Today I heart....

...those who are brave enough to create and publish those insanely interesting "What I wore today" posts! I don't consider myself to be at all fashionable, I wear what suits my shape and tend to stay away from black as it drains my face and who wants to look like they're going to a funeral all day, everyday anyways! I also don't know alot about fashion, nine times out of ten, I'll see gorgeous clothes in a clothes shop, think to myself  "that might suit me!"....but usually leave the dressing room about 10 minutes later blaming my "hips that don't lie" for said garment not suiting me in the slightest.

So I guess, if I was to even attempt a "What I wore today" post, that I would consider it to bevaguely uninteresting for those out there who gander through my blog each and every day...so rather than taking inspiration from me, take inspiration instead from those braver than little ole me!

Check out Meredith from One Sheepish Blog, I adore her sweet style and she's also a very talented knitter with quite an amazing amount of followers! She often talks about using her blog as an outlet to increase her confidence hence the "What I wore" posts on her blogs. Check out the grey jumper which she recently up-styled by adding adorable red hearts! "Sell these jumpers!", the voice inside my head screams!

Also, we have the very talented Ruth Crean of Nice Day Designs, a fellow Limerick blogger like myself I have to say Ruth looks fantastic in this photo! What a funky and daring dress! It suits her so much! I admire her confidence for wearing it and testing out the vintage parameters! I also kinda want those potato men staring at her from behind!

I just love the cuetness of this outfit, check out the shoes for one! Tied in with a great hair colour, Kaelah from the blog little chief honeybee makes dress for day an effortless task! I'm very jealous! I also want the gusto to wear coloured tights! Of all the black things I have in my possession an abundance of black tights (for work purposes) would be top of the list!

 

Anyone who can snap themselves in floral pants and look good while doing so always gets my vote! Lola Dee is very creative when it comes to her style and why not, she's only a young one! Her blog is also always full of interesting reads, I suggest you follow her, I can assure you, you won't be dissappointed. She's also a dab hand at using colour really well!

And finally.....seriously, How quirky and amazing is the style of Amy Morby who thrifts a lot of her clothing! *Sigh*, I would only do the same if it weren't for the lack of amazing thrift stores in my home town! This is a girl after my own heart, colourful, energetic and not one bit afraid to show it!! From the funky shoes to the bright stripes of the shirt...she's a modern day 70's gal!

One day, (When I have an outfit worthy to show the world.wide.web) I'll join the ranks of "What I wore" today!

My day in photographs - 28.01.2012

My day in photographs is a lovely way of sharing your day. The idea being that you take an image every hour from the moment you start your day to the moment you end your day. This is my first time trying it and while I wasn't religious about taking an image every hour, you get the idea of how my day went.

10am

Breakfast! - I love eggs! I think they are the

most perfect food! I also love a hot cup of tea in my I heart tea mug!

11am

To the gym or have a shower? I woke up with a really bad

throat and as a result, decided it would be a gym free day!

 

12pm

Getting ready for the day! I had planned to meet up with old work colleagues, one of which was treating us to lunch in her house. Also used it as an opportunity to try out my new owl ring!

1pm - 3pm - Lunch!

We were really spoiled with an amazing spread of foods! Check out the pretty bowls,

I love how they don't match! Creating your own style is best!

3pm

 Dessert! The first dessert I've had in weeks due to my fitness regime! Ger made her own lemon curd which tasted devine, tasty almond macroons, mini meringues and even lovelier fudge brownies! 

They were to die for!

4pm - 5pm

My friend lives in the most amazing house from the 1930's which is placed in the countryside. Complete with orginal features such as orginal doors and door knobs, the house is a throw back to a more glamtime! I adore it and secretly wished that one day I get to live in a similar house!

 

5pm - Colouring in time!

I was in my element when my friends little girl Ruby brought out her art box!

6pm - Home time and catch up with some dishes while I tried to nurse my sore throat!

7pm - 10pm

 Throat too sore to head out to meet with work friends

so decide a night in front of the TV with a move is more apt!

Hope you all had a lovely, relaxing Saturday! I'm looking forward to next Saturday, I'll be in London to taste some delights in Jamie Olivers restaurant!

What Limerick needs.....

There are a million and one things that Limerick and towns / cities like Limerick needs, but one of them in my humble opinion is a decent thrift / charity store. On my trips to NYC and Berlin, I have drooled over the amazing markets, stalls and stores that can be found over there, however in the category of thrift, Limerick just doesn't do it for me. Dublin, yes...Limerick, no. 

The reason, I think is that charity shops in Limerick are used for dumping and not donating. We all....yes, WE ALL, have lovely items in our wardrobe which fall into the following categories a) Never worn and still has its original tags or b) Doesn't fit anymore, but apparently you keep telling yourself that one day it will! (FYI, It won't......believe me!)

Despite the fact we all hang these items and continue to hold on to them, we don't look at the possible potential they have or the new deserving happy home they could go to. During a recent college project, I spoke with the lovely volunteers of Oxfam on William Street. Oxfam in Limerick was the first charity shop in the city and I had the unique opportunity to speak with their longest serving volunteer who had an impressive 20 years service! 

She reminisced of the days when they received good quality clothing but today, its getting harder and harder to get good donations to re-sell. I thought about my own spare room full to the brim of items never worn and decided it was time, that I as an active citizen should donate these good quality items instead of dumping a load of....well....rubbish clothing just so that I could free up some closet space. After donating the items below, (the majority of which are from major labels and have been unworn), my conscience feels better and my spare room alot cleaner! I hope they found a new home and that those who purchased them were excited at finding a decent find!

Positive Quotes

With the busy working week and the even busier college week that lies ahead, I'll repeating this quote in my head over and over and over and.......

