50,000 and counting!!!

Wow, 50,000 hits on my blog!

When I started out blogging I never imagined that I would be getting on average 100 hits a day to my blog.  I've had readers from Toyko to the USA to Oman!

It is not only hits on my blog that I enjoy.  Blogging has given me a group of blogs that I read regularly.  From food blogs to interior design blogs to yoga blogs, I enjoy them all.  I also follow blogs written in rural USA where homeschooling children and canning food is all a part of everyday life.  The world has been opened up to me by blogging - possibly by more than any other social media I use.

I appreciate every single reader - here's to 50,000 more hits!!

The above is a picture of Bones sitting on the bench outside Er Buchetto in Ranelagh

Great class!

This morning I took a Bikram class with my twin sister.  It was incredible!  I felt so strong in certain positions.  Derek was taking the class and gave me some great tips for correcting my poses.  

I bought a pineapple coconut water from reception.  It was such a treat having it during my practice.  I joke that pineapple coconut water tastes like the cocktail "Sex on the beach"! 

Here I am before class 

And then after 90 mins (I've taken a few minutes to cool down so I am not a complete sweaty mess).

Drury Street is a kooky little studio with a great atmosphere - I love it!

How great is this view from the studio - it's the roof of George's Street Market.  To the bottom left of the photo you can also see the sign for Fade Street Social Restaurant.

And walking home we stopped off for good coffee in The Humble Bean on Camden Street.

Bikram - Drury Street

I signed up for a month of Bikram yoga in the Dublin City Centre location in Drury street this evening. It was my first time going to this studio and I thought it was good.  There were windows in the studio which was surprising but made for a nice view when I was in savasna. 

I didn't feel great during the class so nipped to the bathroom where I promptly sat on the bench as the room began to spin.  After a few mins I splashed cold water on my face and the back of my neck and then made my way back in to the hot room.  Phew!  I was sooo glad to get through the class without fainting (particularly after I had fainted the last time I was in Harold's Cross).  

It was an amazing class with such positive energy - I can't wait to go back!!

My sister then made me a healthy (somewhat!) dinner of quinoa and salmon.  Delish!

What a super energizing day....

Coffee & great service

Whether you like Starbucks coffee or not it is hard to disagree that here in Ireland, they have amazing staff.  It is the one place that you will always get a friendly greeting and service with a smile. Being a regular means my coffee order is remembered and I love being wished a good day as I head off to work after picking up my coffee.

You would think all of the above would happen automatically in all shops but it is quite incredible the bad service that can occur in Ireland.  Shop assistants talking to each other and ignoring you can be common (seems to mainly be a trait of Dunnes staff) or the cost of your purchases being grunted at you without so much as a "Please".  

There are many businesses in Ireland that could learn a thing or two from the staff of Starbucks (particularly the staff of the busy Blanchardstown Centre branch who are excellent).  

Service with a smile (along with a consistent product) breeds repeat customers which improves business.

Wake up and smell the coffee (geddit!) businesses of Ireland.  Look to the Starbucks model and avoid the Ryanair route!

In search of a good doughnut!

Here in Ireland we have neither Krispy Kreme nor Dunkin Donuts.  This means that I am constantly on the search for a good doughnut.  

In my local Spar a Tim Horton coffee shop (which i believe is Canadian) has just opened. There are doughnuts to be had here but I have yet to taste them.

Last night on the way home from work I called in to Marks & Spencer's where I found a new selection of boxed doughnuts.  I bought 6 but didn't expect to be wowed by them.  

Well after tasting the chocolate one I was very impressed.  Great consistency, just greasy enough and great chocolate flavour.  It was a good doughnut.

They looked great too and a box of 6 would make a nice gift if you were calling to a friend for tea.

Ciaran brought the rest of the box in to his office for the lads to enjoy today.

Btw, please note the different spelling of doughnut here in Ireland.  I think in the USA it is spelled "donut"!

Working weekend

Ciaran is heading off to Prague for the European Masters Squash Championships on Wednesday.  As he will be missing a few days in work for this event he needed to work over this weekend.  I said I would go along with him to the office and keep him company and help with paperwork.  He said he would buy me lunch because I was giving up my weekend.  A fair compromise, I think!

While he was working, I snapped a few pictures.

Here's ODKM's recently hung award plaque - a special mention in the Irish Architecture Awards for best Emerging Practise.

On Sunday, after completing an important piece of work Ciaran had a bit of fun sketching on the front window of the office.  He really enjoyed this and it was great to see him relax before we went home.

If you want to follow ODKM Architects on Facebook and see all of their great projects and work that they do, click here.  They'd love to have you as a follower!!

By the way for lunch, on Saturday, we went to the Lovely Food Co. in Terenure where we were looked after by Margaret and her team.  Delicious food in a wonderful setting.  Terenure has lots of great places to eat (including great Fixx Coffee from Nolan's) but the Lovely Food is quite possibly the best!

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