Friday Finds

August 31, 2012

The moon was gorgeous earlier this week, although it’s starting to get dark so much earlier now that we’re nearly in September. I’m ready for fall, but I’m not sure I’m ready for dark, dark mornings and evenings.

But since there’s not a single thing I can do about the days getting shorter, I’m going to focus on the weekend. If it’s not too cloudy, I’ll take a peek at that blue moon tonight (it won’t happen again until 2015!) and then a little shopping and hopefully some crafting.

What are you up to? Are you in Dublin for the Navy vs. Notre Dame game? 40,000 Americans are here! It’s so fun to hear American accents all over!

Now a few neat-o things for you to check out.

Sweet city hall wedding shots.

Easy DIY acrylic tray.

Did you know there’s such a thing as chalkboard cloth? Genius!

Cool exhibit using old prosthetic limbs. Sounds weird, I know, but very paralympic!

A new cookery school opening in my hood!

Turning 5,000 damaged CDs into art at a music festival.

How about renting bridesmaid dresses that are made in NYC! Such a clever idea.

And I just heard that the beautiful pink dress I wore in yesterday’s post is on sale for €75! Such a steal! Email me if you’d like it reserved or sent to you. (It’s a size 10 UK.)

Happy weekend!

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Styled in Ireland // Wedding Guest

August 30, 2012

I’m back with another Styled in Ireland post today. I’m giving tips for travellers visiting Ireland as well as highlighting Irish designers we should all be loving! Perfect combo for visitors and locals alike!

Tips for Travellers

You’d be surprised how many people get in touch with me because they’re coming to Ireland to attend a wedding. Doesn’t that sound fun? What an excuse to come to Ireland!

Whenever I’m asked questions about what to wear to a wedding in Ireland, I usually suggest erring on the dressy side. In America, weddings can range from dressy casual to black tie. Here in Ireland, standard wedding attire is dressy and fancy. At summer weddings in America, men might be appropriately dressed in khakis and a navy blazer, but here that would be a little too casual.

Overall, my tips for women are these: Keep it fancy. Wear a bold color – jewel tones are always pretty! Pair with very high heels (do you feel like heels are just getting higher and higher?!), but bring flats for dancing. Weddings in Ireland are long.

And for men? Wear a suit. Mike’s favorite look is a slim three piece suit with a skinny tie. We’ll get him to model it one of these days!

Highlight // Irish Designer

When I walked into Project 51, this fuchsia dress just screamed at me. It’s designed by Jennifer Rothwell, a designer who was born in New York but raised in Ireland. She has worked with big name designers like Calvin Klein and her pieces are just stunning.

If you’re getting married any time soon, you must stop in to Project 51 and try Jennifer’s wedding gowns. The silk, the draping, the lace trimming. Eesh. And they’re not a bad price for a wedding gown at all.

Sponsor // Project 51

Again, I am hugely grateful to Project 51 for sponsoring this instalment of Styled in Ireland. Project 51 is a great Dublin boutique that features the work of over 30 Irish designers, with both clothing and accessories. They also have studio space used by several of their designers, and a space they use as a gallery and for occasional classes.

Missed the last Styled in Ireland post? Check it out here!

Dress: JRothwell / Shoes: Zara / Clutch: Zara / Earrings: Next / Hair and makeup: Kristin Labanauskas / Photography: Julie Matkin, Half a Dream Away / Styling: Emily Westbrooks

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Beach Strolling

August 29, 2012

My video editing skills leave a lot to be desired, but I thought this was too fun not to share! When Michael and I were out for a walk on the beach last week, the tide was out so far. We walked and walked and the sunset just kept getting better and better.

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Etsy Find // Made in Maine

August 28, 2012

I’m in the market for a new bag. Mine is about to bite the dust, mostly because I put too much stuff in it. Laptop, camera, library books, notebooks, change of shoes, umbrella, rain jacket, hand sanitizer (keeps my sanity on public transportation), hair spray, eight million bobby pins and hair elastics, at least three pens and probably four versions of red lipstick I’m just not convinced I can pull off.

All that to say, I need a bag that holds up and the one I have just isn’t cutting it. I had a quick search on Etsy over the weekend and found exactly what I’m looking for. MimsMaine by Natasha Durham, made in a hundred year old church on a hill in Maine. Maine, for crying out loud. It’s like it was meant to be. (I’m sure Michael will totally agree with that argument…;)

These are all from her Rough and Tumble line. Sturdy but stylish. They look like they’d stand up to all that stuff I lug around and last forever!

Have a peek at her Etsy shop for even more stylish and colorful options!

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One Night in Dublin

August 27, 2012

Michael informed me this weekend that I don’t blog about night life in Dublin often enough. I informed him that’s because I don’t actually spend much time going out in Dublin at night! I’m more of a homebody at night and prefer exploring during the day.

