Scam alert

Would you look what I received in the post today!

 

All the way from Spain it's a letter to tell me that I have won over €800,000 in a Spanish Lottery that I never bought a ticket for!!

 

To collect my prize, I just need to complete this detailed form and fax it back.  Along with my bank details I also need to supply information such as my occupation, date of birth and also my mothers maiden name.  A lot of this information could certainly be used by the would be scammers in order to defraud me of money or property.

 

Obviously I know that this is a scam but I can see how people may fall for it. 

I put it up on my blog to spread the message that is a scam and hopefully it will prevent someone being scammed.

Remember you can't win a competition that you never entered!!!

I'm unsure where they got my postal address from and oddly they addressed the envelope to me but using my husbands surname which I never took.  Strange.....and this is about the third one of these letters.

Amy's Ikea Feature

As I mentioned the other day my twin sister's home is being featured in the online Ikea magazine.  It's been published now and is ready for viewing.  Click here to have a look at the article!

Would you believe that after seeing Amy's funky red cocktail chairs our 85 year old Granny got one for her living room!! 

I think the article is great and Amy's home looks wonderful!

Marino Waltz in Rathmines

This morning in Starbucks as I read the Sunday papers and drank my coffee one of my favourite pieces of music came on.  It was the Marino Waltz which is composed by John Sheahan of The Dubliners. 

Marino is an area in the Northside of Dublin City.  Have a look here at a video of The Dubliners performing the Marino Waltz.

Do you know this piece of music?  What do you think of it?

John Sheahan even joined Andre Rieu on stage and they played the Marino Waltz together!

This piece of music was used for a Bord na Mona ad in Ireland a few years ago which added to its popularity. 

It puts a smile on my face when I hear it.

Bargain makeup haul!!

Would you like to hazard a guess as to how much all of the below make up cost me in M&S today?

 

Did you guess 70cents???  How far off were you??!!

 

Each item was reduced to 10 cents!  Yes 10 cents!!

 

Lip & Cheek Tint:  Originally €5

Eau de Toilette & Lip Gloss Duo: Originally €7

Mint Nail Polish:  Originally €3.50

Golden Girl Nail Polish:  Originally €3.50

Charcoal Eye Shadow: Originally €3.50

Blue Satin Eye Shadow: Originally €3.50

30 Colour Eye Shadow Palette: Originally €20

All reduced to 10 cents each!!

 

That's €46 worth of makeup for the princely sum of 70 cents!  That's about a dollar in USA money. 

 

I also picked up a new make up bag.  I bought it in Penneys as they had a great selection.  This is navy oil cloth bag with white spots.  Too cute!

Bonus birthdays and Ennio Morricone....

Thursday was a good day.  At 9am I logged on to Ticket Master and bought tickets for Ennio Morricone for his Dublin Concert on the 12th of December as part of his final world tour.  He was in Dublin last Summer but played an outdoor concert - the concert we are attending will be in the 02 in the Point Village down at the docks.

On the way to work I spotted a car with a bumper sticker. 

I know bumper stickers are not rare in the USA but here in Ireland it is not so common to put a bumper sticker on your car.  This one says "Don't Steal.  The Government hates Competition"

Bonus Birthdays!  A new name for maybe a not so new concept.

Do you find yourself buying presents for the siblings of the birthday boy or girl, in order for no one feeling left out?? 

If so you are giving some little girl or boy a "Bonus Birthday"!

To end the day there was cake in work to mark my last day.  Monday brings great change when I start in my new branch.

Yike Bike

Have you heard of a Yike Bike?!

It's a dinky little electric bike that is radically different from any electric bike that I know.

Have a look at this video that explains about the Yike Bike.

 

Would you ride a Yike Bike??!!

Drive thru Supervalu

Supervalu Drive through!

 

Supervalu has a launched a, new to Ireland, service - a drive through supermarket.  Customers will be able to place their orders online and then collect at the store at a convenient time for them.

 

I sure would have loved if it was available in my local Supervalu when I stopped in after work this evening!

 

I've seen drive thru banks when travelling in the USA - I'm sure they will come to Ireland eventually. 

 

Do you have any drive thru services in your vicinity?

 

 

ODKM Architects

If you are a regular reader of this blog you will know that my husband is partner in ODKM Architects.

Currently ODKM are doing a drive for Likes on Facebook. If you are on Facebook, I'd love if you popped on over to the ODKM page and clicked like!

By becoming a fan of their page you will get updates of all of their projects and get to see pictures of lovely things like the recently completed and very funky "Pottery House"

In other exciting news,  my twin sister's house features on the Ikea Website this coming February.  She renovated her house from top to bottom and put in a nifty little cocktail area.  There is even a great picture of her and her cat Harry.  I'll be sure to put up a link to her feature as soon as it goes live!!

Brother Hubbards, Capel Street

We had a great Sunday!

