Ol' Green Eyes

Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings

2012-02-06T22:35:00.000Z

J Tillman has left Fleet Foxes and is working under the moniker Father John Misty. I am currently obsessed with this song and thought some of you might like it too (check out the lovely Aubrey Plaza in the video).

Emma x

And the Winner is...

2012-01-27T23:07:00.000Z

Cayce of Madame Joy!

Congratulations Cayce! I so wish I could have let everyone win but I need to pay my rent so I guess one winner will have to suffice. I'll let you all know what I end up sending her once I've gathered the pressies.

Happy Weekend/Payday Everyone! It's been a very tiring and hard week in work. We were supposed to have a visit from the company directors and it never happened so it was a bit of an anti-climax, having said that the shop looks great and I'm really proud of the work I've done this week and I'm off next Friday and Monday which is my first days off work since the wedding so I'm very excited!

I hope you all had a great week and have some nice plans for the weekend!

Emma x

I Don't Think That It's Gonna Rain Again Today

2012-01-23T17:45:00.005Z

We took these photos on the way to buy ingredients for dinner yesterday.

Coat, Shoes and Satchel- Marks and Spencers
Scarf, Belt and Gloves- Accessorize
Dress and Cardigan- Monsoon
Lipstick- MAC Russian Red
Nails- Various Purple colours topped with Model's Own Juicy Jules

One of my "New Years Resolutions" was to cook more home-made meals. I got the Sophie Dahl cookbook from my aunts for Christmas and I've already made two recipes from it. Last night I cooked a roast dinner for Donnacha, Kate, Eric and I incorporating one of the recipes. I'm enjoying cooking a lot more than I thought I would. I haven't cooked a whole lot in the past, or should I say I haven't experimented really. I like to cook and I'm up for trying most foods (I still hate peas), but I find it hard to get motivated into doing it sometimes because of the expense of buying ingredients and because Donnacha is such a picky eater I always ending up just making the food for myself and having the leftovers (which there is always loads of because there are very few meals for one cookbooks out there) for lunch the following day.

I hope to find recipes I can adjust and perfect to my taste and hopefully if I feel happy with the results I'll share them here.

How was your weekend? I'm really getting into my Tumblr, it's so fun! Also don't forget to enter my giveaway if you haven't already and to those of you who have I really really enjoyed reading your comments! Some of them have been so funny, it's lovely to get to know you all a bit better!

I love Tom Smith's voice;

Emma x

A Personalised Giveaway

2012-01-19T01:39:00.000Z

Well that was fast! I didn't expect to reach 99 followers so soon but now that I have I'm excited to share with you a special giveaway as a thank you to my readers for their constant support and friendship.

I'm not doing this in any way to gain more followers, to be honest I'm quite happy with the relationships I've formed with the small number of loyal readers who are so generous with their kind and thoughtful comments. I look forward to interacting with you and it's what makes this a great hobby to have.

I greatly and sincerely appreciate my friendships with you guys and the idea of this giveaway is to get to know you a bit better and to say a huge thank you for sticking with me!

The prize, if you want to call it that, will be a personalised package of things that are specific to the winner. I will email the winner upon their name being chosen out of a hat and ask several questions (I'll need a bit more detail for more recent readers who I maybe don't know as well) and I will be sending you a little thank you present based on the answers you give me.

To enter all you have to do is leave me a comment telling me something about yourself that I probably don't already know, it can be anything you want! AND please leave me a way of contacting you if you don't have a blog on your profile page.

It's open to international readers and I'll close the entries in a week's time on the 26th. I will notify the winner via their blog/email and announce it here next Friday the 27th. I'll also let you all know what the present is once I know the winner has received it for anyone who might be curious ( I know I would be).

So that's it. I wish I could get you all a thank you present but unfortunately my bank balance doesn't agree. This is my way of showing you all my appreciation.

Hope you have a great Thursday,

Emma x

All That Glitters is Green

2012-01-18T19:52:00.000Z

I bought this nail polish before Christmas and have only worn it twice as it's been a bitch to get off, but my goodness do I get distracted looking at the sparkles all day.

No 7 Totally Teal

Accessorize Emerald City

Only 1 follower to go until I announce my giveaway! Yay! I'm so excited!!!

How was your weekend?

Emma x

When in Rome Part II

2012-01-16T21:56:00.000Z

This is the final part of my Italy photos. There's a few so your patience is required if you dare to read on.

Leaving Borgo di Tragliata

Yummy sandwich

Colosseo

These guys knew how to charm the tourists, sadly I was too clever to fall for it

The Doctor sightseeing some more

More food! We went to a little restaurant off Campo di Fiori called Baffeto2 which we were recommended by my cousin. It was simple decor and service but really good food.

This was my pizza, sausage, olives, mushroom, artichoke, peppers, onion and egg. Weird but a delicious combination

I pointed out the Grow a New Wife thing to Eric. Kate wasn't impressed.

Piano Key Neck Tie! (reference? anyone?)

I'm pretty proud of this photo what with the pose of the statue and the moon and all

Strawberry, Lemon, Mango and Coconut Gelato!

We came across this building while looking for the Spanish steps which we never found

I saw this image of Amber Heard in the window of Guess and had to have my photo taken with it. I love her!

Piazza della Repubblica

Our hotel room in Hotel Dama

This was definitely my favourite of the two days we spent in Rome. We didn't get to see much during the day apart from the Colosseum, but after dinner Kate, Eric, Simon, Lisa, Donnacha and I wandered off by ourselves without the "grown-ups" ;) and explored the city by walked back to our hotel from the restaurant via various tourist attractions and some not so touristy places. It was nice to see some of the places we had been to the previous day at night all lit up. We stopped off to get some gelato and got lost on the way but it was definitely my favourite part of the trip. Our hotel was so nice and so inexpensive. If anyone is thinking of going to Rome and wants a more in depth review or the hotel or recommendations on other things please feel free to email me!

It had been so long since I'd left Ireland that I'd forgotten what it felt like to be in a place I didn't know and feel the excitement of exploring that place and seeing new things. I need to travel more.

You may have noticed things look a little different here. I'm trying to change a few things and make my blog a bit cleaner looking. I've also started a tumblr! I think tumblrs can be a great way to get to know bloggers a bit better. You may find you learn a bit more about me by taking a look at mine. It's still in it's infancy, but I'm quickly becoming addicted so there'll be plenty more to come!

Another reminder I'll be doing a giveaway with a difference soon! Only 4 more followers or 13 more posts to go. I'm very excited about it!

How was your weekend?

Emma x

Simple Song

2012-01-10T23:19:00.000Z

I don't normally do these kinds of posts but I was so excited to hear this song yesterday I just had to share it with you. I've been waiting for a new album from The Shins since their last one was released in January 2007. It's been five years and I'm already loving the new stuff. I am crossing fingers and toes that they play here. I saw them in August 2007 and it was incredible. Please, if you don't know James Mercer and his friends, give them a chance. He writes the most beautiful music.

Emma x

A Year Of Film Style Inspiration

2012-01-09T17:37:00.000Z

I didn't really want to do a year in review post like everyone else, even though I enjoyed looking back on the past year through my blogger friends, I wanted to do something different. I decided instead to take a look at my Film Style Inspiration posts from the past year. It was something that I was really excited about and I looked forward to coming up with an idea every month. Here's a little look at the 12 films I chose (yes I cheated and included one Tv show). Click the link underneath each photo to read the full post!

Une Femme Est Une Femme

The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe

I think my favourites are Rushmore, True Grit and Ghost World. It was so much fun but this year I'm going to try out a different project. I hope to share more details of it with you very soon!

So what did you think? Did you have a favourite look or set of photos? Is it something you'd like to try?

Emma x

Oh How The Ghost Of You Clings

2012-01-08T22:54:00.000Z

We took these photos on the way to my sister's apartment today, it was her birthday and we had a family day together which was lovely.

Dress and Boots- Marks and Spencers

Rings and Bangle- Accessorize

Nail Polish- Essie Glamour Purse

Watch- Casio

Make Up- Urban Decay Sidecar and Buck eyeshadow, UD 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner and Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector No.1 Rose Shimmer

So I'm wearing my hair in a middle parting and it's creeping me out. I think I look like a different person a little bit.

This week/weekend I sorted out something that has been on my mind for a while with one of my friends. I was open and honest and I think it worked out for the better. If I have learned something these past few years it's be honest when you can and try to not keep your feelings locked inside, it will only hurt you.

That's my two cents! How are you all? I hope you have had a lovely weekend. I am looking forward to more photo and video editing, starting work on a new project, doing some more organising of my apartment and taking my sister out to dinner. What are your plans for the week?

