Blogging break

I didn't deliberately take a break from blogging but November was a month that came in fast and it went by in a blink of an eye. Here's a bit of a catch up blog and hopefully I won't be as remiss for December and will actually write a blog or two.

I got up to a lot of different things including lots of birthday celebratons (mine included!) with a fun 30th birthday party for twins where I tasted my first "Whiskey Sour" which was so good, then a 90th birthday lunch and then my own birthday where we went out for chinese food to a new(ish) spciality duck restaurant in Ranelagh. It's CN Duck and it's BYOB. It's a casual place that is ull of atmosphere with tasty food, you can check out the website here. 

Other than that there has been a lot going on with PIGSY with him moving in to the new studio and getting set up. Then there have been art sales and deliveries along with prep for four (yes 4!) Christmas events - Art Deli in Ranelagh, Art for Christmas in Ranelagh and Pinazo in both Malaga and Seville in Spain. The Spanish events needed a little more organisation as they started earlier and the artworks needed to get to Spain earlier.  Art Deli opens this week in Ranelagh and you can read about it on the PIGSY blog.

There was another Critical Mass cycle at the end of November which for the first time I joined from the start of the cycle on Parnell Square and took in the route which went down the pedestrianised Capel Street. It was a lot of fun and I made an extra effort to be "lit up" with a set of Christmas lights flashing around my neck. The next critical mass cycle is on 16th of December and for this one, I plan to wrap my bike in flashing Christmas lights! 

I got my Christmas tree up after planning to put it up on the evening of The Late Late Toy Show but then not being organised to do it. So I put it up yesterday.

However.......I made the decision to only put about half of my decorations up as to be honest there are just so many. I was happy with how it looked but then Ciaran remarked that it looked bare (it doesn't!) but I am second guessing myself so will top up the tree with the rest of the decorations (photo to follow in a later blog). 

I wore my new Christmas jumper to put up the tree and check out these cute little santa earrings that I got in Home Deals in Ranelagh. Just adorable!

So that's it for the month of November - there was lots of other things going on but for now I'll leave it at that and as I said I will try and be better at blogging this month!

Happy December everyone and enjoy the lead up to the holidays!

Nutritional yeast - tasty and beneficial

 Nutritional Yeast

A little while ago I wrote about adding collagen to my diet. After doing this for awhile I can say that I think one of the benefits of the collagen is for hair growth and I am glad to say that I am seeing thicker hair growing at my hairline.

Another thing that I add to my diet is Nutritional Yeast. It's packed full of B12 and along with this it is very taste and adds an umami taste to food.

I tend to add it to my home made bone broth to make it extra tasty.  I literally sprinkle a little over a cup of heated Bone Broth.

The nutritional yeast looks just like fish food! It's got a flakey appearance.....

Have you ever tasted Nutritional Yeast? It's popular with vegans who tend to think that it has a cheese flavour which I kind of get too.

For me, I'll continue to add it to my food, whatever about the health benefits, I like the taste and I think it adds extra depth to soups and sauces.

Let me know if you have eaten it and what you think it tastes of - leave a comment below.

Flying visit to Malaga

Malaga!

In order to get two PIGSY paintings to Spain, we decided to fly to Malaga and hand deliver them rather than sending them in the mail. It was going to be my first time back in the city after spending a year there during lockdown so I was unsure how I was going to feel about it.

So last Sunday we went on an Aer Lingus flight to Malaga arriving in the late afternoon. We immediatly headed to our favourites Casa Lola for a few tapas and then on to La Classica for some Gambas and White Fish.

We packed lots in and met up with different groups of friends. Some of the restaurants we ate in included Ocho (lunch and dinner) and a little wine bar on Paseo de Redding that I can't think what it was called. 

One of the things I definitely wanted to do was eat a portion of Berenjenas which I had been dreaming of - these fried aubergines were definitely as I remembered them!

Other than that we swam (pool and sea) and even managed to have ice creams in Casa Mira for old times sake along with all of this we got a bit of art in with a trip to the CAC (along with a drop in to La Casa Amarilla to delivery the PIGSY paintings)......I also might have had a few glasses of cava and vino tinto.

In no particular order, here's a photo dump from the short trip of just Sunday to Wednesday. A flying visit for sure - but so good to be back!! 

At the rooftop bar in AC Malaga - a Marriott hotel

Just off Constitution Plaza

In La Classica near Uncibay Plaza (for the best white fish)

Pastries and cava for breakfast on a friend's rooftop terrace

Gambas

With a friend that I met for coffee - selfie time afterwards

Looking out on to Constitution Plaza

La Casa Amarilla Crew

In Ocho for lunch with friends from Ireland

Foie Gras in Ocho

Pate in Ocho

I tasted a fresh fig for the first time!