 

We started with breakfast in Brother Hubbards on Capel Street (upon a recommendation from a work colleague).  I really wanted to like this place - it has got great reviews in the papers and is turning in to a bloggers favourite. 

 

The minute we got the menu we were at a loss.  It was hard to see any options that were low carb high fat.  We ordered short Americanos while considering the menu further (we brought our own cream for our coffee).  Eventually I chose the Breakfast of Champignons and Ciaran chose the Greek Style Omelette (leaving out the olives).  We both left off the bread.

 

 

The food was good but the setting wasn't at all comfortable for brunch.  We were seated in the middle of the floor on stools at a tiny table.  I had brought along the papers but we couldn't read them.  All we could do was eat and run.  Really quite unsatisfying for a Sunday morning.  Ciaran was most unhappy I think.  After being in Belfast from Friday to Saturday he had really wanted a chilled out brunch on Sunday.  He says he is choosing where we go next Sunday!!

The bill for our breakfast came to €23.  Yesterday, two breakfasts in The Fumbally was €16.  I think Brother Hubbards is about 30% over priced.  Sadly we won't be back.  Although the food would probably be good for dinner, I just couldn't see us enjoying the setting over a bottle of wine.   

 

After breakfast we called to Ciaran's parents and then on to my mother.  My mother showed us the huge tree that blew over in her garden during last weeks storm!!

 

Later we went to the 6pm show of the really excellent "12 years a slave".  Wow what a film!  I won't be surprised if it wins best picture in the Oscars.   

 

And then finally I sat down to blog while watching my guilty pleasure - the Duggars in 19 Kids and Counting!!!  (Oh dear!)

 

Retro Nation

You might be wondering what's going on here!!

What I'm up to is collecting a prize that I won on Facebook from Retro Nation in the Stephen's Green Shopping Centre!!

 

This is what I won:  A Friends Travel Cup and Mug

 

Here is the travel cup - I love it!

 

And this is the mug which I gave to my twin sister.

 

 

And while I was in Retro Nation I bought an Elvis mug for Ciaran!

 

Retro Nation has a great selection of quirky items - here's what they are about (from their Facebook page):

 

RETRO NATION - iconic gifts and accessories. Great gifts with great memories. Memorabilia plus current iconic branded gifts from mugs to magnets, cufflinks to canvas art, lunchboxes, sandwich and collectors tins, tea towels to wallets, playing cards to money boxes, trays to tea pots and a wide range of bags from such memorable names like - Star Wars, Sesame Street, Batman, Rainbow, Hanna Barbera cartoons, Dr Who, Warner Bros., Star Trek, Vespa, The Beatles, Marilyn Monroe, Superman plus loads loads more......that's RETRO NATION.

 

If you are in the Stephens Green Shopping Centre pop in for a look in Retro Nation!!

Gabrielle Designs - Paddington Bear

Currently in The Ark in Temple Bar there is a V&A Teddy Bear Exhibition.  Along with Mr. Bean's and Bono's bear there is a Gabrielle Designed Paddington Bear.

Gabrielle Designs was a small English company that made Paddington bears from 1972 until the late 1990's.

I have a Paddington Bear from the 1980's.  He is a little bit tired and worn and has lost his hat and label that used to be attached to his coat. He is a hard stuffed Paddington.  Many of the later produced Paddington's are soft stuffed.

His boots have paw prints on the sole and PB printed in reverse!

This Paddington Bear was made in Britain.

How cute are his wellington boots?!

 

A teeny weeny hand sized Paddington

Printed on the red boots are "Made in Korea". "China" is printed on the blue pair of boots.

As a child I loved reading about the marmalade sandwich eating Paddington Bear  - he got up to such great adventures! 

Did you read Paddington Bear books??

Big business for florists!

 

I took these pictures of the florist in Blanchardstown Shopping Centre at 8.50am this morning.  They were setting up for probably the biggest day of the year for florists everywhere.  Its the 13th of February - the day before Valentine's Day.

 

 

There was even some prospective customers this early in the morning!

 

The florist had a really lovely selection of flowers.

My younger sister has recently started to learn how to play the ukulele - check out this video of her singing a Spice Girls song.  She's not bad!!

Ireland is currently recovering from really bad storm yesterday.  250,000 were with out power and today there are still 150,000 without electricity.  The roof of Limerick Boat Club got ripped off in the high winds.

Seemingly Met Eireann is forecasting that we will get another battering tomorrow with expected floods too.

Tidy Desk Hoard

I have been giving my desk area in work a good clean as I am moving branch shortly. 

In the drawers next to my desk I found the most bizarre collection of items!

Item 1:  A disposable camera (the development date on it is 2010!!)

Item 2:  A bag of 9 dice (there was a receipt in the bag - the dice were bought in Jan 2009)

Item 3: A barely used pair of leather/tweed gloves (I vaguely remember getting these for Christmas and then promptly losing them......or so I thought!)

