On Friday last week, I took the bus up to Belfast to speak about blogging at event held at a shop called Refound. I got to Belfast around lunchtime and had met my friend Sarah, who was also speaking at the event, for lunch at a cute cafe. I had grand plans of exploring the city for the afternoon, but ended up getting sucked back into working on my laptop (in a sweet cafe called the Black Bear) and barely saw the city! Luckily the walk to the event was straight through the main shopping district in the bright sunshine.

Belfast reminds me a lot of Edinburgh – it feels very different from Dublin. The buildings are taller and the taxis are the traditional black cabs you’d see in London.

Some of them are sassier than others!

Friday was our first spring-feeling day and it was lovely to feel warm!

I didn’t see too much of Belfast, so I can’t make very many recommendations except you must stop by Refound. It’s a fabulous combination of an art gallery and a vintage shop. Owner Jill O’Neill finds pieces at auctions and markets, and has a collection of Refound artists give them a new lease on life. Everywhere you look, there’s something to cool to discover.  The Refound space is so neat – really old with original details and really high ceilings. It was such an inspiring backdrop to speak about how I turned a hobby into a creative career!

Aren’t those lanterns incredible? They’re covered with cupcake papers – and you wouldn’t even know it, huh?! 

After a lot of oohing and ahhing, we talked blogging with the lovely audience! That’s Jill, on the left, and my friend Sarah on the right. We also heard from John from Forked, who had us all inspired to eat at a whole bunch of great Belfast restaurants – next time I visit for sure!

And finally, I got to prove how much of a hand talker I really am! I’ll be sharing a few of the tips I talked about over the next few weeks as well!

Thanks so much to Jill for having me up to Belfast to speak – and for letting me snoop around your lovely shop!

On Monday, I tagged along with my friend Ursula on a trip to Kilkenny. With all the traveling around the country we’ve done for Michael’s various basketball matches, I had never been to Kilkenny. As it turns out, it’s absolutely lovely!

I was imagining the town to be tiny and a little sleepy, but it’s way bigger than I had anticipated and there’s so much to do and see! There were a few boutiques I could have browsed around all day, lots of great cafes, and a great mix of old and new. The town is really well taken care of – there’s even a little public toilet kiosk in the main square. That’s so uncommon in Ireland!

Turns out there’s a castle, and just across the street in the old stable buildings is the Kilkenny Design Centre (which has a great shop as well as cafe and little food hall) and the Craft Council offices and studios. There are a few galleries, and you can pop into any of the studios to buy pieces from the artists working there.

There’s also a beautiful garden in the back. The pond is lined with huge stone blocks that were originally from Nelson’s Pillar in Dublin, which was bombed by the IRA in 1966. The blocks are a really nice design element – they’re very graphic as well as functional. Perfect for perching while you have an outdoor lunch!

And the pond had little red goldfish!

The tough thing about Irish towns is that the streets are quite narrow, which makes it hard to take photos because you can’t get far enough away! I didn’t take too many photos, but I loved these little alleyways leading off the main streets.

So there is just a very little glimpse into the lovely Kilkenny! I’m going to have to return when my parents visit – my dad will love the Smithwick’s brewery tour!

And huge thanks to Ursula for being such a great tour guide!

If you’ve been reading From China Village for any length of time, you know I’m an enormous proponent of loving your work. I think it’s essential for a person’s happiness, and I love celebrating it. So you’ll understand why I’m just thrilled to be writing all about loving your work for the Image Daily.

The first post is an interview with the fabulous Claire Ryan, otherwise known as the Informal Florist. You can check it out here!

Michael and I are going to be in America for about seven weeks (!) this summer, from the beginning of June to the middle of July, and we’re going to be renting our apartment. Looking for a Dublin vacation – (for a few weeks or all seven)? Shoot me an email and we’ll work something out!

It’s sweet and cosy, perfect for one person or a couple, close to the city and the sea – and I guarantee cheaper than any other place you’ll find!

Send me an email for more details. And check out the rest of the photos of the house in this little tour here!