Feb
20
Irish Blog Awards Nomination
Filed Under Banter | 5 Comments
Testing….testing…1,2,3…is this thing on? Just rehearsing for my acceptance speech here because it seems that this little old blog has been nominated in the Best Specialist Blog category of the Irish Blog Awards. How did that happen? I’m not getting my hopes up because it’s more of a longlist than a shortlist but who cares, I finally get to put an award nomination badge on here, which will give the impression that someone somewhere on this planet actually reads my meandering waffle.
Congratulations also to some of my favourite blogs for receiving the same accolade and some of them in more than one category. Big up laydeez…
Journeying Beyond Breast Cancer
Feb
11
Going Bald for Boobies
Filed Under Banter, charity | 7 Comments
Sorry for my recent absence…again. I have been a busy little bee over here, working on something that is very close to my heart and it would seem that it’s close to the hearts of many judging by the response so far. I mentioned before in a previous post that Mabel & Violet were making a donation to support the Coppafeel campaign during breast cancer awareness month last October. Since then I have been trying to come up with another way to raise money to support a cancer charity a little closer to home. Then TodayFM came along with their Shave or Dye campaign and presented me with the perfect solution…why to shave off my hair of course!
To be honest, reactions to “my news” have been varied but fall into two distinct categories; those who think I’m clinically insane and those who use words like brave, courageous, mad, brave, mad, crazy, mad. The way I see it, I have been bald before (for those of you not in the loop, I had breast cancer seven years ago but I’m all better now; thanks for asking. That’s me up there with no hair underneath that bandana) so what have I got to lose, apart from hair obviously? Granted it has taken a good six and a half years to grow back to this length but I’m probably too old for long hair anyway. I was actually planning a funky new gamine crop for 2010, so this way I save the money that I would have to pay the hairdresser and I just have to wait a little longer for it to grow into said gamine crop. I’m starting to look forward to it although, from the corner of my eye, I keep catching my husband gazing wistfully at the hair on my crown or my sweeping fringe. I remind him that he will no longer have to remove clumps of my hair from the plughole or liberate a persistent strand from the sleeve of his jumper but I know that he’s silently cursing the Women’s Liberation Front, for all of their efforts have lead to this, his wife, shaving her head, of her own free will.
It’s my poor mother that I really feel for though. Her reaction was simply “What?!” and that’s never good. It usually means “I am in such shock at the words that you have just uttered that I can’t verbalise what I’m thinking or feeling.” Watching me undergo cancer treatment was harder for her than it was for me and I sometimes forget that. Seeing me without hair again will only serve to remind her of those unpleasant months but she will support me, she always does. And I love her for that.
So, if you are feeling generous today, your donation would be greatly appreciated. If you don’t wish to donate in a financial way, all I ask is that you spare a minute to read my personal message on my fundraising page. This message is just as important for your own wellbeing and health, if not moreso, than raising money. Thank you.
Feb
5
Talent for Haiti Auction
Filed Under Banter, Jewellery, Shop Stuff | 2 Comments
Oh my, I have been a bit slack on the blogging front this week. Just dropping in to let you know about Talent For Haiti, which is a charity auction created by Eilis Boyle and Helen James to fundraise for the victims of the earthquake. Many designers have donated lots of goodies and there was an auction last week for a private concert with Glen Hansard and Mark Geary, what a pair of gents! Sadly, somebody else won that auction although there are lots of auctions still ongoing so click here to help a very worthy cause and get your mits on some of the spoils!
We have donated this Red Tigers Eye & Turquoise Necklace by Juvi Designs. The starting bid for this piece is €100 so it’s the perfect opportunity to try to get it for a fraction of the normal retail price, which is €175 on Mabel & Violet and over €200 in other shops. All proceeds (minus eBay and Paypal commission) will be donated to Medecins Sans Frontieres, an independent medical aid agency providing relief in Haiti.
Dec
2
Bold Blogger
Filed Under Banter, Inspiration | 6 Comments
Dear oh dearie me, what sort of a blogger am I? A pretty bold one as it turns out. That’s “bold” in the Irish sense of the word, which means “bad” as opposed to “daring”. I am not a daring blogger, no. “Is blogger dána mé”, as we would say in our native tongue.
When one’s husband starts giving out to one for not blogging, one knows that something must really be out of kilter, especially when one’s husband disapproves of such things that normally eat into one’s personal time after work.
Likewise, when one’s friends start asking questions such as “Where have you been? How are we supposed to know what’s going on in your life if you’re not blogging” one must ask oneself, “Why don’t one’s friends just pick up the phone to chat to one?” HEL-LO! But also, on a more philosophical note, “Why hasn’t one been blogging lately?” or should that be “Why haven’t I been blogging lately?” All this third person stuff is far too complex for my little brain. The answer to that question still eludes me but I suppose I just got out of the habit and was quite enjoying the free time and then the more I didn’t blog, the easier it became not to blog. It’s a vicious circle but luckily for you peeps I’ve decided to get back in the game, so here I am.
I suppose it’s my own fault for starting this blogging thing in the first place. And there was me thinking that no-one ever read my blog anyway. At least now I know that my friends do, so when they’re not checking up on me on Facebook and Twitter they’re popping over here to see what I’ve been up to week in, week out. Hmmm. Next time I meet them I’ll prepare a little table quiz to test their “Meet Mabel & Violet” knowledge. They can only be considered real friends if they get at least 8/10 answers right. That’ll learn ‘em!
