30 Mad Thursdays - Buy a Suit

So, my plan was that by the time I'm 30 I should own at least one stonking good suit. This will likely be the result of various other 30 before 30 challenges and projects (not least saving the money to buy one!) - but in the meantime I had a fun time this week getting suits for my brother and me for his wedding in September.

He and his bride-to-be are extremely well-organised, and in keeping with this I had the whole thing organised in about 90 minutes. Including trips to several shops and department stores! But the suits that we found are lovely, and will look great on the big day.

Now, back to saving to buy THIS - or something comparable. Why are Boss suits so outrageously expensive?!

Foodie Friday - Il Caffe di Napoli

We took my dad out for a nice dinner last night (after his team was beaten in rugby) - at Caffe di Napoli on Westland Row in Dublin.

I had the most indulgent thing I think I've eaten in a very long time - a steak served with a delicious sauce (its base was balsamic vinegar) and then topped - get this - with pate! Waaay too luxurious to be even remotely healthy. But delicious.

And so filling that I don't think any of us had any room for dessert! (Although I sent Aidan and Orla home with a box each of chocolate pretzels ;)

Seasonal Saturdays - March

Yesterday I had the honour of attending the Themed Entertainment Association summit in Universal City - it is basically an event where all the year's winners of THEAs (the awards given by the association for special achievement in various categories within the industry) present their works and achievements.

The Expo in China dominated the morning, and Harry Potter did the afternoon - all fascinating presentations and brilliant achievements. Perhaps the most interesting to me, however, was the presentation by Martello Media of the new museum at Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin. Certainly I think I must have been the only person in the room who could claim to have an immediate family member buried in the cemetery!

The beginning of March also marks the birthday/anniversary of said family member, my brother Kevin. He died before I was born, but somehow he has always figured in my consciousness, as I wonder what it might have been like to have an older brother, blazing a trail here or there for me. Oh well. Hopefully I've done a good job of doing so :)

Foodie Friday - Butler's Hot Chocolate

After my pontificating yesterday about giving up Chocolate, I was thinking about all the kinds of chocolate that I love, and would therefore miss. I'm no particular fan of chocolate soup, or any chocolate involvement in savoury items - although the mole negro at Monte Alban in Santa Monica is tremendous.

I was pretty much raised on drinking chocolate, mind you. It was a ritual in our house that at least two of us would have a cup of drinking chocolate (NOT cocoa) every night before bed. In France, on our camping holidays, my parents would often adjourn to the bar after putting us to sleep, where my mother would always have 'un chocolat chaud'. Last summer, in Samos, I had a very lovely cup of it, in the little dining area of a lovely cheapo hotel, much to the bemusement of the smiling Greek lady who prepared it for me.

I am looking forward to visiting Butler's Chocolate cafe in Dublin while I'm home - they make it quite beautifully. Somehow, though, I always associate their plush styrofoam cups with travel - probably because the two outlets of their franchise that I frequent the most are the ones in Heuston Station and Dublin Airport!

UPDATE (March 17th) - Orla and I had a delicious pair of hot chocolates, and a pear muffin, of all things, on our day of fun meandering around the city centre. Mission accomplished!

Seasonal Saturday - February

As January draws to a close, I'm quite excited for what this new month will bring. February 1st was always a quietly special day in our house, because it is St. Bridget's Day. My dad would always manage to bring home a bouquet of daffodils - just about ready to be in season! - for my mum, whose name-day it was.

I miss her dreadfully. But it's lovely that there's a whole day, even in the darkest depths of winter, that is entirely hers and always has been.