Last post Of 2012...

Here we are at the end of 2012 and a new year ready to begin just around the corner:) Hope everyone enjoyed Christmas, we had a fairly quiet one here as usual, mainly because my hubs works a lot around this time so he prefers to take time off later next month.

I haven't really been sales shopping much. I did make a very quick dash down to the shopping mall yesterday but wasn't at all impressed with the tat thrown out in the stores. The only thing that has caught my eye is this Mango leather skirt I featured on the blog but the only size left is small and I've heard they are tiny! Now I may order and hope for the best as I really love it! 

I'm also taking a trip to town now to see if the local boutiques have any gems lurking for me. It is so mild I do not need a coat so here I am wearing my fur vest again! We are celebrating at home tonight with whoever is in and then tomorrow night hubs and I have our usual tradition where we go to a local pub with a roaring fire and have a quiet few drinks:)

Wishing you all the best for the New Year!!

Thank you to everyone for the great support during this year :)

Anne xx

Christmas 2012 ...

Hello!

  

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. We had a lovely day here which went by way to fast for my liking!

Sarah heading to bed all excited Christmas Eve ...

Santa was very good this year and there was a lot of love for Michael Kors in this house! That fab watch is all mine (thank you hubs) but I have to get at least four links removed as it is huge on my wrist! The lovely burnt orange wallet is Laura's a gift from Sarah her goddaughter!

We had a lovely dinner which I had ready quite early this year just before 3 o' clock. Normally it is going to five before we eat but I thought it better to cook early and relax for the rest of the day! The heat in the kitchen was unreal with it being the mildest Chrismas weather we have had in ages, but I did take time to snap a quick outfit picture midway :)  My Mango tweed dress was very comfortable apart from the fact the sweat was pouring out through me from checking a rather large turkey in the oven!

Badly needed that delicious cocktail made by Laura to cool me down whilst cooking:)

This is one of my favourite pics of the day, the girls snapped by my son Shane on Christmas morning:) Sarah is wearing a dress from Zara and Laura is in a lovely brocade number from Oasis. The menfolk were very camera shy this year so no photos allowed there!

Hope you all continue to enjoy the holiday season:)
Gearing up here for New Years Eve next!

Anne xx

Merry Christmas ...

Thanks to everyone for the lovely comments and support throughout the year :) 

Hope you all have a peaceful and happy Christmas!

Anne xx

Happy Holidays....

Hi All!

Hope you are all well and getting somewhat organised for Christmas day. At last I have all my main  gift shopping done and all that is left is the big food shop. Not one of my favourite jobs but my little helper will be available for that trip when she gets her school holidays later today!

 via

This weekend I will be concentrating on tidying up the house and fixing some last minute decorations .... I love that tablescape idea above with the candles surrounded by a bauble display:) I  really must do a little festive baking with the girls, I hadn't much time up to now for that:) There is nothing like a homemade mince pie in my book, all the shop bought ones taste doughy and dry to me!

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 Laura has a few friends popping over for drinks Saturday night so we will be trying out some lovely cocktails. 

I hope you all have a good weekend and get to take some well earned time out to enjoy the festive season:) I'm hoping this nasty damp weather we have at the moment disappears fast, would much rather a return to the crisp frosty mornings we had earlier in the month.

Anne xx

Christmas Tree link up ....

Today I am delighted to join in the fun at Kimberlys Christmas tree link up. We have two trees in the house and as I spend most of my time out in the back living area, I am showing my red and white dining room tree this year. The other one is all gold and in our main living room.

 I love my new red and white check stars from Carraig Donn and I think I will still be buying more decorations tomorrow when I hit Dublin for some last minute shopping! I can't resist adding new bits and pieces .... I really think I'm becoming slightly obsessed with this whole decorating thing!

My favourite time is in the evening when the candles are flickering and the soft glow of the tree lights add a calming ambience to the room:)

Hope you are all  having a good week and don't forget to head over to Kimberly's blog if you would like to link up and join in the fun!

also linking to Vanessa's blog cakes and teacups

Anne xx

A Festive Glow ....

A glowing candle looks great at any time of the year but at Christmas they really come into their own.You don't have to buy expensive ones either to create a fabulous display. By placing them  in some old jam jars, vases, etc and blending with natural materials like pine cones and greenery a truly stunning effect can be created. Here are some of my favourite ideas found Pinterest..

A simple but very effective idea with natural materials ...

Love the rustic element here using greenery and ribbon ....

Epsom salts are perfect to create  a wintery snowy effect ...

Outdoor lanterns look great on the front doorstep and add a lovely festive welcome glow ...

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Take Care:)

Anne xx

Weekend Time....

Hope you all had a great week! 

Time is flying by. I'm still adding bits to my decorations... think I will just have to leave them be!! I switched the colours arond this year, so I now have gold in the living room and red and white out the back dining room: )

Later on this afternoon I am heading to Sarah's Chrismas play with her drama and dance group! I brought home this dress from Primark this morning and wasn't sure if I liked it or not but the navy lace caught my eye! I think I might keep it as I don't wear dresses too often and I have an overload of black trousers:)

Jacket/Zara  Dress/Primark  Boots/LK Bennett  Necklace/H&M

I picked up the black necklace in H&M last weekend and I will wear my leather jacket over it :)

Hope you all have a lovely weekend. I am off to Cork in the morning to catch up with family and friends before Christmas.

