Last weekend we visited Powerscourt House & Gardens. I had visited before with friends and love the place. The gardens are amazing and you could spend hours going around them. They are well worth a visit and I highly recommend them to anyone visiting Ireland or for those of you who have visited yet!  

On our trip to Wicklow we visited Avoca  Mills and the Avoca shop at Powerscourt House and Gardens. Avoca Mills are Ireland's oldest weaving mill. Their products are really pretty, particularly their blankets- they are really soft and cosy! Avoca Mills is really quaint and interesting to visit too. We arrived too late to get anything to eat in the café however we did have teas and scones in Avoca in Powerscourt on Sunday. I will post some photos of Powerscourt House and Gardens in another post. If you are not aware of the Avoca brand, you can visit their website here. They also sell a range of homewares, books and gifts!

This weekend myself and my husband went for a night away to County Wicklow. The first stop on our whirl wind tour was Glendalough Monastic Settlement. For those of you that may not know, this is an early monastic settlement which was founded by St. Kevin in the 6th century. It is set in a glaciated valley with two lakes and beautiful scenery. It includes a superb round tower, stone churches and decorated crosses. It really is worth a visit and Michelle Obama and her two children recently visited on their trip to Ireland. Hope you enjoy the photographs. I will post more of our adventures in Wicklow in another post.

I took a few days off work and spent as much time as possible outdoors. The weather is still lovely although the temperatures have dropped to mid 20 degrees, rather than 30 degrees +. This is the first time I have ever got a tan! Before I would just burn and it would peel but not this time! I am getting lots of freckles and tanning too so it is all good. Below are a few photos of home I took when I was out and about.

1. Foxgloves in bloom in the local woods, 2. A view from my back door of the field that our house is built in, 3. The cows out after getting milked- all very content!

Some evening photographs

1. A view up one of the lanes on the farm, can you spot Wally in the photo? It is actually my husband :-) , 2. An old trailer on the farm, 3. The new stone walls at the entrance to our house which are still under construction.

1. A meal silo on the farm, 2. Another of the farm cats playing in the field, 3. A view along the laneway

As well as cows on our farm we also have a family of cats. We have two female cats, one male cat and one kitten. We did have three kitchens but there is only one remaining. So let me introduce you to Tilly our newest edition on the left and his father Tommy on the right, they even look like each other a little :) They are outdoor cats and good to keep the mice away on the farm. We don't have any dogs on the farm as the cows are not use to them. The hot weather is getting to the cats a bit however they take shelter under the trees so all is good!

Sunshine, sunshine and more sunshine here in Ireland. We are currently having a heat wave, we deserve one as we haven't had one in years. I am working this week but contemplating taking Thursday and Friday off as annual leave to soak up more sun. I was in my car today and it was 40 degrees, never saw that before in my lifetime!!! :) P.S. Sorry about the rubbish image of my car, the clock is also wrong should read 16:03 as I am an hour behind.

I just spotted some of the new Cath Kidston Limited Edition Bird Print, it is so pretty! As you already know from reading my blog I love all things that take inspiration from the natural environment! My last post was on florals for those of you who may had a chance to see it! Cath Kidston's new Autumn range of fabrics features garden birds 'in warm, earthy autumnal tones of Cream and Olive, the hero print of the season is the latest in their rich history of bird prints'. It features the Robin, Blue Tit and Chaffinch so pop over to their website and have a look yourself! I love all things country and these cute bird prints are definitely some of my favourites.

Here are some of my favourite Cath Kidston Hanbags too!