Emma x

When in Rome Part I

2012-01-03T22:26:00.000Z

See what I did up there? Roman numerals! ...... anyway...... Ok so I know I said I'd post these ages ago and I'm sure you were all at the edge of your seat waiting for them (oh self-deprecation!) but I just got done editing them a few days ago so here they are in all their glory! I was going to go with the post title Roman Holiday but instead I went with the name of my favourite Mancunian 80s band (apart from the Smiths obvs). I apologise for the photo heavy nature of this post but if you manage to make it through to the end you're sure to see some real photographic gems! Don't forget to read my running commentary beneath the photos.

We got these earphones on our tour bus that are supposed to tell you all about the areas on the bus route but they were absolutely useless so we binned them and just enjoyed the view!

Me, my friend Lisa, my mam and my cousin Joanna

Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II

A cool old bank that I liked

We brought along Doctor Who Tom Baker. The cheeky git finished off the last of the Chianti!

I was instructed by Simon to take a photo of this hilarious Santa ornament

and these animals as people ornaments

Fontana di Trevi

Pantheon

The very dizzying ceiling of the Pantheon

Our album cover (if we had a band)

I loved all of the side streets

We drove past the Colosseum at night and there was hundreds of people walking past on a protest (I assume it was government related)

Fun times down the back of the bus!

So there you have it! A bunch of weirdos running/bussing around Rome. There was about 25 of us at first but little groups formed and everyone kinda did their own thing. That being said I think our group had about 10 of us!

Part II later in the week!

Emma x

The Eve, Day and Day After

2012-01-01T22:25:00.000Z

A little late, here are some photos of my Christmas in Carlow and Skerries. How cute is Buddy the puppy? He's a snorkie, a cross between a Miniature Schnauzer and a Yorkshire Terrier. I can't wait to have my own dog!

No 7's false eyelashes are amazing!

Niall and I, I'm having a Christmas eve Margarita

Donnacha's mother Ruth and his brother's girlfriend Fiona and I

Jack got a Walking Dead t-shirt from my parents!

Just a few snaps, I mostly wanted to show you the puppy! I have a full blogging schedule done up for the next two weeks and I'm really enjoying getting back into it.

Happy New Year! How did you spend last night? We had some friends over and watched Wet Hot American Summer. Pretty awesome I thought.

Also just to let you know I'm planning on doing a special giveaway when I reach 99 followers or 200 posts, whatever comes first.

Emma x

Film Style Inspiration- Lucy (The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe)

2011-12-31T21:10:00.000Z

I can't believe it's been a year since I started doing these posts. I've had so much fun interpreting the style of some of my favourite film characters and this month's was no different. My process for deciding who to do a post on each month differs each time. Sometimes I would see a film, new or a long time favourite and would be inspired by a character's style, other times I would find an item of clothing or an accessory and it would remind me of what a specific character would wear. The latter was the case this time. I wanted to do a post involving the fur coat my granny gave me last year.

Obviously this was the perfect time of year with the cold weather (I've been wearing the coat non-stop, it's the warmest thing I own). I had a few ideas in mind including Julie Christie in Doctor Zhivago but I finally landed on the film that was probably my first introduction to the fur coat and that is The Lion ,the Witch and the Wardrobe. I mean the BBC version (the ONLY version) of course!

My mother read the book to Kate and I when we were little and we watched the film over and over. I still remember the music from the BBC logo thing at the start of the tape (yes VHS!) We loved the story so much and knew the film by heart. That wolf still scares me! (mega points if you know what I'm talking about)

The story is set in wartime England and the character's costumes reflect the style of that era with knitted cardigans and jumpers, tweed jackets, floral tea dresses, lace up shoes and pretty bows.

Yes, I'm aware these photos are from the more recent Disney adaptation but it was hard to get good stills of the BBC one....apart from the lovely one below!

Here is my interpretation...

Dress- Vintage Urban Renewal via Etsy

Coat- my Granny

Shoes- Monsoon

Bow- Dunnes

Tights- Marks and Spencers

Necklace- Zara Taylor Jewellery

This is also my last post of 2011. I have my new video recorded so I'll be editing and uploading that this week!

I'm not doing a year in review post, but I still want to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support and interaction and love this year. I have to say 2011 has been a tough year, not just for me but for a lot of people. It's only in these past two months that things have gotten better and I'm hoping all the issues that arose in 2011 will disappear next year. Things are already looking up as I found out this week our friends from Nashville are coming to visit in March and we couldn't be more excited to see them!

So thank you once more for continuing to read what I have to say and for the friendships I've formed through interacting with you, may they continue to grow stronger in the coming year!

Wishing you a happy and healthy 2012,

Emma xxx

But It Don't Snow Here It Stays Pretty Green

2011-12-29T21:52:00.000Z

A belated Happy Christmas to you all!

I took a break away from things here over the holiday season to concentrate on getting up to date with editing and all of the ideas I have for the blog. I hadn't been enjoying it like I used to and to be perfectly honest it was becoming a chore and that is why I haven't been posting as much as I'd like to. This is supposed to be fun, it's a hobby and something I should enjoy doing and I think I'm finally getting back to feeling that way about it. I have my next seven or eight posts planned out and I finally have somewhere I can film videos (including some lights of Donnacha's that I'm going to use when I want to film at night). I've also been organising everything with my new PC (I had been using a netbook for a few months there and it wasn't the best for blogging).

I had a wonderful December. In fact I think the last two months were the best of the year for me! I spent Christmas with Donnacha's family this year which was a huge step into adulthood for me. Christmas has always been one of my favourite times of the year (apart from the religious reasons) I just love spending quality time with my close and extended family. It was hard making the decision to be apart from my family especially my mother and my sister as Kate and I have had the most fun on Christmas and have our own little sisterly traditions. But I suppose everyone has to grow up (we can't all be Peter Pan) and I needed to start new traditions with Donnacha. I does mean that we'll be going to my family next year though!

I needn't have worried as I had a lot of fun in Carlow, I got to go out for drinks with our friends on Christmas eve and beforehand we had dinner in Donnachas brother's house where he and his brothers surprised his parents with an early Christmas present- a puppy! He is so cute! I'll show you some photos of him soon. They called him Buddy. It was interesting to experience different Christmas day traditions to the ones I've been used to growing up, but it was nice to get to know his family more and his brother's girlfriend who came over from Scotland.

We spent St. Stephen's Day/Boxing Day with my family and had a second Christmas dinner which no one was complaining about! I got some very generous presents which I will tell you about in my next post. I was really spoiled by everyone!

Here are some photos of my outfits over the two days. I wore my bridesmaids dress both days in two different ways. I wanted to make it a bit more casual and get some more wear out of it because I love it so much. Hope you like it!

Dress- Dig For Victory via Etsy

Earrings and Purple Belt- Accessorize

Nail Polish- Model's Own 'Juicy Jules'

Lipstick- Revlon 'Pink Pout'

Tights- Penneys

Bow and Gold Belt- Dunnes

Scarf- Market in Florence 5 years ago

Cardigan- Monsoon

Coat- from Granny Grimes :)

Shoes- Clarks 'Desert Yarra'

The post title comes from the song last years Christmas post title came from, except this time it was to fit in with the fact that we've had a completely snowless December so far!

Emma x

This Is The Day Your Life Will Surely Change

2011-12-11T00:21:00.000Z

This is the second of the Wedding posts. These photos are from the actual Wedding day and they're only the ones taken by Donnacha and I. Donnacha was filming the ceremony and the speeches at the reception so I have to get photos from other people of the actual ceremony itself and the reception and afters. But this should give you quite a good taste of the day itself.

The Groomsmen Peter, Andrew, Ruben, Stephen and Andrew with Eric

The Bridesmaids Abby, Laura and Aoife (and Maid of Honour-Me and Flower Girl- Emily-Faye)

Lisa and I

Simon the DJ (who you've probably seen here before)

My brothers Jordan and Jack and I

Me and my mom!

My parents with Justin and Julie (Justin performed the ceremony)

I absolutely loved my petticoat from the moment I tried it on in the shop. Everyone was touching it all night and saying how much they loved it with the black dress. I would wear it every day if I could!

The shoes! I was looking for shoes for a while, something pink or red and as soon as I saw these on the Irregular choice website I fell in love.

Weren't the bouquets gorgeous colours?

The tables for the reception were named after fictional towns. Can you guess what films/TV shows they're all from?

The dessert buffet consisted of white and dark choclate mousse, pavlova, ricotta and chocolate cheesecake, creme bruleé, homemade vanilla ice-cream and chocolate covered fruits. It was incredible and definitely most peoples favourite course.

