This week I have mostly....

Obsessed over the new Zara CollectionAnd delighted I finally got my paw's on this cardigan/jacket after seeing it on the beautiful http://www.polliani.com blog. I will definitely wear mine with a grey t shirt and loose curls!

Snapped up a new peplum top from H&M trend for a more formal look.

Polliani = This month's Style Crush

Feeling sorry for myself, stuck in bed feeling sick...

But I was all set following a trip to Penney's to stock up on some comfy pj's and fluffy slippers...

Accompanied by The Help on Sky Movies -

I cried and I cried...and will never look at chocolate pie

in the same way again :)

A nice block of cheese, multi seeded crackers and some divine
onion chutney turned my frown upside down!

Mum's BBQ

A trip to Mum's for a delicous BBQ (though I did still pack my fluffy slippers)

Lying on her couch plate after plate of food came my way!!!

 One of my fave's - hotdogs with a spicy onion & pepper mix,
mustard and ketchup...so good I had two!

A citrus infused crumble concoction...served with a healthy pouring
of custard (I even managed to sneak a slice home)

Ali

x

Holiday Memories....

My holiday has come and gone and I was slightly worried. (this was my first holiday with my family in nearly 16 years and it was the very first time my boyfriend had spent this much time with them) The pressure was on.

But after two weeks of holiday bliss, I have to admit it was one of the best holidays I have ever had....


Saying good bye to Dublin Airport & grey cloudy skies.... 

Myself & the Boys very different holiday drinks!

Our home during our two week holiday

 First morning by the pool in Matagorda...followed by walks

along the promenade

Nearby Playa Honda Beach 

Puerto del Carmen views over lunch

Puerto del Carmen also has a fantastic ZaraPicked up this coral delight for €50 less than at home
BARGAIN!!!

Market purchasesI must have bought about five of these bad boys
- the perfect arm candy!

Taking a break in the shade with some of my daily must haves

The Hunger Games trilogy, a glass of cold beer, Ray Bans, SPF
& some water (though it was mostly the beer that passed my lips)

A strawberry smoothie pit stop

And then came the food....how we enjoyed the food
Bowls of pasta - the Spanish use a lot of olives in
their pasta dishes so when I returned home I stocked

up on some for my own arrabiata dish!

Ciabatta's on the balcony

San Miguel was the one staple in our fridge

Shellfish

I had fish overload on holidays, the best calamari, cod fish,
jumbo prawns all washed down with a lot of Rose

Mum's Snack HourWhen my parents arrived a few days after myself & mysister, Mum quickly

introduced her  drinks hour. Every day we were called to her apartment late afternoon
- Prosecco for the girls - frosted glasses of beers for the boys. Oh & her 'snacks' - you could find crisps, chocolate or my personal fave the most amazing glazed ring donuts (a hint of lemon in these delicious darlings)

By the way it was during this hour that we arranged where we were to go for dinner ha!
Hilarious...we still managed to think of food:)

The view from our balcony = happy times

See you soon Lanzarote!

Until the next time,

Ali x

When your life feels like a circus...

Window acrobatic's with rainbow ribbons
@Rubenesque

In my sick bed I turned to the mesmerising Water For Elephants
once again falling in love with the characters, music, style &
the beautiful hair & make-up of Reese Witherspoon....

Feather lights which wouldn't be out of place in the middle of
the Big Top....surrounded by bunting and yellow parasols

Which reminds me of this lemon & aqua dress

found @Urban Outfitters

In the summertime...

These are some of my favourite things....

1. Bike Rides

The boy loves any excuse not to drive (as he spends so much time driving around the country for work) so when ever the weather is nice we get out our bikes. This week we hopped on and cycled to the Phoenix Park. Such a beautiful place with so much to see and do.

On arrival at Farmleigh House, parking up our bikes we sat at the boat house for a well deserved coffee and took in the scenery.

2. BBQ's
A trip to my sisters house for a bbq for my nieces birthday. Typically it started to rain but that didn't stop us from having fun and lots of yummy food.

I loved her fancy mini hot dogs...they were bound to be healthy at that size:)

Her pots from Ikea were used to hold cutlery and serve chunky chips & chicken dippers to the kids!

Some of my Mum's lovely desserts....I mean these have fruit on them so obviously another low calorific treat I allowed myself to have more than one:)

3. Spontaneous trips to the pub
Saturday afternoon we arrive home from a morning full of food shopping...boy helps me pack away the food...then sticks his head around the corner to me and says 'I think we deserve a pint for that hard work'...

Two minutes later we are sat over in our local with two ice cold beers PERFECT!

4. Shopping
My line for the past few weeks 'ah it's just a little something for the holiday' continues and so does my love affair with Zara

Leopard print flats @ Zara €40

River Island Flatflorms €45

My new 'beach bag' sits happily in Norma's basket €40

5. Date Nights
Tapas @ The Port House, South William Street, followed by a comedy gig with Francis Stewart @ Vicar Street...great food, loads of laughs and fantastic company...washed down with buckets of beers!!!

So much to choose from on the menu but we went for spanish paella, calamari, meatballs, bravas and a green salad with olives, green beans and cucumbers!!

Dessert: Boy went for ferrero roche cheesecake while I had cinnamon coated churro's with the most sexy accompaniment of a chocolate dipping sauce!

Now the countdown is on until I return to The Porthouse with my girlfriend this Friday....best get out on my bike in the meantime to justify more churro's:)

Ali

x