Aug
7
Absentee Bloglord, Sneak Peek & Big News!
Filed Under Banter, My Home, Shop Stuff | 6 Comments
This absentee blogger is back…briefly. This time with a sneak peek of a corner of the living room here at Mabel & Violet towers. More images are set to follow but not before the “big reveal” elsewhere – oh the drama and suspenders of it all!
While I’m here, I thought I’d take the time to let you know our other big news – himself has got a new job and we are moving to that London! I can hardly contain myself with the excitement of moving to such a great city but I will really miss Dublin too. I’m really happy to report that our Irish customers will not be affected by this move because I will continue to run the online boutique from across the pond and all of our products will continue to be stored and sent from within Ireland, so no need to worry about any ker-azy postage costs from the UK! We only found out about this two weeks ago and we are moving two weeks from now so we are frantically trying to find somewhere to live and sort out our entire lives, hence my extensive absentee bloglord-iness. For shame though and in the words of my 4th class teacher – “must try harder.”
May
22
Colour Coded Book Shelves
Filed Under Banter, Inspiration | 5 Comments
And further to my last post, I just want to show you that people do actually colour code books on shelves, so I’ve provided this example below. I’m guessing that’s the chick-lit section in the top right hand corner? This is only the beginning though, there’s a whole Flickr pool dedicated to this literary rainbow making thing.
Now I love a bit of organisation and there’s nothing quite like a pretty shelf display but this makes my IOCD (interiors obsessive compulsive disorder) look a little mild. Although I do wish I had a book collection like this one and perhaps I wouldn’t mind if someone else took the time to colour coordinate it on my floor to ceiling shelving. I suppose that wouldn’t be so bad. What do you think – magic or manic?
Image via Flickr
Apr
23
A New York State of Mind How You Go
Filed Under Banter, Photography, Travels | 5 Comments
It’s late and he has been despatched for chocolate before the film starts so it’s time for a quick blog post. A rather overdue one at that. As always, I have a good excuse but this one is definitely my best yet and it goes something like this…
“Sorry dear readers, I haven’t blogged for a while because I was sojourning in New York and then, you wouldn’t believe it but a volcano erupted in Iceland, which resulted in my return flight being cancelled and I was stranded there for days with nothing to do but hang out in the village all day every day.” Poor me.
Back soon with more photographic and anecdotal evidence, once I recover from the stress of my ordeal and the jetlag…
Image courtesy of me and my shaky hand
Mar
24
If you happen to be in or near Kilkenny this Easter Bank Holiday weekend, head straight to Absolut Style at Set to rummage through lots of vintage fashion, pick up one or two items of vintage furniture and top it all off by taking in a film in the ultra stylish new Set Theatre. Organised by Interiors and Fashion Stylist Blanaid Hennessy, there will also be a lot more going on over the course of the weekend including makeovers, live photo shoots, style talks as well as night time shenanigans! I’m hoping to pop down for a day, I quite like the sound of watching five fashion inspired films on the Friday…bliss! All in all it’s set to be a great weekend. ..sorry couldn’t resist!
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 | 8 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…