It's taken me ages to actually finish editing the photos because there was probably over a thousand altogether. I'll show you the ones of the ceremony and reception soon. And then there's the touristy Rome photos. Don't worry I'll be done with all of them soon enough!

In case anyone was wondering my dress was custom made by Dig for Victory on Etsy. I cannot recommend Eleanor and Holly highly enough. They were so helpful and quick to respond to all my questions about the dress and when I asked could they add sleeves they were only too happy to accommodate me. I will definitely be buying another dress from them for any other occasions I have to go to. I felt so comfortable in the dress, it fit like a dream and it was exactly what I wanted from the moment I knew I would be Kate's Maid of Honour. The petticoat is from Retro here in Dublin and the shoes are called Burlesque Beauty from Irregular Choice.

My make up was pretty simple. I used a lot of the same products on myself and Kate. I will be doing a tutorial video on the wedding make up very soon so I'll go into more detail about what products I used and why in the video.

I hope you enjoyed seeing these photos, let me know what you think!

I also hope you're having a great December so far and enjoying the build up to the holidays (and that it's not snowing/stormy where you live). Keep safe and warm!

Emma x

Strange How The Half Light Can Make A Place New

2011-12-03T14:03:00.000Z

On Thursday Kate, Eric, Donnacha and I got the train out to Skerries to visit my family. We had coffee and cupcakes in my mam's favourite café and then she made us a yummy dinner. We also visited my grandparents and aunts. It was lovely to see them all and tell them about the wedding as my grandparents were not able to come.

Donnacha and I managed to snap a few outfit photos on the beach before the sun set.

and some goofy ones...

Mac- Monsoon (2 years ago)

Scarf, Hairband, Star brooch, Earrings- Acessorize

Shoes- Marks and Spencers

Lipstick- Revlon Cherries in the Snow

It's gotten really cold here in the past week after having the mildest November on record. This time last year we had crazy snow! The longer the snow holds off the better!

How has your weather been? Hope you're having a great weekend so far! I'm going to my work Christmas party tonight for the first time in 3 years!

Emma x

And You'll Love Me 'Til My Heart Stops, Love Me 'Til I'm Dead

2011-11-30T23:06:00.000Z

This is the first post of the Italy photos. It may take me a couple more posts to get to show you guys everything. I know you may not want to see so many photos but there were a lot more than this so really you're getting off lightly.... :O

These photos basically consist of our plane journey, arriving in Rome, arriving at the hotel and the first evening's festivities. Scroll down to read in more detail about everything!

The "new" Terminal 2 at Dublin Airport. It was my first time on a plane in almost 6 years. We got some breakfast (after staying awake all night), did some duty free shopping and got through security with no problems. It was a breeze compared to Fiumicino in Rome (which I'll tell you about later). We also met Jedward.

My mam's friend who is a beautician did mine and Kate's nails in Shellac as a treat. Kate got a french manicure and I got a bright red in 'Wildfire'.

The Italian coastline

I only just noticed our Aer Lingus plane in the background! I was quite excited as you can see!

Our bus, there was 50 something of us altogether!

The view from our room. We had to change rooms because our original one, as gorgeous as it was was too far away, up the hill and my knees were killing me walking up to it.

This is the older part of the hotel where the Wedding ceremony and reception were held.

Our room was in the building in the front centre.

The pool and the building where breakfast was each morning.

This is the steps up to the apartment where Kate and my mam stayed the night before the wedding and where Kate, my mam and I got ready on the morning of the wedding. It was stunning, so rustic and so much character but unfortunately I forgot to take photos of it.

This is the side of the building above.

This is the garden where we took all of the photos after the ceremony and the building in the distance is where the drinks reception and the food reception were.

The Bridal suite which funnily enough used to be a church!

There was old farm equipment dotted around the grounds of the hotel, it was such a nice touch.

This is the courtyard where most of the rooms were, the little gazebos were so cute!

My brother Jordan and Jack and my friend Simon who was the DJ for the weekend.

My friend Lisa and I, our families grew up together, she's my oldest friend and I was so happy she could come to the wedding!

This is the first thing Donnacha did when we arrived!

The rehearsal for which I was asleep. I hadn't slept in 30 hours at this stage and was very cranky so was forced to nap by my mother :)

Yummy food at the Welcome Barbeque, this is onion bread. So tasty!

Chunks of Parmesan! Amazing!

Martini Prosecco

We had to come indoors for the food as it started to get chilly outside. We had a buffet with steak, grilled vegetables, lasagne and salad. Seriously the nicest steak I've ever had even though I don't usually like it that rare.

The table decorations were so pretty and simple!

A few glasses of prosecco later....

Dessert buffet with the tiramisu Kate requested.

We had karaoke after the meal. There was a Bridesmaids against Groomsmen challenge in which we each sang a song and then had to pick a second song for the others to sing. We sang Love Shack first and then picked Gabrielle Dreams for the guys. It was hilarious. We won.

So there you have it our first day in Italy. The hotel was called Borgo di Tragliata and it took about 30 minutes to get there from the airport and about 45 minutes to get to Rome city. The buildings in the hotel grounds are so stunning and our room was perfect. I don't think I could imagine a better location for a wedding, everyone was so blown away by how beautiful it was, we all literally gasped when we arrived on the bus. The photos really don't do it justice so I guess you'll all just have to go stay there some day!

If you've made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read about/look at the photos. I know looking at other people's holiday photos can be a bit boring but I was just so excited to show you all how beautiful the place was, I hope you enjoyed the first part of the Wedding photos series. Heehee!

How is your week going?

Much love,

Emma x

Ps. The post titles are going to be song lyrics from songs on Kate and Eric's wedding playlist! Do you know what song it is?

Film Style Inspiration- Bonnie Parker (Bonnie and Clyde)

2011-11-27T22:14:00.000Z

The inspiration for November's Film Style post is Faye Dunaway's portrayal of notorious bad gal Bonnie Parker from the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde. It's also the only of my Film Style posts in which the character is based on a real life person (to the best of my knowledge).

The events of the film take place in the 1930's but as far as I can tell the style and make up is very much inspired by that of the decade it was filmed in, the 1960's. I tried to do my make up as close to the make up Faye Dunaway wears as possible. From what I can see she has some warm brown shades on her lids and straight black liner, white/nude liner on the water line and pretty nude lips.

Here's the make up I used to re-create her make up look:

Urban Decay Naked Palette- Virgin and Buck

Urban Decay 24/7 waterproof liquid liner in Perversion

Maybelline The Falsies mascara

No 7 false eyelashes in 20

Carmex on the lips

As for the clothes, I'm pretty sure everyone knows the stills of Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty from the film. Her character's uniform consists of knee or calf length textured skirts, patterned triangle scarves, light coloured blouses, cable knit sweaters, a beret and flats/sensible heels. Here is my version of the Bonnie Parker costume (without the prop gun).

Beret- Accessorize

Cardigan and Skirt- Monsoon

Shoes- Marks and Spencers

Scarf- Charity Shop

My hair is a lighter colour. I wanted to go back to my natural colour and decided colour remover was the way to go but obviously because I've coloured my hair about 7 times this past year it wasn't going to be that easy. It's now a lighter shade of red than it was and I kind of like it. I'm going to let it grow out for as long as I can stand the roots. Then, who knows.

I have gotten up to date with almost everything. I have two more posts ready to go and I'm almost done editing all the wedding photos. A big thank you to Donnacha who got a new desktop computer for me this week. I can finally edit again!

Thank you all so much for the lovely comments about the wedding. You are the best people.

Emma x

It's All Legal

2011-11-11T21:52:00.000Z

Hello lovelies!

I'm finally getting to post my first instalment of wedding photos after a bit of a break. We got back from Rome on Monday and ever since we've been busy editing and catching up on everything. I wanted to share with you a few photos from the Registry Office where Kate and Eric legally got married a few days before we flew to Italy. It was too complicated to do all that stuff over there so they chose to have a small intimate ceremony and lunch with just close family and friends to celebrate their legal marriage. They then had their blessing and vows before God in Rome (which I will share later).

The ceremony in the registry office for me was a little overwhelming. I didn't expect to get as emotional as I did but sitting at the table with Kate, Eric and his brother (we were the two witnesses) and listening to the registrar, I had to fight back the tears. I felt very honoured to be asked to witness their legal marriage and it was very special to be sitting up close beside them and seeing them looking into eachother's eyes saying their legal vows. As quickly as it happened and as completely unromantic as the surroundings were, hearing those words and seeing Kate and Eric smiling at eachother was very very special.

I just included a few photos of the Registry Office because I wanted to keep the rest private for Kate and Eric, so here's a little taste;

Kate and Eric with family friends from South Africa Justin and Julie (Justin performed the ceremony in Rome)

Afterwards, because the ceremony was at 11.00, we went to a café and sat outside in the sun for a while (the weather was unseasonably warm and sunny) and then went to Crackbird for lunch.