January Detox

We're 11 days into 2012 and I'm 11 days into a very important New Years resolution, a resolution which is made by numerous people every January and then again every Monday morning for the rest of the year! The resolution, the belief and power that this year....this year, you will get fitter, trimmer and healthier! This year I feel differently about this tried and tested resolution, perhaps because I turn the big and dreaded 3-0 in May and I don't want to spend my thirties obsessing about looks, weight, fitness and my lack of it, like I have done for the last 10 years. Life is too short.....but also life can be or could be considerably shorter if I don't improve my fitness levels!

With that in mind, I've joined the lovely gym in the university. I have and always have been a hater of the gym, I would stroll in, already demotivated, in bad form and annoyed for having to go there in the first place and then, I'd leave early, having barely broken a sweat. The best part is that I would wonder why I wasn't slimmer or fitter and pester the other half (who works out four times a week and has done every week since I've know him) to be my personal trainer!

This year, I have a new secret weapon, or at least have discovered something that is working incredibly well for me. Music, plain and simple. I've never been the type of person to buy mountains of CD's or drool over a boy band in my teenage years, but since becoming a lover of the iPhone, I've also become a lover of itunes, and as result, I've bought and downloaded albums specifically created for you to listen to when working out. 

Listening to music while working out may seem like an obvious "oh my god, I can't believe you DON'T listen to music while working out" choice, but honestly I had not realized the mega impact a good tune can have on your workout! So for those of you out there, thinking or currently engaging in a new regime...get yourself some tunes!! I recommend the following albums...(note: they are of the "Normally you'd run off to Ibiza  and drink the head of yourself with your 18 year old bezzie mates" type tunes!) 

• The Workout Mix 2012 
• Pump It Up - The Ultimate Workout Mix

All of the above are available on itunes, and will help towards a more fun workout!

Oh....and a decent shock absorbing (very important!) sports bra, don't forget to buy one of those!!

Valentines 2012!

 Yes, Yes I know...Christmas is barely over and here I am shoving lovey-dovey Valentines cards in your face, but I'm afraid I am a romantic at heart! However after five (and a bit) years together, the beau and I most likely will not celebrate Valentines (well...maybe not to the extent we have done in the past) because he'll be studying for some very important exams before he goes on his (exciting) placement.

So, for those of you, who are loved up and wish to share some of that amazing love with your special other half, here are a few Valentines cards for your approval. They're not  the usual (I think) too rose-mantic or "pass me the bucket, I'm going to puke from all the love" type of cards....they're subtle, with hints of purples and green too. Who needs that much pink anyways? 

After all the hustle of Christmas and a craft room full to the brim with red paper and snowflake punches it was nice, if not a welcome relief to break into the Valentines selection. More images can be viewed here

Enjoy! x

Positive Quotes

Be Positive, it's 2012.......you've made it this far!

Celebrating NYE in Paris!

Over the years, the beau and I have visited numerous locations to celebrate and ring in the New Year, (the more unusual destination being Egypt!) and this year was no different! Early in June, I booked the two of us onto some cheap flights to Paris and managed to find ourselves a lovely apartment style hotel in the South of the city.

On Thursday, December 29th we departed the rainy shores of Ireland and landed on the rainy shores of France a short time later. As Paris has a wonderful public transport system, we found our home for four days very easily and zipped through the city like we were pro's! On our first evening, we took it easy as our plan was to rise very bright and early on Friday morning to visit Euro-Disney! Like two big kids, we nearly ran into the park when we arrived such was our excitement and immediately started to queue for Space Mountain, which was brilliant. Other scary roller coasters included, Terror Tower (brilliant!), Indiana Jones (too short!) and another one inspired by the group Aerosmith (Brilliant! Highly recommend it!).

 During the four days, we went to a number of restaurants and cafes, but we were on a tight budget (or at least, thats what I told myself!) so tried to restrain ourselves when it came to spending. The price of a (decent) cup of tea really threw me back one day, as I gazed down at the bill I realised it cost €5.50!! Think about it, hot water, a drop of milk and one tea bag! However, I soon calmed down when I discovered these beauties! Macaroons...Oh la la! I have lusted over many an image of these on pinterest and nearly squeeled in delight when I found them. They're pricey at €1.50 each, but trust me they're worth it and taste like heaven! When I was in the departure area of the airport, I discovered a book about how to make them, so I'll be trying that out some weekend soon! J'adore Macaroons!

We crammed alot into our short stay. We visited the Eiffel Tower, the Arc D'Triomphe and Notre Dame as well as a cruise down the River Seine and many a stroll along the narrow, pretty streets and galleries. We also came accross (by accident) this wonderful church, with the most amazing stained glass windows I've ever seen. They were very striking!

It really was a beautiful little accident to stumble upon! I'm in no way religious, but I do enjoy the vast array of art and art history you can learn in these places!

On New years eve, we decided to travel up to Monmarte which offers the best views of Paris. A quaint little area, its windy side streets were bustling were people excited to ring in the New Year. We managed to bag our self a great spot and quickly got chatting to two young students from Australia and a family from America. They were great fun and as midnight approached the crowd grew and we exchanged gulps of champagne! We had the perfect view of the Eiffel Tower and I tried my best to co-ordinate the countdown in the final 10 seconds, with mixed reactions! Apologies for the photo below, it was taken with my iPhone. 

After the countdown, we made the sensible decision to try and make our way back to our apartment as we were worried that in a city the size of Paris, it may be difficult to get back as not all Metro lines were in operation and large crowds were inevitable! We made it home, safe and sound however the headache which arrived the next morning was not as welcome!

Wishing you and yours a very happy, healthy and crafty 2012!