Feb
28
Gift Ideas for Mother’s Day on a Budget
Filed Under Gifts | Leave a Comment
Mother’s Day has always been an important date in the calendar in our house and when we were young it was all very “Make and Do” thanks to Mary Fitzgerald (what ever happened to her??) as we spent hours making presents and cards for our Mum. These days the old DIY pressie just doesn’t cut it with our Mammy though and while she loves flowers, they are expensive to deliver and are just a bit too obvious. So, if you are looking for an original gift this year that doesn’t cost a fortune then take a look at our Mother’s Day gift ideas on Mabel & Violet. We have a range of gifts to suit every budget but in these recessionary times we have plenty of gifts that cost less than €15 and we have recenty changed our delivery prices to make sending these items even more affordable. We are also offering free delivery for orders over €50, delivered anywhere throughout Ireland and Northern Ireland. If that’s not enough, we provide a free gift wrapping service so you can get all the kudos without any of the hassle, simply buy online and we’ll gift wrap and deliver your gift to you or directly to your Mum, whichever option you prefer. Here is a taste of the gifts that we have available…
Hellebore Bone China Teacup & Saucer €13.50 Delivery in Ireland €6.00
Silver Plated Glass Jar €10.50 Delivery in Ireland €4.00
White Angora Gloves €18.95 Delivery in Ireland €2.00
Silver Heart & Flower Keyring €14.95 Delivery in Ireland €2.00
Red Coral & Sterling Silver Bracelet €86.95 Delivery in Ireland is Free
Rose 20 Piece Dinner Service €79.95 Delivery in Ireland is Free
Feb
28
Inspirational White Kitchens
Filed Under Kitchen | 2 Comments
I’m very excited, we took a trip to IKEA in Belfast yesterday and bought our new kitchen. We hired a van and turned it into a proper road trip, beeping at every other white van driver en route! It’s funny though, I have spent the last few weeks (months actually) thinking about what kind of kitchen I would like and there was no doubt about it, it was always going to be white. I found the perfect cabinet style and the desired appliances in IKEA (see previous post) and the perfect tiles in Fired Earth – Retro Metro – love, love, love these! As it turns out, one of my best friends who is a design nut just like me, has also bought the exact same kitchen! Now that can easily happen but when we were chatting on our way to IKEA yesterday, it turns out that she has also found the exact same tiles!! We weren’t at all surprised really because we have always seemed to live parallel lives and share the same taste but I decided to do a bit of research online and see if I shared the same taste with any more people…and the answer is a resounding YES! So here are some images that I came across that exemplify what I plan my lovely new white kitchen to aspire to…
Feb
25
Tea – How do you make yours?
Filed Under Tea Party | Leave a Comment
Tea Cosy from Mabel & Violet
I was chatting with a friend the other day and the conversation turned to the subject of tea making (as it does!). She mentioned that she was looking for a nice tea cosy and I happened to have just the thing she was looking for in my shop. So naturally, I then asked her how she makes her tea because you see there seem to be many ways. My parents, when making it in a teapot let the tea draw on the hob, whereas my in-laws always let the tea draw for a while on the table by popping a nice tea cosy over it. Then of course, you have the old quick and easy tea bag in a mug for tea drinkers on the run. My grandmother was a hob woman but Mabel and Violet are firmly in the tea cosy category. I’m a more recent tea cosy convert myself but I must say, there’s no looking back for me now. I love my tea cosy and I’m saving on the electricity bill too! Does anyone have any other tea making methods that they would like to share?
Feb
25
Sorry about the delay!
Filed Under Banter | Leave a Comment
Sorry about the lack of blog posts, I’m afraid that this was due to some technical difficulties, which have now been resolved and order is returned to the world once more! Expect plenty more blog posts from now on and some lovely images to accompany them…
Feb
11
IKEA – Sinner or Saint?
Filed Under Affordable Interior Design, Kitchen | 1 Comment
This is only my second blog post but I fear that I’m about to lose all credibility as an interior design blogger with this one! I have spent the last few days designing my dream kitchen on IKEA’s downloadable kitchen planner program. Now I was never great at AutoCAD in college but this really is a piece of cake! They have so many different sized kitchen cupboards and units that you can work around almost any space and incorporate architectural features as well. If you’re anything like me and love to do things yourself then you will love this. Check it out here.