There are so many photos of Rome, I haven't even started editing them yet so it may take a while but I have some posts planned until I get them sorted.

I just wanted to say thank you for sticking with me over the past few months. I know my posting has been erratic because of all of the chaos but I'm looking forward to planning some winter outfit posts, nail posts and even filming some make up tutorials! I really appreciate all the support from you guys and I'm going to get back into interacting with everyone as soon as I can!

Emma x

Film Style Inspiration- The Addams Family (Wednesday Addams)

2011-10-31T20:33:00.000Z

I didn't think I would get to do my Film Style post this month between everything we have going on, but thankfully Donnacha and I took some time yesterday to take these photos in the same place we took these ones. Things have been so hectic I haven't really had a chance to think about blogging at all, but I wanted to get one post in before we go away this week. So this is my Halloween film style post. I didn't end up dressing up in a costume at all so this will have to do. It's my interpretation of a grown up modern Wednesday Addams. Hope you enjoy!

I almost forgot to tell you a funny story that goes along with the photos. Donnacha and I were just about finished when we saw a Dublin city council worker in a hi-vis jacket walking around the perimeter of the park. We were packing up our stuff when we heard him talking behind us, I though he was talking to us so I turned around only to see him nudging something behind a bush with his foot. Turns out some sort of intoxicated vagrant had made himself a nice little bed in the middle of the bush and was now almost comatose and wouldn't move so the guy started to threaten him with called the Gardaí (Irish word for police). We decided that was a good time to scadaddle! The charms of Dublin are endless!

I apologise for not keeping up with my commenting etc, I will be back to normal next week! (Hopefully)

I hope you all are well,

Emma x

Whatever Words I Say I Will Always Love You

2011-10-22T15:17:00.000+01:00

Here are the rest of the photos from the wedding. There were so many of Kate and I laughing because my heels kept sinking into the grass and I would fall backwards and have to grab onto her. Heehee!

The loveliest bridesmaid! (in my opinion)

I wanted to record a new video but I have no desktop at the moment to edit because Donnacha needs it for his new office so I'll probably wait until after the wedding and do a wedding make up video. I have so many products I want to tell you about.

I hope you are having a great weekend. Mine has been great so far, Friday in work we had a really successful visit from the regional director of the company who was very pleased with the changes we've made in the children's department and we went out for drinks last night with our lovely friend Róisín and caught up on the past couple of months.

Much love,

Emma xx

With Flaming Locks of Auburn Hair With Ivory Skin and Eyes of Emerald Green

2011-10-15T20:53:00.000+01:00

On Thursday my mam, my sister Kate, her fiancé Eric, Donnacha and I all attended the wedding of a childhood friend of Kate and I. Our families "grew up together" as it were and the bride Colette's sister Lisa has been one of my best friends my whole life. The wedding was so beautiful and everything was Autumnal themed including the bridesmaids dresses, flowers, orders of service and decorations. We were so lucky with the weather we got for the day, it was such a beautiful sunny day and it made for some great photos. I have more photos to show you of the church, the reception and all of us but for now here's my outfit.

I died my hair again this week so as you can see it's quite red! this day three weeks Kate and Eric will be married and we'll be in Roma! I can't wait!

I hope you all are well, thank you so so much for all the kind and thoughtful words about my job and Donnacha and my mam, I know they both appreciate all the love being sent their way. We have a while to go with their health issues so all of the support means a huge amount to me and my family.

Emma x

Naked Eyes- Creep, Gunmetal and Half Baked

2011-10-10T21:06:00.000+01:00

It's less than a month to my sister's wedding now and it's been quite hectic here recently trying to get the last few bits done before we fly to Rome. I can't believe it's nearly here, it still doesn't feel real! My dress and shoes are sorted, Kate's dress is on it's way (she got it made by a dressmaker on etsy). I did a trial of her hair and make up today and she seemed very happy so that's a load off my mind, it's a lot of pressure making a bride look her best on her wedding day, but I'm lucky to have such a great canvas to work with!

Unfortunately there have been some health issues with Donnacha and my mam and that's put a bit of a dampener on the preparations but we're hoping that it will turn out to be nothing and that they will both be okay.

I am trying to get as much blogging done in the next few weeks as I can and get another video filmed as soon as possible so that I can concentrate on the Wedding photos when I get back. I have a lot of make up related things to talk about since I've been trying out so many new products (I hope it won't be too boring for some of you).

I thought I'd finally start showing you some of the looks I've created with my Urban decay Naked palette.

I used Gunmetal all over the lid, Creep on the outer corner and Half Baked on the inner corner. On the lips is Revlon Colorburst lipgloss in Pink Ice. Bit of a different look for me, I wanted to try something new!

Oh also I got a promotion of sorts in work, I'm now doing the visual merchandising in the children's department. It's pretty scary having such a big responsibility but I just want to get as much experience as I can for the future.

How are you all?

Emma x

Film Style Inspiration- Audrey Horne (Twin Peaks)

2011-09-30T21:45:00.000+01:00

Ok, so I know that I cheated with this month's Film Style Inspiration. My only defence is that Twin Peaks was also a film, yes Audrey Horne wasn't in the film, but she should have been!

She's probably one of the best characters in Twin Peaks. One of the reasons I loved Audrey Horne when I watched Twin Peaks was her amazing style. It's a mixture of 50's prep and vixen. She wears cute sweaters, pleated check skirts, saddle shoes, red heels, sexy black dresses and red lipstick. Like every woman, there are several sides to Audrey Horne which she expresses through her style throughout the two seasons of Twin Peaks. I went for the 50s school/college preppy look but with a short curly bob and red lippie to give it the Audrey Horne edge.

Cardigan- Marks and Spencers

Skirt- Monsoon

Shoes- Dunnes

Lipstick- Revlon 'Strawberry Suede'

Nail Polish- Revlon 'Emerald City'

Earrings- Accessorize

I promise the next one will be film inspired ;)

Emma x

Not Everyone Likes Karaoke

2011-09-26T20:16:00.000+01:00

Here's what we got up to on Donnacha's birthday!

Lots of ipods and an empty bottle of limoncello= a good party

Kate and I

Niall

Dave

Suzette and Mark

The Birthday Boy

Simon and I

Singing Duran Duran karaoke (it was only me) :(

Matching nails

Kate and Eric

Donnacha and Lee

Niall and Emma

Dave trying out some specs

David and I

A small selection of our (well mostly Donnacha's) huge DVD collection

We also went to see 30 Minutes or Less which was hilarious! I love Danny McBride in everything! We also saw Drive this week one of the many new Ryan Gosling films out this year, it's seriously amazing and has a great soundtrack.

New outfit photos this week! How are you guys?

This is one of the songs from Drive, but you really need to see the film to get the full effect.

Emma x

Starry Night Nails

2011-09-21T16:17:00.000+01:00

I absolutely love my new Model's Own nail polish. It's a holographic glitter polish called Juicy Jules. I've worn it alone and over a few different colours so I thought I'd share with you one of my favourite combinations- No 7 Violetta with the glitter polish as a topcoat. I'm actually not a glittery girl at all but the way this catches the light and sparkles I just can't stop looking at it!

I hope you all are having a great week! Tomorrow is Donnacha's birthday so we have lots of fun things planned to do and I'll be on holidays from work next week too!

Emma x

Electric Picnic Part Two

2011-09-18T15:53:00.000+01:00

Once again the time between posts has been greater than I wanted. I suppose I'll just blame it on the craziness that has been this past month. It's been both good and bad, we have been very busy at work and play and there's stuff that needed sorting out in my head and in life generally. Gosh, I'm being very vague I know I suppose I would love to sit down with each and every one of you and have a conversation about life that isn't for all to see on the internet. That's the downside to this blogging thing, I don't get to see you all in person and explain things how I would if it was one on one.

I have missed this a lot. I need to get back into it properly and do some Autumn blogging. I have ideas and plans and plenty of posts in my head that I need to get out! While I'm doing that I'll share with you the remainder of the photographs from Electric Picnic. They are mostly of the more creative/arty side to the festival with sculptures, artistic creations etc.

Photos by Niall Ryan and Myself

I hope you're having a lovely weekend. I'll have another post for you tomorrow!

Thanks for sticking around, you guys are the best!