Item 4:  A photo of me kissing the Blarney Stone the weekend of my friends wedding in Blarney, Co Cork (this was taken in 2007)

I only cleared 1 drawer today - I can't wait to see what is in the 2nd drawer!!

Feed your pet!!

We feed our doggy Gain which is a dry dog food that is made in Ireland by Glanbia.  Normally I buy it in Petstop which is conveniently near where I currently work.

As I am changing work location shortly I knew I needed to consider an alternative to Petstop.  My sister had recently blogged about a new pet food supplier that had just been set up by acquaintances of her husband. My sister had ordered special weight loss food for her cat and was very pleased with how promptly it had arrived so I decided to order from Feed Your Pet too.

I was pleased with how easy it was to make an order and when the food was delivered to Ciaran's office he remarked how polite the delivery guy was. 

I intend to order from this place in the future I just need to be a little more organised and do it before Bones food had ran out like this time!

Sunday Cinema

Later on Sunday we went to the Swan Cinema to see the Dallas Buyers Club starring Matthew McConaughey (it's a very good film - do go if you get a chance!). 

 

We love going to the Swan Cinema.  It's a small cinema and we always joke that we are going "back to the eighties" when we visit!

 

After the cinema I made Chicken Caesar Salad - I used some leftover rasher (bacon) from breakfast this morning.

Dessert was strawberries and cream.

What a great Sunday!!

All made up!

I needed a new foundation so on advice from my younger sister I decided to try Smashbox.  When doing research about which one to buy I discovered that I should also be using primer.

Primer!!! Who knew?!

Why did no one ever tell me??

It seems that primer is especially essential for older skin like mine and it smooths the appearance of fine lines and pores.

Here's what I bought in Boots in Dundrum Shopping Centre.
 

Smashbox Studio Skin - 15 hour wear foundation (Shade 2.3)

A sample box that included:

Photo Finish Foundation Primer

Photos Finish Lid Primer

Full Exposure Mascara

Limitless Eye Liner (Onyx colour)

Lip Enhancing Gloss (Illume)

These are all Smashbox best sellers.
 

In other news, on our walk this morning I noticed a new restaurant is opening in Ranelagh where Door 51 used to be.  It is called "Edelwise" and is a Fondue and Raclette eatery.  Sounds interesting!!   

What are you reading at the moment?

 I'm reading an excellent book called "Back from the dead" by Joan M. Cheever. 

 

From the author's website, the author explains "Back From The Dead is the story of 589 former death row inmates who, through a lottery of fate, were given a second chance at life in 1972 when the death penalty was abolished; it returned to the United States four years later."

 

As someone who does not support the death penalty I am finding it very interesting albeit very moving and quite upsetting in parts.

 

 

 

A new Victoria's Secret (the only one in Ireland) has opened in Dublin Airport.  I browsed it before my flight to Copenhagen but didn't buy anything.  I was glad to see that there was a VS in Copenhagen Airport so I visited it before I got my flight home. 

I bought a nude lip gloss and a little make up bag.  The make up bag is perfect size for popping in to my hand bag and carrying around with me.

 

I made more fat bombs today.  This time I poured them in to my mini bundt cake moulds.  The moulds are silicon so the fat bombs popped out easily.  They look so good and taste even better!!

 

I saw this in the English Times.

 

Seriously, who thought it was a good idea to put this statue of a sleepwalking man in the grounds of an all-female college in the USA??!!! 

Denmark

I've just returned from a 2 day trip to Copenhagen, Denmark.

I didn't get to see much of the city as I was on a work trip, however, I found all the Danish people I met to be extremely friendly and helpful.

Check out all the great light fittings - typical Danish style, I think.

My hotel lobby 

Airport Bar

Airport Duty Free

Copenhagen Airport

Sunday morning walk and Pantigate

After breakfast of rashers (bacon) and eggs we went for a walk around Ranelagh.  We passed Litton Hall (built 1877) on Leeson Park next to the Wesleyan Church.

 

Northbrook Clinic is in an attractive building.

 

 

Our dog passed by this point without even noticing the cute kitty popping out to say hello!

 

We made our way back up to Ranelagh village and stopped in Coffee Society for coffee and a read of the Sunday papers.

In the afternoon I met my sister and we attended the LGBT Noise protest over Pantigate

 

If you have a few minutes to spare I urge you to watch this video of Pantibliss which gives some of the background to the protest against the Irish State Broadcaster for their shutting down of the discussion of Homophobia and Gay Equality.

 

 

Here's my little sister.  We had Irish flags with us because we went to watch the Ireland v. Scotland Rugby game in Sinnots after the protest.

 

I expected to see lots of Pride flags at the protest but was a little disappointed it was not a more colourful affair.  It was attended by lots of different people including many families with their children.

When I got home I made curry broth for dinner.  After dinner we got in to the hot tub which was so good.  It's probably been about 4 weeks since we were last in the hot tub!!

From Monday's Irish Independent