Sunday, 21 July 2013

Minding children

My sister was stuck for a babysitter yesterday so I minded my niece and nephew for a few hours.  Wow, minding children is tough work.  They are great kids but they need constant attention.

When they were dropped off we straightaway walked to the shops.  I gave Oliver the job of lugging my pull along shopping trolley and put Eleanor in charge of the dog. Walking through the park to the shops, we looked in the pond for fish.

After buying a few things for dinner we went to the corner shop and they picked out an ice cream.  Here's a fact the kids and I figured out - a Golly Bar has been renamed.  It's now called something like the big bar or the giant bar.



When we came home the kids helped me get the salty water ready and the lobsters on to boil and then went and watched TV.


We had dinner then - btw, maybe lobster mac & cheese isn't the best dinner option for children!

Kids didn't get the surf & turf.  They just had baked potato with lobster mac.



Ciaran and the kids started playing a train board game while I cleaned up and just as the game finished their mam came to pick them up.


Before they went home they wanted to walk up the glass stairs so I let them do that before they got on their way home.


Friday, 19 July 2013

Summer clothes

I've always wondered what it is like to work and live in a hot country.  While Ireland is going through this mini heat wave I'm finding out what it is like.

Here's what I discovered:

1. Working in a building with no AC is not fun when temps go up to 80.

2. Finding clothes that keep you cool but look professional can be a struggle. Today I am wearing a light blouse, a cotton skirt and sandals.

3. It's a good idea to take a cold drink with you for the 40 min commute home in a black car that's been sitting in the sun all day.

4.  When taking your coffee break outside you should wear sunscreen.


Preview Screening: 3D Wolverine

My twin sister got tickets for the preview of 3D Wolverine yesterday evening.  Security is always tight at these events with security guards asking you to switch off your phone as you enter.  Then during the show there are security guards positioned in different parts of the theatre facing the audience for the whole movie to make sure no one is filming.

The film was your typical superheroe action movie but I did enjoy the fact that the majority of it was set in Japan - I love Ninja warriors!

The best thing about the evening was that we discovered that the cinema served Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup ice cream. Peanut butter flavour ice cream is so difficult to get in Ireland.  It was delicious along with a scoop of Phish Food.




Thursday, 18 July 2013

The Summer is on!

The Summer is definitely on here in Ireland.  Gearing up for a sunny weekend with the mini heat wave we are experiencing.

It's 9am and I'm sitting outside Starbucks having coffee.  Generally (even in Summer) only smokers sit outside in Ireland!!




Monday, 15 July 2013

Fade Street Social

I like this place!  

The bar on the roof has a great vibe and the place is very buzzy (albeit very loud in the restaurant when eating).

Duck mousse

Meat selection

Flatbread

Chateaubriand

Lamb

Micro vegetables





La Bodega

La Bodega, Ranelagh (Tapas restaurant) - Great food and friendly staff

Cheese selection - served with bread

Prawns in garlic & chilli oil


Baked rice with chicken & chorizo

Calamari - I love it!


Sunday, 14 July 2013

Smart Car Gathering

2 years ago my sister and I organised a Smart Car Meet up in Dublin.  It was a lot of fun and we got 11 Smart Cars at the event.  We intended to organise a meetup again in 2012 but never got around to it.  Instead we travelled to a Smart Car meet in Belfast.

This year we got around to organising a meet yesterday.  It went so well and we got 12 Smart Cars in total!  What a result.

We held it in the Phoenix Park and met in Farmleigh (originally we planned it for  Ashtown Castle but had to relocate due to the Phoenix Park Concerts).  Ireland is currently experiencing a mini heatwave so the weather was just perfect.

We had a guy travel from Galway for the event and two ladies (with their two dogs) travel from Northern Ireland.

Have a look here for pictures of the event.