If you happen to find yourself in the vicinity of Deer Park in Howth over the next few days, you have got to go see the rhododendron trees in bloom. You just have to. They are huge and so stunning!

Before I moved to Dublin, I had no idea that rhododendrons could grow so big. We only have bushes of them in Maine!

To see the rhododendrons, you just drive up to the golf club and take the little path that runs to the right of the club house. The rhododendrons grow along the base of the cliff.

While you’re there, you should take the ten minute hike up to the summit. Incredible views of all of Dublin city and the beaches to the north.

But you have to go soon, because some of the trees are already starting to lose all their bright petals!

I have some fun news to share. House and Home asked me to share my favorite spots here in Dublin. Some of the spots you've heard me chat about here on the blog before, but some will be new. If you're in Ireland, you can still pick up the latest copy from news stands around the country and see my smiling face on the very last page!

I thought it might be fun to share some other wonderful Irish blogs with you today. There are lots, and this list is not exhaustive or exclusive, so if you have an Irish blog do add it to this list in the comments. I’d love to see it if I haven’t already!

First, here is a list of fabulous bloggers who attended our Avoca lifestyle blogger event a few weeks ago. Talented chicas altogether!

Creme de Citron | Wholesome Ireland | Nathalie Marquez Courtney | One Fab Day | Half a Dream Away | Hydrangea Girl | Ellie Loves | Style Serendipity | Girl From the Hills | Image Interiors & Living |Rua Ruth | We Love Town | Edible Ireland | Sweet Like Cinnamon | Lemon Yellow Journal | Buzz and Lola

Now, a few of my favorite Irish food blogs:

Donal Skehan | Farmette | I Can Has Cook | Like Mam Used to Bake | Any Given Food

Ireland happens to have tons of food blogs – like hundreds! You can see them all at the Irish Food Bloggers Association website.

So here’s the fun part – know some great Irish blogs you want to add to the list? Comment away! I’d love to know about more!

P.S. There are still a few more spots available in my blogging course this weekend – if you want to be an Irish blogger and want to learn how to get started, let me know!

A few weeks ago, artist Eleanor McCaughey got in touch just to say she’d been loving my Design*Sponge Dublin Guide. (So kind of her!) But what I really loved was getting a chance to see some of her own work. She’s a painter and works from her home studio on the city’s south side.

Her latest series was inspired by a set of Childcraft books from the 60’s and 70’s. She came across the books when her family was moving out of their long-time home, a consequence of the economic recession.

I love the vintage feel of the paintings, as well as the unfinished blocks of color.

Thanks for sharing your work, Eleanor!

I’m taking part in a little Pinterest party today with their brand new Pin it Forward UK campaign. I’ve been using Pinterest for ages (you can see my boards here!), mostly to keep myself sane while I dream about a bigger bedroom that I can walk all the way around! But I just started pinning more images of inspiration for traveling to Ireland. I figure it’s a great spot to catalogue all the suggestions I make here on the blog, and I can include even more recommendations from other pinners who live or travel here!

Will Taylor from Bright Bazaar is kicking off 30 days of bloggers sharing their Pinterest inspiration over on the Pinterest blog this morning, and you can check out whole bunches (seriously, lots!) of bloggers who are also sharing their favorite boards this month over there, including this lovely bunch here who kick off this morning:

Boho Weddings, Cars & Life, Craft Blog UK, fabric of my life, GlobalGrasshopper, I Want You To Know, Jane Foster, Kingdom of Style, Lisa Elridge, Love Chic Mum, Menswear Style, The English Kitchen, This Is Life

Since the whole idea of Pinning it Forward is to introduce you to new bloggers in this part of the world and their boards full of dreamy images, check out Europe a la Carte, where Karen pins loads of inspiring places including a whole board of European beaches!

You can follow the 30 days of bloggers sharing their Pinterest inspiration with the hashtag #pinitforwarduk. I think it’s kind of fun that my Irish blog snuck in amongst all those British ones! Score one for celebrating Ireland!

Lately, I’ve loved spotting street art around Dublin. There’s some incredible and hilarious and sweet art out there covering the walls of our city. Then I heard about the All City Jam happening in the Tivoli car park on May 18th. I’m hoping I’ll have a chance to stop by and see some of the artists in action!

When I visited the Morrison Hotel a few weeks ago, I couldn’t help but notice the lovely vibrant carpets spread throughout the hotel, especially the few ombre carpets in the lobby. Ombre seems to be the trend that just won’t die, and design bloggers have been going nuts for it for years. It’s not entirely my cup of tea, but these particular ombre carpets were Irish designed and made – not all that common for rugs!

The rugs were designed by Irish artist Maree Hensey and produced by Caedogan Rugs in county Wexford. Maree also worked on the carpet that was placed in the middle of the lobby when the hotel first opened years ago!

All of the rugs made in the Caedogan workshop are made using a hand held tufting gun, isn’t that incredible? These rugs in the Morrison are large – that’s a lot of man hours with a tufting gun!

Fab photos by Julie Matkin!