Funday Friday!

Yesterday, Amy and I had been invited to a friends house for brunch. We both took the day off work so that we could meet for brunch and then head off for the day. 

Brunch was arranged for 10am so I got the bus to Blanchardstown and met Amy at 9.30am and then we walked to our friends house. 

Our friend had her table laid out so nicely and she cooked us delicious pancakes. As well as having lovely food we had nice conversation and chat. It was a great brunch!

We also had fun posing with this giant chimp!

On a side note, Amy and I received our results from a DNA test we did as part of a twin study we were involved in about a year ago. It confirmed we are 99.99997 % positive identical twins. I have to say we do look fairly alike in the chimp pic!

Afterwards, Amy and I took the bus to the city (we mistakenly got on the 37 which took us all around Carpenterstown & Castleknock and took way longer than the 39A which we should have taken) and went to the train station to pick up Amy's annual train pass. We then hopped on the Dart out to Blackrock. The sea views were so nice! We had a drink and some spicy pawns before getting back on the train and heading on to Dun Laoghaire. We stopped in to another pub and had a drink here too as well as some lovely BBQ ribs and corn on the cob. 

To get home, I got the 46A bus while Amy luckily caught a train that went all the way to her station without having to switch trains n the city. I got back to my house about 7.30pm where I picked up the dog and my polling card and headed to the polling station and voted in the general election.

After an enjoyable but long day, I went to bed with a glass of wine and a good book! A lovely end to a great day.

We have a new front door

Here's our new front door.

It's been painted in "Railings" by Farrow & Ball and the brass ironmongery are the original ones that were restored and re-polished.

Here's the door at night time

And here it is during the day

It's very different looking from our red door and I'm very happy with it. The big difference is the comfort levels with this door being fully sealed and also having a dummy letter box.  It doesn't let any draughts in which makes a big difference as our house so open plan.

Penneys Haul

I met up with my best friend and sister this morning for a chilled out brunch in The Great Wood in Blanchardstown. Most people seemed to be eating and then leaving quickly. Not us though! We were there from 11.30am until 3.30pm. It was fun and it was a great catch up.

Afterwards, Amy and I went to Penneys to browse the Summer stock for our upcoming trip to Key West. 

Amy got a nice pair of flip flops and birkenstock style sandals. We both got sunglasses and I also got two bargain bikinis! The triangle style suited me better but I also bought the bandeau one in order to stop tan lines building up.

All of the below was €14. You can not beat Penneys for price!

Low Carb Shepherds Pie

I've been trying out a few different low carb cauliflower dishes over the past while so decided to make this Low Carb Shepherds Pie.

I didn't add carrots or peas to the mince meat base which was a pity as it would have added a bit of colour.

The mashed potato substitute is made using cauliflower mixed with butter and cream.

Cheese is added to the top.

Looks tasty - can't wait to eat it!

Snoring solution!

I finally resolved to do something about my snoring and generally unsettled sleeping. After speaking to the pharmacist in Boots in Rathmines I bought these Breathe Right nose strips.

And guess what?! They are so effective!

I haven't snored since I've started wearing them. I also feel that I have a less disturbed sleep over all. They are comfortable to wear and the concept is that they keep your airway open in order to prevent snoring. They make your nose look a little puffy/swollen when you are wearing the strip but that subsides when you take it off the next morning.

Here I am fast asleep with my nose strip on. My twin sister took this photo when she stayed over with me last weekend. I look pretty peaceful!

I had a browse on the Breathe Right website where there is a video explaining how they work. I also see that you can get a free sample of the nose strips if you live in the USA. 

Benefits of a post box

Here in Ireland, it is not so common to have a post box for postal deliveries. Most people have a letter box on their front door and post gets delivered through this. It's convenient for all as driveways are small in Ireland so the postman does not have to walk far between houses (well in Dublin, anyway!).

Awhile back our neighbour switched out his front door and no longer uses his letter box. He attached a smart post box to his house wall beside the front door.

We are getting a new door so I also decided to not get a letter box cut out but to attach a dummy letter box to the door and to use a post box to receive mail.

Here are the benefits:
* No draughts from the letter box (this was the main reason I chose to not have a letter box on the door).
* The dog doesn't find letters on the ground and chew them
* I don't get woken by the postman when he makes an early morning delivery
* I can place junk mail directly into the recycling bin from the post box

Can you think of any other positives to having a post box?

 

I got my post box for €149 in Knobs & Knockers. Cheaper options are available from places like Argos or hardware stores, but the one I chose is solid and made out of a heavy metal and I think will be durable and should hold up in the Irish climate.

As you can see when I unlocked it today there was only one letter with the bulk of delivery being junk mail.

I "delivered" the junk post straight to the recycling bin at the end of the row of my bins.

After I had bought my new post box I discovered that An Post now have a new service called the "Delivery Box" where they will deliver parcels to you and also pick up your post. You don't have to sign for the parcels as they scan a barcode on your box which indicates delivery and you will then receive a text to let you know a parcel has been delivered. This could have been an option for us but it would have had to have been fixed to our wall for security. I think, rather than attaching it to the railings at the front of the house. It's very convenient and well priced at €69.99.

Click here to see a picture of the An Post Delivery Box.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

I've had a lovely day so far. When I woke up I was surprised by a lovely gift of sweets and perfume by my husband. 

"Chance" by Chanel - a lovely choice. And smells really nice too!

 And a velvet heart of Butler's chocolates! What a nice treat!

My sister and I had been admiring this particular box of chocs when we were in Butler's yesterday so I was delighted to receive this.

The selection inside is really good, a fantastic mix of Butler's chocolates.

After getting out of bed we went around to Starbucks on Waterloo Road. We were going to walk to the Leeson Street one, as we can sit out under heaters with the dog, but it started hail stoning when we were just about to set off.

When we got to Starbucks I ordered the Valentine's Special of a Triple Hot Chocolate, buy one get one free.

After we came home from Starbucks we opened the Hot Tub for the first time in months. We got a new deck in the courtyard and it was only finished up and ready to use on Friday. 

I'm so happy with the new deck. It's made from a composite material and the colour is called "Cape Cod". It's definitely got a New England feel to it. It's fresh and clean looking and best of all it is maintenance free!

It felt so good to be back in the Hot Tub and I think Valentine's Day was the perfect day to have it back working.