It's Chriiiiiiiiistmassss!!!

Well, it was. And what a Christmas it's been! Considering my last few Christmas's have been...eventful. This one fell nothing short of perfect. Not just Christmas Day itself, but the whole of the holidays. 

I've been so lucky this year and have the best family and friends a girl could as for. As well as some fabulous gifts!

(More) Soap and Glory!

Co&Co Diamonté Bangle

Victor&Rolf Flowerbomb

Adidas Ankle Socks

Lifestyle Sports Voucher

3 Month Gym Membership (including personal trainer!)

Finally, my hints have paid off! I'm so excited to start back at the gym, but without a job, I keep having to pay for more important things (like chocolate and alcohol!), rather than gym membership. But now I've no excuse. 

And I'll need it after all the delicious food from today. Because there's only three of us in my family, we host an 'Irish Coffee Morning' every Christmas, where neighbours and friends come up to ours for a drink or two. It's a great way for people to get out of the house for a few hours, and basically, prevents the three of us killing each other, if we were to spend the entire day together.

Here's what I wore:

Playsuit: Miss Selfridge

Shoes: River Island

Earrings: ALDO 

After a long day of mingling, eating and drinking, it's now time to relax by the fire.

I hope your Christmas was as blissful as mine! 

Happy Holidays :)

Sunday's Are For: Family ❆

Living in Dublin, away from home, with a busy college and social life, it's easy to get wrapped up in it all and forget about the things that matter the most. I'm the world's worst culprit for this. Before I know it, I've got myself all worked up over silly little things that are more often then not sorted out with a home-cooked meal and a chat with my mam.

Although I love living in Dublin, it's lovely to come home, especially to the country side, and chill out. Today I went for Sunday lunch in the newly opened Le Bouchon Restaurant in Portumna (Galway), with my mum, dad, auntie and uncle.

We had a fabulous meal and a good catch up. After all, that's what Christmas is for.

Here's what I wore:

Jumper: Topshop

Necklace: Pennys

Purse: Michael Kors

Tights: Dunnes

Boots: Topshop

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas! ❆

Yesterday, I headed home to Tipperary for Christmas, leaving the bright lights, the big smoke, and my boyfriend, behind me.

We decided that Friday would be our Christmas and we'd exchange gifts then. 

We met in Jo Burger, in town for something to eat and a few drinks. I love Jo Burger. Everything about it; the quirky menus, the friendly staff, the layout of the place, and obviously, the food. 

The weather was absolutely miserable, so we hopped in a taxi to Cineworld, to see Anchorman 2. It.Is.Fantastic. It's absolutely hilarious, and you won't believe the cast. I won't spoil anything, but I will say that the trailers don't even come close to doing it justice. I'd even go as far as to say it's better than the first! Definitely the movie of the year.

After the cinema, we headed back to Stephen's house to exchange presents. I was so excited to give him mine as I knew he'd love it: two tickets to WWE in the O2 in May.

Here's what I got:

Soap and Glory 'The Yule Monty' Vanity Bag

One Direction Perfume 'Our Moment'

Candy Kane Pandora Charm

Festive Pyjamas, Fat Face

Cinnamon Yankee Candle

I adore every one of my presents, and am feeling very lucky! Hope you all get what you ask for this Xmas.

Afternoon Tea

Apologies for the delay in this post, but I was staying out with a friend of mine in Greystones for the past couple of days, and my wifi signal was crap out there.

I've had a jam packed couple of days, but I'll fill you all in.

On Thursday, I met my mum in town, on Grafton Street. It was lovely to see her, as I don't go home (to Tipperary) much. As a surprise, she had booked afternoon tea in The Westbury Hotel. This was the most fancy-pants experience of my life. It's the type of place where they cut all the crusts off their sandwiches, and have every type of tea imaginable on the menu. I opted for a trusty mocha, and it was delish.

