Airfield Farm

Family outings with 3 little boys are lots of fun but can be a bit chaotic sometimes! So I really love when I get the chance to bring just one of my boys out with me somewhere they really enjoy and can give them my undivided attention. Last week I got to bring my little middle man out, he absolutely loves animals and is obsessed with cows so I thought a trip to Airfield Farm in Dundrum would be nice :-)

It really is a lovely place. S was delighted with himself running around exploring the different paths, buildings and of course the hill!

Lots of pretty flowers in the gardens.

Yaaay, lots of dandelion seeds to blow away :-)

Cute donkeys sleeping under the trees :-)

We got to see the eggs being collected (naturally I was in love with the gorgeous blue eggs). S was delighted when the hens came up to us and chatted "bok bok bok" :-)

There's a cute little play area for little ones and some vintage cars to see.

We went to the lovely restaurant, S had a giant cookie and I had a lovely breakfast made from Airfield Farm produce.

S loves looking around houses with me when we go house hunting so I knew he'd love to do the house tour. He was especially impressed with the light up globe.

But of course the absolute highlight of the day was getting to pat the beautiful moo cows :-)

We just had the loveliest day, my little S is the sweetest, most loving and kind child and is just such a treasure to be with, I got so many cuddles and kisses, I am blessed :-)

Fair City Finds

I have to admit that the charity shops here in Dublin's Fair City are not as good for homewares and kitchenware as the stores in Australia. The thrift shops here are geared more towards clothing and books and usually only have tiny bric-a-brac sections but I have still managed to find some nice things :-)

I love this pretty pair of teacups, Made in England, and plan on turning them into teacup candles for my summer table. They were €1 each.

This cute little rooster crock cost €2 and I use it to store wooden spoons.

This pair of Arcopal France teacups cost 50 cents each. I had no reason whatsoever to buy them apart from the fact that they're so pretty!

Yes I know, MORE duck-egg blue! This gorgeous Carrigaline Pottery bowl cost 50 cents.

This set of teacups and milk jug are by Johnson Bros and cost €4 in total. I absolutely love the retro pattern and am hoping to find more pieces.

This set of 6 soup cups and saucers cost €5, the brand is Tams, made by Staffordshire.

A red JAJ Pyrex Cinderella bowl for €1! This is part of the 3 piece Carnival bowl set, I have the blue bowl from the set too so am only missing the yellow.

I found this gorgeous floral platter in a vintage store in the gorgeous lakeside town of Carlingford. We had a lovely family day out there recently and I am dying to go back.

I stumbled upon a vintage store in the city on my way to an appointment last week, this pretty plate had to come home with me of course, it cost €3.

I may or may not have "found" this Denby Arabesque coffee pot on top of my mum's kitchen cupboard and nagged her until she let me have it :-)

And finally, a Nigella Lawson storage jar in cream, I already have these in blue and pink so now I have a set :-)

I have heard rumours that the best places to go for vintage kitchenware etc in Ireland are carboot markets and parish fetes, unfortunately these usually take place on Saturday mornings when we are busy with kids' activities and family gatherings but hopefully some day soon...

Pretty Utensils

Previous posts have probably alerted you to my Le Creuset and Pyrex obsessions but today I'm going to show you another of my weaknesses... pretty utensils. I just can't pass up a cute spatula or rolling pin when I see one and I believe that if something can be functional AND pretty well then why not ;-)

Here are some of my faves...

First up, my little spatula collection, I know nobody needs this many but they are so practical and look so pretty stashed together. These are a variety from Le Creuset, Cath Kidston, Wheel and Barrow and Target.

I love my Donna Hay duck egg blue silicon utensils, they are perfect for using with enamelled cast iron cookware as they don't scratch the enamel.

Yep, I love rolling pins, what can I say?

The above cream utensils and duck egg blue colander are from Nigella Lawson's enamelled range, they are so pretty :-)

I can stomach boring stainless steel as long as it's got nice blue accents.

This cute little sieve is from Jane Asher's Range and the oven glove is by Donna Hay.

Random baking supplies, even cake skewers can be pretty if you look hard enough :-)

And finally, some new baking supplies, I love baking with my boys and we're going to expand our repertoire to include cake pops and macarons :-)

Anyone else out there have a utensil obsession? I can't be the only one?!?

Paddy's Day

In case you didn't know, it's St. Patrick's Day today!!! This may possibly the most widely celebrated national day around the world! Considering how tiny our little country is it is amazing just how many countries across the world hold celebrations and parades to celebrate this day, monuments around the world turn green tonight in honour of "Paddy's Day" and it is a lot of fun!

This was our first St. Patrick's Day back in Ireland with our boys. Rather than brave the queues and chaos of the parades we decided to take a lovely brisk hike in the Dublin mountains and enjoy the beautiful scenery we are so lucky to have (after a full Irish breakfast of course).  There was lots for our boys to explore and discover and we met lots of other families along the way who had the same idea. Later on we went for lunch (yummy seafood chowder) in our local.

This evening's treats include toasted marshmallows and warm milk.

All in all a perfect day :-)

And of course it wouldn't be Paddy's Day without a bit of silliness :-)