Rathwood,little Bo Peep train adventure

Hey dolls,
So over the midterm break myself and my family were invited up to Rathwood to enjoy a trip  on the Rathwood Express to help Little bo peep to find her sheep.

It begins with Little bo peep arriving in a panic as she has lost her sheep,and she invites the children to help her find her. His name is Seamus and he is a devil for going AWOL !!! We all board the Rathwood express and off we head through the woods.We needed to find Seamus before Mr Fox did,he also lives in the woods and if he found Seamus before we did then it was Goodnight Seamus!!!! The children's eyes were aglow while they peered through the trees looking for Seamus and Mr Fox. There were clues left along the way and songs were sung with gusto by all on board. My two were over the moon when little bo peep sat in our carriage with us and sang as loud as they could. (I bet she was glad she picked our carriage lol). Then we made a pit stop to check in on the baby lambs and help feed them....lots of ooohing and aaahhing and mummy can we get one!!!!
I swiftly ushered my two delights back on the train,minus a baby lamb thank Goodness and off we went again.

                                              The famous Rathwood express

                                                      Little Bo peep herself

Excitement galore when Mr Fox was spotted darting through the trees and headed for the big pond. The excitement peaked when Seamus was spotted having a snooze by the pond,cue all the kids and some adults shouting to wake up poor Seamus!! Now i will say that Seamus was fine...turns out hes besties with Mr Fox so the kids were delighted. All the children helped Seamus and Mr Fox to feed the ducks before we left the pond. Seamus and Mr Fox joined us on the train for the return spin and lots more song singing took place. Each child on board was given a cute little lamb teddy which my little man takes to bed every night.It was a very enjoyable day out and something I would definitely recommend.

                                                     Enthraled by Little Bo peep

                                    Seamus and his buddy Mr Fox having fun by the lake

                                                    The adorable Hobbit house

As we were there we had a look around Rathwood centre,they have everything from stunning high end furniture pieces for the bedroom or living room. They also do beautiful high end kitchens and have amazing crystal lighting for sale.They carry some boutique clothing lines and they even have a beauty salon.

Now we were hungry and armed with our vouchers for free cupcakes for the kiddies we headed for the restaurant. Man alive the desserts are unreal here. The choice is huge and the portions are even bigger. I opted for the marsbar cheesecake(for research of course),and omg it was divine.We didn't eat lunch here as we had stopped before we arrived but it looked and smelt delicious,and judging by all the empty plates it tasted delicious too.I have to mention also,everywhere i go i look for gluten free food as there's a coeliac in our family.Rathwood have an amazing choice of gluten free food so you will not go hungry here if you too are coeliac.

                                 Happy out colouring while waiting for their cupcakes

                       My ginormous slice of marsbar cheesecake...no i didnt finish it!!!!!

Before we left the children took to the outside playground for about 30 mins just before the rain arrived. There is also a huge maze here to explore but the weather turned bad so we retreated to the car and headed for home. The children were chatting the whole way home about Little bo peep,Seamus,Mr Fox,the lambs(that they really wanted!) and the fun they had which to me says it all really.

Thanks so much to Rathwood for having us and if you would like to book a spot on the upcoming Easter Train check out the site here
Till next time,
Love,
Claie xx

Benefits new launches....be still my beating heart

Hey guys,
Now I have been a huge fan of Benefit cosmetics since around 1996 when a friend brought me home High beam from a trip to the US. I fell in love with the brand on the bases of this product and I fell hard. I was a regular visitor to the counter in Brown Thomas to feed my obsession.To this day I have never been disappointed with a benefit product.
So you imagine my excitement to see these new launches,I mean OMG how gorge are these fab new pro.
First up is the New They're Real! Double The Lip Liner & Lipstick. This sexy piece of kit comes in 8 STUNNING shades and is available now on counter at only €22 each. They are all gorge and very wearable but if I had to choose a top 3 it would be Pink Thrills,Lusty Rose and Fuchsia Fever!!!!!!!

