbourne and the good food, this was a highlight of the weekend - out of so many great experiences.

You may be noticing a theme in some of the pics - Amy was on a serious search for the best Bloody Mary in Dublin ;-)

For some reason or other, I felt like we needed a little something before the seafood platter so I ordered a sausage roll. While very tasty it was entirely unnecessary because the seafood platter was huge!!

All in all it was the greatest busiest best weekend - a gorgeously curated selection of the best of Dublin which I was treated by my twin sister. What a great experience and super memories!

And Amy blogged about the trip too - you can read it here

Shattering Saturday!!!

2026-06-20T12:54:54.781-07:00

Mini disaster this morning

I smashed my favourite espresso coffee cup :-(

As I was getting ready to go to work, I was also double jobbing and emptying the dishwasher. So of course I was trying to get this done as fast as possible and as I put my cups back on the shelf on the bar/coffee dock, I dropped a cup.

And when I looked down as I heard the noise of the cup hitting the floor I saw that it was my favourite Key West cup. I am so sad. Drinking from that cup gave me such joy. It even got a mention on my blog before - see here.

I didn't rush to clean up the cup and had a coffee before I swept it up. Even though I was devastated that I had dropped my KW cup, I enjoyed my coffee in my 2nd favourite cup!

So I hope you had a better start to your day than I did - but in fairness I had a good day after this. And there are high temperatures expected here in Ireland (not as bad as the intense temperatures being experienced on the continent - Bonjour Paris with it's 40 degrees!!) so the weekend will be great.

Paddington Bear Glow Up

2026-06-19T06:54:08.254-07:00

My vintage Paddington Bear, made by Gabrielle Designs, has been through a lot over the past 40 years.

He lost his hat at some point, his boots never went back on properly like when he was just out of the factory and he has now recently lost the toggles on his coat.

I had a plan to bring my original Paddington and his friends in to work for a Paddington Themed exhibition to mark Paddington's Birthday on the 25th of June. So I asked my mother (Paddington's current caretaker) if I could take a lend of them. We met today in town and she passed them to me.

So as I mentioned, Paddington has lost some of the toggles on his coat so I replaced them by sewing new toggles on. You will also notice that he has a smart red hat which my mother bought for him in Penneys - a perfect fit!

The plan for the exhibition is to have Paddington on display along with a selection of Paddington books......and also jars of marmalade!

The marmalade will have a custom label and a tag that says "Please look after this marmalade".

Our patrons will be encouraged to take a picture of the bears and the marmalade and share it to our Social Media and also take a jar of marmalade home with them.

I'll also have my Paddington Teapot on display too!

Such fun! Let me know what you think - would you take part in the Paddington Bear fun and share a picture of yourself to social media?!

Summery Sunday

2026-06-14T14:37:47.368-07:00

It was a lovely day here in Dublin, so I was up early and decided to do a litter pick on my way to Nicks for a coffee. I had a seen loads of beer bottles littering in Ranelagh Park the other day when walking to the shops so I did those. In total I picked three bags!

I left the bags of litter that I picked beside the public litter bins and they will be taken away by Dublin City Council.

I always enjoy this activity on Sunday mornings. It is surprisingly meditative and I generally end up chatting to a stranger or two about the litter picking. Last time I did it I spoke to three people including one man who told me that he goes out and picks litter up himself!

And then after coffee I headed home and had a call with Ciaran (he is in China) and following the call I got my shopping trolley and went on the bus to Rathmines where I called to the hardware shop in the Swan Centre for a bag of compost which I needed for transplanting some tomato plants to a bigger pot. The trolley was needed because the weight of the 25 litre bag of compost.

Here's the tomatoes in their small pots that they came in (a friend gave them to me)

And here they are in their new larger home

And after these pieces of work, it was off to meet up with friends for lunch which turned in to a long lazy chat in a sunny beer garden with good chats, good food and nice wine. Just perfect and it felt so good to sit in the sunshine in Dublin. A great Sunday!

Sardine shortage

2026-06-01T02:44:20.351-07:00

So back in 2024 I wrote here on this blog about Sardine Fasts.

Well fast forward to 2026 and I am still eating and loving sardines. My most favourite way to eat sardines is fresh and fried in the Malaga Fish Market but when at home in Ireland, it is out of a tin.

One thing I am finding is that sardines seem to be continually out of stock.

