Medical themed party

Now things are starting to settle down a bit from our engagement announcement, I can catch up on some much delayed posts.

While back in Sydney a few weeks ago, I got to see some decorations put together for my mums medical themed party for her 60th birthday (I previously posted about designing some prescription invitations for the party).

There was medical signs such as this posted up around the house:

and my sister put together this eyesight chart:

I'm embarrassed to admit I thought it was a normal eyesight test chart. It took me a while to actually figure out what it said!

Guests to the party were invited to dress as either a doctor or a patient. Sounds like it was a fun night!

Engaged!!!!!

It's been a while since my last update - things have been quite hectic lately!

The most important update is - I'm engaged!!

J proposed last weekend at the Cliffs of Moher in county Clare.

Cliffs of Moher

He told me we were driving from Dublin to visit his family for the night, only for us to end up at the cliffs!

J had packed a picnic of strawberries, raspberries and cream:

After we had finished eating, I suggested we head off but J wanted to wait 'a few more minutes to enjoy the view' - what he was actually waiting for was for the crowds to go away! When there was a break in the tourists walking past us, J handed me a scroll to read while he got on one knee and proposed with my dream ring! I said 'yes' (of course) and there were a few tears - all happy ones!

The Ring

J and I had been looking at rings for a while, and earlier this year we found the most beautiful ring at Delphi Antiques in Dublin. Delphi also had the ring up on their website, so every few days I would jump on the website to see if it was still there. J was very busy with exams and work around this time, so I thought he would wait till things calmed down a little before buying the ring. 

As soon as I noticed the ring disappear off the jewellers website I called J over in a panic - he swore he didn't buy the ring, and that he would call the jewellers to see if it was really gone. The next day J said that he had spoken to the jewellers, and that someone had definitely put a deposit down on the ring and it was off the market.

That was three months ago, and during that time J had been suggesting we go ring shopping again and making other comments to put me off the trail. I honestly thought that the dream ring was gone and that when we had time again we would find something else. 

Because I knew J wanted to propose with a ring we had chosen together, I didn't suspect that he was going to propose that day at the cliffs - in fact, while we were sitting on the cliffs I was thinking "This would be the perfect time and place for a proposal - too bad he doesn't have a ring yet!"

It turned out J had bought the ring the week after we had viewed it. He had kept it at the jewellers for 3 months, and hid it around the house for the last week before the proposal. Very sneaky! I didn't have a clue!

Engagement Weekend

To top off the weekend, J booked a room at the Raddison in Galway. Because Galway was packed that weekend due to the Arts Festival, when we checked into the hotel, they put us in the penthouse suite!! (this was without knowing we had just gotten engaged!)

That afternoon we called J's family and told them the news, and waited for everyone to wake up in Sydney before calling to tell my family. My parents weren't surprised at all as J had called the day before to ask for my dad's blessing. 

And, the weather for the weekend was gorgeous - sunny and warm. All in all, the perfect weekend!

Aussie Fashion Wish List - Black & Navy

Online shopping in Ireland can be expensive.

When buying online from a supplier outside of the EU, on top of the price of the item, you can expect to pay:

1) Customs Duty. - Customs duty is calculated by Customs on the TOTAL cost of the clothing. They add together the purchase price, + any insurance, + freight costs. On this total figure they charge Customs duties of 12%.Duty on footwear depends on the material the footwear is made of. It's usually between 9% and 15%Customs duty does not usually apply to clothes or shoes under €150 total cost.

 2) V.A.T. - After adding the customs duty to the total cost of the clothing, they then add V.A.T.@ 21% on the after Customs duty figure.

(Quoted from clothing.ie) 

These extra charges suck. And they can be expensive. Trust me - I found out the hard way through a revolveclothing order.

And so, I'm using my trip to Sydney to stock up on items from my favourite and sorely missed Aussie stores!

I've got a huge wish list, so I'll just post part 1 for now:

Australian Fashion Wish List

• Country Road - Skinny Stretch Jeggings in Navy. I love the fit and quality of Country Road pants!
• Portmans - Navette Feature Beaded Trio Necklace.
• Witchery - Flutter Sleeved Scoop Neck Blouse.
• Wish - Beau Bandeau Dress. I try not to buy going out dresses in Dublin, just as there isn't a very wide selection, and I get worried there will be 10 other girls in the same dress in the same bar!
• Diana Ferrari - Mercury Booties. Diana Ferrari shoes are so comfortable.

From the list above, I've already bought the Diana Ferrari shoes, and the Country Road jeggings. Both items are extremely comfortable to wear.

Some more pics of the Diana Ferrari heels:

Side view. Love the heels and the cut out.

Bought them on sale. Score!

More Aussie wishlists to come soon!

Sydney Food Dates

It has been brilliant being back in Sydney!

As you can see from the pic above, I've mostly been catching up with people via lunch/dinner/brunch/dessert dates.

I think I will go back to Dublin 5 kgs heavier.

On the plus side, the scales in my parents bathroom are broken, and tell me I'm 20kgs lighter than I really am. Great excuse to keep those lunch dates coming!!

With the exception of the Max Brenner pic in the middle of the collage, I've mostly stuck to Asian meals since I've been home, because the quality of Asian food in Australia is 100x better (and cheaper) than what you can find in Dublin. If only the Irish would catch on to the concept of Yum Cha!

Sydney!!

After 30+ hrs of travelling, I've finally arrived in Sydney!!

I'm here for a short break (just over a week), and am so excited to catch up with everyone here.

I'm so jealous of people who can sleep on flights. I tried very hard to sleep on all three of my flights from Dublin - Sydney, and only managed a few hours. If only those seats reclined back a few more inches..!! (or..if only I could afford 1st class seats!)

More posts about my trip to come, but for now I'm going to sleep!

Summertime Festival @ Kildare Village

After a weekend in Cork for a birthday, we decided to stop off in Kildare Village on the way back to Dublin on Sunday.

Kildare village is an outlet mall which looks like a miniature Woodbury Commons. While it is very small, it's still a nice way to break up the Cork-Dublin drive.

The summer sales were on when we visited, but I didn't buy any clothes - I had already bought a TopShop dress and two Jane Norman skirts back in Cork!

Kildare Village was also holding their Summertime Festival. The festival seemed to be just a tent in the middle of the village selling food - but what food!! The cakes looked delicious, and there were huge lines for the hot food.

I bought two cupcakes and some strawberries and cream for the drive home. Yum!

Strawberries, cream and sunshine - the perfect way to end the weekend!