Tom Parker - what a brave person

Tom Parker - Stand Up 4 Cancer

I've never been a fan of The Wanted but I happened upon the Tom Parker documentary yesterday evening after watching for a few minutes I was gripped. I vaguely recall hearing that a member of The Wanted had been diagnosed with a brain tumour.

That was the only thing I knew when I switched on the programme. Within, minutes I was in tears. What an amazing guy. Incredibly brave an absolute tower of strength with a beautiful personality. 

I wish him the very best in his "Stand up 4 Cancer" and I hope he can beat this terrible disease.

Lagom in Kenmare, Kerry - more than "just right"

Lagom in Kenmare, Kerry

We have just returned from a two night stay in Lagom in Kenmare,  County Kerry and I highly recommend it if you are looking for place to stay in Kenmare. We were in Kenmare for the finissage of PIGSY's "Catharsis of Collapse" in the Kenmare Butter Market. We had been down three other times over the past few weeks for the show and had made a promise for our last visit we would treat ourselves to a stay in the newly opened Lagom. Owners Liz and chef Brendan have really created somewhere special and it was indeed a treat to stay here.

Lagom is a Swedish word that can be translated to "not too much, not too little, just right". With little special touches they have certainly made the place more than "just right". 

On our arrival, we were met by bottled water in our room along with a welcome treat of a little home made lemon bun. I adore lemon sponge and this was the most lovely baked goods treat. 

The room we were staying in had a great big super king bed with stylish and tranquil decor. But topping all of this was the shower which was a really really powerful warm and roomy shower - quite possibly the best shower I've ever had!

And then the breakfast! Well that can only be described as quite delicious with the best ingredients. PIGSY had the full Irish both days and I had Brisket Potato Hash for my first breakfast. Then the next day I had an omelette (a 3 egg omelette with a choice of fillings) - both really delicious.

Lagom is centrally located in Kenmare and is an excellent addition to the restaurant and accommodation scene in Kenmare. And as far as I am concerned it is definitely "just right" and quite possibly perfect in my eyes!

Back to Kerry!

It's a long way to.......

Our final Kerry adventure awaits as we return to Kenmare for the closing of the PIGSY Art Exhibition in Kenmare Butter Market. We will pick up a hired van at 10am and get on the road a little after that (we will return to the house to collect our bags and Bones).

The finissage of "Catharsis to Collapse" is on from 6-8pm this evening. We are looking forward to it and hopefully we will get to meet again with some of the new friends that we met in Kerry over the past month or so of the exhibition and the preparation for it.

Photos of the event will be added to the PIGSY art blog after the event

Return to Dillingers!

Dillingers Ranelagh

Do you have a favourite neighbourhood restaurant?

I do, and after a hiatus of about 18 months, I returned to Dillingers for dinner yesterday evening.

With a change of menu but still the same staff, it was great to be back!! We got a lovely warm welcome and one of the guys even pointed out that they still have Bones picture up above the Cash Register. Lol!

Pictured is steak, veal and super fun mac & cheese truffle balls- all just delicious. Like I said, it's good to be back! 

Ranelagh Arts Festival

In PIGSY news, the PIGSY short movie was screened in The Stella in The Devlin Hotel as part of the Ranelagh Arts Festival. Unfortunately, I was working yesterday so I couldn't attend but PIGSY went along to the screening and was very impressed with the high standard of all of the short films, He also enjoyed seeing the PIGSY film on the big screen in the beautiful surroundings of the boutique cinema that is The Stella at The Devlin. To read more about what PIGSY has been getting up to lately, see his blog here.

Keto Tuna Melt

Back on Keto!

This post popped up on my blog feed and after reading it the other day it set me back on the Keto path.

Tonight we ate Keto Tuna Melts for dinner. 

Here's my recipe:

2 slices of Keto Bread (see my Keto Bread recipe here)

Avocado

Tuna & Mayo mix

Cheddar cheese

All you have to do is top the bread with some avocado and then spoon some tuna mayo mix on top. Finish off with some cheese (you can grate it if you want). Then pop it in under the grill to melt the cheese. 

Easy peasy and mega cheezy! 

Brewing coffee at home!

 Killarney Coffee Roasters

I was in Kerry recently (for the PIGSY exhibition) and tasted the delicious Killarney Roasters Coffee. On my return to Dublin, I vowed to start drinking more coffee at home while forgoing using coffee capsules. In order to do this I ordered some whole bean coffee from Killarney Roasters along with buying a coffee grinder.

When my coffee arrived (along with some delicious Salted Caramels that I also ordered - they are handmade with butter!) I set to grinding some beans and made coffee in my French Press.

It took a few days of experimenting with different grinds and I finally cracked it and made the most perfect pot of coffee this morning. I know the perfect grind now and am looking forward to lots of lovely coffee at home......but don't get me wrong I still enjoy my coffee in the local coffeeshop too!

To order coffee from this Kerry company, click here.

Dublin Community Clean-Up 21

Dublin Clean-Up

On Sunday mornings, Ciaran and I have a routine where we do a little bit of litter picking on our way to Butler's Cafe in Ranelagh for a coffee.  This week as part of Dublin Community Clean-Up 21 we picked litter on the way to the cafe and then I brought a second bag and we cleaned up litter on the way home too. Dublin Community Clean-Up runs from the 11th of Sept for a about a week and it brings together the four Dublin Local Authorities in this community clean-up initiative.

Ranelagh Clean-Up

On the way to our coffee stop we headed in the direction of Ranelagh Gardens Park and picked litter in the park all the way to the bin at the Ranelagh Road entrance. From there we went up Ranelagh Road, stopped for coffee and then picked litter on Chelmsford down to Appian Way. In total we cleared 2 sacks of litter off the streets of Ranelagh.

Dublin Litter Picking

Litter picking equipment is provided by Dublin City Council at any point during the year and not just at Community Clean-Up time. If you are interested in litter picking in your area, you can drop a line to customerservices@dublincity.ie and request delivery of litter pickers for your family.

To see more about the community clean up, check our #DublinCommunityCleanUp on Twitter!