10 Things to love about Winter

The leaves are done falling, the temperature is dropping and everything feels a little different. It can only mean one thing. Winter is here!

Let's face it. Living in a country with such a spontaneously varied climate (*cough* RAIN! *cough*) like Ireland can make the simplest thing like deciding what to wear when venturing outdoors a task in itself. But let's turn this on its head and focus on what wonderful things Winter has to offer and why we should embrace the season:

1. An excuse to stay in and put your feet up.

Image from Blogher.com

Long gone are the Summer days when you felt guilty about playing around on your laptop indoors when the sun was splitting the stones. Now that the weather has taken a turn you've the perfect excuse to stay in and just relax! Catch up on a boxset, play a board game or video game or catch up on books you've been meaning to read. You've got the time!

2. Halloween

Image from funnyimagesgallery.net

It's one of those holidays where there's something for everyone. Sweets for the kids (and big kids!), Halloween parties and horror movies for the grown ups and Irish folklore about our links to Samhain for everyone in the audience. Plus, who doesn't like to dress up once in a while? Each year brings new and innovative costumes.

3. Being cosy

Gif from Gurl.com

Onesies. Fluffy socks. Blankets. Hot water bottles. Electric blankets. Winter duvets. Hot chocolate. Need I say more?

4. Christmas

Image from funnypictures.me

Every year the adverts seem to get closer and closer to Halloween, but the commercialism of modern day Christmas has been noted. When you get to the core of it, Christmas is about spending time with loved ones, exchanging gifts and watching the odd cheesy Christmas movie whilst vowing to never eat Brussels sprouts again.

5. The Late Late Toy Show

Image from Broadsheet.ie

One can't talk about commercialism and Christmas without talking about the Toy Show.. I jest!

The Late Late Toy Show is an institution at this point, where children and adults alike tune in each year to see the must have toys, talented Irish children (be it dancing, singing, or being a mini Culchie), or even what festive sweater Tubs dons. It's part of our cultural heritage, and I for one am a fan.

6. Happy New Year!

Gif from thegloss.com

Bubbly! Parties! Ringing in the New Year with loved ones and making resolutions. Gotta love that optimism!

7. January Sales

Image from telegraph.co.uk

After all the celebrating that comes with Christmas and New Years, it's time to treat yourself. It's a great feeling when you find something you want.. In your size.. In the sale.. For at least 50% off. Victory!


8. Snow

Gif from vustudents.ning.com

Every now and again, it makes an appearance in Ireland in varying abundance. And admittedly it can cause chaos, but there is an ethereal beauty to watching snow fall and wondering if there'll be enough for building a snow man or at least gathering enough snow to make a snowball or two. Snowball fight!

9. Sitting in front of a roaring fire

Gif from lorilynn101.wordpress.com

There's nothing to make you feel quite as snug and festive as watching a roaring fire, even if the wind and rain are howling outside. And the ambitious marshmallow roasting if the mood is right.
(Also as someone who loves open fires but isn't skilled at building them, a huge thank you to whoever invented firelogs!)

10. Feelgood festive ads

Image from coca-cola.ie

It's at this magical time of the year that the feel good vibes wiggle across broadcasting systems and make us go "Aw!" Whether it's 'the' Coca Cola ad which puts the smile on your face or something more touchy feely like this year's nostalgic Tesco ad or tales of Friendships from the formidable advertising which is John Lewis. Embrace it. Everybody has one.

These are my top things to love about Winter. What are yours? :)

Wedding madness has hit

Last week I blogged about being the most 'unbridey woman' ever. Mere days later I found myself shopping for ring cushion material as I couldn't find anything that we liked. All the ring cushions I saw were either white satin madness with lace and ribbon or rustic faux vintage chintz.

Is this how Bridezillaism starts?! A ring cushion here and centrepiece ideas there?

Ribbon wands - No, I've never heard of them either

I have to admit, Ebay has made a me a little confused about wedding planning. If you type 'wedding supplies' into the search bar, the regular things such as favours and guestbooks pop up. Delve a little deeper and there's a subsection for tulle, aisle runners, planning aids and card holders.

Although my inner bride might be ready to emerge for air, I can't see it going as far as card holders and doves.

I'm not having doves... Honestly.

Time is flying by!

What a busy few weeks! I've been so busy out living I haven't had time to blog about it!

So as you know, we've recently moved to 'The Big Smoke' and to be honest, I'm settling in much quicker than I thought I would.

Work has been keeping me busy, but you know what they say: 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, and Jill a dull girl!' It's been great being able to catch up with friends, have cocktails after work, dinner plans and lots of catch ups.

I thought I'd miss the green fields of the country, but city living is so fast moving. You get caught up in the hustle and bustle! You're never short of things to do, which is so refreshing! In one week, we went to the cinema, IKEA (Mm... feeding IKEA addiction!), had dinner with a friend, cocktails and snacked on sushi for lunch.

Time is hurtling by at breakneck speed, so much so that it's only recently hit me that in just over a year's time, I'll be a married woman! I haven't had time to suss out flowers, bridesmaid dresses or booking hair and make up trials. It's all taken a back seat in the toing and froing of moving boxes, going to work and having a social life! I guess it's like anything, it's all a balancing act, so let's give this juggling a try!

Does anyone else think of this music when juggling is mentioned?

Apartment Hunting

As I've mentioned, we have been hunting for a new place to live.

I am an out and proud culchie, oh yes! I even have a membership card somewhere..

Himself has lived in the city before, so paired with his insider's knowledge and my enthusiasm and love of property websites, off we went!

We didn't have a kajillion* euro to spend on a big swanky pad, but we just wanted somewhere safe and clean for just us two.

It has been.. eventful!