You see, I have been getting kitchen quotes over the last few weeks from various Irish companies and the truth is that they vary wildly but I think the worst part is that few of them are actually broken down into clear costs. The majority of quotes just seem to come back with a figure plucked from the sky! Irrespective of what it costs to install the kitchen, it seems that even the lowest grade of kitchen in Ireland is going to set you back at least €7,000 and that excludes everything but the kitchen sink! No you’ll have to cough up more for tiling and appliances thank you! So I’ve designed my own kitchen now, which includes a gorgeous ceramic sink, one of those cool industrial style taps for rinsing out my pots, a rather professional looking five-burner cooking range with built-in gas oven, a stainless steel splash-back and an overhead extractor, a fridge, a freezer and so much storage space that I probably won’t know what to do with it all, two bar stools and even a few fancy things for hanging stuff to dry at the sink! And the cost? £3059.91, which at today’s exchange rate works out at €3394.35 – bargain!
While some would argue that IKEA has done little for good interior design with its general homogenisation of our homes, in its defence it has brought affordable design to the masses and revolutionised how we live today. Just look at their storage solutions and you’ll see what I mean. I first came across IKEA a number of years ago when I moved to Leeds on a transfer with the company that I worked for at the time. I arrived in a strange city where I didn’t know a soul and lived on my own in a rather bland looking rented apartment. Soon enough I discovered the big blue and yellow homeowners’, renters’ and buy to let investors’ heaven that is IKEA and I was like a giddy schoolgirl running around, open mouthed, eyes bright with wonder at all the possibilities for my shoebox sized temporary home…a desk under the bed, why hadn’t I thought of that?!
So while IKEA has served me well over the years (even providing many a weekend social highlight before I made any friends in Leeds!) the downside is that everything is so mass produced and affordable that you end up seeing it everywhere. You call over to your friend’s house and recognise the sofa from last year’s catalogue, you watch an episode of Neighbours and notice the same throw and cushions you almost bought for the spare bedroom or you go to view a rental property and you see that same black and white print with the five pebbles that was taken on a beach somewhere in Sweden and now occupies the walls of thousands of homes around the world. So I suppose what I’m trying to say is that I choose to celebrate the merits of IKEA but everything in moderation (including moderation itself) as they say! So you will see evidence of IKEA in my home but you will also see many things that aren’t so instantly recognisable, probably many things from Mabel & Violet and some vintage and antique pieces too. Mix and match is my motto.
For us Dubliners the prospect of IKEA’s arrival after all these years is so highly anticipated by the nation that it just might be enough to lift the country out of recession! I think we will definitely see a spike in consumer spending in the month of July this year, which, according to my sources, is when it is due to open. In fairness, I think their best customers will actually be the property developers who have been clearly saving up all their coffers from not re-paying the interest on their loans in order to do a major trolley dash around IKEA! They will then flood the rental market with their generic looking shoebox apartments, kitted out with IKEA flat-pack furniture, each one complete with a lovely black and white print of five pebbles on a beach! Mark my words.
Feb
5
Very Pleased to Meet You!
Filed Under Banter, Recessorize | 6 Comments
This is my first blog post so I think that an introduction is probably the most appropriate thing to do. My name is Paula and I am the owner of online Home, Gift & Lifestyle Boutique Mabel & Violet
Now that’s enough about me, what you really need to know is who are Mabel and Violet? Mabel & Violet were my husband’s great aunts, neither of whom ever married and who shared a cottage in the countryside. Mabel worked in Weirs Jewellers for years and was passionate about jewellery, often making her own, while Violet was the homemaker and she would sometimes run up cushions and curtains on her Singer sewing machine. They both seemed like such strong, likeable characters that I thought it only appropriate to name my online store after them!
Now it seems that everyone is blogging these days so why would I want to add yet another one to the already crowded blogosphere and why would anyone be interested in what I have to write? Well I can’t promise anything that will be truly inspiring or have life changing results but if you’re interested in interior design, home decorating, DIY, jewellery or fashion then you might be vaguely interested in at least some of the posts here. Over the next few months I will be dishing out tips on how to “Recessorize your home” ie. accessorize and re-decorate your home in a recession!! Some of these tips will be tried and tested by yours truly as my husband and I “Recessorize” our apartment.
Don’t be surprised too if, occasionally, either Mabel or Violet hijack this blog. As the shop is their namesake they naturally have a vested interested and like to have a say in how things are run around here. You can get in touch with Mabel and Violet on Facebook and we also have a Facebook page if you would like to keep an eye on what we’re up to.
So as a blogging newbie, I’m slightly apprehensive but also excited about what lies ahead and of course comments and feedback are most welcome.
Bye for now.
Paula