Avoid The Thief

Got back on my bike today after pushing it up to the local shop to get air pumped up in the front tyre.  Both tyres needed air - I was able to pump up the back one but couldn't do the front.  I think I may have had an air lock and needed a stronger pump.


The guy in the shop said it went up no bother.  I had left it with him for an hour.  I don't think he was going to charge me for air but I needed a new lock (especially after watching the above video) so I bought one from him.  He also pointed out that my bike was good (I was like really???) and that it  had a nice frame that could be desired by thieves.  He also admired my coffee holder (that I got in Key West, Florida) - I told him I used it for something stronger than coffee!!  ;-)


Bike theft is prevalent in Dublin.  It's not even the good bikes that are targeted - unfortunately there are people who just do it for the sheer devilment or just to get home (so the bike shop owner told me!).  Friends of ours had their bikes stolen from their garden so they bolted a U lock in to their garden and lock their bikes to that. We have our bikes chained to the fence in the front of our garden but we live down a cul de sac so it is unlikely that thieves will make their way down our road.  If they were discovered stealing the bikes the only place to run would be the way they entered and I don't think they would like that!

Aslan performing 'I Need A Little Time' on The Late Late Show

Aslan are an Irish band that have been popular for years and years. Their most well known song is Crazy World.


This is their new song that they performed on The Late Late Show recently.  I like it!  I think it is very Beatle-esque.  

Rockin' Road Festival

Yesterday Amy and I were at the Rockin' Road Festival.  It's a music and motorcycle event held in aid of Childvision.  There is lots to do at the Festival - a display of vintage cars & motorbikes, lots of bands to listen to and a variety of stalls to browse.

We took a stall where we sold T-Shirts, Canvas Wall Hangings (made by Amy) and bric a brac.

The biggest sellers were the T-Shirts with Amy's bric a brac selling well too.

 It was a fun day out!  We love to do this type of thing.....  :-) 

We wore our matching Margaritaville Shirts and Amy wore her cowboy hat!  I was planning on wearing a denim skirt with cowboy boots but the weather was not warm enough so it was jeans for us with long sleeve T's under our shirts.

 If you would like to buy a T-Shirt from me (perfect for Father's Day) for €12.50/$15 (+ postage) send an email to eniddublin@hotmail.com.  No charge for postage in Ireland!

The above are the Canvas Wall Hangings that Amy created.  I think they are great!

Hotel Chocolat

Ciaran was in Aberdeen, Scotland this weekend playing for Ireland in the Masters Home Internationals.  He brought me home a lovely present of a selection of chocolate from Hotel Chocolat.

One of the bars is "Banoffee Pie".  I'd say as soon as he saw this he knew it was the perfect gift - Banoffee is one of my favourite desserts!  There are even real banana chips in the chocolate!!

The other bars are Rocky Road and Chocolate Brownie - I'd say they taste great.  

Spizzwinks sing TTIP in the US Embassy - Ballsbridge, Dublin Ireland

The Yale Spizzwinks brought a smile to my face as they sang in cappella about Transatlantic trade!!



This video was filmed outside the US Embassy in Dublin, Ireland which was opened 50 years ago today.

Fun Friday Facts about ME!

1. I am an identical twin

2.  My younger sisters are also twins (although fraternal)

3.  To get to work I have to drive the "Hearse Road" (eek!)

4.  I am scared of snakes

5. I am allergic to walnuts

6. I am a world class procrastinator

7.  I don't get Twitter

8. I can not sing in tune

9. I spend waay too much time on Facebook 

And finally

10.  There are items of clothing in my wardrobe that are over 10 years old

Dog food donation

This morning in Supervalu I spotted this box.  It's a donation box that allows you leave dog food in it which will then be given to local dog shelters.

Ciaran said there was a box in the Ranelagh Supervalu too.  He said it was over flowing!

I donated this bag of Pedigree Adult dry food.  I think it is such a great idea!

Triscuit

While watching the 3rd series of Thirtysomething on boxset I saw a box of "Triscuit" on the counter in Hope and Michael's kitchen.  

I googled it immediately as in all of my trips to the USA I had never come across this snack.

From Wikipedia I see that this wheat based cracker was first created in 1903!

It looks interesting.  I wonder what it tastes like?  Maybe like shredded wheat breakfast cereal?

DVD Marathon

The weekend after next is a Bank Holiday in Ireland.  Unless the weather is good I plan on watching a load of movies.

I borrowed the below DVDs from the library in preparation for my DVD Marathon.  Have you seen any of them?

Bike time!

Ciaran has been promising to buy a bike for ages so that we can cycle to town together.  Yesterday was a really fine day so we decided to go look at bikes.

We went to Kimmage as we reckoned they would cost less than around where we live.

