Wildfox

Here is my new favourite item of clothing: my Wildfox track suit jacket. I just love it. It was perfect for my trip to Ireland, just right for travelling and with a nice big hood for rainy days. Colm took these photos in the garden and field at my parent's house where I grew up. Rusty car aside (my dad used it for parts for another car), it's a magical place, and spending a week there was wonderfully relaxing. There's nothing like going home.

What I'm wearing: jacket from Wildfox, top from Topshop, jeans from Gap, shoes from Vans, scarf is thrifted

Spring Cleaning

So I've been on a bit of a break from tweeting, instagramming, and blogging recently. Life got a bit overwhelming as I tried to take on more than I could at once, and I decided to take a step back from everything. I gave myself a few weeks of space, and I decided that when I got back from my trip home to Ireland with my boyfriend, I would start afresh, hoping that the break gave my mind enough time to freshen up; a spring clean of the mind, if you will. So here I am, back with lots of good resolutions which I will try hard to keep up. Here's to a fresh start! I hope you enjoy these photos, taken last week in my parent's beautiful garden in Ireland.

Everyday

This past week I haven't been doing a whole lot apart from working. Adjusting to a new routine, with Colm working different hours, has taken some getting used to as it means less time together as well as trying to make the most of the time we do have.

 

Some things I've been enjoying this week:

 

 

The flowers that Colm surprised me with on Tuesday when I had to work and he didn't. I woke up to the flowers and a wonderful breakfast of waffles, strawberries and cream.

 

 

My new Wildfox hoodie which my sister treated me to as an Easter present. I've wanted it for so long; ever since I saw it featured on this post on A Beautiful Mess in June last year. I can't wait to wear it for the first time!

Some new reading material: US Marie Claire, my favourite, also from my sister, and Wild by Cheryl Strayed, which I've wanted to read for absolutely ages.

I'll leave you with some silliness: bouncing cats and a dancing llama (I think)! Happy Sunday!

Portobello and The Beach House

This week, Colm and I decided to plan a trip to Portobello on our day off. It's always nice to have a change of scenery, and even nicer to be by the sea. Luckily the bus goes from right outside our house so we hopped on, and 40 minutes later we were at the beach. The first thing I did was take my shoes off to walk down to the water. Colm refused to paddle, but I ventured into the icy water for a few minutes until my feet started to hurt: it really was that cold! However, it was a beautiful sunny day so we were very lucky.

After we wandered along the beach we headed to The Beach House, which I had heard lots of good things about. I was not disappointed. Unfortunately it was too cold to sit outside, but inside was warm and inviting and we managed to nab the only free table. We both ordered the yellow split pea soup which was served with three slices of delicious fresh bread. It was perfect, warming and wholesome, and reminded me of my mums homemade soup. Then we managed to find room for tea and cake. I had the wonderful lemon cake that you see above and Colm had the chocolate fudge cake. The lemon cake was perfection. The sponge was delicate, moist and lightly flavoured while the filling was just incredible, like the best lemon curd you could ever dream of made into frosting. The service was brilliant too, and we will definitely be going back.

After our lunch we headed to Portobello Swim Centre which is located in what used to be Victorian baths right beside the beach. The interior is beautiful and we enjoyed the Turkish baths feature as well as going for a swim. All in all it was a lovely day out!