Hello all, hope you enjoyed the weekend, weather has been very cold here in Ireland but no rain where I was :) Had a lovely weekend away with my boyfriend. Only problem was that it went too fast. What did you get up to? Here are a few photographs of my weekend away. Our hotel was really nice, very trendy and good value. The photoraph below is a lovely canvas in the hotel, how pretty and very girly.

We went to the seaside on Saturday to Strandhill with its long strand and the seaside village of Rosses Point, it was extremely cold and got very foggy too. Here are a few photos of the beach and views in and around  Strandhill

   

   

   

   

      

   

The further north we travelled it started to get very misty and foggy so the next few photographs aren't very clear, we couldn't even see the sea.

So as you can see the visibility on the West Coast of Ireland wasn't great, so we decided to head back to town and looked around the shops and got some food.

Today we relaxed and visited the seventeenth century Markree Castle on the way home. It is surrounded by mature demesne woodland and the River Unshin runs through the grounds. It is now a hotel and has been home to the Cooper family since Cromwell's time. Here are the charming entrance gates and some more views of the Castle.

Here are two photographs of the entrance, how elegant is that??

Up...

And back down...

Check out the website for some more photographs Markree Castle Hotel

The River Unshin

There are also luxury self catering cottages at Markree Castle Home Farm

This was such a wonderful demesne with its weatlth of built and natural heritage. We then said goodbye to Markree Castle and headed on the road for home.

Along the way we spotted a nice scenic viewing point of Lough Key

This sculptured metal horse with a Gaelic Chieftain marks the site of the Battle of the Curleius, which took place in 1599.

So thats the end of my lovely weekend away and as they say time flies when your having fun. What all did you get up to this weekend?

Hello All,

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We don't celebrate it here in Ireland but I reflected and gave thanks for all the good things in my life this year.

Just a quick post before I head off to my cosy bed on this cold winter night. I'm off for a short break this weekend so I won't be blogging, I hope you do stop by though and keep an eye on my blog for me :) So an update on my mat making, this is where I was about 2 weeks ago (I had one side started)

And now I'm this far on................

As you can  see I have a small bit to finish on the left hand side and then its all done :) My first mat mapping project. My sweet boyfriend bought me this set at a charity auction.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend and let me know what you get up too, I'm sure some of you will be decorating your homes for Christmas(I look forward to seeing your photos when I get back) and others may be visiting Santa with the kids or doing some shopping but whatever your doing make sure you enjoy yourself!

So when I'm away why not visit my other blogs:

 All Things Nice this was my first blog which I started on wordpress back in May

and Country Heritage  which focuses on the built, natural and cultural heritage of rural Ireland.

 Why not visit some of my other followers sites, they are all unique, inspirational and creative with lots of nice things :) You may like to follow them too.

Also if you have time check out the Etsy Ireland blog with over 80 crafters, artists and designers based throughout Ireland. You can link to many of their personal blogs from there.

Sounds like I'm your parent telling you all what to do when I'm away :)

Reach for the moon, beacuse if you don't make it, you'll land among the stars :)

Do not run through life

so fast that you forget

not only where you have been,

but also where you are going.

Life is not a race,

but a journey

to be savoured

each step of the way.

*Earlier this week I drew this wee angel when I was in bed and couldn't sleep.

Came across this lovely picture that I have on a greeting card and also on a wall plate, so thought I'd share it with you all. The wee cat is gazing in the mirror. Isn't she really cute :)

Myself and my mother did the work above. Mother painted the mountains while I did the fruit. I came across these while I was tidying up the study, they were hidden behind one of the presses for years and I had forgotten about them.

We all have different things in our handbags be it brushes, makeup, diaries, pens, gloves, etc, etc...  Well Nathalie Lecroc, 37  is producing an anthology of the diaries, purses, pens, lipsticks, powder, mobile telephones, tampons and other objects that women, and sometimes men, carry around with them.


This project started as an experiment five years ago and has proved to be such a major success. She has already painted 474 sacs à main and will stop when she reaches 1,001. I am unsure if she has yet published her book entitled Petite Anthologie de Sacs et Sacs à Main. Here is an example of her work, it is so beautiful!!

Hello dear friends, followers, readers & passer bys...

Hope you all had a good week this week. Did you get up to anything nice? The weather here in Ireland was awful apart from today but the forecast is not good for the weekend more rain! I didn't have a very creative week this week, my mat is progressing well and in a few weeks I should be finished. I'm having a nice quiet night in tonight at the fire. I'm taking a weekend break next weeekend- should be nice to get away and relax. We are staying in a lovely hotel called the Glasshouse, here are a few photos of it

Hope its as nice as it looks. I'm really looking forward to that, and I am going to look up some nice places we can visit when we are there. I may also take some photographs. I was going to go to the woods again this evening for a walk but with all the rain we have had I thought it would be very messy so I didn't go. So as you can see I have no plans for this weekend but lots for next weekend. Whats your plans for this weekend? You doing anything nice/exciting/ interesting?? Maybe your going Christmas shopping? Or attending a Christmas Craft Fair? Doing some crafting? Meeting friends? Spending time with family?

Here's a cute photo of my wee cat in the garden this week

"Imagination is everything, It is the preview of life's coming attractions"   ~Albert Einstein

Here are a few stamps from 1978 which I came across in an envelope at home, the majority of them are from Ireland and the UK. There is one from USA. My gran used to collect the stamps of the envelopes and give them to charity, these are ones she must have forgot about and now I have them.

* All photographs above are from Ideal Home

We all like our homes to be welcoming at Christmas Time, after all first impressions are the most important so why not decorate your hallway/entrance with lots of Christmas cheer. The natural look is always the nicest, maybe some pine cones, Christmas wreaths and garlands, holly, ivy, misteloe, a small Christmas tree or plant, then add some red ribbon, bows, bells, glitter and decorations. Some christmas scented candles create a lovely smell but be careful lightling them while they are unattended, so maybe on the safer side opt for some christmas pot pourri, of cinnamon, orange slices and spices. You could try and make your own, here are some good recipes and ideas I came across at the Daisy Shop. From now until Christmas I am going to collect pine cones and be on the look out for holly and mistletoe for nearer to Christmas time. If you have any Christmas decorating ideas or crafts, I'd love if you would share them with us.

Now take a seat and relax after that long walk in the woodlands and enjoy the rest of your weekend where ever you are!