My day seems to have revolved around drinking copious amount of lemon juice in hot water sweetened with honey and taking intermittent doses of Strepsils (proprietary medicine). The reason: my throat is doing a very passable imitation of the roughest grade of sandpaper.
♥ Remembering to be Thankful
Filed under Musings
♥ First Pair of Repettos
Iconic is an overused word, however when it comes to talking about the Repetto brand it seems an apt adjective. I am a diehard fan of ballet flats. I have a couple of pairs of heels which are only wheeled into service when I know I will be mostly seated while I am wearing them. For everyday life, flats are my footwear of choice: they are perfect for comfortable and unrestricted tripping about without the attendant danger of sore feet. Over the years I have had so many pairs from different labels but never, until my recent trip to Paris, a pair of Repettos.
Filed under Paris, Shops/Shopping
♥ This Week
This week the countdown to Christmas continues and we are now just two weeks away from the day itself. The weather in these parts has been a degree or two chillier than before. But thankfully here has been almost daily winter sun although as time marches on relentlessly towards the shortest day of the year it has only shone for a few short hours before descending beneath yonder hills.
Filed under Musings
♥ Christmas at Bow
This is the second in a series of posts showcasing items that I think would make very acceptable Christmas gifts. The emphasis in the series is on: craft, homemade/handmade items, and independent shops. My hope is that wherever you live in the world that the images might inspire you (if you don’t do so already) to check out locally made beautiful items that are far removed from the madding mass-produced crowd and independent shops that are a world away from the homogenous high street.
Filed under Dublin, Fashion, Shops/Shopping
♥ Alternative Christmas Gifts
Today’s post was meant to be about something else but as is the way of the world I ended up devoting time that I had set aside for blog writing to something entirely different. The hours sped by and all of a flash the planed post was toast. Let me explain and bear with me while I veer off piste on a minor digression before I arrive at what I led you to expect when I typed this post’s title.
Filed under Favourite Quotes, Musings
♥ Light up a Life
Yesterday, Sunday, I went with my mum to Our Lady’s Hospice in Dublin for the annual Light up a Life ceremony. This remembrance ceremony has been held at the hospice every year, in early December, since 1992. From small beginnings in the early nineties it has mushroomed into an event attended yesterday by about 5000 people. Similar ceremonies are held at hospices all round the globe; because of the large numbers who attend it’s possible that the Dublin event is the largest Light up a Life gathering in the world.
♥ Craft for Christmas
This is the first in a series of posts showcasing items that I think would make very acceptable Christmas gifts. The emphasis in the series is on: craft, homemade/handmade items, and independent shops. My hope is that wherever you live in the world that the images might inspire you (if you don’t do so already) to check out locally made beautiful items that are far removed from the madding mass-produced crowd.
Filed under Craft
♥ Retail Therapy
I love shops in a bonkers allsorts fashion. By that I mean I am as happy to wander around furniture or haberdashery emporiums as I am to gaze at the latest fashions in a boutique or department store. This love of shops doesn’t equate to a love of spending (though naturally I do from time to time).
Filed under Paris, Shops/Shopping, Travel
♥ Breakfast in Paris: Café Constant
The Café Constant is on my list of favourite Parisian cafes. It’s not that I have visited all the thousands of cafes in the City of Light to compile a definitive list of my top ten: rather the Café Constant became a favourite by default as it’s close to where I normally stay when I visit Paris. It’s good, so if I hadn’t discovered it by virtue of its proximity I am sure I would have truffled it out with the aid of one of my trusty guidebooks.
Filed under Paris, Restaurants/Cafés, Travel
♥ The School of Jewellery
I love jewellery. It’s not that I trip the light fantastic to high-end jewellery shops or high street chains to stock up on baskets of bling but rather that I am passionate about beautiful hand crafted pieces. I love looking at them in awe-struck wonder and appreciating the workmanship even if they are totally beyond my means. It is of course important that the skills that go into crafting these wonders tumble-down the generations, so as a lover of hand crafted jewellery I was pleased to learn that one of Ireland’s foremost practitioners of the art Deirdre O’Donnell is setting up a jewellery school in Dublin in 2012.
Just Add Attitude
Just Add Attitude 