Let’s have a catch up and long weekends in Ireland…

Evening all! Hope you’re all having a good week! Its definitely felt like a long one… Tim’s been working away this week (and last week too) so I’ve been trying to keep on track – ie. eat properly, gym it and get some sleep. Well… it kinda happened and didn’t :p Last week my sleep was atrocious! It took me ages to get to sleep but managed to get a few good nights sleep over the weekend thankfully 🙂 Anyone else have trouble sleeping on and off? What do you find that helps? Any tips would be great 🙂

This week we planned out my meals and I wrote out what I needed to do this week to keep on track. I’m going to have overnight oats for brekkie, salad for lunch and then I’ve got dinners all planned out. Preparation is definitely key for me!

Spring:

I’m looking forward to Spring – I read somewhere Spring is in 24 days and it can’t come sooner… the warmer and longer days – you just feel like you don’t need to hibernate anymore! Well that’s me anyway!
So this week I’ve got my meals planned out and I’m waking up early to fit some workouts in. I’m also starting ballet again on Wednesday which I’m really excited about! I stopped ballet when we moved up to Birmingham – I’d gone back to the Royal Academy of Dance for adult classes which I loved! I did ballet up until I was 18 and got my grade 8 which looking back on it is quite an achievement! I stopped when I went to Uni but started up again when I moved back to London. The adult lessons were a good level and such a good work out! I can’t wait to start again 🙂

Ireland:

Time has flown by! A few weeks ago we were over in Ireland for one of Tim’s good friends’ wedding. We went for a long weekend and stayed with family for a couple nights. It was just what we needed.

We had a chilled day before flying to Ireland. I had a bit of a pamper and got my hair cut and my nails done. I wasn’t sure whether to keep it long or cut it short… so I decided to have a trim and have some layers put in.

We stayed at my great auntie and uncle’s B&B in Dun Laoghaire (Ophira B&B) which was nice. It’s always nice staying there and catching up over a bottle wine and some tasty food! Dun Laoghaire is a lovely town and I love the pier walk. Obviously we made sure to go for a walk while we were there to admire the view and get some fresh air. Before heading over to Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel we cozied up in front of the wood burner – being Ireland it can be very chilly most of the time!

Tim was a groomsman at the wedding so we stayed at the Fitzpatrick with the Groom. It was a gorgeous hotel and we made sure to make use of the sauna and steam room that night! The bar is also nice and chilled so make sure to stop by for a night cap if you ever stay there. We stopped there for a quick drink before heading out for a meal with the Groom and his family. We went to 1909 in Dalkey and had the whole upstairs reserved for us. We had a delish 3 course meal which worked out at about 30 Euros each which isn’t bad.

Love me a glass of wine <3

The next morning, brekkie was tasty! I love an Irish breakfast – give me all that white pudding! We made sure to stock up on it before coming back home. You can’t go to Ireland and not come back with White Pudding (unless you’re Veggie/ Vegan of course!)

While Tim was getting ready with the Groom and other groomsmen I got myself ready – I got my fascinator from Phase Eight and my dress from John Lewis – being in Ireland I knew I wanted something with sleeves and slightly longer to keep the chill off! I’ll definitely wear it again – maybe afternoon tea or a nice meal out…

The service itself was at a church in Shankhill and the reception was then at Rathsallagh House about an hr drive away. The website doesn’t do the rooms justice! We stayed in OverArches which was simply gorgeous… the room was massive and had a huge bath. I didn’t take many pics as we were having too much fun! The food was delish and the whole evening just amazing. The Bride and Groom laid on the best day and we didn’t get to bed until 3am! I ended up taking my shoes off at some point during the night and got into socks by 2am – much more comfy!

When we got back to Dun Laoghaire we walked over to a deli, Cavistons, which does the tastiest bread! We got ourselves a sourdough loaf, some parma ham, salmon dip and coleslaw as well as a tasty lemon loaf cake – YUM! Perfect way to chill while watching the rugby.

I fell asleep during the rugby but was woken up by Tim to catch the train into Dublin to catch up with some friends from the wedding to go and see Riverdance – it was as amazing as I remember it being! When it was finished we made our way to Temple Bar and found a surprisingly empty bar to enjoy a couple drinks while listening to some live music – I think it was called Molly Malone’s.

It was such a lovely long weekend but the weather on the Sunday was awful! We woke up to the wind and the most noisy rain… We decided to venture out for a little walk when the rain stopped and got a hot choc from Insomnia Coffee before going back to the house to sit in front of the fire – thats always my favourite thing to do when its awful out – cosy up in front of the fire!

That evening we were delayed a good few hours due to Storm Ciara and all that wind! We eventually got home just before 2am so I worked from home the next day and had a lie in. Either way it was a fantastic weekend and it was so nice having a few days off work!

Here’s hoping the weather gets better soon… I’m definitely over these chilly days, the rain and feeling cold most of the time! Come on Spring! Stop teasing us…

Until next time,

Cathers xx

Follow: