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

Hello June!

I'm so glad June is here.  May was a tough month and gave me time to think about the more serious things in life.  I think it was a good thing for me to do.

Now it's June and so far it's been busy and fun and full of smiles!  So, without further ado, here are some photos with a little story to go with each...

We headed up to Dublin yesterday for a day out and some shopping.  This is a sample of the fabulous Georgian architecture that abounds in Dublin.

This is me having a second, that's right, second breakfast of panettone in Carluccio's on Dawson Street.  Breakfast is my favourite meal!

Rows and rows of divinely scented soaps in Avoca Handweavers

And cutesy aprons

Back at home I'm drying the tiniest little yellow tea roses for an up-and-coming art project

And the greenest moss

Tomatoes! In our little conservatory. The scent even at this size is amazing.  Supermarket tomatoes don't even come anywhere close.

Another green photo! This time plums in our garden. Yum yum.

One of the most sweet-scented roses in our garden.  I call it the Raspberry Ripple rose, for obvious reasons

And finally, Boots, Heidi and Kaiser on a walk this evening. I love them to bits!

Wishing you all a lovely June! ~Siobhan xox

The Darling Buds of May

What a lovely time of year is May!  I love the warmer days, when the nights are still quite cool.  I love the laundry flapping in the breeze, absolutely bone-dry and sweet smelling when you bring it in!

 

I love all the blossoms and trees just starting to stir.  We have quite a few different apples trees in our garden and the flowers are all blooming now, all different colours and fragrances.

Our 17th wedding anniversay came and went also.  It's a cliche, but I truly feel it was just a couple of years ago! We married in a registry office, with just my in-laws, as my own parents were gone quite a few years at that point.  I wore a knee length white dress with irises and freesias in my hair.  I think I'd wear something much more glam and sparkly if I were doing it now!  We've both grown a lot, through good times and some frankly devastating times.  And I do believe we're more in love now than we were then, if that's possible.  A little detail from my now, quite shabby, wedding dress:

I made some coconut cupcakes for afternoon tea on the day (thank you Ina Garten for the recipe!) washed down with a little champagne in the sunshine:

 

 

They (those in the fairy-know) say if you bath your face with early morning dew on May Day, you'll have a beautiful complexion all the coming year!  I haven't missed an early May Day morning in quite a few years and while I was out in my pajamas scooping up the misty drops, I took a picture of this solitary bluebell - the epitome of May.  And a flower much beloved of the Fairy Folk...

I hope you're having a magical, wonderful month so far.  I'll leave you with an image of my much loved orange cat Charlie, out and about in the garden, doing his cat thing!  ~Siobhan xox

 

Spring Has Sprung!

Three months since my last post? Disgraceful!

To be honest, after the crash on the black ice in December, I haven't been quite myself.

Work was very challenging, people were very difficult (or so it seemed to me!) and dark winter nights were dreary and lonely-feeling instead of being cosy and warm.

Then, the Christchurch earthquake happened. Absolutely devastating. We all felt incredibly sad and useless.

Then, as we ate breakfast one morning, we watched a giant tsunami hit Japan. Breakfast was abandoned as we watched in horror.

The world appeared very bleak and like everyone else, I found it difficult to be positive and pick myself up, mentally-speaking.

I read the lovely Milla's post today over at The Girl Who Married A Bear, and I felt inspired to write a few words at my own blog.

The Spring sunshine is warm and beaming here, the daffodils are out, the birds, in particular the Blackbirds (my favourites) are chattering away crazily and I can finally feel the grey-ness starting to lift.

So, I thought I'd share a few things that in the past couple of weeks have made me smile and helped me get my creative mojo going again! I hope you enjoy! ~Siobhan xox

1.  A stunning Gothic necklace I'm saving up for.
2. The most exquisite perfumes from For Strange Women.
3.  The yummiest caramel brownies ever! And I have actually baked them!
4.  Amazingly beautiful doll - I want!!
5.  Beautiful original artwork from the oh-so-talented Paulina Cassidy.
6.  A rather dreamy dress I'd like to wear out to dinner...
7.  Pure decadence from Villainess Soaps.
8.  Baby Bat Rescue - I can't stand the cuteness!

Happy Christmas!

Wishing all of you a most magical and wonderful Christmas.

And I hope that 2011 will bring you everything you wish for.

Love and hugs,  Siobhan xox

(and yes, that is me, about 3 yrs old with my very best friend, Maggie)

Easy-does-it December...

I knew that December was going to be a rocky month - astrologically speaking and it has proved true.

Ireland was deluged with Arctic snow and sub-zero temperatures the first week of this delightful month, which may look fairytale-ish, but when you live in the country over here, the roads aren't cleared and you're pretty much stuck. I ventured out in our jeep,creeping along (I'm a real scaredy cat) and suddenly it took off sideways down a road and crashed into a stone wall. Yikes. Big hole in the door and cracked bumper and a driver (me) with a serious phobia now of driving on snow and ice. Sigh.

This was followed by a co-worker who wouldn't come in during the snow, so I had major overtime and stress and super tiredness set in. I'm not so nice when I'm tired!

So, we're at the 15th of December now and I thought I'd post some pictures of life here in Ireland, no crashed jeeps though!

Our wonderful fireplace and stove that has kept us all snug as bugs during this freezing weather.

The books that have kept me entertained, and sane, during the snow-in!

The lane to our house, so beautiful, so dangerous!

Mega-icicles hanging from our bedroom window. Shiver....

One magical night-scape, a waning moon and a shining star (or planet)

Phew...I hope your December has been better than mine so far.  Stay safe and enjoy the run-up to Christmas.  Magic is truly everywhere.  ~Siobhan xox









Halloween has Arrived!

A very Happy Halloween and Blessed Samhain to everyone! I love this holiday so much! There’s a little bubble of excitement inside me and I feel like something exciting is about to happen! Nothing much planned for tonight, just lighting lots of candles and possibly making a Barm Brack this morning for nibbling later on.

I haven’t been blogging much of late as life has been quite challenging recently and it’s been difficult to find little glimpses of happiness and fun to write about. There’s a strange energy about at the moment and I’m not the only one to be feeling the strain, that’s for sure. I’ve just been keeping my head down, avoiding confrontation and eating chocolate!

Anyway, just to catch you up on my life recently! Asos.com are offering free shipping to Ireland this weekend and as Freya’s Spell Bottles are doing particularly well on Moonslipper at the moment I thought I’d treat myself to a new dress! Woohoo! So this is the one I bought:

Needless to say, I do not have legs like the lovely model, so maybe I'll wear it over jeans or leggings? I should have it this week – I absolutely love getting parcels in the mail!

And talking about Moonslipper and the Spell Bottles, do drop by and take a peek at them, they’re made by Freya, an old friend of mine and they are just gorgeous to look at.

We’ve also been getting some amazing feedback from customers about the actual spells too – they’re getting results! That’s what I like to hear! Click here to read some more.

And we finally finished our Chinese Horoscopes for 2011 – they’re more in-depth than any other year and I think they’re fantastic. It’s the Year of the Rabbit….

Check out what sign you are and what 2011 holds in store for you here - I know you'll really enjoy them!

I hope you have a fun, festive and magical Halloween night, whatever mischief and merriment you get up to! Siobhan xox