Friday 2 September 2016

What I wore - a mini break in Galway!

A rare occurance befell my husband and I, a child free 24hrs! We decided to spend a night in Galway, it's a couple of hours drive from our farm and I always love the artsy bohemian vibe of Galway, a refreshing change for us.
We arrived in the afternoon and spent an hour or so wandering around Eyre Square and shop Street, enjoying the warmth of the atmosphere and sunshine.


I got this flattering black off the shoulder   ruffle style top and the crescent moon          choker necklace from iclothing.com. My       kahki jeans with gold zip detail are from      river Island. The brown sueddette lace up   my pumps and tan brown leather style        bag are both from Penneys.                                          

                       
 
After our afternoon city stroll, we checked into our hotel. We stayed at the Clayton hotel, a very chic and modern hotel in the Ballybrit area of Galway city, a familiar haunt to those who have attended the famous Galway races. The room was spacious and bright with a gorgeous ensuite bathroom.

For our night out I wore a very flattering red shirt dress from river island, I cannot rave about this dress enough! It has sleeves, a v-neck shirt style top with little pockets and gold detail. It comes with a black belt which nips in the waist. The dress is knee length with a flattering wrap style that skims over problems areas for most of us that have had kids; lower tummy, hips, upper thighs. I went a size up when I bought it as it was the only size left in the store when I bought it, but it fit perfectly! The same day in river Island I also bought the kahki jeans in my regular size 12, so I reckon it's a small fitting dress! As the dress is such a statement piece, I paired it with simple point toe black heels with an ankle strap and a black leather clutch style bag (pictured on table) with triangle studded detail.
                     

The Latin quarter was our first stop of the evening, where we dined in a Spanish/Mexican style restaurant called Cactus Jack's. The evening was so balmy and mild, that it allowed us to dine outside, with the bustle of the city buskers as our background music. The food and wine was delicious and the service from our waiters was quick and very friendly.


We then hit the pubs, first the Kings Head,  then onto the Quays, where both had live music and a great mix of tourists and locals to create an lively atmosphere.


We finished up our night by going to see the John Connelly band at the Roisin Dubh. Quite a few people we had encountered earlier in the evening had recommended going to see this 9 piece big band and I'm pretty glad we listened to their advice! The venue was packed with an eclectic mix of people which added to Connelly's raw vocals and artistry of the musicians who joined him on stage.

We had a really great night, we had to get back to the farm and our kids early the next day. It was a pretty long Monday, but C'est la vie!

Katie 😉🍻

Monday 22 August 2016

Pretty baby hair




It was my daughters 1st birthday recently and included in all of the lovely gifts she received, was a cash gift. Normally I would have taken this to our closest shopping centre to buy her a new outfit, but I have stumbled upon some really lovely small Irish shops on Instagram and decided to get her something a bit more unique and handmade.
Her hair is growing down and it's kind of crazy looking at the moment, I mean not even my skills as a hair stylist can do much for her unruly locks! I thought some lovely hairbands and clips would be a lovely, yet practical present.
After a bit of online window shopping, I came upon www.prettybabyhair.com , which is run by a lovely lady named Leona from Donegal. I found the website easy to navigate, it accepted debit/credit card or PayPal payments and free delivery for purchases totally over €25. When you order, because the clips and hairbands are handmade, it is a week before your items are dispatched, but you get email notification on the day they are shipped.
I ordered 3 hairbands and several little handstitched clips. I was really happy with the quality of them, they material on the hairbands were soft and stretchy and the clips were strong and sturdy. I also liked the unique designs and colours that the products were available in. The clips are specially made for finer baby/toddler hair. My favourite item was the blush pink leather bow hairband, my daughter wore it in her hair all day, she never noticed the band on her head and it looked great!
So I would recommend this online shop if you have a little lady in your life who would look adorable in some cute, unique hair accessories!

Katie.☺

Disclaimer- this is not any kind of a sponsored post or I did not receive any discounts. I was just really impressed by the products/ service!

The Closet Clearout



Every August I undertake the monumental task of organising my wardrobe, in preparation for the incoming autumn/winter season. During this annual purge, I have to put all sentimental attachments and aspirations of lifestyle choices that I have burdened on to the clothing in my closet aside, and just get real about who I am!
I read a very clever quote by Caitlin Moran about women's clothing which goes;
When a woman sayes 'I have nothing to wear today', what she really means is 'there's nothing here for who I'm supposed to be today'
The sentiment of this quote ring's true for  me as I sift through the debry of the various persona I have adopted from the past year.
The drawer full of maternity jeans and oversized t-shirts that carried me through the last few months of pregnancy. The battered tracksuit pants that were my uniform during the first few weeks of being a mother to two under two. The optimistic dresses that caressed me as I started to partially regain my figure and re-enter  the realm of socialising with friends and date nights with my husband. The box full of tangled accessories that when worn stated " look, I'm a confident, put together woman, honest!" , trying to detract from the erratic look in my eyes as my toddler and baby unleashed a tsunami of toys, food and bodily fluids across the scenes of my life. The jeans drawer, my personal favourite, which come in a variety of body confident sizes, ranging from the " I'm basically an apple with legs" pair to the " I feel great, I'm gonna slay today!" pair.
As I catalogue and keep, donate or bin each item, I think about what clothing will fit into my future wants, my new season lifestyle. Will I take up a new hobby, social activities as the kids enter early childhood, future life occasions and celebrations with family and friends, new work opportunities?  To some, it may seem shallow, but I feel like my closet documents all aspects of my life, who I was, who I am and who I hope to be.

Katie. ☺

We are back in action!

This very neglected blog is now back in action! We hope you enjoy reading our new blog posts!

Katie and Sinead. ☺