Red Letters... Cork

Dear Cork,

How can I begin to explain how much I adore you? You've always been a place of peace, safety, joy. The comfort I feel with you, it's unparalleled. When things seem bleak, unhappy, scary, I turn to you. Cork, you've always got friends, food and laughter waiting for me. There's been so much great food eaten with you over the years, so many bottles of wine, and more adventures than I could ever relay in a letter. You've brought me joy and safety in a way I've never felt with any other city.

 

When I'm visiting you, I fill up on vintage shopping, book stores and crafting. I eat great food and watch old movies with old friends and new friends alike. I stay up til the wee hours having deep conversations with new friends, learning about who I was, who I am and who I want to be. So much has happened that you've been witness to, many drunken fits of laughter, sporting achievements, running a 5k in the midst of a dual-ended road trip, the list goes on, but you know that.

 

Then I pick up, and I head out to see the sea, down to Crosshaven, or out to Myrtleville, and I feel so small, and yet so big at the same time. Standing on the edge of the county, pink converse contrasting against the navy and grey pebble beach, looking out at the ships, there is no place on earth that I would rather be. I support two teams, Meath and you, Cork, which caught me by surprise. I'm not much for GAA, and yet I own a hoody in your colors. That's how much I love you.

When I say your name, I say it as you would, with that musical twang, with that funny accent that always makes me smile. Cork, its fair to say I cannot imagine my life without you in it, and I don't want to have to do that. No distance is too great to get to you.

 

I'll be back with you soon,

All my love,
Amy
x

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August Favorites

It's that time of the month again!! Favorites time!! 

This month I have quite a few favorites, so lets get into it! 

First and foremost, I want to gush about my new kitten, Paolo. He's a rescue kitty, not rescued by me, but we have adopted eachother, and he's in his forever home! My cousin found him in an awful state on the road near where we live, and stopped the car to bring him home. I met Paolo two weeks later and fell in love. Not only did I fall in love, but so did my mother, and so it was decided that we would re-home him, since he was causing upset in my cousins house because of their resident Tomcat, Oisin. He's a little ball of fluff, who thinks he's big, and likes to let on that he's a fearless killer, when in fact he loves to sleep between my shoulder and side of my head in my bed. Paolo has his own Instagram account, @paolo_puss - go give him a follow! 

I want to rave about my Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation. I wear this in work, almost every day, and I'm a tiny bit in love! It's got great coverage, it lasts well, doesn't get shiny and doesn't oxidize on the skin. I find it lightweight, easy to buff into the skin, and coupled with a light powder, it's full coverage with no caking! 

I'm in the lightest shade, 010 Light Porcelain. You can pick it up in any Boots for €7.99, so affordable for every day wear!


Next I want to give honorable mentions to my Alcon Pure Moist 30 Day Contact Lenses, which I have been in love with! I am a big fan of weird frames, and yet I find myself wearing lenses absolutely every day, recently! They're super comfortable, promising 16 hours of wear. I know it's bad, but I have, on occasion slept in my lenses and they've still felt good the next morning! You can get these at your local opticians! 

I've been reading Chase Your Shadow: The Trial of Oscar Pistorious, and I feel the need to give this a serious plug! No matter what you think of the man, this book is an unfailing, unbiased look at the trial and eventual conviction of Pistorious for the culpable homicide of Reeva Steenkamp. This book is quite dense and heavy, part biography, part journalistic reporting, but it's an incredible read. 10/10 would read again! 

I picked up my copy in Vibes and Scribes, in Cork City for €10.99! 

This month I have been insanely obsessed with Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains, particularly Honey, a light, very wearable nude pink shade, and Romantic, a very easy to wear red. I almost always wear Honey in work, as it's very natural and can be applied without a mirror. I wore Romantic to a wake and funeral, and it wasn't too "done" or too "OTT" for the funeral. 

These balm stains are €10.99 in Boots and are currently on offer for 2 for €14. 

Next up, I want to wax lyrical about my trip to Cork! I got to see my oldest friend, spend some time with her, make new friends, and we had a brilliant time! We ate the most amazing chickpea curry with vegan tabbuleh, perused great book stores, made friends with a record store owner and generally just enjoyed everything the city has to offer! I even bumped into an archery friend on our way to lunch one day! Cork is everything I adore, and more. Great food, great people, great record stores and always my happy place. 

I've been listening to a lot of records that I picked up on my trip to Cork, but two I want to mention are No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom, and Woven Skull's Lair Of The Glowing Bantling , I am all about Gwen Stefani at the moment, and nothing makes me happier than putting on my makeup for a night out, listening to Spiderwebs (which I've left below for you to wrap your ears around!), Just a Girl and the classic, Don't Speak! I will be giving a full review and telling the story of how I came to possess the first copy of Lair of The Glowing Bantling later on this month, so stick around for that!! 

I've been watching a lot of YouTube lately, but I want to give special mentions to my new favorite Vlogger, Mike Falzone! Mike is a stand up comic, who makes the most amazing videos for YouTube, has a great podcast series, and is generally a pretty cool dude! I'm gonna leave some of my favorite videos here for you to get you started! 

So there you have some of my favorite things this month! 

September promises to be a great month for favorites, with multiple adventures happening - The NPA Ploughing 2015, Dylan Moran in Vicar St, hazelnut picking with the bezzo, and plenty more, as well as plenty of scope for new products to weasel their way into my heart!

Have you been loving anything this month? 

Let me know in the comments! 

Amy 

xo

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The English Market, Cork

Seafood, and eat it! 

It's referred to as "Irelands True Capital", "The Rebel County" and a host of other nicknames, but Cork truly has to be one of the most beautiful places I have been in Ireland to date. While I have been to Cork before, visiting for an Archery competition is wholly different than being a tourist in your own country.

Now while I admit that County Cork has beautiful rolling hills, and Cork City has some amazing architecture, it's The English Market that stuck out to me the most.

I adore food, food is what I'm choosing as a career, I cook when I'm sad or just for fun, so I have a great relationship with food nowadays. The English Market is a heavenly experience if you enjoy food, fresh fruit and veg, oriental supplies, kiosks of sandwiches and fish mongers, cakes, pies, chocolates, artisan produce or even just want an enjoyable walk around a colorful place filled with lively banter and friendly people.

The first stall I visited was Frank Hederman. Frank Hedermans stand is revered by the likes of Heston Blumenthal, so I knew trying it was a must. I got some smoked salmon pate and a big smile. At €3.20 per 100g, this pate was a total bargain, and it was DIVINE! I mean, I ate it with a spoon and no crackers. Yum, yum!

The Chocolate Shop... Swoon!

We wandered around huge fishmonger stands of crushed ice packed with beautiful fish that smelled beautifully of the sea. There was whole Salmon, Plaice, Rays and loads of beautiful shellfish too, including lobsters.

Next stop was The Chocolate Shop, a smorgasbord of amazing hand made chocolates and other confectioneries. I knew I had to try some so I bought a small box for €6 and they let me pick my 6 chocolates. It was a very grown up "kid in a candy shop" sensation, and the two men behind the counter were absolutely wonderful.

Next stop was upstairs to the balcony where we had a lovely glass of Elder-flower and Raspberry, overlooking the beautiful butcheries. And no, it didn't smell butchery, it was wonderful.

I was even more delighted to visit the English Market, because there was stands and stands of beautiful breads, pies, cakes, and items marketed towards specific dietary requirements. It didn't hurt that we found An Bróg while we were wandering out.

So there you have it, a little insight into The English Market, Cork City. It's amazing, great value, filled with wonderful produce and hilarious people.

Find the English Market HERE

Amy

xxx

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