That said, we had such a fun night bopping around the city centre over the weekend. I’d say we should do it more often, but I’m still exhausted from coming home so late. Give me a few weeks before we try it again!

We started with tapas and rioja at the Port House. It’s one of our absolute favorites. It’s always packed and they don’t take reservations. They won’t even take your name at the door, you kind of just have to hang around until they have a table for you. But the ambiance is perfectly cozy and the food is delicious and reminds us of Michael’s year playing basketball in Spain. We even found ourselves talking about moving there for a year!

After dinner, we headed over to Temple Bar for the Down with Jazz concert. It was amazing. I think it was the first year, but I really hope they bring it back next year and also lots more often!

They strung these pretty lamp lights across the square and had hours and hours of live jazz.

We decided it was time for dessert, so we stopped into Little Ass Burrito. We’d visited them before but hadn’t tried their churros and hot chocolate. They were the perfect little treat!

And finally, we met friends at 37 Dawson Street, a bar that used to be something else but now it’s the place to be at the moment. No photos from there – it was too packed! Michael loved the whiskey bar at the back where he was served his drink in a cut glass tumbler. Very fancy!

We spent Sunday recovering with brunch. I made baked french toast which was absolutely delicious, and we lounged and decided we’re altogether too old to be staying out so late!

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Friday Finds

August 24, 2012

{Mike on the beach this week. He took a little video I’ll share next week – it’s so cute!}

Well, sheesh! That week absolutely flew by and here we are at Friday already. It was a really productive week, and I’m excited to share some new developments in the coming weeks – including news of an eight-week evening craft class I’ll be teaching! More soon!

What are you up to this weekend? Any great recipes you’re trying? Craft projects? Have a restful few days!

Rachael and I went to dinner and she wrote about the yumminess.

I’m planning on these palmiers soon.

If I had any wall space at all, I’d be loving this idea for a faux fireplace.

This is a great idea for making your own plates and things.

I love how unusual the preview shots for A Merry Mishap’s new collection are. Those colors are so good for fall.

Lauren Moffatt’s apartment made me happy. I like her style.

Thought this wedding dress was simply gorgeous. The top detail was my favorite.

Fried cheesecake bites using wonton wrappers and pre-made cheesecake. Need I say more?

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Four Years

August 23, 2012
I tried to be so friendly and polite.
Michael, on the other hand, pretended he was going to be polite. And then snuck in a little smush at the end!

Today’s our fourth wedding anniversary. Time has flown. I woke up this morning surprisingly emotional about the day. For the last two anniversaries, we didn’t celebrate too much. Last year’s excitement included a short hike and a picnic made up of leftovers. The year before was the end of our first year, which was a little hard for us, and we celebrated with pancakes and moving out of our apartment and into Michael’s parents’ house. It was the best thing that could have happened, but it didn’t feel very celebratory.

This year, I want to celebrate. It’s actually quite strange for me that we haven’t celebrated in the past – I love to celebrate everything! For some reason, I think I felt the need to let the day go like any other day. Or maybe I felt like we shouldn’t make it a big deal because we hadn’t figured this whole marriage thing out yet.

Well, you know what? It’s not any other day! It’s a big day and we probably won’t ever have it totally figured out, so we’re not waiting for that to happen any more! 😉

Now, the funny thing is we aren’t actually celebrating at all today. I have appointments after work and Michael has basketball training. So we’ve moved the celebration to Saturday – tall ships, dinner, and an evening of jazz in Temple Bar. Very celebratory indeed!

Before I send you off, you have to know one more thing. My grandmother made my wedding dress. Isn’t she amazing?! More photos from the day here.

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Quickie DIY: Wedding Song Prints

August 21, 2012

Michael and I are coming up on our fourth anniversary this week so I’ve been remembering our wedding and flipping through photos a little each day. It’s hard to believe we’ve been married for four years already. And even harder to believe we’ve been in Ireland for nearly that long! Who would have thought?!

I’ve been wanting to turn snippets from the songs we danced to at our wedding into artwork for a while now. Michael and I danced to By Your Side by Sade, which is a little cheesy, but we love that song! I asked my father to choose a song for us to dance to, and he broke my heart by picking Love and Happiness by Emmylou Harris and Mark Knopfler. I cry every time I think of that song, especially since we moved so far away from home after the wedding.

I decided to do the quickest barely-DIY ever. I found the quote I wanted from each song, picked a font and a color I liked, and made a blank document in Photoshop (you could easily use Microsoft Word!). Then I added the words, centered them, and sent them off to the local print shop to be printed! I printed two copies of one (to send to my dad) and one copy of the other – and it only cost 4 euro!

I haven’t quite decided how I’m going to frame or hang them (which is why you are getting photos of them on my bed), but I’m thrilled with how they turned out. I love that both songs have a message about home, since I’m a pretty homey type gal. I actually think they’d make lovely prints for a nursery some day!

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