This year myself and my husband didn't go away for any weekend breaks, we saved our money and set off on our holidays in September visiting three countries and the island of Mallorca. Below are some photographs of our holidays... we really enjoyed it and have some memories which will last a lifetime....

From top left: Rome (Italy), Naples (Italy), Marseille (France), Naples, Cinque Terre (Italy), Cinque Terre, Palma de Mallorca, Rome and Barcelona (Spain)...

Over Christmas I have spent lots of time with family and friends. It's now New Year's Eve, the years seem to be flying by... 2015 has been good to us, we spent good times with family and went on a wonderful holiday visiting Spain, France and Italy... We didn't get much sunshine or heat here in Ireland, it is almost like we skipped some of the seasons with just Spring and Autumn and no actual Summer or Winter. Lots of rain and wind... Over Christmas I have been-

Wearing;

Eating & Drinking;

Wishing you and yours a wonderful New Year's Eve and best wishes for 2016 and all it has to hold.....  Goodbye 2015

Any of you that know me, will know that I am a home bird. I love nothing more than spending time at home in the peace and quiet of rural Ireland. There are lakes all around us with drumlin hills dotted on the landscape. In the good weather I like getting out of a walk along the lake shores which the farm runs along. Below are just some of my images from my local area from 2015. We live approximately 130km from the nearest city and about 25km to the nearest large town (there are smaller towns in closer proximity but they have no cinema, clothes shops, swimming pool, etc.) Our local village about 1km away has two shops, a post office, three pubs and a petrol station so it useful to have these nearby.

Wishing you and yours lots of peace, joy and happiness this Christmas.... Hope everyone is enjoying the evening with family and friends.... I'm keeping cosy at the fire with lots of good music and food....

Precious Memories

May this holiday season

leave you with precious memories:

A Christmas filled with love and light,

 perfect gifts, delicious foods,

 love and joy all around.

A New Year with continuing blessings—

friends, family, good work, great fun,

 and delightful surprises.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

By Joanna Fuchs

As you know I spend a lot of time in County Leitrim and County Donegal and both counties have wonderful scenery and both are located along the Wild Atlantic Way. Below are some of my photographs of my visits to the coastline between Bundoran County Donegal, Tullaghan County Leitrim and on to Mullaghmore in County Sligo. If you haven't visited this area, you really should put it on your travel list for 2016. It is well worth a visit and there are lots of small towns and villages to explore, with friendly people and good food.

Below are just some of the flowers I had around my home in 2015. In Spring time I did a short night course in flower arranging. I also set a wildflower area in my garden this year so 2015 was a year of flowers for me.

This photo is one one of the flower arrangements I made. How beautiful is that rose on the right? 

For Easter I decorated my home with flowers. All of the flowers below were from one large bunch which I divided and made lots of posies from.

Some daffodils and wildflowers which I set in my garden...

More flower arranging

Flowers are so pretty, they brighten up any day and I hope 2016 is filled with lots of flowers :)

Hello everyone. Hope you are not too busy in the run up to Christmas. I am on my holidays from work these days and I am enjoying my time off.  Below are some images of the decorating I have done for Christmas. First up is our new Christmas tree which I have put in our good living room. I also tried drying some oranges for their scent and decoration in the house. This was my first time trying to dry them and they worked out alright. They took so long in the oven that I gave up. Instead I dried them on top of the wood burning stove which took far less time than the oven. The smell was lovely in the room though as they were drying up on the stove. I also made some pretty paper doily snowflakes. They are now hanging over the double doors into my sun room. I'm thinking of adding some red to the centre of them to make them more festive. You should try and make some of these doily snowflakes they are so simple to make and look cute.

Below is just one more  photograph of my tree. The lights are a bright white so they match well with the grey/blue colour scheme in my living room. Today I made this flower arrangement to sit on my kitchen island. All the items were free as I just picked them from the hedge. Three of the hydrangea were already dried and one of them is a fresh one from the garden. All the foliage is fresh from the gardens. The final photo is just me deciding where to put the fairy lights, I haven't left them here and have yet to decide where to put them. I have a lot of dried hydrangea so hope to make some more arrangements.

Hope you like having a look around my home and also at my homemade/handmade items. Have a go yourself or if you have some items you have made, I would love to hear about them and see them. Until next time.... 

Here is a quick DIY idea for you all. I love bringing the outdoors into my home in the form of nature inspired home decor. Yesterday I made this moss covered star. Why not have a go yourself.

Step 1: Pick some moss from the countryside, I used moss from hedges and large stones. The larger the pieces the better, try to avoid moss that is very wet or with lots of twigs and creepy crawlies in it.... no one wants them crawling around your home...

Step 2: This is the boring part. Bring your moss home and remove any twigs/ stones/ insects and leave to dry on kitchen roll paper. I dried mine next to the wood burning stove and then on the radiator.

Step 3: Make a large star shape or any alternative shape you would like, I used a star made from wood but you could also use thick cardboard or paper to make your shape. Begin by gluing the moss carefully onto your shape.

Step 4: Continue to glue the moss to cover the entire front.

Step 5: Leave for a few hours for the glue to fully dry. Lift and shake for any loose pieces to fall off and re-glue again if required. There you have it, fully complete! 