Emma x

Electric Picnic Part One

2011-09-09T19:03:00.000+01:00

I apologise for the delay in posting this. There were a lot of photos to go through plus a lot of recovery time needed after last weekend! It was my first time going to Electric Picnic and it was an amazing experience! It helped of course that we went to a warm, dry house each night and had a shower and breakfast in the morning. It also helped that we had semi-nice bathrooms and access to the VIP bar and the media room. I definitely couldn't have camped, I'm one of those people who wasn't made for roughing it unnecessarily. On Friday we got down there in the afternoon, got our media passes and went to the media area to make a plan of action for the evening.

Brian and I

Jenny and Emily from Warpaint talking to Dave

Dave and Alex Ebert

On Friday we met and interviewed Warpaint which was sooooo awesome! They were late for their interview because just as they were walking over to us Sinead O'Connor started playing Nothing Compares 2 U and they adorably ran out to the stage to watch her. We also interviewed Alex Ebert from Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Twin Shadow and The Gandhis.

That evening we saw Warpaint, M.Ward (I was front and centre for that and it was so lovely and relaxing!). Then we topped off the night with Interpol who I have wanted to see live for years and they did not disappoint! I danced my ass off!

Getting home however was the worst! Myself and my friend Maeve wanted to stay a bit longer so we waited for a lift home with one of the girls while most of the guys went home during Interpol. It started raining and we had to go back to Maeve's tent to get her stuff, then meet Jessica who was driving us to Donnacha's parents house to stay for the night. It took us an hour to find the car in the maze of a car park in the rain with no lights and then there was a sad roadkill incident on the way home...Poor Bunny.... I have never been so grateful to get into bed! We were able to laugh about it the next day though.

Saturday was another fun day! We spent the afternoon doing Vox Pops while some of the other crew filmed interviews and live performances with John Blek and the Rats, the Jezabels, Hot Sprockets and Adebisi Shank. I took lots of photos of the arena which I will show you in my next post. On Saturday evening we briefly watched but mostly listened to Lykke Li from the Media/VIP area where we were busy drinking wine and socialising. Then was the highlight of the weekend for me- Arcade Fire! I finally got to see them play Crown of Love which was just gorgeous. There was a huge group of us watching them and we all danced non-stop for an hour and a half which felt like 5 minutes! If you ever get the chance to see them live I cannot recommend it highly enough, they really put everything into their performance, they're so incredible live!

Niall and Maeve

Maeve and I

Simon missed his mom and just had to call her ;)

Katie and Dave

John Blek and the Rat(s)

On Sunday morning after a pancake breakfast and hot shower we left the house in the lashing rain and were worried it was down for the day, but it started to get nice and bright when Gordon Gano of Violent Femmes came onstage. He played Kiss Off and Blister in the Sun which was such a great start to the day and got everyone dancing and in a great mood. We did loads more interviews on Sunday with Joan Wasser from Joan as Policewoman, James Vincent McMorrow, Toby Kaar, Oh Land, Best Coast and Gordon Gano.

Gordon Gano

James Vincent McMorrow

Toby Kaar

Gordon Gano

Joan as Policewoman

Oh Land

Photos 1,2,5,7,9,10,12,13,14,17,20 by Niall Ryan, the rest are by me!

Check out the Cock and Bull Tv website for blog posts and videos from the weekend and also the podcast that Donnacha does every week with Katie and Dave or 'like' our facebook page.

Here's the teaser video from Sunday, you can spot me and some of the other crew at 1.18! Enjoy and check out the other videos too!

Emma x

Film Style Inspiration- Camille Javal (Le Mépris)

2011-08-30T19:59:00.000+01:00

This month's Film Style Inspiration comes from Brigitte Bardot's character Camille Javal in Jean-Luc Godard's 1963 film Le Mépris. I watched this film a while ago and found it for lack of a better word, boring. However it was visually beautiful, with Bardot, the scenery, the countryside and the buildings, it's a very stylish film.

Bardot's character has a very simple, classic style and I tried to emulate it with my own changes here and there. I added a polka dot headband instead of the thick black one she wears and a longer necklace to showcase my new Zara Taylor pendant. I also added tights because I don't live in southern Italy and it's been so cold here lately. I also did the classic Bardot makeup- thick black eye liner and nude lips. I had intended for my hair to be a little bigger but it was too shiny and wouldn't tease very well so I had to do the best I could with my silky mane! Hope you enjoy my Bardot interpretation, I had fun being sulky anyway!

Have Your Cake and Eat It Baby It's Your Birthday

2011-08-29T21:15:00.000+01:00

I've been meaning to post these for a while now but I was rather under the weather last week and I was working a new shift in work or well actually my old one until someone else can do it permanently so I've been getting up a lot earlier and it completely messed with my head. Anyway...these are from my birthday celebrations. Karaoke in my friends house and brunch in the Lennox café at Portobello which if you get the chance ever please go because they do the most amazing brunchy foods.

Did you get any of the songs from the lyrics on the wall? I did Amerie's One thing and a few duets of Lady Gagas Bad Romance and Telephone, True by Spandau Ballet and Careless Whisper. What's your karaoke song? (If you have one)

We were in Carlow at the weekend for Donnacha's brother's 30th birthday party which was a lot of fun. And I guess I can tell you that I'll be at Electric Picnic next weekend taking photographs and getting up to all sorts of hijinks with Cock and Bull Tv. I cannot wait to see Arcade Fire again (and Warpaint, M.ward, Willy Mason, Santigold, Interpol and Mogwai). We'll be interviewing Warpaint too! I'm so excited!

Hope you've had a great weekend and that you weren't affected by the storms in the US!

Emma x

Drink Up Baby Look at the Stars I'll Kiss You Again Between the Bars

2011-08-21T18:27:00.000+01:00

Here are some more photos from the wedding, a mini outfit post of sorts. Hope you like the colour editing on the photos, unfortunately we didn't get any outside during daylight so these will have to do!

I've been feeling a bit under the weather (whatever that means) so I've been taking it easy today. Hope you all are having a lovely weekend!

The song that made me fall in love with Elliott Smith:

Emma x

It's a Nice Day to Start Again

2011-08-20T01:09:00.000+01:00

Yesterday one of my best childhood friends got married. She will be moving to Czech Republic in a few weeks with her new groom. I have mixed feelings about this, mostly because sadly we've grown apart over the past few years. On one hand I haven't been involved in her life really for a while now so there is no longer really that once close friendship to miss, I also know that despite mine and others feelings towards her husband in the past she is very happy to be married to him and I suppose I can't really wish for anything more for her. I am sad for her parents and only sister that they won't get to see her much and that when she inevitably has children that they will grow up away from their extended family. I suppose that's the tough decision she has made in order to be with the man she loves and who am I to judge when I would do the same thing.

It's strange getting to that time where my friends are starting to get married (and my sister in less than 3 months!) Yesterday I couldn't help thinking back on our friendship and how long we've known each other and how much we've both changed and stayed the same in different ways. It's a part of my life that's over in a way and as difficult as change can be, I have to accept it and move forwards.

Here are the photos from the Wedding ceremony in Drogheda and the reception in Trim Castle Hotel.

My friend Lisa and her brother John (Lisa and I have been friends all our lives)

I loved her nail polish

Lisa's sister Colette and fiancé Andrius who are getting married in October

Jennifer and her father Trevor

Apparently breaking a plate and the groom cleaning it up is a Czech tradition

Kaunas is the capital of Lithuania (where Jennifer's brother in law is from and Colette's fiancé-they're brothers!)

I was so excited to see Jelly Beans on the tables!

Slices of melon

The most delicious vegetable soup

A trio of desserts- Brownie, Banoffie and Cheesecake (I forgot to take a photo of the main course which was beef/salmon)

Ceilí dancing- An Irish tradition

Do you like my nails? i tried out the New French manicure that's apparently a big thing in fashion now. Not that I would know!

How was your week? I had a busy one and I have lots more photos of birthdays to share with you over the next few days.

Thanks for taking the time to look through all the photos!

Emma x

60s Inspired Make up and a New Video

2011-08-14T18:04:00.000+01:00

I am currently in my final 24 hours of being 24 years young. It's my birthday tomorrow and I plan on having a nice relaxing day starting with brunch with the ones I love. I am having a last night of being 24 celebration in my friends house tonight which will involve some very embarrassing Karaoke.

I will take plenty of photos of my birthday celebrations but until then I will leave you with some photos of a make up look I did this week and my July Favourites video. Let me know what you think and please bear in mind I'm still learning so if anything is rough around the edges (including me) know that I'm learning to make everything more polished in my videos!

I tried the 60s middle part in my hair but got weirded out and changed it back to a side part.

I explained my make up look in the video below but I forgot to say that the eyelashes are the ends of some really big full strip ones. I used only the ends to get a more cat-eye look. That is all!

