What I've been up to....

Thursday evening brought me to the Stephen's Green Shopping Centre where I tried on 22(!) dresses to finally choose one for an upcoming wedding which is on in Tenerife. A big thanks to my twin sister who carried dresses in and out of the fitting room and changed sizes and colours and who without her help I may not have finally said "Yes to the dress!"

Then on Friday I met up with two friends for coffee and a catch up and then met my mother for a browse around Homesense which is the new TK Maxx homewares store. 

In Homesense I found the perfect item to bring with me to a friends house on Saturday night.
Look! My favourite Key Lime Coconut Patties that I normally buy in Key West.
Perfect for visiting Alice for a catch up about our last KW trip.

On Saturday I was working so a strong coffee in the car was in order.  Later after work I got the bus to Alice's with Amy - the bus is literally door to door as it goes from one side of the city to the other.

Alice served us amazing food and drinks and we had great chats.

And we got to chill with Baxter!

Red wine and cocktails with best friends all make for a great evening.

We were back on the bus by 11pm and home well before midnight. Sure it's nearly as good as a taxi service!

Fun weekend of incognito art

Incognito 2018 was on this weekend in the Solomon Art Gallery. It's an amazing public art initiative in aid of Jack and Jill Foundation. Over 2000 postcard sized pieces of art are for sale for €50 and after buying a piece you then get to see who created it. What fun!

Even more fun if you discovered a famous artist like Tracy Emin painted the postcard you bought.

 

Ciaran chose the piece below and  after handing over the €50 he turned to the back of the card to see that was painted by Liam Plant.

I visited on Saturday with Ciaran when he bought this piece and then returned on Sunday with Amy for another browse. 

It was a really popular exhibition with people lining up really early to get in and choose their favourite pieces. Here's an RTE news report that captures the excitement of the event.

Ranelagh.......ever changing

When I got off the Luas today, I looked down from the bridge and noticed a new store front on the main street of Ranelagh.  It is the Dublin Lettings store and I think it has possibly gone in to a shop that was formerly a cobbler and man's shoe shop.

Here is a closer pic of the new shop

Further up the road there is a new juice bar called Apple Jacks. There used to be an Apple Jacks in Terenure in the unit that now houses The Lovely Food Co.

And next door to Apple Jacks is the Ranelagh Arts Centre which is of course not new but it does have a new life drawing exhibition which we called in to on Thursday evening for the opening.

Across the road from the arts  centre is a new restaurant called Host which is in the old Bow and Pearl shop. Pics to follow another day!

Kramer vs. Kramer

I'm in tears. Kramer vs.Kramer is now on Netflix.

I knew what it was about but I had never watched it from start to finish. What a film. And what a performance from the actor who played little Billy. He was nominated as an eight year old for an Oscar. Decades later and I can see why.

This is a must see film.

Easter Monday Brunch

My Easter break came to a lovely end with a brunch in Pot Bellied Pig. It was an impromptu brunch. We were just passing by the restaurant after dropping items that I was clearing out to the charity shop in Rathmines. Rain was bucketing down and it was a miserable day so we decided a nice brunch was a good idea!

Pot Bellied Pig is a cute place with friendly staff and great food. I had Pulled Ham and Eggs with Benedict. Ciaran went off menu choosing poached eggs and black pudding. He was unsure what type of pudding it was but reckoned it tasted as good as Clonakilty.

The restaurant was not busy probably due to the rain and also because it was the last day of a very long weekend. Our food was made super fast but was cooked to perfection and very tasty. It sure hit the spot.

Afterwards, it was back home to more house cleaning and clearing out. I am happy to report that my the house is clean from top to bottom!

Trá an Dóilin (Coral Strand)

Before we headed back to Dublin on Sunday we took a jaunt along the Wild Atlantic Way and visited the Coral Beach in Carraroe.

Sunday was a cold day weather wise so we didn't spend too long on the beach as the wind would cut you in two. 

I was glad to see the beach, it is very scenic and as I mentioned in my last blog, I love a view of water!

Love this classy corten signage

The gravel beach is made of coral algae known as maerl and it made a light crunchy sound as we walked on it. Bones also was completely camouflaged by the colour of the sand and his sandy coloured fur.

Bones! Where are you???!

There was just time for the obligatory selfie and then back in the car to Dublin!

Road Trip!

It's always great to get out of Dublin and head West. 

On Saturday morning, I picked Amy up bright and early and we set off on a road trip to Galway. We brought along Bones for the company (well in reality I couldn't have gone with Amy if I didn't bring him because his other hooman was also gone away). 

As a first time visitor, I was stunned by the serenity of our destination when we arrived. Look at this amazing view from where we were staying. 

I LOVE a water view!!!

 
 We had such a lovely afternoon chilling in the garden. The weather was amazing - chilly but very bright and sunny at times with small patches of cloud and rain. Very changeable but on the whole, very nice.

 

We were well fed with Amy making a full Irish on arrival which we needed badly....let's just say we would have made good time except for coffee stops, losing our way (just once!) and a very enjoyable detour in to our younger sisters home for a cup of coffee (she lives on the other side of Galway).

Later in the evening we walked to a pub in the village where we had a lovely chat and a drink but we left before it got dark as we didn't want to walk on country bothair-eens with no paths - even though we had brought a torch for safety......high viz vests would probably be a good idea too.

We stood in the garden and looked over the lake as the sun set with the colours changing from time to time as the sun went down.

Is there anything nicer than the sun setting on a great day with your sister?!