Wishing you all a wonderful Saint Patrick's Day from Ireland :)
Here are a few of my own photographs of my lovely Emerald Isle, hope you will take a look through them and enjoy some of the sights of Ireland.....

A traditional Irish thatched white washed cottage

The ruins of an old castle, there are a lot of ruins dotted throughout the countryside

A monastery at a graveyard where monks once lived

A view of the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean.. next stop America..

A wonderful rainbow... can you see the pot of gold..

The lakeshore over from my house

Another pretty quaint thatched cottage with dry stone walls..

Solis Lough Eske Castle now converted into a hotel

A railway cottage at an old disused railway line

Cattle grazing in the fields.. a very very common sight

And some sheep too...

An old stone outhouse possibly an old granary

An old derelict farmhouse

Winding country lanes

Reflection of the fields and hedgerows in the lake

Another quaint country cottage

Another castle located on an island in a lake

Some images of items you will find in my spare bedroom. I spent this afternoon cleaning floors, cleaning my new kitchen units, trying to order wedding invites and moving a few items to the new home. What have you been up to? I am finished with my job and starting my new job in January so that gives me a bit of time to start ticking items of my "to do" list. Tomorrow I want to try and move some furniture to the new house but it is so wet I may have to wait until the rain clears. 

I came home from work very late tonight after 10pm :( And it was the same the night before, however my day was brightened up when I spotted that my wee blog has been shortlisted for Best Lifestyle Blog 2011 in the Irish Blog Awards :) There is one more round before the Awards Event. That means so much to me, I can't even use an iphone,  an ipad, or ipod, I never even had a walkman or a dvd, but I have my wee blog :)  I love blogging and it is my escape in life, I may not be technologically advanced but I love blogging, thank you so much to my friend that nominated my blog and also to the Irish Blog Award Judges, I really appreciate that you have recognised my homemade blog :)

{Image from Irish Blog Awards}

{All images from Avoca}

I'm very excited, a reader of mine has nominated my blog for the Irish Blog Awards in the Lifestyle Category. All ineligible blogs will be removed from the list shortly so fingers crossed my wee blog might just make the next round. I know it won't win but it means alot to me to be noimated- thank you so much :) To check out the list of blogs nominated check out the website

I found this lovely article in Home and Home Magazine on Talbot Lodge house owned by French-born Veronique Piales Quinn.  The lodge was renovated and updated to incorporate Japanese and French styles, while remaining true to its cosy traditional Irish roots.

 {photos: Lois Crighton from House and Home Magazine}

AVOCA

Have any of you heard of the Avoca Range??? Avoca is an Irish family-run business and is one of the world's oldest surviving manufacturing companies and Ireland's most exciting stores. They export clothing ranges to boutiques around the world and have their own food label with dozens of delicious products. There are Avoca perfumes, glassware, ceramics, clothing, garden range, to name but a few. The handweaving mill was established in a rural Irish village over 280 years ago. Avoca remains a family business with a mission to create joy and have fun!

To find out more and check out the AVOCA range, visit their website, it really is worth a visit!

{Dulux}

"A fundamental Truth: Man Needs Colour"

This quote by the architect Le Corbusier states the need for colour in our lives. Colour affects our interpretation of things. According to Mindini (2001:238)  'Colour is among the first illusions through which man perceives the world'. Colour is manufactured in our minds. Our eyes and brain perceive colour. Colours are experiences and can excite, scare or impress people and it can create a sense of warmth or cold. 'People react to colour therefore how they perceive colour will influence their reactions to a place' (Porter: 1982). This may also apply to everyday items like cothes, furniture and buildings - people react to the colour of various items.

{Colours in the sky @ home}

{Dulux}

Under certain rules our visual interpretation accepts some colours such as harmonised or contrasted colours. Colours play an important role in all aspects of design and can create focal points in our lives and landscape. The use of colour can create distinctive characters in our dress sense, our homes, landscapes and townscapes.

Sir Isaac Newton developed the colour wheel in the early 1700's and it has been used ever since as the foundation of colour theory. The basic colour wheel starts with three primary colours- red, yellow and blue. Different systems of colour have been developed such as the Munsell and Ostwald Colour Systems.

{COLOURLovers}

The colour wheel provides such a variety and choice of colours that considerable thought can be taken when deciding on which colour to use. There are certain rules with regard to colours. There are a number of different types of colour schemes, including monochromatic, complementary, triadic and adjacent schemes. These contain combinations of colours which are generally accepted by people. Monochromatic colour schemes use one colour or hue, containing different values of that colour. As Gloug states 'colours of the same hue are harmonious'. Complementary colour schemes employ colours that are opposite each other on the colour wheel. Triadic colour schemes involve three colours that are equidistant on the wheel. Adjacent colour schemes employ colours that are next to, or near each other on the colour wheel.

{Page thinker}

{Page thinker}

So when you are spring cleaning and redecorating why not get out a colour wheel and come up with some nice colour schemes you like :) All the colours below are from Dulux, for me they are lovely and fresh just the right colours for Spring time :)

* All interior images above are from Dulux Paints Ireland