Emma x

The Hell Fire Club

2011-08-08T23:28:00.000+01:00

So no one guessed correctly. We were at the Hell Fire Club last week! Not that I'd expect anyone to know that considering some of the people in the car had never heard of it. According to very reliable sources (I'm sure) it was built in 1725 on Montpelier hill in the Dublin mountains by the speaker of the Irish parliament William Connolly as a hunting lodge. It was later taken over by the Dublin Hellfire Club, young aristocrats involved in all kinds of debauchery and it's reputation was worsened by the fact that it was supposedly built on the site of a stone age cairn (passage tomb, built 4500-200 bc).

There's a famous story that goes along with the legend of the Hellfire Club about a young man who arrived there one night seeking refuge. A card game ensued amongst the inhabitants and their guest. One of the players dropped a card and upon leaning under the table to retrieve saw that the young man had a cloven hoof in place of a foot. He then disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Spooky right? I remember reading a very similar story when I was younger about a place called Loftus Hall in County Wexford. Nowadays it is mostly a tourist spot and a place for hill walkers to take in the great view of Dublin. Oh and where adolescents go to get up to all sorts of "indecent" activities. You can read more about it here or elsewhere on the web if you care to google it!

Why is there a photo of a child's watering can and a dead bee you ask? Good question!

Hope my scary stories haven't put you off visiting Ireland!

Hope you've had a good start to the week,

Emma x

Bonny Don't Live At Home

2011-08-05T18:58:00.000+01:00

We took these semi-outfit photos on Saturday. Can you guess where we were? I'll tell you when I post the rest of the photos tomorrow. If you guess correctly you'll get a prize!.....My complete admiration.....

Dress and shoes: Marks and Spencers

Necklace: BrideBlu on Etsy

Did you get it? That's ok, it basically looks like anywhere in Ireland so I don't blame you for not having a clue!

I'm officially on my holidays and looking forward to some outings this week. What are your plans for the week ahead?

Today's title is from another Prefab Sprout song, probably my favourite one. But I'm going to share with you a cover of it instead by Editors. Enjoy!

Emma x

Trá Mhór

2011-08-03T22:12:00.000+01:00

Trá Mhór (Tramore) is in County Waterford on the South-East coast of Ireland. It means 'big strand/beach' in Irish and it really is a big beach! Simon drove Shona, Donnacha, David and I down on Sunday. He and Shona went surfing while Donnacha swam and I paddled and then went for a walk along the beach with Dave. It was sooooo (yes, four extra o's) windy!

We were really lucky with the weather because it was cloudy and raining most of the way down the the car (it took us two hours from Dublin) and when we got to Waterford it was sunny, still cloudy, but sunny. We all got burnt too, we all stupidly forgot to put on sunscreen because it wasn't sunny for very long.

I love road trips! I have more photos to show you from the road trip we took on Saturday.

Emma x

Black and Gold and Sparkly All Over

2011-08-02T18:57:00.000+01:00

After giving my nails a much needed two week break from being painted and de-painted for the last few months, I tried out some new colour combinations this week. This one isn't very summery but I like it all the same.

O.P.I.- Golden Rules

Catrice- I Wear My Sunglasses At Night

Max Factor- Ivory

Sally Hansen- Insta-Dri

I have to keep my nails fairly short in work because otherwise they just break on me and annoy me all shift, I like to have nicely groomed nails though and once one of them chips I have to take all the polish off (a bit compulsive I know).

I'll show you some more of my latest nail colour favourites over the coming weeks. I also have a few photo filled posts from my road trip adventures this weekend!

Hope you're having a great week so far. I have a short week this week as my Summer holidays start on Friday!

Emma x

Film Style Inspiration- Lisa Carol Fremont (Rear Window)

2011-07-31T22:31:00.003+01:00

I can't believe it's that time of the month again (no, not that one). July has flown by and I didn't even think about my Film Style post until less than a week ago. This is one that I have been wanting to do for a while and the only day I had free to do it was today so the photos aren't exactly as planned.

This month's inspiration comes from the stunning Grace Kelly in Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 film Rear Window. Rear Window was probably one of the first Hitchcock films I saw when I was younger. It has always been my favourite, in close second is Psycho. I revisited the film after years of not having seen it for my dissertation in college (in which I analysed the style and substance of Vertigo and Rear Window). Watching it in such detail and with more mature eyes I completely fell in love with the character of Lisa. I have always loved Grace Kelly, I was fascinated by her as a child and would sit and look at photos of her in a book that my mam had, I just thought she was one of the most beautiful women I'd ever seen and I still do.

As Rear Window was made in the mid fifties, Lisa wears several different styles from that period. My aim was to combine some of these styles for my "Lisa look". I took inspiration from the black and white full skirt dress she wore at the beginning of the film and the stunning floral dress she wears during the film's climax. I had this dress from work that I was planning to wear to my friend's wedding but then she told me a few weeks ago that her mother had bought the same dress to wear to the wedding (which is why I hate buying from the high street). So I took the opportunity to wear it as my Grace Kelly dress. I paired it with black patent court shoes and pearl studs like those Lisa wears. I also tried to emulate her make up which you can see clearly below is the classic red lip and small flick of eye liner (a real stretch for me!).

We took the photos on Tramore Beach in Waterford while my friends were surfing ( I can't swim so I didn't join them). It was crazy windy and my eyes started to water ruining my eye make up and my hair that I had curled into a lovely 1950s style ended up completely windswept. So we made the best of what we had to work with and I'm happy with how they turned out.

Dress and Cardigan- Monsoon

Shoes- Marks and Spencers

Earrings- Accessorize

Sunglasses- Penneys

Lipstick- Revlon Fire and Ice

Liquid Eye Liner- Urban Decay

As you can see I'm brushing my hair out of my eyes and squinting in most of the photos, but apart from that I think they turned out pretty well. Hopefully you enjoyed this month's Film Style Inspiration post. Let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions for future months please let me know, I'm always looking for new ideas!

Hope you had a great week!

Emma x

Oxegen- Sunday

2011-07-20T23:26:00.000+01:00

Sunday at Oxegen while interview light was a lot more fun heavy! We were all really wrecked from Saturday because we got home at like 3am so all we wanted to do was relax. Which is why when this guy came over to us in the press area and offered us comfy chairs and free drinks in the the Captain Morgan's tent VIP area we jumped at the chance! We only actually filmed one interview on Sunday which was with Friendly Fires and unfortunately something happened to the audio so the footage was unusable. So we spent most of the afternoon lying on bean bags drinking rum and coke/ginger ale.

We went to watch The National that evening but not before catching Beyoncé doing Single Ladies which was the one song of hers I wanted to see the most. I took some photos from the press pit at The National and then went crazy dancing to them (I know they're not exactly the most dancey of bands but I was so excited to finally see them!) They only played for an hour which was disappointing but it was an amazing hour and they played my favourite song from High Violet (Conversation 16). They finished with a goosebumps inducing performance of Terrible Love and Matt jumped off stage and walked around the barrier and into the crowd. This may sound cheesy but I don't care, it was truly magical!

We then went to see (and photograph) Bright Eyes who performed to a tiny crowd. Conor kept commenting on how ridiculous the festival was and I'm sure most of the audience agreed. I caught a few songs from Coldplay (Two of my favourites- The Scientist and Clocks) but I didn't stick around for long when they started playing Fix You!

And that my friends was my Oxegen 2011 experience! All in all I had a really fun weekend but only because I spent most of it in press/VIP areas. I'm very thankful that I got to see some of my favourite bands for free, but there's no way I would ever pay to go to Oxegen again. Here's hoping I get to go to Electric Picnic in September. Judging from the line up, it's going to be amazing!

Hope you enjoy the last of my photos!

Part of the Press/VIP Area (with it's own DJ tent and mini golf)

Friendly Fires- the lost interview

Katie and Siobhán relaxing in style

As you can see I was very happy with my free drinks

We kept joking that Katie was Lady Gaga, Siobhán even posted a photo of her from a distance on Facebook saying she had met her and several people believed her!

An excited National fan!

Bright Eyes

Coldplay, from very far away

Well I hope you enjoyed my little review of Oxegen 2011. I hope I didn't seem to complainy. I really am very grateful I got to go for free!

How is your week going?

Emma x

Oxegen- Friday and Saturday

2011-07-20T01:22:00.000+01:00

I've been a naughty blogger, living my life and not blogging. I promise to not do it again! I had a great week last week. Donnacha, Kate and I went for dinner and cocktails with my parents which was really fun because we've never really done that before. I had some yummy whiskey sours! Then on Friday a bunch of us including Kate and my brother Jack went to see Harry Potter. I cried. I haven't read the books but I have to say I have come to love the world of Harry Potter. I think the films are really cute and funny. The supporting cast is incredible, some of my favourite ever actors (Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman) are in the films so that's the big draw for me! Did any of you go see it?

