Sunday Sketching

After breakfast we hung out in Starbucks on Waterloo Road.  I told Ciaran about a Gingerbread House competition that I was considering entering. The concept of the competition is to build an edible Mid Century Modern design house. For fun, I got Ciaran to sketch up a design for me.  But then I looked at the closing date and saw that it is only 3 days away......so no gingerbread MCM for me.

After coffee we went to Boots on Baggot Street and got out flu jab. A bit late in the Winter, but sure at least we will be protected for Christmas. Next year we must be organised and get the shot in September.

Hygge with Francis Brennan

We were long overdue a new quilt for our bed so I decided to buy one when I was in town about a week ago. I always wanted a feather duvet as I love the rustling sound they make and also I think they are warmer than a regular quilt.

I had been admiring the Francis Brennan Bed Collection in Dunnes Stores so I bit the bullet and bought a full set of his lace trim range duvet cover and sheet along with new pillows from Dunnes which included 2 feather ones and 4 man made fibre ones. 

Having a super king bed can cause difficulties when buying bedding here in Ireland (I used to buy a lot of duvet covers in the USA on my travels) but I was glad to find Super King in stock in Dunnes.

This afternoon I made up my bed with the new quilt, pillows and coverings. I then bought new pyjamas and a dressing gown so that I could cosy up and have some hygge in my bed tonight.  I sure am looking forward to it!

Here's Francis himself, meeting everyone as they enter Dunnes Stores Homewares in The Swan Centre.

There's my bed all smartly made up!

The packaging is very nice for this range and everything is packed in to a stylish grey bag and wrapped in tissue paper.

Francis Brennan, along with his brother John, owns and runs the 5 Star Park Hotel Kenmare so he knows his stuff about hotel quality bedding. His attention to detail is second to none and is evident from watching him on his TV show "At Your Service".  He is also such a nice man and I can attest to this personally as my twin sister and I had a chat with him when he we met him at his book signing - you can read all about that here!

My pyjamas are from Dunnes Stores also - the pyjamas are so comfortable and the dressing gown is soft and fluffy - definitely making me feel all hygge as I sit on the couch blogging in my new PJ's!

Edit -
When I went to bed on Saturday night, I remarked to Ciaran that I felt like I was sleeping in a hotel - the new duvet was that good!!
Then when we woke up on Sunday morning, Ciaran turned to me and said "Let's order room service"......he definitely had a hotel like sleep experience!!

All Art is Theft at The Kemp Gallery

"All Art is Theft" opened in The Kemp Gallery last night. 

It is a group exhibition for Christmas. Artist's in the show included Pigsy, Kemp, Emma Sheridan & ADW and all of the art works are pieces that were inspired by famous artworks.

Kemp & Pigsy collaborated on this piece which is based on Caravaggio's "Salome with the head of John the Baptist"

Here's a Pigsy!  
It's called "Angel" and is based on Jean-Michel Basquiat's "Fallen Angel". 
One of Pigsy's pieces sold on the opening night (how great!) but if you want to own a Pigsy you can visit www.ciaranmccoy.com where both original artworks and prints are on sale.

It sure was a successful opening, particularly for Ciaran (Pigsy), which was sponsored by Manor Brewing Company who presented their "Mont" Irish Mountain Beer which everyone agreed was a tasty brew. 
If you are on twitter you might give them a follow!

If you are looking for a Christmas Present for someone special, call in to The Kemp Gallery to view this exhibition and also browse all of the gorgeous jewellery in The Design Yard.

For more info about Pigsy - click here.

Nathan Carter - Wagon Wheel - My guilty pleasure!

I can't decide if it's just the song I like!

Saturday & Sunday Funday!

After a burger in Bunsen we watched the Ireland / New Zealand game in the Gingerman pub. Unfortunately we lost.  After the game we headed home on our bikes stopping off at the shops to buy logs for the stove as it had gone VERY cold. As well as lighting the stove, we planned on warming up in the hot tub. However, when we lifted the lid, we didn't see steam rise. This was an indicator that something was wrong.  The power to the tub was gone. When we checked the switch board, we could see that a switch had been tripped. So it was no hot tub for us...and we will have to get an electrician out to look at the issue.

So instead we watched "The Holiday" which is a great holiday romance movie.  I love it!

During the week, my twin sister sent me a text with details of a pop up Hot Chocolate Cafe in Arnotts Dept Store. We made plans to visit on Sunday and I was looking forward to it all week.

It didn't disappoint! Very tasty Hot Chocolate in a lovely Christmassy setting.

After cycling home from town I warmed myself up with a bowl of Crab soup which I added cream to. Tasty!

Don't you hate when you lose 1 earring???

I've been wearing these earrings for the past while - and they were turning in to a favourite of mine. 

Well no more.  When I got home I discovered one was missing :-(

Vinyl Haul!

On Sunday I visited with my sister and her family. My twin sister had spoken to her earlier about some records that she knew my older sister had in her garage.

Here's the few that I took from the large box of records she had.

As you can see I chose a Dolly Parton album. I can tell you, even as a Dolly fan, I don't recognise a single song on the record.  I am currently listening to the album and it's not too bad!

One of the albums that I was pleased to get was Elton John's "Yellow Brick Road" which has the song "Benny and the Jets" - that's a favourite song of mine. It reminds me of holidays to the States as I first heard it when Ciaran played it on a juke box in the USA. It's kind of our holiday song.

At the front of the pic you can see an album of love songs.  Side 2 has Dionne Warwicks "All the love in the world" which I'm so happy about. I've seen Dionne in concert numerous times and she is a super performer. I look forward to listening to it.

Christmas Movie Time!

If you've been a long time reader of my blog you will know that my top two favourite Christmas films are "The Family Stone" and "The Holiday".

However, you may not know that my third favourite Christmas movie is "Four Christmases" with Reece Witherspoon and Vince Vaughan. 

We watched "Four Christmases" tonight (I borrowed it from the Library), not because we wanted to watch a Christmas film but because we wanted a laugh.

It was so funny and had me laughing out loud in parts!

What I find funny is that Ciaran and I both laugh at different parts of the film - I don't think we find the same things funny at all!

If you've seen this movie, let me know what you think, or let me know what your favourite Christmas film is.