Now I am putting this down to two things. The first being the popularity of "Sardine Fasts" which I am seeing all over Instagram and Tik Tok. However the other reason that I am seeing empty shelves where sardines should be, is down to the fact that there is lower catch rates over the past while which seems to be from rising sea temperatures (climate change) which is having an effect on sardine supplies.

So when I find sardines on the shelves now, I stock up. And even more so when they are on special at 2 for the price of 3 which this Tesco Finest was at!

I also bought some anchovies which I eat alongside the sardines for added flavour. Flavour wise I really enjoy sardines in oil best, but because it is hard to find them in good quality olive oil (they tend to be in cheap low quality sunflower oil - bleugh) I stick to sardines in brine or water. I eat them with Olive Oil Mayonaise from the new minimal ingredient range in Marks & Spencer - over 7 euro for a jar, but so worth it.

I do love sardines over all for their taste as well as their convenience. But another reason I eat them is that they are a great source of creatine and while I take creatine as a supplement daily, it is always good to get as much naturally too. It's found in eggs and meat which I eat plenty of too so hopefully I am taking enough along with my supplement.

For dinner today, I had grilled sardines on a bed of toasted cauliflower topped with avocado - so good!

I'm interested to hear what your thoughts are on sardines. Love them or hate them?!

Artist Trading Cards

2026-05-22T02:54:58.637-07:00

Artist Trading Cards - have you heard of them?!

I discovered Artist Trading Cards in the town of Ajijic in Jalisco, Mexico when I was having a margarita at a bar in a restaurant and saw a group of people enter and head to their table all carrying "binders". I asked the barman what the group were doing and he said he didn't know but "it was something to do with cards". Given my limited Spanish I didn't push it any further to try and see what type of cards or what they were doing with them.

Anyway a few days later I was at a party in an Artist Residency and I happened to see someone who had been in the restaurant with a binder. When I got talking to them, I found out that what the group was doing was swapping "Artist Trading Cards". I then googled Artist Trading Cards and found out all about them.

And now back in Ireland, I am involved with an Artist Trading Cards group in Dublin.

Each month a different theme is chosen and after working throughout the month and creating artworks relating to the theme on the specific ATC sized cards, the group comes together to swap them.

Swapping the cards means you can build up a collection of cards and here's some photos of my collection.

Last month the theme was "Woodland Creatures" so I created 7 cards where I drew ladybirds. For this month the cards I created were all the same. But there are no rules, you can create cards that are all the same or different.

And here are pictures of my collection of swapped cards

If you like the thoughts of swapping Artist Trading Cards, you can google to see if there are any groups in your vicinity doing this activity, or I think some people swap or trade cards online. It's a fun activity and it is very social. The other great thing about it is that you can drop in and out of it and go to some meetings or miss one from time to time, there really is no pressure.

I am really happy to be involved in this activity and I am always amazed by all of the work created by the group members. It is always fascinating to see the different approaches to the theme by all. I am also loving seeing my collection of cards grow by the month. For me personally, I am not much of an artist, but I do enjoy doing something creative and physically present that gets me off my screen. I spend so much time online that I feel it is really good for my brain to be involved in this non-digital group!

Let me know what you think of Artist Trading Cards and whether you will look to get involved in a group, where ever you are in the world.

Here's one of my favourite cards that I completed. It was for the theme of "Fruit and Vegetables"

Can you guess what it is based on?!

Ranelagh Arts Festival: Maeve Brennan events

2026-05-10T13:56:00.000-07:00

We got straight in to the Ranelagh Arts Festival activities this morning with a trip to the gorgeous Devlin Theatre at 10.15am to watch a short film about Maeve Brennan and her life in Ranelagh as part of the Ranelagh Arts Film Festival. With a coffee in hand, it was lovely to watch this great 45 minute film in the comforts of The Devlin Hotel. A really great start to Sunday!

And after the film I made a plan to attend another Ranelagh Arts Festival event later in the afternoon. This was another Maeve Brennan activity and was a walking tour of Ranelagh that would start in the Arts Centre and go up to Cherryfield Avenue to see the house that she lived in from age 5 to 17 years before moving to USA.

It was a perfect day for a walking tour, a really bright Dublin day. Cold in the shade but bright and light - a jacket still required by me, but I am a cold person!

The tour was led by Sally Corcoran and was full of interesting information about Maeve Brennan and Ranelagh in general.

Here's a video of a past Ranelagh Arts Maeve Brennan event and if you are interested in her writings, do check out the Irish Public Libraries catalogue.