The past few days I've been helping Kate with wedding plans. I found her wedding invitations which Donnacha photo-shopped to suit Kate and Eric. They are really cool, I can't wait to show them to you! I'm getting more and more excited about it, the next thing is to order her dress and then mine!

So I'm finally sharing with you the photos from Friday and Saturday of Oxegen. Donnacha Siobhán and I took these photos, let me know what you think!

Weezer

Kitty, Daisy and Lewis

The Vaccines

Braids

Little Green Cars

The Vaccines

Eels

The first few photos of the mud and clouds and general grossness pretty much sum up what Oxegen has become. The only other time I've been was five years ago where Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Strokes, The Who, James Brown and Death Cab For Cutie played. There is a completely different, much younger crowd that goes to Oxegen now and it's basically a 4 day drinking session (It now starts on a Thursday). Some of the bands we interviewed and the bands we saw live made little comments about it being like the Apocalypse and that they were only doing it for the money and experience which to me is the only reason to do it because any of the bands we saw had the smallest audiences in attendance which is very disappointing for them and a very bad representation of Irish gigs.

I wasn't there on Friday but Saturday the weather was really nice for most of the day which we spent in the Press/VIP area until we went to the Red Bull dance tent (a little bit of hell on earth in my opinion) to do an interview which we didn't end up getting. The highlight of Saturday was seeing Eels who actually played 5 years ago too but I wasn't as into them then. They were amazing and had the best style (see above).

I'll be telling you all about Sunday in tomorrow's post!

Hope you're having a great week so far. I missed this, even though it was only a week.

Here's our interviews/acoustic sessions from Saturday, if you get a chance to watch any of them let me know what you think! (Can you guess who's hands those are at the start of the videos, again?)

Emma x

Life's Not Complete 'Til Your Heart's Missed A Beat

2011-07-12T01:50:00.006+01:00

Here's the second set of outfit photos from last weekend...

Dress- Monsoon

Cardigan- Monsoon

Sandals- Marks and Spencers

Lipstick- Revlon 'Stormy Pink'

I'm still wrecked from being at Oxegen this weekend (I'll tell you all about it soon). I thought I would get a chance to relax at home today but instead I had lunch with my sister, went for coffee with friends, went to see Tree of Life and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in the cinema (they are screening all of the films each day before Friday). I really need to go to bed before I start or continue talking nonsense.

How was your weekend? Did you have fun?

Here is a song by Prefab Sprout. I don't think they were that big outside of the UK. They are another of my father's influence bands. Great songs. Tell me what you think.

Emma x

Stoop Your Head

2011-07-08T22:09:00.000+01:00

TGIF!

I'm so happy this week is over! I almost fell asleep while sitting down doing markdowns in work (I'm never usually sitting down in work). I also had to count the floats like three times because I kept zoning out and forgetting what I had counted and what I hadn't! I took a nap when I got home which lasted longer than it should have but it was much needed and I've spent this evening catching up on blogging and editing.

I mentioned in yesterday''s post that we went to Skerries on Tuesday for lunch in Stoops (Stoop Your Head). Here are some photos Kate and I took of our lovely family and the delicious food! Kate, Eric and I had fresh cod in beer batter with homemade tartar sauce and savoury potatoes. My mam had seafood chowder and Jack had a mixture of prawns and crab claws. They do the best seafood in Skerries, it's so incredibly fresh, there's really no other way to have it!

I love Kate's sunglasses, she got them in Accessorize and now I really want them after seeing her model them!

Have you got any fun plans for the weekend? I'm going to Oxegen Festival this weekend, Donnacha and the Cock and Bull guys are filming down there and they managed to get me a press pass so I'm super excited about it because I'll finally get to see The National! Other acts playing include, Foo Fighters, Beyoncé, Bright Eyes, Weezer, Coldplay, The Strokes, Eels and Jenny and Johnny. The only downside really is that it's a festival that is attended by mostly "undesirables" (or if I'm being very cheeky- "Scumbags") but thankfully the press area has it's own bathrooms and food stalls so we won't have to mix in with the commoners too much (I kid, I kid).

I hope y'all are having a nice start to your weekend, I'll have another outfit post for you over the weekend if I get a chance. Hopefully I'll have some photos to show you from Oxegen too!

Emma x

Picked All The Flowers To Spite The Bees

2011-07-07T20:51:00.000+01:00

'ello lovelies!

What a week I've had! Our Summer sale started in work this week so my shifts have been starting a lot earlier in the morning and at various different times so my head is all over the place! It makes me appreciate not having to get up so early anymore. Although it is nice to be finished work so early, especially during the Summer. I've had a pretty action packed week so far. I've drank a lot of coffee, I met my friends for a catch up and Wedding talk over dinner. On Tuesday Kate, Eric and I went to Skerries to have lunch with my mam and brother and visit my granny. Today we went to see a film called The Guard in the cinema which is an Irish production with Brendan Gleeson and the lovely Don Cheadle. It was very funny, but I'm not sure how it would be received outside of Ireland what with all the slang and Connemara accents, there was even a bit of the Irish language thrown in there.

We took two sets of outfit photos while we were in Carlow last weekend. These are the first set of photos which we took in a run down farmyard that I spotted the last time we were down and wanted to try out this time. It was all overgrown and gross but I think it makes for interesting scenery!

Photos by Donnacha and I

Dress and Cardigan- Monsoon

Earrings- Accessorize

Sandals- Marks and Spencers

Sunglasses- Penneys

Lipstick- Revlon's 'Fire and Ice'

Nail Polish- Catrice 'Am I Blue or Green?'

After we took these photos we went to the new Eddie Rockets in Carlow for Malts and a brownie.

How has your week been so far? I have some fun news, I got asked to do a product review for the blog so I'm excited to record a video for it instead of doing a written review. This will be my first time doing anything like it so I'm looking forward to it!

Here's a song which today's post title comes from. It's a band called Vandaveer that Donnacha recorded for Cock and Bull in Texas at SXSW. They're really great, gorgeous harmonies and I really like this live version of the song. Let me know what you think!

Have a great evening,

Emma xx

Outtakes and Cake

2011-07-03T23:34:00.011+01:00

Hello Everyone!

Donnacha and I were joined by our friend Niall while taking outfit photos on Thursday (something that I only allowed because he promised not to look, yes I'm that bad!) Afterwards we went and got lunch and then coffee and cake in Accents (which I told you about recently).

Here are some outfit outtakes, some photos of us messing around and the cakes we had after lunch.

Can you spot an certain onlooker in the background?

Donnacha told me to pet the graffiti dog

Me and Niall messing with our glasses!

Strawberry Waffle Cheesecake

Chocolate Brownie

We played Jenga and Connect 4

We spent this weekend in Carlow at Donnacha's parents house. We had take out, sunbathed, went for a long walk, took two sets of outfit photos, chatted with the in-laws, slept in and caught up with friends. It was a lovely, relaxing weekend. It's always like a mini holiday going down there!

How was your weekend? Are my US readers doing anything special for July 4th? I'm in work very early tomorrow morning for sale preparation so I'll keep this short and sweet.

Emma x

Film Style Inspiration- Enid Coleslaw (Ghost World)

2011-06-30T21:39:00.019+01:00

I almost thought I wouldn't get to do a Film Style Inspiration post this month, but luckily we went out and took these photos today just as June comes to a close.

This is another case of me taking very loose inspiration from a film character's style, yet again I want to explain that these posts are not intended as me dressing up in a costume of the person, but more taking elements of that characters style and incorporating it into my own personal style while remaining true to my style. However it is fun to play around with it and try things I haven't before.

This time it was Enid Coleslaw from Ghost World. I first saw Ghost World and read the graphic novel at a time in my life where for better or worse I could relate to Enid's world view. I still can, however now I see her flaws more than anything else and I think how annoying she would be if she were a real person and a friend at that. Despite all this I still think she is a great character and the fact that she was written by a man makes her even better. I am also a fan of Thora Birch ( ever since I saw her in All I Want For Christmas when she was about five!) and I think she played really embodied the character and made her her own compared to the graphic novel. Also, for those of you who have seen it how great is Steve Buscemi? and how awkward are some of his scenes?

Enid's style is probably the most eclectic of the characters I have posted about so far. Her style seems to be based around that of certain girls at a certain time in their life. She wears a mixture of vintage t-shirts, blouses and dresses, bold prints, military boots, leather jackets, various hair colours, and kooky headgear like a fluffy hair band and even a leather mask she bought in an adult store. My outfit is a tame version of some of these things (I decided against the leather mask). I went for some different lipstick too because Enid wears some interesting make up colours throughout the film.

