Peperina Garden Bistro, Dunville Avenue

Ciaran is playing in the Squash Nationals this weekend so we needed to go get a quick breakfast before his first game on Saturday.  He suggested Peperina on Dunville Avenue which we had been thinking of going to for awhile.  

Our first impressions were positive and the staff were very friendly and pleasant.  We arrived just before 10am and it was quiet - I'd say we got there just before the morning rush.

Size wise it reminded me of a lot of little restaurants that we used to visit when we were in Key West.

Both of us ordered the same thing - poached eggs and toast (2 eggs cooked anyway for €5.50) with black pudding (additional €1.80).  

Pancake Tuesday

Happy Pancake Tuesday!

I did a little pancake cheat by buying ready made pancake mix by Odlums which all you need to do is add milk to.  I know you are probably thinking that pancakes are the easiest thing in the world to make but with both of us working, I will always take a short cut if possible!

It is so convenient to use and there is no clean up either!

It's pancakes for dummies - all you do is fill the milk up to the mark on the bottle and shake and then they are ready to pour.  You don't even have to transfer them to a jug or use a ladle to put the batter on the pan.  Simple!

I bought the American style pancake mix but there is also a thin crepe variety.  

I made a large stack of pancakes for dinner!

I ate mine with bacon (rashers) and maple syrup.

Pancake Tuesday is a big celebration here in Ireland and marks the start of Lent.  

Do you celebrate Pancake Tuesday?

Ground Espresso Bar - New Cafe in Next, Blanchardstown

On Friday I met two friends for coffee and cake.  Marguerite suggested we go to the new cafe in the Next Store in Blanchardstown.

The new cafe is called "Ground Espresso Bar" and I thought it was very good!  I had the most amazing Salted Caramel Brownie which they heated it slightly and served with cream (my only complaint was they charged 40c extra for the cream - seriously, why do so many places nickel and dime you like this?!)

Marguerite had a grilled cheese sandwich.

Yvonne got a chai tea along with a Rhubarb and White Chocolate scone which she said was very good.

I wish I had taken a photo of the cafe as it really was quite hip!

Valentine's Weekend

Fun day yesterday.  At 2pm, Amy and I went to see "Fifty Shades of Grey".  We had decided to go on Friday night so I had booked the tickets online as I was afraid it might book out quickly due to the hype of the film.

We both enjoyed the film (it's a typical big budget Hollywood film) and it certainly is a better film than book!!

Later on that evening we went to the play "A girl is a half-formed thing" which was also a book prior to being made in to a play.

This play was so intense and it was quite surreal to watch it after having seen the silliness of 50 Shades earlier on.

It was a one woman play and the actress, Aoife Duffin, who played all the characters was incredible.  I found it very poignant when she played her older brother who as he regressed her voice became babyish while he got sick and began to die.  Very moving.

This was an intense and gripping play that was extremely harrowing to watch in many parts but I thought it was excellent. Particular elements were very Irish and perhaps it may not translate well to an International stage or maybe, on the other hand, what I think are Irish stories are actually universal world wide family stories. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

My twin sister, and I, are meeting Kasey and Alex to go see a play tonight for an "Anti-Valentine's Day" event.

However, we could not let the day go completely unmarked so we got a little gift for the two girls - two L'Occitane hand creams in a cute tin! 

Blog Early, Blog Often

When I started blogging I was interested in getting more readers and hits on my blog.  

I googled different ways to do this and generally the view is that to get lots of blog hits you should

* Blog regularly

* Blog good content

* Get Guest Bloggers to write posts

* Link up with other bloggers

* Share blog content on Social Media

I try and do all of the above except for the Guest Bloggers (however I have got Guest Blogs for the blog I manage in my workplace).

I have noticed that if I do not blog regularly my stats take a serious nose dive.  I think this is due to Google and its algorithms whereby if you are not adding content they are not placing you at the top of searches.  

Therefore in my humble opinion it is essential to blog often.  A daily blog post tends to make sense.  I endeavor to do this, but as you can see, whether I succeed is quite another matter altogether!

Many of my blog readers have their own blogs with huge readerships.  

What are your tips for getting views or hits on your blog?

Dry Shampoo Reviews

Although my hair is very straight and generally easy to style it is also unfortunately very oily.  It needs to be washed every day and I often need to freshen it up with a dry shampoo (particularly when I have had it blow dried in the hairdresser).  I also think that Dry Shampoo adds volume to my hair, which I tend to need as my hair can be very flat.

I've tried out a few different Dry Shampoos and I have to say that I find Batiste (which has been made since the 1970's) to be the best.

However, I have tried other Dry Shampoos which are generally cheaper than Batiste.  Recently I used this Garnier Dry Shampoo.  It says on the can that it is Vanilla Milk flavour and is for mid to long hair.  I was disappointed though as I didn't find it effective and to be honest I didn't like how it made my hair feel.  On  positive note, however, I did like the scent of this product.

Boots used to make a really cheap basic brand that was completely rubbish so I wasn't too convinced that this new Boots brand (see below) would be any use.  I chose to buy the "Paradise Island" flavour (I love tropical smells) which is very nice and has hints of coconuts to it possibly.  

Wow was I surprised when I used it.  It smelt great, made my hair look and feel so good and was very reasonably priced too - I think it was actually the cheapest Dry Shampoo on the shelf!

Do you use Dry Shampoo - have you got any recommendations?

My final tip is that Dry Shampoo is great when styling freshly washed hair in an upstyle - if your hair is too shiny just spray a little dry shampoo in!