Charmed.

I have been out and about wasting my money on junk again. Hurray! I went along to a sale of work in Howth where you can be lucky and get a few good bits for rock bottom prices. It is actually really quaint. It is in the grounds of a little church on a hill and there is everything you would imagine for a church sale including a brass band and the mandatory tea and cake area (a little on the pricey side if you ask me- €15 for tea and rice crispy cakes for three people...seriously?!) Anyway, here are a few of the trashy trinkets I lovingly adopted.

Loving this for €3

Cup from the last carboot sale for €3.20

Vintage perfume bottle €1

This hilarious make up bag that is real suede and leather for 20c.

Yep it says Lourdes...whatevs.

This picture frame holder was a bit of a mishap. I asked how much it cost. The guy said 5c so I was delighted and handed him a euro to pay and he then said 'Actually I'll leave it at a euro' and walked off. Not usually the way bargaining goes.

Last but not least, a present from the sale from my lovely Auntie Karen. See that little heart peaking out...?

Want to see what it is off?

The heart is one of the charms on Mam's charm bracelet. She loved this thing.She called it her life bracelet because 'Christians don't believe in charms' etc. Of all her jewellery , after her engagement and wedding rings, I reckon this meant the most to her. There are no diamonds or rubies but it is dripping in love. We had to really think about putting it on her when we said goodbye but it was too meaningful not to keep. I will tell you the story that she told so many times to people about this bracelet. 

Each charm had a special meaning to her. She picked each one except the swan which Deborah and James got her as a present which has a special meaning for her and dad. 

• Bumblebee- Deborah in Irish means honeybee
• Singer sewing machine-to remember her time with the women who she bought sewing machines for in Uganda
• Heart- Dad was her sweetheart
• Gingerbread man- because Timothy loves to cook
• The shoe-because she knew she had an addiction to clothes
• The cupcake-guess who that was for...
• The Scissors- to represent her creativity
• The laptop-because Jonny was always making movies
• The second shoe-to represent the women who she loved serving through her ladies ministry Flourish
• The frog-because when James was small he used to love insects and reptiles and we even held a funereal for a tadpole for him. Mam buried it in a matchbox alongside my hamster. 

We decided to keep it because we want to continue adding on the charms that we know she would have put on. She would have bought one for her new son and daughter in laws which will come, and grand-children and great grand children. In fact knowing Mam, it would have given her an excuse to go out and buy another bracelet and start filling it up again! But if you ask me, if you look at her bracelet, it was pretty full up. Like her life. Full of the people that meant the most to her and full of love. I just wish she was here to put the rest of the charms on her life bracelet herself.

Joey x

Weekend Treats

Hi everyone.
Sorry I have been gone for so long but I was finishing up in college and had loads of work to do. This post will be jammers with pictures but I had such a lovely time I might as well show you them all.

I met Michael for lunch on Friday and right when he had to go back to work my pal Aoife came into the same cafe to take her lunch from work so I stayed with her and had tea. How handy! I was very much a lady who lunches that day. We were in Soundbites cafe which is above Tower Records just off Grafton Street and if you haven't been you need to go. I love it there.

Then on Saturday I convinced Dad to take me and the person who created my love of bargains, Granny Flo,  to a carboot sale that was on. I am afraid to bargain with people but with Granny as my wing lady, I was getting things marked €10 for €1 50. She is a pro. 

Then it was time for a tea break after all of our bargain hunting and the selection of dried up scones in the church hall just wouldn't do so we headed down to the farmers market in Clontarf  for some tea and cake and the weekly bunch of flowers of course.

There are such nice cake and bread stalls at the market and on a nice sunny day, it makes you feel like your wandering around a little French market.There is a lovely, friendly atmosphere. Granny kept saying she felt like she was on her holidays.

Then to top it all off we bumped into my little friend/cousin with my aunt and uncle. A delightful morning all in all.

Style icon in the making

So cute

Buying flowers

After all of the carboot sale and farmers market fun, I went up to my friend Aoife's house for her birthday lunch. I have been at every one one of her birthdays since we were 8 and I hope that continues until we are 80.  Love you loads Aoife. 

Bst Bdz 4eva 'n' eva

Joey x