Hecho en Mexico - Made in Mexico

2026-05-09T13:36:00.000-07:00

It's always lovely to buy a well designed and handcrafted item when on holidays and I feel lucky to have found this gorgeous leather bag in a shop in Tlaquepaque on my February trip to Mexico. A brown leather bag is such a classic thing, and I feel like I will get use of this bag for years to come.

It's a simple minimal design made with the most beautiful leather which will soften over the years. I didn't buy many souvenirs but the things that I did buy are handcrafted high quality items that remind me of a fantastic trip to Mexico.

The designer is Santiago Jimenez and you can check out the store's instagram here.

The Devil wears Prada

2026-05-04T02:53:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely trip to the Omniplex Cinema in Rathmines this weekend to see The Devil wears Prada. There were tons of options to go see it at lots of different times in all of the different screens and we got tickets for the Maxx screen with really comfortable reclining chairs.

So what about the movie?!

Well it is exactly as you would expect a big budget well executed very watchable film with great actors. A special mention has to go to Meryl Streep who is excellent as usual and entirely believeable as Miranda Priestley.....and looking great!

The fashion, the art, the settings are all beautiful and if you are looking for an escape from real life for a couple of hours, this is the movie for you.

And then there is Gaga - yes Lady Gaga is there singing on the big screen. Of course I am biased, being a big Gaga fan, I thought she was fantastic.

So all in all I recommend The Devil wears Prada.

I should also mention how busy the Omniplex was which makes me wonder that people are still going to the cinema (or have returned since Covid)....who knows, I haven't looked at cinema going stats in any detail but the Omniplex must think there is a future in cinema going because they have upgraded the Rathmines cinema and have extras available like cocktails, pizza and other hot food options. Definitely an upgrade from a popcorn and coke!

Bank Holiday Blooms

2026-05-03T13:29:00.000-07:00

I've been having a quiet Bank Holiday weekend here in Ireland. Generally just getting up to some chores and gardening.

I mentioned in my last blog that I mentioned that I planted wilddlowers in the wasteland at the end of my road. Well would you believe there are some signs of some plants beginning to bloom!

The first thing I am seeing that is doing really well are some "Pentaglottis" which I think have been growing a few years now in this spot. They kind of look like nettles with fuzzy leaves but the flowers are a gorgeous blue colour.

Also growing for a few years in this area, is this flower which is called "Wood Sorrel" or Oaxalis Acetosella. From looking this plant up online, it seems that the leaves and flowers are edible.

And then the next one that is just starting to grow is the Oaxalis Tetraphylla, also known as the Iron Cross or Lucky Clover.

It's great to see all of these different plants among the wild garlic and it will be interesting to see what pops up next!

Garden project time!

2026-04-06T08:29:00.000-07:00

Well it is another gardening project in the makine.

This time it is not in my garden but instead in a little bit of wasteland down the end of the cul de sac that I live in.

For the past few years I have planted wild flower seeds in this area but nothing seems to have grown except for lots of wild garlic which has been there for years.

While I love the smell of the garlic it is rather boring to look at. So I am really intent on getting some nice brightly coloured flowers growing in this area.

I am currently growing some seedlings on the window sill in my living room which I will transplant to the wasteland area. There are a few earmarked spots I have started to put down fertiliser in and water well in preparation.

I have coco coir ordered from Amazon and am expecting that to arrive in a few days.

So on Saturday I will set up the areas for planting with coco coir and then compost and then give it a good water. Then it is a matter of planting all my seedlings. After this I have a box of wildflower seeds which I will scatter around in the bare areas near my seedlings.

And beyond that it is about keeping the area well watered and cross my fingers for this Hail Mary Project!

Watch this space......

Garden project - furniture upkeep

2026-03-07T07:26:00.000-08:00

I noticed that my garden furniture was looking a bit shabby and decided to give them a little refresh by spray painting them.

It is a fine weather day here in Dublin so I took the opportunity to do a few chores this morning and then start on the garden furniture in the afternoon.

After dropping some WEE reccyling to the centre in Rathmines and dropping in some old clothes to the Oxfam charity shop, I stopped in to the hardware in Ranelagh and brought black spray paint.

Here's pics of the furniture as I started and progressed to finish. I am happy with the result and they certainly look "refreshed". They currently sit in our front garden and will be great for another Summer!

Tetelán - what an experience!

2026-02-09T07:43:00.000-08:00

Tetelán is a restaurant and Cultural Centre (including a concept store with handicrafts for sale) situated in the restored stables of Casa Pedregal, a Luis Barragan designed house in Mexico City.

