Shopping Savings!

Last week when I shopped in Marks & Spencers (I was buying a few Christmas presents) I was given a voucher when I paid at the til.

The voucher gave me €5 off an over €25 spend on groceries.

The expiry date was today so I went in to pick up a few items this evening.

I love getting discounts on already discounted items - "Stacking" I call it (stacking discount on top of discount).

If I had to pay full price my total would have been €36.21.  However most of the items I chose were 3 for the price of 2.  This brought my total down by €10.05.  

I then handed over my €5 off voucher and my total came to €21.16.

As you can see from my receipt I saved a grand total of €15.05

Vouchers/coupons are not widely circulated in Ireland - so I felt like I was on a mini episode of Extreme Couponing!!  

Trip to the vet - chocolate eating dog

So Thursday night was eventful!

On our return from Tribeca we discovered that Bones had sniffed out a bar of dark chocolate that was in my handbag and had eaten the whole lot!!

I went on the Internet to investigate how poisonous chocolate is for dogs.  It seemed that the darker the chocolate the more toxic it is - unfortunately it was an 85% bar of chocolate.

I rang the emergency vet in UCD and they asked me what weight the dog was and how much he ate.  They then asked how soon could we get in to them.  I told them we would be there in less than 30 minutes.

When we arrived at the hospital, Bones was immediately weighed and then taken in to have vomiting induced.  The poor little guy!

It all took about a half an hour and we then were given him back to take home.  He was in a right state - a little quivering mess.

Here he is all wrapped up in a towel trying to go asleep.

He had a little bit of an unsettled night and got up at 3.30am for a huge drink of water.  Then the next day we went to his vet to get a check up.  All was fine - but the vet did warn me that they regularly get repeat offenders and that it wouldn't cure him of his desire for chocolate!!

When I visited our regular vet he expressed how dangerous it would have been if we hadn't brought Bones in to get treatment - it was potentially fatal!!

And here he is - full of beans and can't wait to get out of the clinic!

What a little boldie!  But in fairness it could have been a whole lot worse.......it doesn't bear thinking about what could have transpired if we didn't get to the vets in a speedy manner.

Ennio Morricone concert rescheduled

Forgot to bring my phone with me to work yesterday.  I came home to find a text and email letting me know that a concert we were due to attend shortly has been rescheduled.

After looking on the Internet I discovered that the performer has had a back operation.  

Get well soon Mr Morricone!

Dublinia: Operation Penneys aka The power of Facebook and Vi...

Dublinia: Operation Penneys aka The power of Facebook and Vi... 

Click the above link to read my sister's search for the perfect boots with the help of an International model and Social Media!

Movember

This year Ciaran is joining in with Movember.

Do you know about Movember?  It is when November is given over to men's health.  Men grow moustaches to generate conversation about men's health as well as to raise funds for men's health programs.  It is a global initiative that has raised a large amount of money worldwide. 

Here is his profile page if you wish to make a donation to this great cause.......or you could even join his team!

This is his moustache after a few days........I'm already counting down the days til the end of Movember when he will get rid of it!!

This is what it looks like today.  Bleugh!  

All for a good cause I guess.....   :-(

Nespresso Maragogype Special Reserve

I visited the new Nespresso Store in Duke Street (it's very impressive!) the other day to buy coffee.

After listening to the sales attendant talk to me about the Maragogype special reserve coffee I bought a few packs. However,  I got a shock when he totaled up my purchases and at this point I enquired how much the Maragogype were (he had casually said they were a "little" more expensive than the other limited edition coffees).

Turns out each pack was €12 each!  Hardly a "little" more expensive than most of the other coffee which sells at about €4 a pack.

Look at this precious coffee - each of these little capsules is worth €1.20 each!!

I made a coffee at my coffee bar to see what this reserve coffee is like.

It did make a tasty coffee with a more generous crema than normal.

The marketing blurb describes this coffee as "a grand cru with a rare and exquisite taste"

Perhaps my palate isn't so refined - I thought it was a good coffee but I don't know if it quite lived up to the marketing blurb.  Or maybe it needs to be drank out of the special Riedel glass (created in partnership with Nespresso) in order to enhance the tasting experience.  Who knows?! 

For me coffee is coffee.......on the other hand a good vodka is a good vodka that is to be savored and appreciated!!! 

IDA Ireland CEO Martin Shanahan at CNBC Squawk Box: Investors See Green ...

This is worth the watch - skip forward to about 7 minutes and see the anchorman have serious confusion over what currency Ireland has!