See you all next week:)

Anne xx

Just Chill ...

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These busy days leading up to Christmas can seem so long and just thinking about all we have to do may be enough to send our heads spinning!

Everyone needs some special time to relax of an evening, whether it be a long soak in a hot bath or just time out in some special cosy nightwear or lounge wear reading by the fire. Tme to yourself is  not a luxury ... it is an essential part of the day! Here are some of my favourite bits for chlling ...

Candle/Neom    Socks/White Company    Bath Oils/ Jo Malone    Fluffy Robe/John Lewis

 Any of the above would help greatly towards relaxing the mind and body, as would a vat load of mulled wine mind you!! I'm trying to take heed of that myself this year as sometimes we can try to overextend ourselves and end up very frazzled in the long run. I think the happier we are the more we get done !!

Have a lovely day everyone .... don't forget to treat yourself to something nice:)
Anne xx

Weekend scenes ...

Happy Monday!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend. I have a good bit of shopping done now, so I am feeling a bit more relaxed at the start of this week:) Yesterday we took a trip up to our local Avoca store in Rathcoole Co Dublin and it was lovely browsing around all the lovely gifts, clothes and food on display.

 I wore my new faux fur snood which I came across quite by accident the other day in my local lifestyle and garden centre. That is what happens when I go shopping ....I come home with all sorts of bits and pieces!! Here is a snap of me by the lovely big Christmas tree on the Avoca staircase.

After shopping we had gorgeous coffee and cakes up in the restaurant before heading back home. On the way I stopped to take an outdoor shot as it was such a nice afternoon. I must say this snood is very cosy... I may not leave it off from now on :)

Boots/Zara   Jeans/Selected Femme    Cardi/A|Wear    Bag/Old   Blouse/DKNY

Hope you all have a great week :) Don't spend too much!
Anne xx

Happy Weekend ...

Hi all.

I hope your week was good! I must say I love coming down in the mornings and seeing all the christmas lights twinkling away... definitely makes the darker days seem a little brighter:) It has been a little bit busy around these parts which somehow included getting my kitchen floor tiles regrouted. Why do jobs like this seem so necessary at this time of year!!

Anyhow I decided to treat my skin to some lovely products this week and snapped up this great offer from Liz Earle. You get the whole set above for €46.25 which if bought separately would work out at €83.50. Normally I'm very slapdash about beauty routines so hopefully I will see a huge difference in skintone when I get into this one! 

I'm also looking for a nice statement necklace to wear with the dress I bought in Mango last weekend and typically when I need to find one I can't seem to see what I like. The above piece from Zara looks good online so I will check out my local store again :) Stella and Dot also have a few which are gorgeous but a tad on the pricey side!

Heading off shopping again this morning with my younger son .... wonders will never cease!! He is deffo looking for something as normally he would rather be anywhere else other than in clothes shops! I am secretly delighted as I never get to spend much time wth my lads with college, sports and friends taking up most of their time.

Wishing you all a great weekend!

Anne xx

Festive Knits ....

The silly season has well and truly started and as for dressing the part anything seems to go nowadays.The stores are full of christmas cheer and whether your favourite character is a snowman, reindeer or even the good old christmas pudding you will find a festive sweater to suit accordingly! 

Try as you might you can't ignore how cute some of them are and here are some fun numbers to wet the appetite:)

Two very cute knits from Heatons

And if a more subtle approach is needed here is my pick of the best of the rest....

Grey jewelled knit/Warehouse  Shoe Tunic/Dunnes  Cosy Cardi/H&M    Grey Knit/MintVelvet 

Fair isle Knit/Dunnes

Hope you are all enjoying the week .... still sorting through the decorations here but getting there slowly!

Anne xx

My Weekend ....

Happy Monday!

Hope  you are all good. We had a lovely day on Saturday in Dublin.  It was blue skies all the way, a perfect morning for shopping in the city. At last I have made a start with some of mine!!

Renowned chocolatier Barry Colenso working on the clock.

Whilst in Dublin I brought Sarah over to see the unveiling of the chocolate clock in Clerys department store. It is a replica of the old clock hanging over the main door of this iconic store. A lot of romantic dates would have taken place under the clock in bygone days.

It will remain on view instore for ten days. A competition is also running to guess the weight of the clock and win a gift voucher for a thousand Euro.

I did buy the above dress in Mango. I think it will be perfect for Christmas day as it is not to fussy yet still a little dressy.

Our decorations appeared out of lofty heights yesterday so the annual dressing up of the house is taking place. I only got the kitchen/living area done as there was an issue with the lights (as usual) for the big tree, and as the rain was bucketing down yesterday no one volunteered to go out for new ones so it is down to moi to purchase them this morning:)

Hope you all have a good week!

Anne xx