A blog about........straws!

Straws, you say, what on earth is there to say about straws that is blogable?!

So here goes....

I am a fans of straws. I enjoy drinking my go to cocktail of Vodka & Coke Zero through a straw.

However, I am always trying to reduce my use of single use plastic so straws were something that I had on my radar and I knew I was going to either change my straw habit and stop using them or find an alternative to plastic straws.

I found 3 alternatives and you can see my reviews of each below. I also was told of a 4th option by a bartender in the Devlin Hotel. I will tell you about this one at the end of the blog so scroll on to the bottom to see what it is!

1. Paper Straws
The first move I made away from plastic straws was that I bought paper straws. The good thing about paper straws is that they tend to be really pretty in nicely coloured patterns. But the bad things is that they tend to start to go a bit mushy when you are using them. You can slow down the disintegration of the paper straw by taking it out of your drink between sips and balance it on top of your glass - but this is a bit of a pain. Quite honestly, paper straws are not for me, I don't like the feel of them in my mouth when I am partaking in a beverage.

So the search for a plastic straw replacement continued and I went on to try the next one.

2. Metal Straws
I was so happy to receive a gift of a packet of metal straws from my sister. There were four in the pack and they even came with a little skinny brush to wash them with. 
I was really expecting to like the metal straws but it felt a bit too solid when using and I think they could be quite dangerous as you could accidentally stick it in your eye! Take care when drinking through one!!
I think you can buy metal straw with a plastic bung at the end in order to make it both nicer to drink from and also a bit more safe but if you use this you are back using plastic - but at least it is not single use plastic.

And so I am now on to what I am currently drinking my "bevs" through.

3. Bamboo Straw
A bamboo straw!  Yes really!
While on holidays in the USA, I found a packet of bamboo straws for sale in the Key West Custom House Museum Gift Shop for the very reasonable price of $8.95. There was about 10 in the packet and they are all different sizes, some being very skinny and others being quite thick. It really doesn't matter what size one you pop in to your glass - they all feel really nice to drink from. And they have a really cool natural tropical look about them.

So for the moment I am giving top marks to bamboo straws and they get my vote as being a great alternative to plastic straws.

And now if you are still reading this, you get a bonus tip for what to use instead of plastic straws as passed on to me by the bartender in the Devlin Hotel:  

PASTA!

Yes there is such a thing as a pasta straw! 

A quick google leads me to this website.

Pasta straws sound pretty cool - but have you got any other alternatives to plastic straws? Leave a comment below...... 

Fun day Friday!

Last Friday, I met up with my mother for coffee, a chat and a wander around town. It was a lovely sunny day so I cycled in to town and when we met we went for coffee in Insomnia. There was a little garden out to the front of the cafe so we sat out in the sun.

I brought along my little cream holder (or any liquids) that I got in Coach recently. Check this out - 3 little bottles in a cute little zipped up box. I think it is meant for travelling and decanting things like make up remover, etc. in it. But I think it is far more useful for carrying cream for my coffee!

After that we went for a walk down George's street and looked in some charity (thrift) shops where I tried on a fab black Halston jumpsuit. It was so nice but just a tad bit too small for me on the trouser length.

We got up to lots of fun stuff including a game of hopscotch outside Benefit! 
Hopscotch in the city, you might ask. What's that all about?!
Well in what I thought was a very clever marketing event, Benefit were giving out free samples of their new foundation if you took part in a game of hopscotch. Love it!

Check this building out. Wowser!
The whole front fascade has been left up but the rest of it is going to be redeveloped. I'm sure it will be great.

So we got up to lots, saw interesting things and then went for lunch and had a glass of wine in the sun before both heading our separate ways to our homes on different sides of Dublin city. 
A fun day for sure!

I'm back at Bookcrossing!

Years ago I used to actively "bookcross". This means that I registered books on the bookcrossing website and then leave them in public places for other readers to find them and also track them on bookcrossing.com if they wanted to.

I'm clearing out my shelves of books at the moment. To my shame, I have loads of books sitting on my shelves that I have never read.

So......

I'm registering them on the bookcrossing website and then giving them to charity (thrift) shops or leaving them in cafes and other places.

So far I've got rid of 15 books with plenty more to go.  Nobody has registered that they have found any of my books......watch this space!

