Farmer's Market

I spent this lovely autumn morning at the Mahon Farmer's Market. It's such a great market, filled with stalls offering loads of locally grown fruit and vegetables... 

 

and the best porridge I've ever had! I've been known to make a trip to this market for the porridge alone. Apparently they soak it overnight in milk. It's so creamy... perfect for a cold morning!

 

 And then for lunch: bread, cheese, and the most amazing mushroom soup. I'm not really a fan of mushrooms, but this soup is incredible!

 Aren't these guys creepy?

I was feeling very autumn-y. Isn't it funny how in the spring, we want to wear flowery prints, and in the fall, we switch to autumn colours? But not even on purpose, it just feels better somehow! Blending in with the leaves or something...

 I love these shoes!!! I got them for 2 pounds in a charity shop in Bristol. And these lovely socks were a gift from Avoca... yum!

Buttons. 

Nice.

Les Miserables... a tribute

pontauchange.com

bridgemanart.com

It all started with the musical... I first saw in on PBS when I was in 7th grade, and I was immediately hooked. Obsessed even. Les Mis was the first cd I ever bought, and I soon had every song memorized. 

I read the book, then I read it again, then in high school I joined the French club (I don't speak French!) just so I could go see the musical live in San Diego. Over the next few years, I read the book a few more times, and saw the musical live a few more times. Here in Ireland, I even went to see a children's performance of it! And for Christmas, I asked Mike to read the book so I would finally have someone to talk to about it. And he's almost done!

at Waterloo

When I was in Belgium over the summer, I was able to visit Waterloo (Hugo describes the battle in great detail), and I even saw the inn where Victor Hugo wrote parts of the book. 

It was so amazing to see the battlefield and the farmhouse that I had read so much about in the battle scenes of Les Mis.

Needless to say, I can't wait to see the movie. When I first saw the trailer, I burst into tears... oh my goodness I cannot wait!!!

Belgium Part 2... the treasures!

 

 Fleamarket heaven in Belgium! I could just roll around in all those piles of old linens...

And here's the loot!

 

 

 

I think half the fun is digging through giant piles of clothing, heaped on the ground, and then catching a glimpse of vintage fabric and pulling and tugging until you've untangled the wrinkled treasure from its less than worthy companions and offered it new life. Hurrah!

I persuaded the lovely Jacq and Esther to try them on (at about midnight!) after the longest day ever.

Oh! And I also found this gorgeous watercolour... and a few other treasures which I'm sure will show themselves in the weeks to come!

Belgium Part 1

So... I got to go to Belgium last week!

 Jacq and I went to visit our dear friend Esther. 

 

When we stepped into her apartment, it was like walking into a magazine! She gets all her furniture secondhand, and paints it herself. Look at this gorgeous old table she got at a farm.

 Eating on a balcony=being on holiday

 We hung out in Brussels city centre

 And Esther took us to the most AMAZING flea market ever

Looking at this photo makes me jealous of myself.... digging through piles and piles of old clothes. What's in my arm? Oh not much... just several vintage dresses I got for 2 euro each! Aaaah!!!! Curse you Ryanair and your baggage restrictions! 

Next time I'm checking a bag.

I have learned two lessons:

1. My husband is the most amazing EVER (ok I already knew that)

2. If I mention in a blog post that I want something, Mike will get it for me (?!)

 

  I am the proud new owner of the most GORGEOUS bike in the world. 

And it has a detachable basket.  

Yep. 

Our friends own a bike shop so Mike got a great deal.

And I married Mike so I got a great deal.

So pretty much everyone wins.

But my bike gets first place.

Now I will casually post some more things I like and further test lesson number 2:

 

Quay Designs

Vintage? Yes. Creative? Yes. Irish? Yes..... We stumbled upon this gorgeous shop after leaving the used furniture store the other day. Cliona Higgins of Quay Designs will make all your furniture dreams come true! Well, that is if your furniture dreams include unique vintage furniture in bright, happy colours all snug inside an old brick building along the lovely River Lee...

Isn't she cute? And so talented! She was on her 6th coat of paint when I took this photo. And I think I'm doing well when I put on a second coat of paint. Oh dear...

And look at the outside! 

The bunting and those gorgeous doors lured us in.

So, thanks to Cliona, I was inspired to re-do my lovely corner cupboard properly! As in, sanding, cleaning, undercoat, etc.

 

It smelled horrible. Like stale tobacco and sour alcohol mixed with mildew. I scrubbed it for ages!

Then I sanded it and painted it with an undercoat. I almost just left it this colour because I really liked it. 

 

I wanted the inside to be bright, so I mixed a bunch of old blue and green paint I had...

 And then I painted the inside blue and the outside white.

And here it is, in the corner!

 I put this tea set inside, along with some old books

I love my new corner cupboard! 

(and look at my bouquet of sweet peas from the garden! Yay!)