The Natural Bakery

The Natural Bakery is now open in Rathmines.  It seems that it has branches in both Donnybrook and Kilmainham.

The bakery has a stylish frontage and display cases full of nice treats.

There was some great novelty cakes in the window.

They do cakes, pastries and breads.

There is a huge selection of breads.  They all look great.

Ciaran got an Apple Danish.  Look at the size of them!!

Although you can sit in and have a coffee we took ours to takeaway.  Ciaran thought his Danish was nice but not as good as the Danish he used to get in Bretzel Bakery.

I got a cupcake.  It was a bit "meh".  There was not enough frosting and it was quite tasteless.

Next time we visit we will buy some bread as it all looked super!

"Love Dad" by Evan Hunter - My favourite book

A good few years ago, I first read "Love Dad" by Evan Hunter.  Since then I have considered it to be my all time favourite book.

Based around the relationship between a daughter and father through the 1960's it brilliantly describes how complex this relationship is.  It follows through their life and shows her gaining independence from her loving family and going through tumultous scenes to finally land where her father probably wanted her to be from the day she was born.

The above is what I consider the book to be about.  However a reviewer on the Good Reads website said it was about "the dissolution of a family by drugs and adultery" - funny how different readers can see different things in a book.  Yes there is drugs and adultery in the book but I would have not said they were the central theme to the book.

I love the 1960's and 1970's,  it's a time I would have loved to live in.  I enjoy reading about how people lived then and I love that people made serious stands for peace.  It is a decade when people power pushed for huge social change and achieved it!

I think this book captures the mood of this time extremely well - the father and daughter are quite possibly used as a contrast or a juxtaposition of the old and the new. The daughter is a baby boomer, she grew up with Woodstock and the Vietnam War.  To be born in this era and not be part of it would be unthinkable.  However, for her parents to be part of it was seen to be a rebellion - it went against all that they had believed in. The hard work that had gone in to achieving the status quo be generations before looked like it was being torn apart by this generation who engaged in free love, drugs and free thinking.  

For the parents, conformation was the only option (although the father griped about the triviality of suburbanity and ultimately moved on from this himself).  For the daughter non-conformation was the only option.  They were at an impasse so there was only one thing going to arise - a shattering of the family relationship.

Have you read this book?  I hope my account of it would make you want to read it.  Although out of print, it is available on Amazon (preowned).  

Check out this slating review when it was originally published!

My house!

I seem to be attracting many readers from a particular website who have an interest in the rebuild aspect of my house (this is great because obviously it was why I started blogging in the first place!). 

Rather than having to trawl through my blog from the start here are a few links that you can click to get a indication of what the job entailed and how it progressed. 

Click here  for an album of pictures of the job from the beginning.

Click here for pics of some completed details.

The state it was in!  Click here & here.

Back wall had to be removed.

Little Horror show!

Beginning to look like a home.....

Kitchen album

Follow ODKM on Facebook to see lots more great projects! 

NEVER gargle Tea Tree Oil!!

So yesterday I wrote about the wonders of Tea Tree Oil.  Today however, I write a warning about how disgusting gargling Tea Tree Oil is.

This morning I added a few drops of Tea Tree Oil to water and gargled.  Instantly I found the taste to be extremely unpleasant but continued for about 30 seconds.  After I spat out the oil the taste would not go and it stayed with me all day!!!  Nothing would get rid of it and it made me feel a little ill all day.  Yuck!  I will not be doing this ever again!!


                                      DOUBLE YUCK!

Wonders of Tea Tree Oil

Happy Earth Day 2014!

Tea tree oil is something that I always keep in the house.  It's something that I find so good for cleaning and keeping the house fresh.  I add a few drops to my washing machine every now and again in order to kill mould and keep it clean and fresh.

However, the best thing about Tea Tree oil is its health benefits.  Especially when it comes to skin conditions.  I get a recurring Staph infection about once or twice a year.  After continually going to the doctor and being given a prescription for an antibiotic cream (generally Fuicidin) I decided to look at alternative options.  One alternative was to use Tea Tree Oil.  I spoke to a pharmacist who advised against using TT Oil on my face but I went ahead and used it about two weeks ago on the infection.  What do you know?  It healed it and in super quick time.  What a result!

Tea Tree Oil can also be used to cure fungal toes and also sun burn. Do you use Tea Tree Oil to stay healthy?

Did you know that you can even add it to water and use it as a natural mouthwash???

City Bin

A few years ago the Dublin councils privatized and sold off their waste services. Since then a few companies have come online and have offered services to the people of Ireland.  We are currently signed up with City Bin.

I rate City Bin very highly and have found them to be brilliant.  On the very one occasion that our bin wasn't collected I rang them and they picked up the next day.  I also rang them to mention that our bin wasn't very visible because there was a car in the way.  The lady I spoke to said she would text the lads on the truck and tell them to look out for it.  How great is that service?! 

We have 3 rubbish bins - Black for general waste,  Green for recycling and Brown for compostable waste.  Every month City Bin sends me a report on how much waste I have disposed of and how it compares to other customers.  As a family of two we have very little waste - and because of this City Bin charges us a lower yearly charge.  

It is obvious from dealing with this company that they are focused on customer service - it is the little things like they always put your bins back to the spot they took they from.  Having been with another bin company before, I am extremely happy that I made the switch to City Bin.

         How do you dispose of your waste - are you happy with your waste company?

Coffee time - Nespresso capsule system

My twin sister and I visited the Nespresso Boutique in Brown Thomas to look at coffee machines.

I was under strict orders to buy a black machine so I bought a "U" made by Magimix.

A special offer was running where you got a €50 voucher to use against coffee when you bought a machine.  A "Welcome Pack" of 150 different coffee capsules along with a perspex storage box was on sale for €57 so I used my voucher for this.

The machine I bought was €149 so for €156,  I got all of the below.  What great value!

I set the machine up on my wet bar turning it in to a coffee bar!

It is incredibly easy to make a cup of coffee.  Pop in a capsule and choose what size coffee you would like (there are 3 sizes - espresso is the mid size)

Lovely creamy coffee on the make!

The midsize coffee fits perfectly in to my Smart Car espresso cups.

The perspex box is very convenient and very dinky looking.

My sister (check her blog here) got the very funky limited edition "Bright Orange" Inessia coffee maker.  This machine cost a ridiculously reasonable €99.  I would have been happy to have bought this model but unfortunately the black colour were all sold out.  I love the bright cheeriness of the orange machine.

Have you got a capsule system coffee maker? I know that Keurig is a popular range in USA but unfortunately you can not buy K Cups in Ireland - otherwise I may have considered buying one in the States.