Click here if you would like to go hunting books in your neighbourhood. Happy Bookcrossing!

What I've been getting up to......

Saturday morning was chilled we took Bones out for a walk around Ranelagh and did a few chores along the way.

I saw Pigsy's latest piece in the flesh on the wall on Saturday.  OMG, this picture does not do it justice, the colours pop way more than in this photo. Click here to read all about the painting.

Sunday night was mid-Summer drinks for Barry & Elsie's house warming. What a house!

Have a look at their house being the feature of this FBD Insurance ad!

On Sunday, I kept it keto by doing brunch in Pot Bellied Pig - and Bones came along too......

Look how good he was!

Keto resources from the library

Since I returned from hols I have been back on a strict Keto diet. It was definitely needed as I think I would have turned in to a Key Lime Pie if I ate any more!!

As well as eating keto, I am drinking LOADS water. The minute I get up I drink 2 huge big glasses of water and this really sets me off on good drinking habits for the day.

Here's a selection of books that I got from the library. They have a huge selection on the online catalogue and this lot that I selected are really good with loads of excellent recipes.

If you are on the ketogenic diet, have a look in your library to see what you can borrow rather than buy!

 

 

"Keto Living Day by Day" has a foreward by Dr Andreas Eenfeldt of Diet Doctor.

Since starting back eating Keto, I've been having the most amazing sleeps. I am sleeping for 8 hrs solid and waking so refreshed for the day ahead.

If you are on keto, what benefits do you experience?!

What we did in Key West....

So aside from visiting the awesome bars and restaurants, chilling by the pool and hanging out at the beach here's what we got up to on our recent visit to Key West.

Hemingway House
I reckon I have visited Hemingway's House on Whitehead Street about 5 times and every time I visit I see or hear something different. And I love seeing those 6 toed cats!

This is where some of the the cat's live - in a cat size replica of the Hemingway House!

Truman's Little White House
President Truman seemed like a great character. He spent a lot of his presidency down in Key West, enjoyed the odd game of cards (every night) and started each day with a shot of Old Grandad, as per doctors orders to start his heart!
To hear lots more about President Truman, be sure and visit the Little White House.

Custom House Museum
Custom House has loads of great exhibitions (we especially enjoyed "You don't know Dick" which was running while we were there) and also has a really great gift shop. I bought bamboo reusable straws and also cute metal starfish food picks.

Butterfly Museum
I had heard how good the Butterfly museum was, so I was looking forward to visiting it. It was very relaxing and tranquil and I enjoyed seeing all of the butterflies and also the two resident flamingo's Scarlett and Rhett!!

Happy Pride month! 
I am delighted to present "Duval Flag" by Pigsy. “Duval Flag”  (410mm W x 920mm H)  (16” Wide x  36”) Mixed Media On Canvas Key West Business Guild are selling raffle tickets for a chance to win this piece "Duval Flag" which Pigsy painted on a recent trip to KW. It includes the famous sea to sea rainbow flag flying high and is painted in his usual expressionist style. It is an uplifting joyful piece that highlights the Key West motto of One Human Family. It will be on view during the week in the Key West Business Guild. Tickets are available, plus the painting is on display: *In the Business Guild, 808 Duval Street right now!

*At the Business Guild luncheon on Wednesday at the Marriott Beachside

*At the street fair on Saturday

Pigsy's curator Kemp has this to say about "Duval Flag": 

"While PIGSY was vacationing in Key West the overall vibe of the islands ethos of “One Human Family” compelled him to compulsively start painting. The result is an inspired flow of expressionism which helped him to subconsciously recall the sea to sea rainbow flag which was 1.25 miles long and ran along Duval Street from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean created by the designer Gilbert Baker (happy image on the bike exploring his creation) who passed away in 2017. The island created a sense of creative happiness which manifested itself in the positive message that,  all people are created equal.

The painting reflects the joyous pride that one can feel when prejudice and judgement of other people’s decisions are discarded and a free positive happy all for one, one for all approach to everyday life is embraced in a fair inclusive way, as it is with Key West which has embraced the motto “One Human Family”. The butterflies , flowers and smile on Gilbert’s Face show happiness and freedom along with pride and gives us a sense that the world is a brighter place with rainbows in it, along with an acceptance of diversity".

By Kemp