The food, to be fair, was incredible. To start, we got a selection of sandwiches; crab and smoked salmon, Limerick ham, turkey, cranberry and stuffing, and egg mayonaise. Although they don't sound the most exciting, no words can do them justice, they were amazing.

After this, we got a selection of the most delicate and delicious desserts.

After a couple of hours relaxing in the hotel, we went our separate ways, and did a bit of Christmas shopping. I got some money in advance for Christmas so, surprise, surprise, headed straight for Topshop. I bought myself two jumpers, which I'll include in a post over the next few days.

We then reconvened in Dandelion, for a few coctails, before heading home.

Has anyone else been to afternoon tea? It's an experience! But I'd definitely recommend it.

How Not to Over-Indulge This Festive Season ❆

We're all familiar with the mouth-watering ads for M&S Christmas food range. And we all too familiar with the post-Christmas guilt after a indulging on mince pies, hot-chocolate, tins upon tins of roses, mulled wine, and of course the main event, Christmas dinner itself. However there are ways of enjoying the festive period, without sacrificing your turkey and ham.

Research has shown that the average person puts on 2lbs over the Christmas hols, of which, most people never loose it.

This year, I'm going to a wedding on New Year's Eve, so I really can't afford to be putting on weight at the final hurdle. Here are some of my top tips to beat the bulge.

1. Know what you're eating.
It's very easy to settle down to watch Home Alone, with a tin of Roses on your lap. But do we really know how many we've had? This year, instead of putting the wrappers back in the box where they can be mistaken for full sweets, put them beside you. It won't take long for the wrappers to build up, then it's time to put the lid back on.

2. Chew Chewing Gum.
How often do we go to a party where the host has laid out a massive spread of mince pies, sausage rolls, and cocktail sausages? Without even realising you were hungry, you've scoffed the lot. Try chewing chewing gum. It'll stop you from picking, while occupying your mouth.

3. Crafty Calories.
Did you know, a bottle of wine has on average 600 cals? Yep! Drink is something I rarely take into consideration when doing a calorie count as I often forget about it, but one bottle of wine is the equivalent of a McDonald's cheese and bacon quarter pounder! Try stick to one or two glasses, yeah?

4. Exercise.
I know you're sick of hearing it, I am too, but just 30mins of exercise a day can keep that weight off. Surly you can miss one episode of Come Dine With Me for a 30 minute brisk walk?

5. More Fruit!
I'm not denying you any Christmas plum pudding, sure that's what Christmas is all about! But why not make your own and add even more fruit? There are plenty of recipes online for a fruit-filled pud. Also, a little tip, try switching clotted cream to single cream when serving your desserts.

6. The Main Event.
The Christmas dinner itself. Try pack up your plate with veggies. Vegetables are often boring, however at Christmas we tend to do plenty of fancy things with them, for example, brussel sprouts fried off with some bacon, red onion and walnuts. Fill up while you can, it's not everyday you get fancy veg!

Happy Christmas to...Me!

So today, Stephen and I headed out to Dundrum shopping center to do some Christmas shopping. We went for some food in TGI Fridays, did a bit of shopping, then later went to see Frozen in 3D. It's definitely worth the watch, and is well up there with some of the Christmas movie classics.

Here is what I wore:

Blazer: River Island

Shirt: Topshop

Necklace: Topshop

Tights: Dunnes

Satchel: River Island

While we were there I took a trip into ALDO, and I picked up this fab clutch bag. I had my eye on it for a while, and decided today was the day to treat myself.

ALDO €50.00

Cause we all need to treat ourselves sometimes!

Stocking Fillers ❄

Ahh who doesn't love stocking fillers? However often, they can be just disgarded after Christmas Day, and gathering dust for the next 365 days.

Here are some stocking fillers that definitely be a hit, and can be used all year round.

