Styled in Ireland / Match Day

November 1, 2012

We’re back with another Styled in Ireland post today – highlighting Irish designers and giving you tips for visiting Dublin or getting out and about as a local.

Tips for Travellers

When I moved to Ireland (nearly four years ago!), I had no idea what a big role sport plays in life over here. My first tip – Irish people call it sport, not sports. It’s subtle but you’ll sound like a local if you take off that s! My second tip is that you’ll also sound like a local if you call it a match instead of a game.

Now for my third tip for visitors: get your buns to a match! There’s nearly always some kind of sport going on over here. In this set of photos, I’m wearing a Leinster rugby jersey, and in the background is the shiny Aviva Stadium, where rugby matches are typically played. But if it’s not rugby season, you could try a gaelic football, regular football (our soccer), hurling (kind of like lacrosse but with no nets on the sticks) or camogie (field hockey!). If you’re planning to watch a Dublin team, pack a blue sweatshirt so you can cheer on those boys in blue!

The next best thing to watching a match is watching it in a pub near the stadium. Order a pint, squeeze yourself into a corner, and find a friendly local to explain the rules!

Highlight // Irish Designer

Just because you’re heading to a match doesn’t mean you have to leave the jewellery at home! I loved adding these pieces from jewellery designer Laura Caffrey. They’re light and won’t catch on anything but still add a little feminine touch! Laura is one half of the wonderful Irish Design Shop duo. She works out of their Bow Lane shop and teaches some of their classes.

Sponsored by the Irish Design Shop

The Irish Design Shop is one of my absolute favorite spots to visit in Dublin. Their main shop is tucked behind the Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre at the top of Grafton Street – in an old building that used to store hay! Now the building houses their beautifully curated shop, filled with jewellery, prints, and various housewares, as well as studio space for fifteen artists and designers. You can even see the studio space from the shop, and owners Clare and Laura are always happy to let people have a peek!

You can pick up Laura’s pieces and even see where she works in the Irish Design Shop on Bow Lane East or at their second location at the Royal Hibernian Academy on Ely Place. If you’re shopping from afar, you can order online here.

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Did you miss the first Styled in Ireland posts? Check out what to wear in the summer in Ireland, what to wear as a guest to a wedding, what to wear to a pub, and how to have the sweetest Irish picnic!

Top: Champion Sports/ Skinny jeans: Zara / Sneakers: Penney’s / Hair and makeup: Kristin Labanauskas / Photography: Julie Matkin, Half a Dream Away / Styling: Emily Westbrooks

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Podcast Recommendations?

October 30, 2012

I’ve just discovered podcasts. I really wish I’d discovered them a few years ago when I started taking the train to work. They make the train ride go by so much more quickly! I used to read on the train, but it’s sometimes hard to tune out the chatty people who are also on their way to work. Podcasts drown out the chatting and keep me entertained for the whole hour-long commute (and yes, it takes me one hour to go about 9 miles…ugh) and I still feel like I’m learning something!

I’ve been loving Grace Bonney’s After the Jump show, but I breezed through all the old episodes in about a week! And I just discovered National Public Radio’s The Dinner Party series. It’s filled with interesting tidbits of info and hilarious interviews. The Dinner Party’s old episodes will keep me going for a while, but do you have any good recommendations to share? Are you a podcast fan too?

{image from here}

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Miniature Cities

October 29, 2012

I’ve been seeing little miniature cities in a few places lately. Aren’t they adorable? I’d love to make a little Dublin city, especially as a votive holder like number 5. Or I might need a little China Village as well, although that one would be much smaller than Dublin, with only a few houses, a library and a post office!

1 / 2 / 3 / 4/ 5

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Pumpkin Carving with a Lino Cutter

October 24, 2012

For the last twenty-seven years of my life, I’ve been carving normal pumpkins, hacking triangles and circles with a big old knife. But this year, my friend Julie suggested using a lino cutter to etch away at the surface of the pumpkin. Julie is so clever. This new technique was extremely satisfying!

Everything I know about carving pumpkins with a lino cutter, I learned from Julie. So here’s what she tells us to do. Choose the side you want to carve on and make sure to cut your top hole out of the pumpkin towards the back of that side. You want your canvas, so to speak, to be as big as possible. Julie cut a hole in the bottom of her pumpkin because she has a battery powered light to make her pumpkin glow. I stuck with the top hole since I’ll be using a candle.

You can draw a shape on the pumpkin with a pencil or you can just have at it with your lino cutting tools. I decided on a leafy vine-y pattern for one pumpkin and a spiderweb for the other one. Very unusual for Halloween, I know.

The process was fast and simple, just how I like it. Plus, it was a great feeling to be able to make a pretty pumpkin, rather than the standard shapes cut out of it. This felt more like art!

Now, here are just a couple of tips to help you create your own masterpiece:

1. Make sure you have enough of the skin carved away so the light inside can shine through. If the light is too dim, try scraping away at the inside of the pumpkin behind your design to make it thinner and more translucent.

