Molly Sterling - Playing With Numbers: Ireland's Eurovision entry

On Friday night, Ireland chose their entrant for the Eurovision competition during Eurosong.  The winner was Molly Sterling with her song "Playing with numbers".

While I think it is a good song, I don't think it is a Eurovision winner and I even think we may struggle to get out of the semi-finals in to the final.

Either way I am looking forward to the song competition in May!

Spring has sprung.....or maybe not!

We went in to town today to get some Nespresso capsules and also some food to watch the rugby game (Ireland v England).

As we walked through M&S on the way to the foodhall I noticed all the Spring fashion.  In my head I thought "ah yes Spring is here" as it is the 1st of March today.

But when we got out on the street we saw that there was hail and sleet.  This is our kitchen window when we got home.  My sisters also texted me pics of the snow where they live.

The weather didn't stop us nipping in for a little sushi before we went home.

While we were in Marks & Spencers I noticed that they have a new extended Gluten Free range. If you suffer from Coeliac Disease it might be worth checking out.

Big Breakfast!

Well after an eventful night where I got barely any sleep I got up and cooked a big breakfast for two of Ciaran's squash friends.

Last night was bad because I didn't get to bed until about 1am when Ciaran came home.  Then close to 2am I heard someone attempt to break in to the Smart Car.  I looked out the window and saw someone run away.  I shouted out the window something like "The guards are coming" or "I've called the guards".

I then rang the guards who took all details and said they would ring me back shortly.  I got back in to bed but about half an hour later I got a call from the station to say there was a plain clothes guard outside my house and would I have a word with him.

I went out and chatted with the guard.  We reckoned it may have been a homeless person looking for somewhere to stay or looking for valuables in the car (we live about a mile from the city centre so this seems reasonable) - they were hardly planning on taking the car for a joy ride given it's size and distinctive look!!

I felt kind of bad for the homeless guy.  Guard said that they had a good look around and that there was no one around.  He checked I was ok and then assured me that I could call the station again if there was any further disturbances.  He then left and I went back to bed.

I had forgotten to silence my phone and so at 6.30am my sister who lives in Oman (different time zone) texted me.  I was so panicked and on edge because of the earlier incident that I rushed for the phone and would you believe I fell out of my bed!!!  I l knocked my head on the locker beside the bed but didn't hurt myself  too bad (found a small bump on my head when I was in the shower) as I put out my arm to break my fall.  Quite funny.  I don't think I've ever fallen out of bed before!

And then I got up at 9am and cooked eggs, beans, rashers and sausages for the lads.  I was glad to be up and active.  Below is Cleo who came over to play with Bones.  What a cutie! 

Pod Casts - who knew?!

The lads in work are mad about listening to podcasts so when they heard I had upgraded my phone (having not been able to listen to podcasts) they told me to download this particular one called Serial about an investigation of a 15 yr old murder case.  

I was warned that I could find it addictive and I was probably going to end up listening to the whole 12 in a row.  They are right!  I am hooked. It's a fairly gripping story.  I listened to the first episode in the car on my drive home from work and straightaway went on to the second while I was making dinner.  I'm looking forward to the weekend when I can listen away to my hearts content!

Cake - Starring Jennifer Anniston

We went to see "Cake" starring Jennifer Anniston in Rathmines Omniplex last night.  I had heard that she had put in a great performance and I thought so too.  The character was a chronic pain sufferer and you certainly believed it from the way she acted.

In my opinion this film was heart wrenchingly good.  I love an LA story and the sets were amazing.  The main character lives in an architectural gem of a Mid-Century Modern home and the film is worth going to just to see that house alone!

We had a photo shoot in our house today so that was partly the reason why we went to the cinema last night.  I had the house cleaned spotlessly so I didn't want us to mess the house if we stayed in.  

The photo shoot went well, it seems, and they will be back on Monday to do some filming for a soon to be broadcast show on RTE.  

Look at the amazing flowers that the Production Team had delivered to me this morning.  They are stunning - what a nice surprise!

Here's a few pics of the house before the crew arrived.

I love Lillies.  Here are some waiting to bloom in a retro looking Carolyn Donnelly vase.  

Breakfast is served!

Since we moved to this house we have not had a toaster.  This is probably down to the fact that I don't eat toast and also because we don't generally eat brekkie at home.

This weekend we have a squash player staying with us so I bought a toaster.

I also found this Le Creuset Marmalade Jar in TK Maxx.  It's the same colour as my Butter Bell so I was delighted to find it.  Both will be perfect to use at the big breakfast spread I will be serving up this weekend!

Funny story - as I was paying for my jar, the girl on the til admired it and said "All the Le Croissant stuff is lovely"!!!! 

Tips for Decluttering and Tidying

So after following the KonMari Method and tidying my drawers yesterday and discovering how much space it made I decided to get in to Ciaran's press and give it a going over.  Would you believe I was able to fit an extra 7 pairs of trousers into this drawer after I refolded everything?!!!

Here is one of his sock drawers all neat and tidy.

Over the years I have developed habits to keep my house neat, tidy and decluttered.

Here are my top tips:

* Donate books you know longer read to the library or a charity shop.  If you want to read them again in a few years you can always borrow them from the library!
* The same is best for DVDs & CDs - donate to the library so you don't have to store them.  If you are unwilling to do this, you can always throw away the cases and save space by storing them in plastic sleeves in a file.
* Use a cleaning products caddy to carry around the house (for further ease you can have one caddy that is left in the bathroom and the other is left in the kitchen)
* Wipe down the toilet and bathroom sink with disposable cleaning wipes every morning - a few swooshes and you keep on top of the dirt - it makes it so much easier when you are doing your big weekly clean
* Also squirt a small bit of bleach in to the toilet once daily to ensure it stays pristine clean
* Put away, not down - when you are finished using something, put it back where it belongs (I tend to find this the hardest to do)

My most important habit is the "One in, One out" rule.  
* If you buy something, you need to throw something out.  
You can also ask yourself "Do I really need this?" before you buy it.  More often than not the answer is No!