It is a wow building with the most amazing feeling in it and filled to the brim with architectural features. We wandered through it before heading to the restaurant for the most gorgeous elevated Mexican meal made with organic and local produce. I had chicken with mole and Ciaran had the mollcajete which was cheese, steak and shrimp bubbling in a volcanic bowl!! Both were delicious and we enjoyed them with a wine and beer - my wine was served in a funny little bulb glass.

Here's some pics of our visit.....but to also mention what happened after we had paid our bill and just as we were readying ourselves to leave....the city wide earthquake alarm went off!!!

We had to evacuate the building and stand on the street until the alarm stopped - the all clear came within a few minutes. All of the cars on the street stopped driving too. It was all very surreal.

When I returned to the restaurant to use the building I then saw a sign up, explaining what to do in case of "Sismo".

A true Mexican experience from the architecture to the food to the earthquake alarm!!

St Brigid's Weekend in Dublin

2026-02-06T05:51:00.000-08:00

The first weekend in February has much needed Bank Holiday for St Brigid's Day.

I had a lovely weekend and met up with lots of friends as awell as taking part in a St Brigid's Parade in the "Brigits by Bike" pageant which is organised by Cllr Donna Cooney and the Dublin Cycling Campaign. Our pageant led the parade and it was great cycle from Capel Street to The Spire on O'Connell Street wearing out bright yellow cloaks.

It was a pleasant day in Dublin and surprizingly there was no rain, considering how bad the weather has been (wet wet wet) of late. However, there cold did get in to me when we were standing waiting to start. So when I finished up I planned to stop in Starbucks on Leeson Street for a hot chocolate. However as I came up to Starbucks I decided to continue cycling on home (a further 3 mins or so) and make a Baileys Coffee straight away when I got inside. And that is whatt I did!

It was then aa quick turn around to head off to meet friends a for a lovely meal in Nightmarket in Ranelagh. It was really great food and I plan to return soon!

Tassle time!

2025-10-19T06:44:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to deciding on how to frame a beautiful tassle that I was gifted by a lovely lady that I met on my travels in Mexico.

This lady worked as an Interior Designer in Dallas Texas and she collected lots of tassles and fabric samples over the years. Amazingly this particular tassle dates back to the 1800's. Perfect for presenting in a box frame in my master bedroom given that my house was built in about 1856(?) - and it coordinates perfectly with my green Laura Ashley wall paper.

The frame is a simple box from Ikea. I got the E2 bus all the way over to Ikea this morning and after a breakfast in the restaurant browsed the store and bought this frame and a few other things.

Here is the tassle all framed up and presented with a wall paper backing. Let me know what you think!

Mission to Pluto: Accepted!

2025-09-21T01:02:00.000-07:00

MoonSwatch

I got a new watch!

It's an Omega-Swatch cross where Swatch have created their take on the Omega Speedmaster Moon Watch.

I have wanted one of these babies since the day they came out. However, at that time they were only available in particular Swatch stores because I think they were very much limited.

And now I finally got one! After probably checking them out in just about every Swatch store from Madrid to Mexico and even in Colombia too!!

The one I selected is.......

PLUTO

The colours of Pluto are very classy, understated but unique. It's a variety of burgundy on the face but I can't even begin to describe the colour of the strap.

Have a look at the full variety of Moon-Swatches and let me know which one you would select. How bright is that yellow Mission to the Sun watch?!

Memories of Mexico.....and beyond

2025-08-26T01:20:00.000-07:00

Every morning I am reminded of recent travel adventures to Mexico and beyond (Guatemala & Colombia). On my bar,where my coffee machine is, I have displayed the few small souvenirs that I brought home from my travels. I didn't buy too much on my travels because I had knew I would have to lug them from country to country. However, it makes me happy to wear my bright pink leather belt (not pictured) that I got in Mexico City or use my wool drinks coaster, from Oaxaca, when drinking my morning coffee. Along with the beautiful hummingbirds making me smile and giving me hope that every day is going to be great.

Here's some pics of the few small handicrafts that I brought home from Mexico, Colombia & Guatemala.

A beaded hummingbird. I actually bought a few of these and gifted to family and friends on my return. These were my favourite souvenirs from all of Mexico.

A Lucha Libre mask made by a handcrafter utilising a technique similar to papier machie and then handpainted by his wife!

These artisans were staying in the same Art Residency as us when they were visiting the area for the once yearly Chapala Fair that brings creaters of Mexican handicrafts altoether for one big massive fair near Ajijic. I also bought two little handstitched blouses to send to my two neices living abroad.