2. You can carve out a silhouette (like a spooky cat in front of a moon!) if your brain can handle thinking about negative space on a pumpkin. Mine was only ready for simple shapes over the weekend, but next time I might be more brave!

3. Clean off your lino tools when you’re done! Otherwise they’ll rust. Which reminds me, I need to clean mine off tonight!

What do you think? I’m quite proud of my first attempt. How are you carving your pumpkins this year? 

All photos and inspiration by the wonderful Julie Matkin!

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Homemade Crackers Three Ways

October 23, 2012

I’ve lamented the lack of cracker options here in Dublin before, but I had never tried to make my own until this weekend. Four ingredients and a few flavorings later, crackers! They’re lightly seasoned on their own, but that was exactly what I was looking for – something to pair with a few cheeses from the farmer’s market that already have a lot going on.

They were incredibly simple to make and can be customized any way you like!

You’ll need:

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 tablespoons softened butter

1 cup milk

flavorings of your choice!

parchment or greaseproof paper

rolling pin

pizza cutter

Put the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Add in the softened butter and start mixing the butter into the flour with a fork or a pastry cutter. The pastry cutter might work better, but I gave up on the fork after a few minutes and used my fingers to incorporate the butter into the flour. Just squish the butter into the flour until it’s mostly mixed up and you don’t have big lumps of butter.

Then add in 3/4 cup of milk and mix it all up. If it’s too dry, add the rest of the milk by the spoonful until the dough holds together and forms a ball. Knead it until it forms a neat ball and leave it in the bowl and get your baking sheets and flavorings set up.

Line three baking sheets with parchment or greaseproof paper (or if you only have one, just repeat this process!). Divide the dough into three equal parts and roll out the dough on the baking sheets until it’s about 1/8 inch thick. The thinner the dough is, the crispier your crackers will be! You might not get a perfect rectangle in your cookie sheet, but that shouldn’t affect the taste.

Now, take your flavorings and sprinkle them evenly over each sheet of dough. Then take your rolling pin and roll over the flavorings to make them stick into the dough. Otherwise, once you’ve baked the crackers, the fun stuff just falls right off! (Keep in mind if you’re only using one flavor, you can mix it into the dough from the start.) I used sea salt and cracked pepper, cumin seeds and fresh rosemary. I have to say the cumin seeds were my favorite – such a surprising cracker flavor!

Once your seasonings are stuck on, take a pizza cutter and cut the dough into cracker sized squares or rectangles and bake in a 150C/300F oven for about 20 minutes or until your crackers are golden. You can store the baked crackers in an airtight container for a few weeks, throw them in the freezer for a few months, or even shape the dough into a roll and freeze it unbaked. They were so yummy with our Sheridan’s raw milk goat cheese from the farmer’s market!

Recipe adapted from here.

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Autumn Ivy

October 22, 2012

The ivy leaves are starting to turn and they’re creating walls of stunning color. Happy autumn!

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Friday Finds

October 19, 2012

Happy Friday, friends! I’m really looking forward to the weekend. Michael is heading off to England to see a football match – his birthday present for turning 30 next week! After I drop him at the ferry tomorrow morning, very, very early, I’m looking forward to spending the whole day by myself. I can’t remember the last day I didn’t have at least something scheduled. I’ve been feeling a little fried, so I’ve protected tomorrow from my typical habit of scheduling.

In the most non-scheduled way, I might get around to a few crafty  projects I’ve been meaning to do. Or I might do a little pumpkin-y baking. And definitely a solo wander around the farmer’s market. What are you up to for the weekend?

Now, fun finds from around the web!

How to set up a mini photo studio.

Baked oatmeal with roasted pears.

I’m making this tomato soup with pasta tonight.

It’s wreath season.

Simple Halloween spider decor.

If only I had been invited to a fancy Halloween party – this is the perfect outfit.

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Politics + Design

October 17, 2012

30 Reasons to Vote

I was talking with my Mom the other day and she asked if I missed being involved all the election action going on in America at the moment. In 2004, I travelled the country planning motorcades for Senator Kerry, and in 2008 I was the director of a political action committee working to get local women elected.

I explained to my Mom that I’m actually a little relieved to be an ocean away from it. I like that I don’t have to get all wound up about the latest polling results or the newest television ad. I’m keeping up to date with the news of the election, and listening to lots of political podcasts on my commute to work, but it all feels one step removed.

That said, I plan on voting absentee, and if you have the right to vote, you should be exercising it! I’m not allowed to vote in certain elections here in Ireland which always makes me feel a little powerless. 

This 30 Reasons campaign, 30 posters from artists and designers that encourage people to vote for President Obama, is quite cool. They’re only partway through their series and I’m interested to see the rest of what they come up with. Personally, I prefer the ones with minimal vitriol, but I appreciate designers using their talents to add to the discussion.

What about you, are you an avid voter? How do you feel about presidential elections (American or otherwise)? Excited? Nervous? Ready for November 7th?

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