Dublin weather

It's 9am and nice and bright. It's still quite cool though but expected to get a little warmer.

A bank holiday weekend is coming up here in Ireland. I finish up work on Friday and am not back in until Tuesday. Bliss!!

Now I need to make plans of what to get up to over the weekend!

Chilli chilli!

I made a big pot of chilli for the first time ever.

As a base I used tomato sauce (made from tinned tomatoes and tomato puree) with puréed vegetables in it. I browned mince and onions and then added the chilli mix. Finally 2 cans of kidney beans went into the pot.

I will be bringing chilli in to work with me for a tasty lunch!

Dublin City this evening

Yes, this a horse in Dublin City!! This was what was in front of me as I drove home.

This is not quite an uncommon sight in Dublin!!!

Coffee time

I got a smiley face on my coffee today! It put a smile on my face!

Zero Noodles

I saw these Zero Noodles in the health store the other day. It seems that they are made from a plant and are practically calorie free. For more info look at www.zeronoodles.com

Nuts for coconuts

I like to drink Coconut Water to hydrate.

But look what's on the shelf next to it - Aloe Vera water.

Ever have it? What are the benefits of drinking it?

Dublin Bikes

Dublin Bikes - not the subscription city bikes but these great painted ones I found on Montague Street.

My sister and I also went and tried on Vintage clothing. I tried on a horrible green dress - too revolting to even put up here. Amy tried on this groovy mini dress! Fun!

Fishy fishy

What did you get up to during the weekend?

Yesterday I was treated to a fish pedicure by my sister. So much fun!!!

We went to the salon at the top of the Stephen's Green Shopping Centre. It was very relaxing and I totally recommend it.

After our pedi we walked home past the canal. Such a lovely day!

My thoughts on fish pedicure is that the water is cold, the fish tickle and it is no replacement for a pumice stone!

The Spire

Can you see the Spire? This is the view of it from Henry Street.

Dublin wags call it the Stiletto in the Ghetto!

Done!

I got my quilt finished. It's ok. I'm not entirely happy with the colours. I'll have to be more careful with the next one I do.

Fabric Heaven

A colleague suggested I go to Hickeys Home Focus for quilting materials. What a place!! I was in fabric heaven. Really great supply of material and trimmings. This could be where I will be found during my lunch breaks!!!

Quilting

Im halfway through the top of my quilt. The new tools that I got the other day are amazing. It was so quick and easy to make up my squares using the rotary blade and ruler.

Fabric is fairly limited in Ireland but I will be in Key West, Florida in June. There is a fantastic fabric store there. I plan on getting some beachy/Hawaiian material to make some nice cushions for on the deck near the hot tub.

But for the moment it is work on a basic square patch baby quilt.

Dreaming of...

We are taunted every evening by photos of what our friends in the States are eating . Yesterday it was ribs. Have you ever seen such great looking food?!

Seeing these pictures was punishment for us as I've blogged before about how good ribs are hard to come by in Ireland.

Lunch

Lunch today was a free bowl of soup at an Information Fair that I was working at. It might have been made from a packet :-(

I'm now having a coffee in Starbucks with an extra shot of espresso and then it is back to work for me.

When I get home I need to google how to wind thread on to the bobbin for my sewing machine. It's been that long since I've used my sewing machine!!!

Starting my quilt

When I've made quilts in the past I used to just make it up as I went along. For this quilt I decided I would do it right. I've just bought some kit that one of the books said was essential.

The green board is a cutting mat and there also is a special ruler. The yellow tool is a rotary cutter which seems a bit scary because I've only ever used a scissors a before.

Wish me luck!

Mmmm!

Now this is my kind of soup!

Carrot, sweet potato and coconut!!

There is something spicy in there too that is giving a little kick to the soup. Yum, creamy and delicious!

Sleep evaded me

Oh boy am I tired this morning. Last night was bad bad bad. It started with mating foxes making an awful racquet and them it continued with our small dog making the loudest snores in the bed with us. After finally getting asleep I was awoken by the police helicopter at 4.30am which circled overhead for about an hour. I think it was 6am when I finally got back asleep and then the alarm went off at 7am.

I found it tough getting up and am sitting in Starbucks having an extra strong coffee to prepare me for a busy morning in work.

Getting crafty

In the past I made a variety of cot quilts for my friends when they had babies. I haven't made one in over a year so I decided to start again. Tonight I'm going to look through these crafting books for inspiration.

Cookie Monster

On Saturday evening I was in the form for some homemade cookies. In Donnybrook Fair I saw this dough in the fridge which I thought would make good cookies.

I cut the dough twice the size that they suggest for a standard cookie. I cooked them for 1 minute less than they suggest as I wanted soft bake cookies.

I was disappointed when I ate them. They just didn't taste that good and they didn't look too good either. I won't be buying them again. I do think it is clever, however, that the dough is wrapped in parchment paper that you use on your baking tray.

Dublin weather

Here's the weather for the week in Dublin, Ireland.

Looks like Monday could be nice!

Satay chicken

For dinner we had satay chicken with rice noodles and veg