We took the photos in a graffiti covered lane behind Whelans because I wanted a more Urban feel to the shoot. It's definitely a different set of photos than you would normally see here, but I really like them and I hope you do too!

Glasses- Penneys

Necklace and Bangle- Accessorize

T-Shirt- Not sure, maybe Tower Records years ago (It's a Shins Tee)

Skirt- Marks and Spencers

Dr. Martens- TK Maxx possibly 7 or 8 years ago! (and they were super cheap too!)

Jacket- F&F at Tesco

Watch- Casio from Argos

Lipstick- Revlon 'Black Cherry'

Thank you once again for all the wonderful comments recently. I'm so blessed to have such lovely readers and I want you all to know how much I appreciate you taking the time to read about my humble life let alone write comments for me!

I'll leave you with a great song from the soundtrack;

Deserted on a Popical Island

2011-06-27T23:59:00.000+01:00

Hello All,

Here are the photos we took in Whelans on Saturday. Hope you like 'em!

Donnacha decided to interview everyone

Sea Pinks

He was working off his steroid high

Colin Farrell very kindly gave us an interview. He didn't say much funnily enough

Land Lovers

Balloon Hair

Johnny Fun and the Hesitations

Did you have a good weekend? Unfortunately Donnacha is still in hospital waiting on his final CT scan which he was meant to get today. Fingers crossed he gets out tomorrow, finally! (Thank you for bearing with me through this and for all your words of encouragement!)

Also a big thank you for the lovely things you said about my video! I was so nervous about being on camera but it was okay after a while. My sister said I was acting a bit and Donnacha said he's not used to seeing me be so normal (I'm constantly messing and joking and putting on accents- it can get quite annoying) but hopefully I can across as me and you got an idea of what I'm like in person. I have a few ideas for my next video(s) so maybe I'll make it a monthly thing, who knows!

I heard this cover of my favourite Beach House song Master of None by Toro y Moi last week and wanted to share it with you because I thought it was a really great cover!

Emma x

Product Review Video- Part 2

2011-06-27T00:11:00.000+01:00

As promised, the second part of my product review video. I can't believe how lovely you've all been about the first part. I was so nervous to put myself out there in video form. I hope you enjoy the second part and let me know what you think!

Emma xx

Product Review Video- Part 1

2011-06-26T00:36:00.000+01:00

Hey everyone!

I'm feeling much better about everything. Donnacha is having his last treatment tomorrow and will be discharged on Monday. He has to go back in 6-8 weeks for another MRI to make sure everything is okay, but if the steroids work he should be okay. He got to leave the hospital for the day today and we went to Whelans to the Popical Island All Day Pop Extravaganza. We took some photos which I'll show you during the week.

So last Friday (the day Donnacha went into hospital but before he was admitted) I recorded my first video in the form of a product review. It was over the 15 minutes for youtube uploads even after heavy editing so I decided to just split it in two. You'll get the second part tomorrow because I don't have time to upload it now, but take a look at this one if you get a chance and let me know what you think and if you'd be interested in seeing more of these or other kinds of videos.

I hope you're having as great weekend!

Love, Emma xx

Tidal Nails

2011-06-22T20:55:00.000+01:00

I was inspired by this post by Emily of Cupcakes and Cashmere to paint my nails a bit differently than I normally would. I got these two nail polishes from Max Factor recently and the small size is great because you get to use it all before it goes all sticky. I painted two coats of the Dazzling Blue and then two coats of the Bronze on the top half of my nails. I didn't intend it but they now look like a beach! I definitely want to try this with more colour combinations. I like to experiment with nail colour during the Summer and this is something a bit different than the yellow trend that's popular at the moment. What's been your favourite nail colour this Summer?

I wasn't going to do a post at all today because I'm feeling very down. I was out with Donnacha at the hospital today and had to leave after an hour because the doctor wanted to do a spinal tap after the results of the MRI which showed a legion on his brain stem. They are almost certain it was caused by an infection and that is why his eye is acting up. They said they can't fully rule out cancer I suppose just to cover themselves but because of the rapid development it is very unlikely. So depending on the results of the blood and spinal fluid tests they are hoping to start him on a steroid drip to fight the infection.

As you can imagine I freaked out when I heard brain stem and cancer and I'm very worried and upset even though I know it's good that they finally seem to have an answer and are hopefully going to be starting treatment. All I can say is that my family and friends and you guys have all been amazing! I don't know what I would do without the concern, support and love of everyone. It means the world to me!

I hope you're all having a great week so far,

Emma x

Forbidden Fruit- Sunday 5/6/11

2011-06-20T23:45:00.000+01:00

Once again my intentions to post this were thwarted over the weekend because Donnacha was admitted to hospital on Friday evening and is still there. He is getting lots and lots of tests on his eyes and blood, a CT scan, Chest X-ray and an MRI. It's a good thing I'm rewatched ER because now I know what all these things are. I know he's not in any pain but I just feel so bad for him and so helpless. He may not be discharged until Wednesday, but it could be tomorrow so we can't make any plans. I've been out visiting him every day as have his parents, my parents and brother and his friends but he's still very restless and bored because he's used to being busy.

I just have to keep in mind that it's easier to figure out what's wrong with him when he's being monitored regularly and hopefully they can get to the bottom of it and treat him.

Here are the photos from day two of Forbidden Fruit. They're all taken by me apart from the last one which was taken by Peter the photographer.

Katie and Jean having a chat with one of the band's buses in the background

The winner of the NCAD (National College of Art and Design) competition that Dave and Katie judged

An interview with Not Squares who I'm loving at the moment

Yes, the interview was in the back of a van :)

Not Squares Live

Solar Bears Live

We had a great night on Sunday night and went to an afterparty in The Button Factory after the festival was over. Here's the post I wrote for the Cock and Bull Blog and there's more photos on the Cock and Bull facebook page. You can also add me on facebook here to see what I'm up to day to day.

Hope you're having a better week than me! I'm trying to stay positive about everything! I'm also editing my first video for the blog so watch this space.

Here's one of the interview/performance videos from the festival. You can see my lovely hand modelling at the start!

Emma x

Forbidden Fruit- Saturday 4/6/11

2011-06-16T18:14:00.005+01:00

I finally get to show you the photos I took at Forbidden Fruit last weekend. On Saturday we kicked off the day with an interview with Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne which was amazing as I'm a big fan of them and he was such a good interviewee. I really think he would have talked for hours if we had the time. We also interviewed Irish band Ham Sandwich, Belgian band The Subs, British beatboxer Beardyman and another Irish band called Spies.

We rounded off the day in the photographers pit filming the opening of the Flaming Lips performance which was incredible! Wayne Coyne began the show inflating himself into a giant plastic ball and crowdsurfing in it, there were confetti guns, a megaphone with sparklers and coloured smoke coming from it and giant multi-coloured balloons (I got Donnacha to take a photo of me in front of them backstage).

Dave and Katie, the Cock and Bull Tv presenters

Brian, one of the camera operators (who I went to college with)

The guys with Wayne Coyne

Jape

Ham Sandwich

Spies

Beardyman

The Subs

Flaming Lips

The lovely crew minus our lovely editor Maeve and our lovely photographer Peter who was taking this photo (Back Row L-R; Brian, Anthony, Richie, Andrew, Dave. Middle Row; Ruth, Kate, Siobhán, Róisín, Me, Conor, Donnacha. Front Row; Kirby, Aisling, Eimear, Jessica, Katie.

Here's a preview of Day Two of the festival and tomorrow's post;

Hope you're having a great week, I can't believe it's Thursday already!

Emma x

There in the Midst of it so Alive and Alone, Words Support Like Bone

2011-06-13T23:39:00.005+01:00

On Saturday we took advantage of the good(ish) weather and got the train to Skerries to visit my family. We went for a walk along the beach and harbour, which was super windy and chilly for mid June which is why I'm wearing a scarf and long sleeves on the photos below! We also had a delicious dinner which my parents made for us and had dessert with my granny.

Photos by Donnacha and I

Thank you all for the lovely messages about my blog anniversary, each one meant so much to me because I wouldn't still be doing this if it wasn't for your support and kindness.

I hope you all had a lovely weekend! This week I'll finally be posting about my experience at the Forbidden Fruit festival last weekend and I also have my first video post in the works!

Your music for this post is from Peter Gabriel. My father is a huge Genesis fan and we grew up listening to both Genesis and Peter Gabriel so we were sort of brain washed into liking him. I'd say most people remember him as having those wacky videos in the 80s but he is such an amazing songwriter and has a voice I could listen to all day. Here is one of my favourite Peter Gabriel songs, Enjoy!

Emma x