As if that wasn't exciting enough 8 new shadows have also be added to the They're real collection. With a duo shadow blender its easy to get a sexy vampy look. These are also available now for €26 each. These are all divine and I would happily rock any of these shades on my peepers. If you havent tried Benefit eye shadows you are in for a treat,they glide on,dont settle in creases and have very little fall out.

All this gorgeousness is available on counter right now....Check them out,I know I will be.
Until next time,
Love,
Claire xx

Afternoon tea.....Ooohh Yes please

Hey guys,
Last Wednesday myself and my mum headed off into the City Centre for a girlie Afternoon Tea and chats in the Clayton Cork Hotel. My mum was very excited to try out their Gluten free Afternoon Tea. As a coeliac it can be hard to find places that accommodate her needs. I was really looking to the day and we were not disappointed.
When we arrived I discovered Afternoon Tea had been set up for us in a private pod known as The Egg. This really comfy setting was lovely as its totally private so theres no distractions. This was perfect for us as I'm very easily distracted (some say nosey....I disagree hahaha).

As soon as we were seated  kasia our lovely server asked if we wanted tea or coffee and as quick as anything it arrived at our table. The service here is second to none,they really look after you .

Next to arrive was our Afternoon Tea platters and oh my goodness they looked fab.

 It is worth noting that there was no visible between the "regular" Afternoon Tea and the Gluten Free one. My mums eyes nearly popped out of her head when she saw what was presented to her. It looked so impressive. Now I've been other places where something as basic as a Gluten Free sandwich or scone has been a disappointment so this was a real delight for her. Genuinely she was thrilled at the variety and quality of food on offer.
The sandwiches and rolls were delicious but when it came to the sweet treats she was blown away.
As someone who grew up when there was very very little available for coeliacs she couldn't believe all the yummy treats on offer were gluten free. She  attacked them with glee and enjoyed every mouthful.
This is my mums Gluten Free Afternoon Tea ....doesn't it look gorgeous.

My own Afternoon Tea was every bit as delicious from the scrummy sandwiches and wraps (my favourite were the chicken and sundried tomatoes) to the scones, muffins, mini cheesecakes,meringues,chocolate covered strawberries..and so much more.
I'm almost drooling here just thinking about it....here have a look.

Now there was so much food we obviously couldn't finish it (and i tried hard )so the lovely and efficient Kasia appeared with some plastic boxes for us to take away what we couldn't finish. My mum was thrilled to see she had brought a marker to label her box as GF as they did look very )similar. It is these little things that mean a lot to a coeliac especially when they are eating out as it really puts them at ease. It was all done as a matter of course and not made a big deal of which can be embarrassing.

Seriously I cannot recommend the Clayton Hotel in Cork highly enough. I for one cant wait to return and try out the rest of the menu as I'm sure based on the Afternoon tea it will be delicious
My mum is singing the praises of the Clayton Hotel to everyone she meets especially her coeliac friends. I think they will be visiting very soon.

Thanks so much to the Staff at the Clayton Hotel for our wonderful experience.
Until next time,
Love,
Claire xx
 

Cork Burger festival....its what dreams are made of!!!!!

Hey guys,
So something a little bit different on the blog today. As you all know i absolutely love and adore all things beauty related.Did you also know that I love burgers?? Yip you read that right....I love burgers. So you imagine how happy it made my little heart to hear that Cork was having its very own burger festival (#Corkburgerfest).

I was lucky enough to be invited into the launch of Cork Burger Fest in the Yellow Sub on the boardwalk in town. It was my first time in there and its such a cute and quirky little spot with delicious food.

We were treated to a variety of burgers, from beef to chicken as well as their Mac and cheese (which was divine,God i love carbs!!!)
We were also treated to their speciality burger for burger fest which was the Aussie burger....a beef burger with roasted beetroot, bacon,lettuce and a fried quails egg. It was yummy although to be completely honest I couldn't eat the quails egg. A fellow blogger was eyeing it up so I just passed it over to him and demolished the rest of the burger.

 Sticky beef slider on the left and chicken Slider on the right....both delicious

Signature Burger for #corkburgerfest the Aussie burger
To finish off our meal we had the signature chocolate brownie with toasted marshmallows on top , washed down with either tea or coffee. A fantastic evening of fab food and great company made the launch of burger fest a great event.