Pug Boyfriend Pants

Topshop €6.00

Head Massager from Prezzybox.com

€7.00

Ryan Gosling Tea Towel

Prezzybox €12.00

Aroma Home Fuzzy Feet Slippers

Prezzybox.com €17.00

Sleep-In Rollers

River Island €25.00

Barry M Festive Nail Paint

River Island €8.00

Festive Jim Jams

Boohoo.com €10.00

Festive Beanie

Boohoo.com €10.00

Pandora Charm

€35.00

Pug Mug from Urban Outfitters

€13.00

Christmas Gifts for Him ❄

Boys, although they'll probably disagree with me, can be very difficult to buy for. They make it sound easy "clothes, xbox games, aftershave". But the truth is, they can be just as fussy as us girls, right?

So here are a few bits and bobs that should hit the nail on the head!

"So You Think You're A Hipster?"

Perfect for that hipster in your life

Topman €12.00

Wallet

Perfect for Boyfriends

Topman €20.00

Jumper 

Perfect for Brothers

Topman €34.00

Paco Rebanne 1 Million

Perfect for Boyfriends

Boots €53.50

Retro Toaster

Perfect for Brothers

Prezzybox.com €41.50

Joseph Jospeh Utensil Set

Perfect for Dads

Available from Stock Design, South King St. Dublin

€58.50

Kindle

Perfect for Dads

Amazon.com €51.00

Battlefield 4

€64.99 from Gamestop

*Warning* Buying your boyfriend Battlefield 4 for Xmas, may soon result in a break-up!

12 Blogs of Christmas: Christmas Gift Ideas for Her ✻

So I've decided to do 12 blogs of Christmas, a series of 12 blog posts over the next 12 days in the lead up to xmas. These will include gift ideas for her, gift ideas for him, Christmassy recipies, Movie reviews, songs, and some of the little things that make Christmas for me!

After all, "It's the most wonderful time of the year." ❆

Numero Uno: Christmas Gift Ideas for Her.
These can be for mums, sisters, girlfriends, mother-in-laws etc.

Soap and Glory 'The Yule Monty'

Perfect for Girlfriends

Boots €32.00

One Direction's New Perfume

While normally I'd cringe at the very idea, I've smelled it myself and it is ah-mazing!

Perfect for Sisters

River Island €28.00

A Spa Getaway to Lyrath House Estate, Kilkenny

Online @ www.lyrath.com

"1 Day - 1 Amazing Price! Enjoy the very best of Lyrath Estate with 1 night's B&B a 4 course evening meal and one 30 minute Spa treatment each. It also includes a €15 Credit Lunch voucher each in Tupper's Bar."

€140.00 pps

Perfect for Mums 

River Island Slippers €12.00

Perfect for sisters

M&S Biscuit Gift Set

Marks and Spencers €17.00

Perfect for Mother-In-Laws

Mulled Wine Pot with Warmer

Prezziebox.com €30.00

Perfect for Mums

Onesee from Boohoo.com €24.00

Perfect for sisters and girlfriends

Next post: Christmas gift ideas for him.

Lovely Weekend

This weekend I had a lovely weekend. On Friday night, my boyfriend Stephen whisked me off for the night to stay in the Loius Fitzgerald hotel.

We went to the hotel and got ready to go out to the Toy Fair in the RDS, where Maeve had been working for the week. Admittedly, I was a little underwhelmed with the fair, although I'm sure 5 year-old-me would've loved it.

We then came back and had a few drinks at the hotel.

Saturday, I had lined up a radio interview for a college project, with the PRO for Leinster Rugby, Peter Breen, in the RDS, before the Leinster V Scarletts game. I loved doing the interview and really think radio will play a big part in my career in the future. 

I then got to sit up the front and watch the match. 

Unfortunately, not everyone had as good a weekend as I had. I'd like to extend my thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families of the helicopter crash in Glasgow, Paul Walker, most well-known for his role in The Fast and The Furious, and the victims and families of the train crash in New York.