The results are in!

I have two winners for my recent competition........

Drum roll......

The winners are blogger "Kim" and also the owner of "A journey called life" blog.  I'll email you shortly for your postal addresses.

Thanks to all who entered!

Green Ireland

Here is Bones  posing besides some Irish post boxes.  Note the Royal insignia (GR) on one of the boxes - this post box has been in existence before Ireland was a free state!  It would have been painted red then.
The "P&T" stands for Posts & Telegraph.

At the groomers

As you know Bones entered the My Furry Valentine competition that was held by Mutt Ugly.  Well he got a runner up prize and won  a free groom! 

He went for his groom yesterday and here is a photo of the result.  A green sweatshirt also caught his eye as he was leaving so he bought that. Perfect for cheering on the Irish team against Scotland in the 6 Nations today!

We went for a really short trim and even clipped his ears so that he would stop getting them wet when he drinks his water.

Mutt Ugly is a great shop with loads of accessories for your dog - definitely worth a visit!

Italian breakfast

After dropping Bones in to Mutt Ugly for his groom we went to Er Buchetto for breakfast.  I had milky porridge with honey while Ciaran chose the full Irish minus the eggs.

This is a tiny little cafe.  It was not busy this morning - possibly because it is so cold out with a little sleet.

We chilled out over breakfast while reading the Irish Times.  Normally we have the dog tied up outside so it was nice not to have to keep looking out the window to see that he was safe.

The Cellar

Lovely lunch in The Cellar in the Merion Hotel today.

For starter I had a chicken liver and foie gras parfait with brioche and onion marmalade.  It was served so beautifully with the onion marmalade in a little jar.  The liver parfait was tasty and the brioche was melt in your mouth.

For my main I chose Beef Cheek with a pomme mouselline, mushrooms and pearl onions and bacon ragout.  The beef was amazing - so rich!

Then dessert was a passionfruit posset with macaroon and white chocolate bark.  Other dessert choices were choux buns filled with vanilla ice cream served with a jug of melted dark chocolate.

All divine!

If you are ever in Dublin town, I thoroughly recommend this place.

Btw, I should mention that I also had a very generous glass of the house red!

Roundabout Ranelagh

It's a very pleasant day so I just took the dog for a walk to Ranelagh Gardens which is a close by park. I took a picture of two buildings of interest on my walk home.  Ranelagh Gardens is the site of the first balloon ride in Ireland in 1783.

The house with the green door is the Indian Embassy on Leeson Park Avenue. The other house is called St. Helens. Situated near Warwick Terrace, it is unlike any other in Ranelagh.

For info, Ranelagh is pronounced Wren-a-lah!

Nobody puts baby in the corner!

Ciaran is away at a stag party so I am indulging myself and watching Dirty Dancing. 

Scary to think that it is more than 20 years since I first saw this film! Eeeek!

Patrick Swayzee :-)

Tantrums in the morning

Generally my husband takes the dog with him to the office everyday.  However, he decided to leave Bones at home with me as I am off work today.
I had planned to have a lie in and take it easy.  Well I tell you, that was not going to happen with Bones in the house.  He went berserk when Ciaran left without him.  The dog was so cross that I nearly phoned Ciaran to come back and take him with you.
The whole day I've had a sulky dog on my hands.  He is really acting up - he won't even eat his food!!
Not a good boy......and I'm not too pleased with having been woken up early on my day off.
If you are looking to read another blog about Irish life, pop over to my sister's blog

Valentine's meal

Here's what we had for Valentine's....

Wicklow Blue Cheese
Prawns in parsley butter
Steak and chunky chips (fries) with pepper sauce
Chocolate torte
Chocolate truffle

Washed down with a bottle of Cab Sauv.

What did you do for Valentine's Day?

Vote for my doggie please

Check out this pic of Bones. 
I've entered it in a competition on the Mutt Ugly Facebook page.  If you are on Facebook, please click here and then like the photo of Bones.  Thanks in advance!

How many pancakes did you eat?!

Today is the last day before Lent.  Here in Ireland we call this Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Tuesday.  Traditionally we eat pancakes today and then make a decision to forgo something nice for Lent which leads us up to Easter. 

By the way, I had 1 pancake today.  How many did you have?!

Competition time!

St. Patrick's Day is coming up shortly in March and I'd like to have an International giveaway to mark it!

The prize I am giving is this cute little hairband and matching hair clips (barretts).

To be in with a chance of winning you need to do is Write your email in the comment box below.

I have 2 prizes so I'll draw 2 winners on the 25th of February and mail them from Ireland to wherever you happen to live in the world.

Good luck and thanks for participating in advance!

Please feel free to share this with anyone you think might be interested.

Coconut Body Mist

It always amazes me the amount of blogs that are purely based on reviewing certain products.  It is obviously something that is enjoyed by blog readers so I am going to do my first blog review and see if I receive any extra readers. 
The product that I am going to review are Key West Aloe Coconut Body Mist.
Coconut Body Mist is a tropical smelling product.  I bought this spray in the Key West Aloe Store on Duval Street.  The lady who served me explained that there used to be a factory in Key West that made all the products that they sold in the store.  The factory closed down in about the 90’s and the products are all made elsewhere in the USA.  I was glad to hear that production is still in the USA and hopefully I was supporting US jobs when I purchased it.  My husband also bought a spray in this store to keep the dog fresh smelling!  The Coconut Spray smells great and it reminds me of Key West every time I use it. it is very refreshing and on a warm day I think it would very cooling.
So there you have it my first product review – I hope you enjoyed it! 

Will my house be in an ad?!

Exciting news!  I have been approached by a Locations Company who have a client who is interested in having a photo shoot in our house.  It is an Irish Department Store and they will be shooting their homewares.  They are looking for a particular house with certain windows. 

Fingers crossed that our house is suitable!

Jealous!

So jealous of my twin sister!  She is currently snowboarding her little heart out in Austria.  She travelled over the weekend with her husband and a gang of friends.  She sent me pictures of the large hillside chalet they have rented - it looks amazing!

Can't wait to hear all about the snow, the apres ski and the Jaegermeister stories(!) when she returns in a week.

Celebration of 35 years of St. Paul's Swimming Club

St. Paul's Swimming Club is no more.  This is the club that I learnt to swim with, met best friends through and spent my formative years hanging out at the pool.

Today a presentation was made to Frank and Mrs Kavanagh for all that they gave to the club.  Accepted by Martin, it was extremely emotional.

Saw so many people that I hadn't seen in years - all older and many had their children with them who also had learnt to swim with this club.  (My sister and her children are pictured).

Chilli Club

Went out for a lovely meal last night with friends.  We had a meal in the Chilli Club which we then followed with a drink in Cafe En Seine.

The Thai food was lovely and it was great to catch up and have a good natter!

Like Guinness?

Wanna be a Guinness ambassador? ;-)

Guests coming to Ireland  in 2013?

Register for one of 50,000 Guinness Storehouse Gathering Ambassador cards and you'll get free entry and a discount for your overseas visitors.To boot, there's also a chance to win prizes including your very own Gathering party in the Gravity Bar!

More here

Pictured is model Jasmine Guinness at the launch of this promotion.