Smart Espresso

Bo Concept were having a large sale over the weekend so we went for a little browse.  Discounts were good on some of the end of line items, with 50-70%  off showroom display items.  I was glad to see that the side table that we bought 4 weeks ago was not discounted!

Bo Concept have aligned themselves with Smart and designed a range of homewares and furniture.  I had been admiring the Smart Expresso Cup set on my last visit and was happy to see that they were on sale with 15 euro off.  We don't drink much espresso so I considered whether they were a good thing to buy but then I decided that I could serve chocolate mousse in them for dessert so I did go ahead and buy them.  

Check out how cute they are!

And here is a pic of our Smart Car parked beside a big monster truck in Dublin City 

Cone head

I was back in the vets this morning with Bones - the nurse was a Star Trek fan and she immediately commented on his name.  Bones is called after the Star Trek character Dr. Bones McCoy.

He has been licking his paws and made them quite irritated. We had put booties on his feet to stop him doing this but the vet recommended he wear a cone for the next 2 weeks.

We left the surgery with cream and antibiotics and a diagnosis of dermatitis.  If it doesn't clear up after treatment we may be in to a biopsy situation.

Bones was not a happy chappy in the cone.  After falling in to the car he proceeded to give me the stink eye.  

Hopefully by bathing his feet daily and medication his paws will be better soon.

European Squash Masters

Ciaran is traveling to the European Squash Masters in Prague next week.  

The draw has just been put up online.  He has found out that in the over 40's section he is seeded 5-8.  Quite incredible.  It looks like he is the highest seeded Irish player in the event.  Wow!  

Fingers crossed he does well.

The art of Jonathan Barry

Book illustrator Jonathan Barry was exhibiting in Powerscourt Shopping Centre today.

I attended an exhibition and talk given by him a few years ago in Blanchardstown Library.  I do admire his work and think it works very well as book covers.

The Table Restaurant

For the month of August The Table Restaurant in Portobello (a block away from Lock's Restaurant on the Canal) had a special offer of 30% off (excluding wine).  We had picked up a 30% off voucher in Coffee Society on Monday and immediately booked in for Saturday night.

We were celebrating our 12 yr wedding anniversary and as we were seated overlooking the canal I remarked how lovely the setting was for our special meal.

We settled in to our seats and ordered a bottle of Cote du Rhone.  For starter we decided to split a beef carpaccio but found out that the last one had just been sold as we ordered.  We ordered duck pâté with fig chutney to share to start instead of the beef.

The above is the bread service which had a selection of breads served with pesto, butter and olive oil & balsamic vinegar.

The duck liver pâté in the above pic was melt in the mouth deliciousness!

For main I chose the Rib Eye with pepper sauce while Ciaran had the pork.  Both were delicious.  My steak was huge so I gave half to Ciaran and he also had my chips.

For dessert we shared a chocolate pudding which was melt in the mouth - delicious!!

On the way home we saw some Dublin wildlife with two water rats (eeek!) running in to the canal as we walked along and a big fox blatantly strolling up our road as we turned in to the cul de sac.  

I enjoyed seeing the fox.  The rats, not so much!!

Speakeasy!

We visited a newly opened "Speakeasy" yesterday evening for an illicit cocktail before dinner. 

Speakeasy's originated during prohibition in the USA.  They were illegal liquor purveyors that only became known by word of mouth and of course were under constant threat of being raided by the police.

Today a speakeasy is a small bar that is not signposted or advertised.  Again knowledge of these secret bars are gained by word of mouth.  These bars are not mainstream and pride themselves on serving select well made cocktails with premium ingredients.

The speakeasy we visited is in Ranelagh above a particular restaurant (contact me directly for the name!).  To get to it we went up the back of the restaurant, through the staff area, out the fire door and up a small stairs.  We then entered a teeny dimly lit bar.  There are seats for about 20 max I'd say.  We sat at the bar which is US style in dark wood with a lip to the edge to prevent drinks falling off.

For drinks we chose a bourbon based "Old Fashioned" for Ciaran and a fresh tasting "Falling Water" for myself (we loved the Frank Lloyd Wright reference but perhaps this wasn't deliberate as it wasn't mentioned on the menu).

Our drinks were expertly made by the bar tender a lovely friendly lady who explained that many of the cocktails have been created by Paul (the proprietor, I presume) who has trained her to make them using the exact method every time. She said consistency was very important - I can't agree more!

We loved the atmosphere and the great tasting drinks.  We will be back!

Here's some pics of the bar and our drinks.

Rug me up!

It was all about Rugs this morning when we visited RugArt in Clonskeagh.  

We had borrowed a Jan Kath 'Maths' rug for a recent photo shoot in the house but of course as soon as it was taken away the place looked and felt so bare.  

We have decided that now is the time to begin looking for a rug for both the front and back room. Currently we have an old Habitat Rug in the back room that badly needs switching out. A rug will soften the look of the concrete floors as well as provide comfort under foot along with providing some sound insulation and hopefully lessen the echoes in the house.

RugArt have a great selection of rugs but we kept on being drawn back to the Jan Kath designs and in particular the amazing Maths rug.  We are having a think about it over the weekend as although stunning they are rather pricey.  

This rug is a work of art!

I found this rug interesting but would not choose it for my own house.

This is the Maths rug hanging on the wall. The colours are seriously vibrant.