This bird was gifted to me by a friend as I left Mexico and it reminds me of time spent in Ajijic, Jalisco.

This cutie came all the way from the beautiful town of Antigua in Guatemala

The best way to start the day - a cup of coffee on a brightly colored Mexican wool coaster. Handcrafted in the shop that we bought it in and we even got to speak to the weaver who showed us all of the naturally dyed wool out the back of the shop in his home!

And then one of the final things I bought was this fun handpainted Mexican hat. I haven't had musch opportunity to wear it here in Ireland but I got to wear it recently in Spain. Here I am wearing the hat and coordinating with the PIGSY painting in the background!

Souvenirs really are fun things to buy when on vacation, and even a simple thing like a fridge magnet can bring back happy memories of past holidays with family and friends.

Let me know - what do you like to bring back from your vacations?!

Super Saturday - Phoenix Park Visit

2025-08-24T00:50:00.000-07:00

Heritage Week 2025

For Heritage Week, I booked 2 tickets for an Architectural Tour of Farmleigh in the Phoenix Park. To get there we cycled to Dawson Street and folded our bikes to take them on the 37 bus to the Castleknock Phoenix Park Gates. From there it was a short cycle to Farmleigh.

Farmleigh, Phoenix Park

When we arrived to Farmleigh, which is the "State Guesthouse" we checked in for our tour in the Motorhouse and then being a little early we had time for a coffee at the Lake House looking out on to the water.

The tour started promptly at 11.30am and lasted about an hour. Our guide was excellent and gave a really interesting tour. Here's a few photos that I took but they really don't do this house justice and I highly recommend you visit yourself to see this place that was a holiday home / country estate to the Guinness family from the late 1800's to 1999 when it was then bought by the Irish State and restored for civic and state use, including welcoming foreign dignitaries.

After the tour we visited the Cowshed Gallery and then cycled back to the city via the great cycle lanes on Chesterfield Avenue on the main road in the Phoenix Park. It started raining when we got close to the city so we headed to Capel Street for a lunchtime plate of wings in All Bar Chicken.

After this we cycled to Rathmines via the newly pedestrianised Parliament Street with the incredible vista leading up to City Hall. In Rathmines we did some printing in Rathmines Library. When we left the library we discovered it was raining heavily so we immediately ran over to the Omniplex and bought tickets for a screeening of Nobody 2 which was starting shortly. When we left the movie theatre at about 5.30pm the rain had stopped and cleared for the evening and the temperature was pleasant. I was glad of this because there were a few large outdoor events on in Dublin including the Robbie Williams concert in Croke Park and the College Football Game between Iowa and Kansas State in the Aviva.

Later we walked to Ranelagh and got a takeaway pizza from Rita's for dinner. We had split wings at lunch time and we split a pizza for dinner!

All in all a perfect Saturday with a great visit to the Phoenix Park and a lovely cycle all over the city from Southside to Northside and then back again.

Ranelagh Street Party

2025-06-26T23:58:00.000-07:00

My neighbourhood street party was on last Sunday. Held as an annual event in the Summer it is always a fun afternoon where the neighbours socialise and get to know each other over delicious food and drinks.

I decided to make some bunting for the event and sourced pretty fabric in WM Trimmings on Capel Street. Capel Street is a car free street in Dublin City and every time I visit this street I marvel at the changes to it since the cars were banned from it a little while ago. Dublin City Council have done a great job adding planting and seating to the street.

Here's the fabric I bought in WM Trimmings

I brought macarons to the party which I attempted to match to the colour of the bunting I had made!

And here's how the bunting looked strung up on railings from the 1850's in this Ranelagh cul de sac!

It was a pleasant day with the weather generally behaving itsef with one or two light showers between sunshine. Overall a perfect day in Ranelagh.....

Garden visits!

2025-06-08T10:10:00.000-07:00

Today I visited gardens in Rathmines!

It was part of the "Rathmines Open Gardens" which is held to raise money for different charities and this year is for Harold's Cross Hospice.

The last time I did these garden tours was probably about 5 years ago and the weather was glorious. Today the weather was not so glorious and I got caught in the rain while visiting the gardens. I planned to visit three gardens but in the end I just went to two.

They were two beautiful gardens and in the second the host had laid on the most beautiful cake and tea spread with bone china tea cups and saucers. So beautiful. The first garden had a great view of the Rathmines dome which was certainly an interesting sight.

Here's pics that I took in both of the gardens. Hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed visiting them!

Garden 1

Garden 2