This is where he got his bike. 

I will put up a better picture of his bike but you can see it behind the cruiser to the front of the photo (it's the blue one).  He fancies himself as a bit of a hipster (he tries!) so of course he had to go for a secondhand "fixie" -  that is a refurbed fixed wheel bicycle.  The sales guy did put a brake on the front for him (I'm glad of that) and also put some black grips on the handlebars.

It's a nifty looking bike but the fixed wheel takes a bit of getting used to.  He definitely needs to use a helmet every time he is on it!

Check out this shop that was up the road from the bike shop.  I felt like I was back in the 1980's!!!

Seriously!  TV & Video Rental???!!!!

Hopefully he can use his car less now that he has his bike.  If you think car use is excessive in the world have a read of this article about abandoned brand new cars - it shocked me!!!

No shampoo alternative

Every so often I break out my inner hippy and quit shampoo for awhile.  Instead of using shampoo and conditioner, I head to my kitchen larder and retrieve the bread soda* (baking soda) and vinegar.

To make the "no-shampoo shampoo" I mix water and baking soda.  I make a paste that I rub in to my roots.  I don't use it on the lengths of my hair as I think it would be too abrasive.  After rinsing the baking soda out of my hair, I condition it by rinsing with watered down vinegar.  

I've very oily hair that gets greasy very quickly so I find this natural hair cleaner to be very effective. It leaves my hair super soft and squeaky clean.  

I believe that you can also make a "honey shampoo" by melting a spoonful of honey into water. I might give this a try!

Do you use any natural alternative to shampoo?  What do you think of this method?

*Bread soda is the Irish name for Baking soda

Prime Real Estate Dublin 4

Percy Place is being developed.  It faces on to the canal. Next to the vacant spot are a few houses.  Some of them have knocked their garden walls down so their gardens end when they hit the water.  I like that!

I took these pics when I was out walking with Bones this morning.  We walked along the canal and when I got to the lower part I let him off his lead.  He would let me go on ahead and then he would run and catch up with me.  At one point I turned around to see that he had got confused and was running the other way.  The silly little dodo had got lost on a straight path!!!

I had to walk all the way back to try get him.  At this point he had made his way back up the canal steps and out on to the main road.  Thankfully when I got to the top of the steps who was there waiting for me but Bones.  Phew!  He really scared me.

He went straight back on to the lead after that!

Recycling Nespresso capsules

When I bought my Nespresso Coffee Maker I was concerned about the carbon footprint of my coffee habit.

On the one hand, by making my own coffee in my own cup, I feel that I have reduced the amount of waste I create since I stopped buying takeaway coffee in cardboard cups from Starbucks.

However, each time I have a cup of coffee I end up with  metal cup leftover.  I have read on the web how people reuse these cups.  They scoop out the old coffee, refill with their own coffee and then seal with aluminium foil.  

While I think it is great that people are reusing the cups a few times I don't think this would be for me, for two reasons.

1)  I think I would find refilling a cup to be too inconvenient - the whole reason I love making this coffee is the convenience.

2) I'm sure you would be voiding the warranty on your machine by reusing capsules that you have refilled.

I think most people also refill their cups in order to keep the cost of their coffee down.  They aren't actually doing it to reduce their waste production.  

For me I think that a cup of coffee for about €0.40 is not too bad at all!!

Anyway back to recycling....

Here is how I will be recycling the capsules that I use at home and in work.

When I bought my machine I was given this bag to fill and then return to Brown Thomas.

As far as I am aware the used capsules are recycled to make the sides of one of the coffee maker machines (I think it is the Pixie).  I think that is fairly awesome!!

Do you have a coffee maker?  How do you feel about the carbon footprint of it???

TART: Tshirts & Art

My twin sister and I are taking part in an upcoming festival in Dublin.  We will be selling wall hangings (created by Amy) and Tshirts.

 The wall hangings are very funky!  The below piece is very "mod".

These are the Tshirts we will be selling.  
I have already sold two - I will be shipping them to the USA tomorrow.

If you like these items, please click on our Facebook page to learn more about them!

If you want to purchase any of the above items, send me an email at eniddublin@hotmail.com and I will send you a price list and an invoice through paypal.  I ship worldwide - tell me what country you are in and I can quote you for shipping also!

Brioche Ranelagh

We ate in Brioche Ranelagh last night.  It's a fairly new restaurant which is only open about 3 months or so.  When we arrived we were greeted by the friendly hostess who took out coats and seated us.  When we got to our table we had a good look around.  The restaurant is cute, very "french" but quite small.  The style of the menu is small plates which are bigger then a starter but smaller than a main. They recommend you order about 2-3 plates per person.

You can check out pictures of what we ordered below.

Sure what would they be serving to start in "Brioche" but some Brioche bread?!

