Summertime, friends and food

July has begun here in Ireland and even though it should be warm, balmy and full of sunshine, this unpredictable year has kicked in again and it's a mixture of baking sun, cold winds and Irish rain.

It's been a little bit more social for me than usual, with a surprise dinner with an old friend I hadn't seen since 1999.  We've been friends since we were 14 and every time we meet up, it's like only a few days have passed.  We had so much fun and now I miss her all over again, as she lives in the US.  A photo of some very happy gingerbread men from the restaurant where we ate:

Then a few days later it was my birthday.  With recent events and the ups and downs of the year so far, I was unusually ambivalent about this annual milestone.  I feel lucky to have made it through another year (not to be overly melodramatic, but I really do feel blessed) and we celebrated with lunch at the Romany Stone in Wicklow. Picture is of sweet potato and chili soup, homemade pesto, wholemeal bread, breadsticks, white wine...yum yum....

Then there was a late birthday shopping trip into Wexford, where I bought some cute black Mary Janes, tonnes of glossy magazines, art supplies, scented candles and then collapsed with a Mocha Coffee and fudgey brownie.  These things are quite necessary sometimes:

Sadly, it's back to reality this week, with work beginning on Wednesday.  Until then I shall spend these rainy, unsettled July days tending the garden and our increasingly heavily-laden tomato plants - I can't wait to eat them with some sea salt and olive oil!  Hope you're having a fabulous summer wherever you are! ~Siobhan xox