Image via marieclairemaison.com
Oct
12
CoppaFeel during Breast Cancer Awareness Month & Help Us Raise Money
Filed Under Banter | 6 Comments
As we all know October is breast cancer awareness month and, as it’s something that affects all of us in some way, I encourage you all to be breast aware. It can happen to women (and men) of all ages so please don’t think that it doesn’t affect you. I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 25 and I have many other friends and family members who have had breast cancer in their 20s and 30s as well as 40s, 50s and beyond.
Self proclaimed cancer warrior Kris was diagnosed earlier this year at the tender age of 23 and she has started her own campaign, which is picking up great momentum in the UK called “CoppaFeel“. Kris received a “Pride of Britain” award last week for her bravery and hard work in spreading the word about this terrible disease that knows no bounds and does not discriminate when it comes to choosing its victims. Please check out the CoppaFeel website and more importantly please cop a feel of your own breasts and get to know them well. Copping a feel saved my life and it can save yours too. Kris’ blog is also well worth a read as she documents her personal experience of “nippin’ kancer (spelt with a k because it doesn’t deserve the correct spelling) in the bud.” It’s a great read because she is just so positive and truly inspirational.
In order to help raise money for Kris’ campaign, we have decided here at Mabel & Violet to donate 10% of our sales for the month of October to the CoppaFeel campaign. So, if you were planning to purchase something from the shop, like a birthday or Christmas present, please do it during the month of October so that we can raise as much as we can. And more importantly, please CoppaFeel now and spread the word!
Sep
3
Where have I been?
Filed Under Banter, Photography, Travels | 1 Comment
Kerry & West Cork, which were pretty spectacular and B&Q, which was pretty unspectacular but more about that later…
Aug
10
Mabel & Violet’s Virtual Watercooler
Filed Under Banter, Shop Stuff | Leave a Comment
Last week we launched a weekly competition on our Facebook page giving our fans the opportunity to win a €10 voucher. To be in with a chance to win the prize, all you have to do is come and chat to us at our “Virtual Watercooler” on Facebook – sounds too easy? Well it is! You see, sometimes things can get a little boring around here, don’t get me wrong we’re very busy ladies but we sometimes miss working with lots of people and the old chats that frequently take place by the office watercooler. So to brighten up our day and to participate in our customers’ lives a little more, we invite you to come and chat to us.
Last week’s winner has just been announced on our Facebook page – so congratulations Sarah! Why not pop by and say hello to be in with a chance to win this week’s prize? We would love to hear from you…
Jul
30
Inspirational Images
Filed Under Banter, Inspiration, Photography | Leave a Comment
I’ve been feeling very uninspired of late, hence the noticeable lack of posts, but I came across this post today by Naomi from inspire*inspire and I just find these images really calming. I have so much going on at the moment – seemingly endless lists of things to do and I just don’t feel like I’m getting anything done, you know how it is. Anyway, I managed to draw some inspiration and give myself a well deserved kick in the backside to add a post to my blog after seeing these images so thank you Naomi. And I’ll replace the tumbleweed blowing around here with some of the aforementioned beautiful, inspirational images from the cheshire smile – available to view on Flickr here and to purchase on Etsy here.
Jul
15
Spot Our New Favicon?
Filed Under Banter, Shop Stuff | 2 Comments
Ok, for those of you who are not techie nerds – and lets face it few of us are, although admittedly I have been referred to as being one on occasion, favicon is actually short for Favourite Icon. As if you didn’t know! It’s the little icon that sits up there beside the url and is all about branding dahling! I’ve been meaning to add one to the site since day one but it’s always been shoved to the bottom of the to do list, never mind the fact that I didn’t even know the proper name for it back then anyway. So after stumbling across it on Lorna’s blog yesterday, I decided it was time for Mabel & Violet’s very own favicon to finally make an appearance.
I was initially going to ask my wonderful web designer to do it but after some careful research, lots of faffing around and a few forum searches later I managed to pull something together myself and…ta daaaah…isn’t she a beauty! Just look at her go. She’s so teeny tiny and pretty up there. If you’re a regular reader, you might not be able to see her unless you clear your cache and I haven’t tested Internet Explorer yet, which is apparently a bit pernickity about favicon settings but it works perfectly in Firefox. Whaddya think?
Jul
13
Wedding Meltdown
Filed Under Banter, Weddings | 2 Comments
Still recuperating here after attending two weddings back to back – one on Thursday and one on Friday last week. Obviously that meant that I was away from work for two days, which is not cool when you’re self employed but I was so glad to have the weekend to do the majority of my recovering, otherwise I would not be capable of all that much today.
My delicate state can be blamed almost entirely on two things: 1. whiskey (ideally Clontarf or Knappogue – shameless plug on behalf of himself, miniature versions of the latter formed our wedding favours for the boys and obviously went down a treat) mixed with white lemonade, which has quickly become my new favourite drink. I reluctantly moved on from G&T because it proved to be the common denominator in any late night disagreements, so yes in my case gin does make me sin, just a little. The ball and chain is keen to prove the other age old theory that whiskey makes one frisky but so far it has only proven to provide endless energy reserved purely for the dancefloor, which brings me to number 2. AC/DC at full pelt giving rise to some serious leg guitar from moi while the men sported their ties on their heads and rolled their trousers up to the knee for some obligatory air guitar knee sliding – oh how an Irish wedding wouldn’t be the same without a bit of AC/DC! Photos to follow pending permission from offending parties…