We ordered a bottle of French Pinot Noir - it was strangely pale!

Scallops with Dublin Pay Prawn

Oxtail Beignet

Fermangh Black Bacon served over cabbage & hazelnut salad.

Beef daube with pureed potatoes

Rabbit

We split a cheese plate instead of dessert - it was very very good!

Food was all deliciously flavourful - you can check out the menu here 
As well as really enjoying the food, we loved the ambiance.  It's a teeny weeny restaurant with really nice decor.  The staff are also extremely gracious and make you feel very welcome and do everything to help you have a great night! Our server introduced himself to us (this doesn't happen as standard in Ireland as in the USA) which was a really nice touch.  This is probably one of the best restaurants in Ranelagh in my opinion.  

Tie me up!

Here's Bones looking all smart in his new tie that I made him.

Once again I made it with poppers so it can click in and out.  I can switch it out with the pink dickie bow that I made him a few days ago.

We are going to a Communion Celebration later today so he will wear it then!

Let's go to work!

Today was productive!

I made Bones a collar and bow tie to wear to work with Ciaran.

I made it detachable.  Tomorrow I will make a smart tie for him!

He looks so hipster!

I made his bow tie pink so he can wear it to support the Giro D'Italia

Edit - When he wore his bow tie in to work today he received a few comments.   The intern laughed while one of the partners said he looked very dapper.  The other partner said he looked like a Chippendale!!!

The Gibson Hotel - Summer BBQ

Tonight Amy and I attended the launch of the Summer BBQ menu for 2014 in The Gibson Hotel.  Conveniently located beside the Dublin Port, the terrace on the 3rd floor had the most amazing view out to the mountains. Being within the Point Village the hotel is the ideal venue if you are attending an event in the 02 or in the Conference Centre.

The Gibson Hotel is super stylish and being less than 4 years old has a modern upmarket feel to it.  I wish I took more pictures of the actual hotel as it had some really nice spaces and bar areas.  It would be worth checking out their website to have a look.

All of the food was beautifully laid out in Bain Maries facing their internal courtyard.

There was so much food to choose from and it was all extremely tasty.  I think I liked every single thing that I put on to my plate!

The meat selection was quite incredible.  I really enjoyed the short ribs which just fell of the bone - many ribs served up in Ireland can be tough and fairly meatless but not these.  They were succulent meat covered in a sweet and tasty BBQ sauce.  Other tasty meat dishes included Limoncello Soaked Chicken (wow!), Szechuan Pepper Buffalo Wings.  There was also a fish option which was the piece de resistance in my humble opinion.  It was the Colo Colo fish parcels which were wrapped in Banana Leaf and steamed.  Just fabulous!

A variety of salads were served in the most adorable little serving dishes.  These included Italian Panzanell Salad, Pepperoni & Potato Salad (my favourite), Brocolli & Smoked Bacon Salad and the deliciously refreshing cubes of watermelon, mint & Greek cheese. There was also French green beans with a sweet chilli dressing which I didn't try (but I wish I had!)

Along with the meat and salads there were sides served alongside. These included Grilled Haloumi, Peach & Chilli, Grilled Sweet Corn, Patatas Bravas and Sweet potato, chorizo & chick pea (this was my fave.

Dessert options or as the Gibson calls them "Sweet Endings" included Mint & Lemon Soda Fruit Salad, Banoffee Mess and ice cream selections as well as mini macaroons.

The Banoffee Mess was quite amazing.  It was like a cross between Eton Mess and a deconstructed Banoffee Pie.  It was topped off with toasted oatmeal which was a very unique addition.  Pure genius by the Pastry Chef who created it!

If you are hosting an event this Summer I highly recommend you give The Gibson Hotel a call to discuss what they can offer in terms of your event!

Rathmines Dublin 6

After a swim this morning I took a few pics of some interesting things I saw in Rathmines this morning.  

This is the Rathmines College that is housed in the Rathmines Town Hall.  I have passed by this building numerous times but never look up at it.  The clock tower caught my eye as there was a crane above it (building the new cinema in the Swan Centre).

It's a stunning building with so many details.  On sunny days the red bricks look fantastic.

Across the road from the Town Hall is the Rathmines Public Library.  I always thought it had the look of a Carnegie Library and I was right!  Check out the plaque.

There were a fair few Carnegie Libraries built in Ireland and you can find more information here about them.

I saw a Fiat too.  
I think it is the Fiat 500 - the original Smart Car!!!

Afterwards my friend called over for coffee (she was at meetings in Rathmines) before heading back to work.

I had Pain au Chocolate for with the coffee but Alice had picked up beautiful sweet treats from the Natural Bakery.  The rice crispie cakes were good but the bright pink donuts tasted like bubblegum!!!