Christmas Tree Napkin Fold

This is the way I plan to fold my napkins this Christmas - between now and then I need to source some nice green napkins.  My sister said to use paper napkins but I think I would prefer cloth.

I was full of nervous anxiety while waiting for the Irish French Rugby game yesterday so I went up to the studio and made this Autumnal Wreath for the front door.

And in other good news Ireland beat France yesterday.  This means that they meet Argentina in the Semi's and avoid the mighty All Blacks. However, I should mention that it was at a cost to a few of their players receiving some big blows and picking up some serious injuries.  Paul O'Connell spent the night in hospital and we will hear later today how long he will be out for.  It's looking like this is the end of his world cup. 

Harvey Norman Homeware & Christmas Merchandise

On my way home from work on Saturday, I called to Harvey Norman in Swords to buy Ciaran's birthday present.  His birthday is in a week so look out for a blog about that soon!

I can't remember the last time I set foot in a Harvey Normans and to be honest all I thought they sold was large furniture items.  I had found Ciaran's present online and they were selling it cheapest. They actually have a massive electrical department and sell everything from massive TV's to Nespresso Coffee Machines to iPads.

But what surprised me most was their homeware section. They have a very cute selection of lots of kitschy items.  

I really liked the look of this hipster mason jar lamp (which when I showed the pic to Ciaran he prickled his nose - par for the course as I can't buy anything for the house without his approval).  

They also had these fun brown paper lunch bags. These could be used for so much things but I think they'd be perfect if you were throwing an out door baby shower or hen party or something like this.

They also were also selling retro telephones in various colours. 

What do you think, do you like anything you see here?!

And then I discovered the Christmas Stock!!

So much lovely Christmas items!

I had picked a few Christmas Decorations but decided against them while waiting in line to pay.  Honestly, I don't know if I will have space on my Christmas Tree as I have been collecting decorations for about 20 years and have amassed quite the collection and the tree will be laden with them all. Add to this I have already bought a few new ones this year so probably best that I left these few!

 What I am going to focus on this year is the table decorations. This year we plan to be home for Christmas (for the first time in over 10 years, I think).  I will decorate the table about a week before Christmas so that I can enjoy it leading up to Christmas.

As you can guess, I adore Christmas but what I enjoy most is the simple things leading up to it. I love watching Christmas films with a nice Christmas candle burning while logs burn in the stove. 

Do tell me what your favourite thing about Christmas is, I'd love to know!

Leeson Park Avenue - For Sale

Another house has gone up for sale on Leeson Park Avenue.  This one is for auction and the details can be found here.

Otherwise if you are looking for something more unique you can always buy the old "Stella" Cinema in Rathmines which has also gone on sale for only half a million more.  You can see details here.

I blogged about Rathmines awhile back and put up a pic of the Stella.  You can read it here.

Here is the pic that I took back in 2014.  The building on the right is the old Stella Cinema.

Online Reviews

In today's news, there are reports of  an Irish cafe owner who responded to a negative review by posting the CCTV footage up online of the reviewer tucking in to her meal (which she then dissed).

I have fairly strong opinions on negative reviews.  Generally I think it is better to point out issues to the staff at the time of the meal rather than go home and post a negative review.  I think it's better to give the establishment the chance to rectify the situation at the time of the dissatisfaction.  However, if they don't do anything to fix the issue I think writing a negative review is fair enough.  

On the whole I think I write fair and measured reviews. Most of my reviews tend to be positive.  I also like to give places a second chance and will return to a place where I had a bad experience if my experience appears like it was an isolated incident.  After all, restaurants & cafes are run by humans and sure we can all make mistakes and have an off night from time to time for numerous reasons.  

As far as basing my decisions on whether to frequent somewhere or not I tend to be careful about giving weight to certain reviews.  I have noticed that some reviewers can be overly harsh, for example, I've noticed Americans in particular knocking hotels because there has been no air conditioning in bedrooms (see this one for example). While of course, being from Ireland, this would be the norm for me and I wouldn't even notice it and in fact it fairly standard for most older hotels in Europe to not have AC.

So over to you readers, do you have any thoughts on Online Reviews?

What I am reading....

As usual, I am in the middle of a few different books at one time. My main read at this time is "Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town" by Jon Krakauer. 

I have read and enjoyed a few others by Krakauer, including "Into the Wild" and "Into Thin Air".  Into the Wild was made in to a film starring Emille Hirsch while Into Thin Air loosely influenced the recently released movie "Everest". Everest is about one of the deadliest seasons on Everest in the 1990's - there were two books written about the season from the perspective of two different climbing teams. One of the team members being Jon Krakauer on Rob Hall's team. The other team was led by Russian Anatoli Boukreev who also wrote a book.  I've read Boukreev's book also - both are worth reading and it is interesting to see the two sides to what happened during this time and how the deaths occurred. 

The final book of Jon Krakauer's that I attempted to read was "Under the Banner of heaven".  Normally I enjoy reading books about the Latter Day Saints and Mormonism but I couldn't finish this book as it really did not hold me.

Back to "Missoula" which is pictured above. It's a shocking read. From the beginning it outlines a litany of rapes that have been carried out in the Missoula town area. Most of the rapes are carried out by the same type of young people (athletes and popular college kids) and in the same kind of way. Young women are invited to parties or dates and are plyed with alcohol until they are too intoxicated to give consent to sexual activity and are then sexually assaulted. Further to this they are then let down by the legal system along with a media reaction that does not support the victim but instead rallies around the accused.

It's a difficult book to get through and the subject matter is more than a little distressing in many parts. However, it is a title that I would recommend.  

Reading with your baby to combat illiteracy!

Today I went to the launch of the new Fingal Libraries Video.  It is full of useful hints and tips for parents and carers about how to read with their baby. It also gives brilliant advice such as "visit your local library"!!


Did you read with your children when they were babies?

Boots Haul!

I needed to pick up a few items so I went to Boots as I had a voucher that if I spent over 35 euro I got 500 points back on my card (500 points has a €5 value).

I got two deodorants and toothpaste along with some dry shampoo. The Batiste Dry Shampoo was buy 3 get 1 free so I saved €3.99 on that.

L'Oreal were Buy 3 get cheapest free.  The primer was €11.99, the powder was €10.79 and the lip gloss was free! (Saving: €10.49).  

My total was €36.33 with a saving of €19. All of the above should have cost me €55 and with the €5 euro points back I think this was all a pretty good deal!