One place we went to was about the size of shed, had holes in the ceiling and the landlord did the electrics himself. To quote, "Snip here and snip there, sure it was all grand!" OK, no.

After searching for a few weeks and coming up against a few dead ends, we found somewhere! It's not big, but not tiny! We even have a little balcony and a BATH! Oh it's the simple things in life like having the choice between a bath or a shower that can make my day!

Yet we came away from the apartment hunt with a few lessons learned, so here are my tips:

1. Photographs can be ridiculously deceptive, seriously. With the art of lenses and angles, a cupboard can look 'spacious and modern'.

OK, so maybe not this bad, but you get the idea!

2. In Dublin, (and in other cities too I'd imagine) you have to move fast. Very fast!

3. You have a lot more stuff than you think you do. Uh-huh, you see those cupboards and those bookcases? They all hold stuff. Lots and lots of stuff. Think you have enough boxes? Get more! And plenty of bin bags. But don't cheap out on them! One of the worst first impressions you can give is letting your new neighbours see you pick clothes up off the road and stuffing them into a torn black bag... Trust me.

4. Go with your gut, if you don't like it and you can't put your finger on why then leave it.

5. Accept help from family and friends. They'll forgive you if the place looks like a tip, understand that you can't find anything. They accept that you'll probably be chaos personified, wearing a bin bag and crying because you can't find the kettle or the Christmas tree ornaments. If they didn't care, they wouldn't be there. Hm.. that rhymes. Could put that on a t-shirt.

6. Remain calm. Even if there is a flat tyre, or something goes missing. You'll get there. Rome wasn't built in a day, and some moves take more than one trip!

*Might not be real amount

Warning - Rant

Alright, I will hold my hands up. I am a spelling freak. Not only that, but I can be pretty finicky about grammar. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

What brings me to write this blog post?

Well, as part of my new job, I'm using the internet even more than before (less lolcats and general nerdiness being downloaded sadly) so I've been accessing a lot more websites than usual.

It has been an experience. Some of the grammar and spelling errors on all kinds of websites are unbelievable! Whatever about the old school dancing baby style graphics and broken links etc., I'm talking about basic grammar and spelling here.

Although spotting things like this on Facebook puts my teeth on edge, it's a social media site where people engage with each other, not a spelling bee.

But surely on a business site, you'd think there'd be someone there to proofread things before it was put on the site?

Personally it puts me off the page or company, one particular wedding supplier actually used a capital letter for each word, which completely put me off. Can you imagine if they made wedding videos?

'The Beautiful Morning Of June Sixth When David And Laura Became Man And Wife At The Church Of St. Paul.' 

It hurt to type that.

Luckily, the folk at the Oatmeal have put my irks into a fun cartoon. Full link here.

Yes, I know I'm a complete and utter nerd about this, but it grinds my gears! In short, try hitting F7 to check your spelling and grammar. Go on, it feels good! 

Spring forward!

We are now entering Spring, the beautiful time of year when flowers are budding, baby lambs are born and so much of nature is regenerated into new life. I actually prefer Spring to Summer as a whole, although the Summer evenings are wonderful and laid back, something about Spring is so magical. The freshness in the air, it's almost like an air of excitement with everything buzzing with the anticipation of what's to come.

Hand in hand with all things fresh and spring like comes the spring cleaning! I cannot wait to start putting fresh flowers in my home again after the evenings of snugness and candles that Autumn and Winter bring. The pops of colour and the smell of fresh flowers is fabulous. There is something almost therapeutic about de-cluttering the house, cleaning it and leaving it smelling fresh and looking like a room from a magazine! I firmly believe that a bit of de-cluttering is good for the soul, although it can be pain in the arse getting the 'get up and go' notion to go do it, but it is worth it!

With the fresh spring afternoons, I've become inspired to bring the dog for a walk down the country roads, there are new smells that I can take in so one can only imagine what he can smell with his super sensitive dog nose! One of my most favourite things to do as a child was to go for a walk with my Grandad and sister, bringing his dogs through the woods, picking flowers and asking Grandad 101 questions about "What's this?" "Is this poisonous?" "Why are the dogs sniffing that tree?" One of our favourite spots was the Bluebell woods near his home, which blossomed beautifully in the Spring. I can still remember picking the flowers, smelling them and wondering why, if they were Bluebell flowers, why they didn't ring when I shook them. Ah childhood innocence!

And on this Hallmark day...

I've come across this video. Scary viewing really.

I was in town yesterday and couldn't believe the amount of people buying flowers, chocolates and of course, Valentine's day cards. I for one won't be celebrating V-day, if anything you should feel loved every day, not once a year in a flurry of heart shaped madness.

Plan of the day is to stay in, cook a nice steak for dinner and watch something like Hobo with a Shotgun.

Romantic dilemmas no more, don't overthink it. If you've a loved one in your life tell them you love them, spend time with your loved ones and don't buy into the materialism. Happy Hallmark day!

2012

Now after the buzz around Christmas, the year moves swiftly into the 'New Year' territory. 2012 as a whole seems to be met with a mixture of anticipation and fear. Fear over the Mayan calendar predictions, about rising costs, water levies etc. But hope is rife too, will 2012 bring new experiences, travel, marriages, births and new opportunities?

I believe that life is what you make of it, if the Mayan calendar signals the end of humanity then not much can be done to change it. I believe, logically, the scenario was a bit more like the cartoon below.

 I don't believe in making resolutions, but the most common ones seem to be losing weight, getting in shape, learning a new skill etc. I think making resolutions like that generally won't work. It's like being on a diet, if you restrict certain foods and treats it'll make you want them more.

I, for one, will look into 2012 as the year of change as I have no idea what lies in store, and that's what makes it exciting.

Now I'm off to put the bubbly in the fridge, happy new year to all, let's see what 2012 has to offer!