There is a vast variety of restaurants taking part so you will definitely find somewhere to suit your budget. So whether you are planning a romantic meal for two or meeting up with friends for a quick bite you can be sure your taste buds will be tickled.

The #Corkburgerfest is running until Sunday 5th Feb so if you are out and about over the weekend pop in to any of the 35 participating restaurants and vote for your favourite burger.
Until next time,
Love
Claire xxx

Neutral nails with a twist.

Hey guys,

Todays post is all about that neutral nail which is fab at any time of the year.
Im absolutely loving this nail combo,these products were in the fab goody bag we got at the Cloggers Bloggers Group summer event (blogpost on that coming soon ).
Its from  Catrice Make Up  Luxury Nudes in the shade Caramel Confession and the ring finger accent is from The Body Shop in the shade Gold Effect.
The  caramel confession is beautiful as its shot through with a pinky pearl to give a gorgeous subtle shimmer. You do need two coats for full coverage but it dries super fast.
The gold effect polish can be used as a special effect topcoat or worn alone as a polish.
What I love about this is that even though it has chunky pieces of black and gold,the polish itself dries smooth to the touch.
I have had other polish with glitter and particles in it before and it has dried rough,and it would catch on clothes so this smooth finish is a revelation.
This is a fantastic neutral combo so this look goes with any outfit , as a busy mum I love it.
I put this polish on last Friday so today is day 5 and there are no chips....I'm very impressed.I did not apply a top or base coat either as I wanted the longevity of the polish on its own

Till next time,
Love,
Claire xx



P.S. the polish is not streaky on my baby finger I have ridges xxxx

Rapture Event in Peter Marks.....the new era of hair extentions??

Hey guys,
So last night I attended the launch in Peter Mark of their brand new hair extension range Rapture.
Now this is Peter mark first time entering the extension market.
As a brand they spent a lot of time looking for the right extension range to work with their ethos. They had to be ethically sourced, kind to the hair and also affordable for clients.
They also had to look natural which these do.
Rapture extensions are applied incredibly quickly,it took only about 50 mins for a whole head of 16 inch extensions to be applied and styled.

They come in every colour under the sun,so a colour match is guaranteed,or you can mix it up and go for a balayage effect or add highlight and low lights.The choice really is up to you.
It is also worth noting that once you purchase your extensions and have the applied,they belong to you. If you want to have them removed you can and you can keep them and reuse them at a later date. You just need to pay to have the reapplied each time. I like this idea as if you love to chop and change your look you don't need to purchase more hair each time.
Peter Mark put on a great night for the launch,they even put out the Red carpet,and greeted us with champagne and great nibbles. The wine was also flowing all night. Take a look at some photos from the event.

                                                          Red carpet arrival

                                                          Myself and Shelllabelle

                                                      Myself and GlamityJane
If you are considering getting extensions especially coming up to Christmas why not pop into Peter Mark and have a chat with the team about Rapture. They will be only too happy to advice you.
Till next time,
Love,
Claire xxx

Tame your Brows with.....Ready,Set,Brow by Benefit

Hey guys,

So today I'm back with my thoughts on Benefits Ready,Set,Brow. I am a huge Benefit fan,used to get it in the states before it became available over here. Still remember how excited i was when they opened in Brown Thomas in Cork. That being said I have high standards for the brand,so was eager to try the new Brow range.

The "Ready, Set,Brow" is a 24hr shaper and setter. In a word its Fantastic. I have quite bushy eyebrows and even though they are threaded regularly they can get quite unruly. I also have coarse eyebrow hair so if anything tamed them then i would be very impressed.

This is impressive,my brows didn't budge. The gel itself is clear so it can be used on any hair colour. It is very easy to apply and it doesn't dry out and flake off. I have used this product alone on "no make- up" days and i have also worn it over other eyebrow products to set them.

The results were brilliant,my brows were tamed and set but didn't look like they were laden with product.
I would absolutely recommend this gel to anyone.
Have you tried it?? Let me know your thoughts.

Till next time,

Love,

Claire xxx