December is well and truly here. Have you put up your Christmas decorations yet? I don't put mine up until nearer Christmas but as there are only two more weekends after this one until Christmas I might put  mine up a bit earlier this year. I am on holidays from work so have lots of time to decorate for Christmas. This week I tidied the house, did some DIY that was put on the long finger and went shopping. Below are a few images of my Christmas trees from last year, sorry the photos aren't great. The one on the right is very large (can you see the top of the doorway to the back of it). This is a monster of a tree and I don't think I am going to get one this year as it is a lot of hassle and takes a lot of cleaning afterwards. The one on the left is an old artificial one which my parents didn't want so they donated it to me. I just put it at the back of the door to create a festive feel in the hallway. I am thinking about buying an artificial tree (I know some of you are cringing at that thought) but I don't want to put a real tree in our new living room so I might have to go fake. I am working on a few DIY decorations which I will post once complete. If you have photographs of your Christmas decor, I would love for you to share them with us all.

Finally my living room is almost complete. I just need a few items to finish the room including an over mantle mirror, TV, ceiling light fitting and curtain tiebacks. I'm thinking of painting the inside of the unit a crisp white, as it is ivory and looks quite cream next to the white marble fireplace. What do you think? Have you any ideas for my over mantle mirror or the light fitting? I hope to use this room over the Christmas season. I am now on my holidays from work so have lots of time to decorate the house for Christmas, I just need less rain so I can go pick ivy, moss and berries in the hedges. I will keep you posted on my DIY Christmas decor.

November sunsets are so beautiful... check out these photos I took last Sunday evening when the sun was setting over the lake.... A picture speaks louder than words.....

It's hard to believe it is just one more week until December. 2015 seems to be flying by. I am looking forward to Christmas and lots of holidays from work... I love Christmas time and decorating my home- making it really cosy and warm for the long winter nights. Below are just a few images of life in the Irish Countryside in November... Hope you enjoy them...

Back in September, I visited Barcelona for the first time. It is such a lovely city and I never realized that the beach was so close to the city itself. We spent a day around the beach area, it is very modern but very accessible to everyone. The weather was glorious too. Below are just a few of the photographs I took of the Mediterranean Sea. This was my first time to Spain and I was well impressed with it. Have you been to Barcelona? Did you enjoy the beach?

I haven't posted 'Things I Like' in such a long time, so here goes.... This month I'm liking all things country style, cute floral patterns and lots of autumnal colours.

 1. First up as always it's Cath Kidston... who doesn't like a bit of CK? The patterns are so cute and cheerful.

2. I'm also on the look out for a nice practical handbag that doesn't date... I've come across the Longchamp Tote which I'm loving the look of. I would love to hear your opinions on a nice practical handbag. I like bags that I can put over my shoulder as I don't like having to hold them in my hands all the time.

3. Finally, I can't get enough of Joules Clothing and everything Joules, their clothing is so practical but so stylish at the same time. They are the best at doing country classics and their clothing is perfect for life in the countryside and the city too if you live there. For lots of inspiration and style, visit Joules Journal 

What wonderful weather today for the end of October. It was mild with some sunshine too. I spent some time outdoors in my garden and around the farm. My flowers are still blooming which is great as I thought they had finished at the end of August when the weather was so cold and wet. Hopefully with all this good weather, it will make the Winter seem shorter. Hope you are all having a fun filled weekend....

As you are aware I am decorating my good living room. I haven't progressed very far yet as I am looking out for white furniture and grey curtains. For the moment I have put dried hydrangeas in the fireplace. I hope to have the room ready for Christmas...

Autumn is well and truly here now with the shorter days. The clocks changed last night. It is a long weekend here in Ireland so I hope to get out into the garden to set my daffodil bulbs. I have 100 of them to plant so that will keep me busy... Hope you are all having a nice weekend.

It is hard to believe it is October here in Ireland as the weather is so nice, beautiful blue skies during the day and lovely sunsets at night. I was out along the Wild Atlantic Way yesterday and look at the beautiful sky. These photographs were taken at Mullaghmore in County Sligo. Ireland really is beautiful when the weather is nice.

More photographs from my travels, sorry if you are getting bored with all the travel posts but I really wanted to share these places with you. These villages below are known as Cinque Terre - meaning the five lands in Italian which include the villages of Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manorola and Riomaggiore. They form the Italian Riviera and are designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. They are located to the west of La Spezia where we got the train to the villages. You can also access the villages by boat but due to stormy seas the boats weren't running the day we visited. Walking paths connect the five villages but again due to the stormy weather the walking paths were closed. There is no vehicles in the villages and tourists arrive via the train or boats. It is such a breathtaking place and I would love to go back there again and walk between the villages. The areas are very busy with tourists so it is best not to visit in peak season as I am sure they are crowded with tourists particularly if the paths are closed. Just this week when I arrived home, I have seen online that the locals in the villages have an online petition to call for the numbers of tourists to be managed as the villages cannot cope as they are being overrun with mass tourism. I do hope that the numbers of tourists can be managed to ensure that the integrity of the villages are protected and also that a balance can be struck to allow the villages to thrive on tourism but that the unique architecture, landscape and heritage of these villages remain intact. It is one of the most beautiful places I have visited and the photographs below really do not do it justice- it is 100% nicer in reality.