Rooftop pool in AC Malaga

Cathedral view

Sitting at the counter in Casa Lola's

Ice cream at Casa Mira

Visiting CAC

A plate of Berenjenas in a square just off Calle Larios

Critical Mass Dublin - Halloween Cycle

Halloween edition of Critical Mass in Dublin

On the last Friday of the month, cyclists come together in cities all over the world to take part in Critical Mass where they cycle in a group for safety and to raise awareness of cyclists.

For the Halloween edition of Dublin Critical Mass, many participants dressed up in costume or lit up their bikes.

I wore an illuminous skull mask along with my helmet.

The picture above shows me waiting to join the cyclists at Stephens Green.  The event starts at Parnell Square on the Northside and continues over to the South Side and then swings in to the city centre.  From Parnell Square it goes down the newly traffic free Capel Street.  But for me, it is most convenient to join at Stephens Green after getting the train to Pearce Street after work,

You can check out a video on twitter here that shows all the great costumes - love the Tennenbaum family!!

Let me know if you are interested in joining the next cycle in November or even the one in December which will probably be Christmas themed.........I need to start planning a costume for that one very soon - or at the very least get some lights to string around my bike!

You can get full information about Critical Mass Dublin here on I Bike Dublin

October is nearly over,,,,

October has been busy!

So I've had a busy October but it sure has been a lot of fun. Perhaps this was the reason I didn't blog for close on a full month.

There has been tons happening with PIGSY art with the closing of the group exhibition that he was part of in Ranelagh Arts. Other things were the Black and White Art Movement and in other exciting news he has got a new studio.  All of the above was a lot of work and there was lots of visit to the frame shop, dropping off art, specifying frames and then collecting art and delivering it to various art spaces in Dublin. And then on top of that there was an invite for PIGSY to be part of two exhibitions in Spain in December so that means planning and organising for that too! You can catch up with all of the PIGSY art news on the PIGSY blog here. 

Then there was a big birthday to celebrate (not mine!) so we went to the Stella Cinema to celebrate and after that went for dinner. We saw the film "Don't Worry Darling" and thought the setting of the amazing Stella Theatre was perfect for this beautifully cinematographic movie.

And then the next thing we do is we go to Spain! On Sunday!

It will be a flying visit to Malaga as we are returning on Wednesday but I am looking forward to returning to the city that I spent a year in during lockdown. I expect we will be busy with lots of friends to meet up with along with visits to what were our favourite restaurants in Malaga along with hopefully a swim in the sea, or two. Look out for a blog post on my trip when I get back.

Collagen - an update

Looking back at my past blogs I see that it is now over 4 weeks since I started taking Collagen (read my collagen blog here) and I am happy to report that I am seeing results of new baby hair growth at my hairline. I've also been drinking bone broth which is collagen rich too so perhaps this is also helping. I had hoped to see other results such as less dry skin but can't say there has been an improvement here, but still I sure am happy with the hair growth.  If I notice any further improvements I will report back.

Sunday Funday in Dublin

Car free Capel Street

After spending some time picking up litter in Ranelagh in the morning, I then went in to Dublin City to meet up with my sister Katie. 

I normally have Ciaran picking litter with me but still managed to pick nearly 3 bags full on my own.

Katie and I met on the newly (newish) car free/pedestrianised Capel Street on the Northside of Dublin and meandered up Capel Street and then back down again, stopping off for coffee in Camerino Bakery.  There was lots of family friendly activities on the street with face painting for the kids, street performers and music which made for a great vibe.

For us we just enjoyed the car free ambiance as we strolled around and chatted, however, there are lots of quirky independent shops on Capel Street and I made 2 purchases buying a pair of warm gloves in Ramblers Way just off Capel Street and then I bought.......wait for it......chicken feet(!) in a Chinese supermarket that had a little restaurant to the back of it. When I lived in Spain I made bone broth with chicken feet (full of collagen!) but have not done so in Ireland because chicken feet are not something that are readily available in the local supermarket.  So when I saw them in the Chinese store I bought a bag which are now sitting in my freezer for when I am next making a batch of bone broth.

This is about my 4th time visiting Capel Street (I have always cycled) since it was made traffic tree and I have found it to be very pleasant each time - I look forward to visiting again!

"We will park your bike for you"

Vegfest!

It was a fun day today at Vegfest in Rathmines where I was volunteering with the Dublin Cycling Campaign. We were offering a bike valet service where we parked attendees bikes in a safe convenient space at the entrance.

It was a fabulous sunny September day (I came wrapped up in two jackets but that was probably overkill!) and there was a big crowd at the event.  We were kept busy parking bikes all morning and we also got to talk to people about the work of the Dublin Cycling Campaign too.

All in all a fun day out - check out a few pics below

Vegfest is open again tomorrow (Sunday 24th) so get on your bike and make a visit to it!