Il Valentino

One of my favourite things to do is try out new places to eat and drink in Dublin. In the past couple of years I've almost made it into a hobby (a rather pricey one!). There's something really satisfying about finding a new and amazing place to eat and sharing it online and with my friends and family and trying to convince everyone that they need to try it out. 

For a few years now I've frequented Il Valentino bakery and café located in one of my favourite areas of Dublin- Grand Canal Harbour. Bread and pastries are freshly baked in store every day using the best ingredients from all over the world to making it like an authentic Italian/French bakery.  

There are very few places like this in Dublin where you can get the same fresh bread you'd get on holiday in France or Italy. I adored going to the Boulangerie every day when I was in Nice last year and getting a fresh baguette and croissants so Il Valentino brings a little bit of that tradition to my home town. 

I usually order one of their gorgeous coffees and something sweet. Their eclairs are unbelievable (I love the Pistachio and coffee ones). They also have proper Italian cannoli (a recent favourite of mine), a selection of sandwiches made with their fresh bread and made to order cakes (which I haven't tried but they look delicious!).

Next time you're in the area you have to try this place. Now that the weather is kind of getting nicer I recommend getting your order to take away and sitting on the benches facing the harbour, it's such a nice way to spend an afternoon away from the busy city centre.

Tell me some of your favourite places to eat in Dublin. I'm hoping to feature more of my favourite spots to eat on the blog so I'd love to know what yours are.

Emma x

Turn My Head With Talk Of Summertime

Summer is slowly beginning to arrive in Dublin, so last Friday we took advantage of the sunshine and got the DART to Dun Laoghaire for the day. We had lunch followed by Scrumdiddly's ice cream (which is definitely worth the long queue!) and walked down the pier and sat in the sun. 

I brought my new camera along to play around with and took some photos of the gorgeous seaside scenery. 

I'm really looking forward to bringing my camera on more adventures over the Summer. We're going on a city break with a few friends to Amsterdam in July and back to the south of France in August. I'm so excited for another Summer of travelling!

What are your Summer plans?

Emma x

Maximillian Strasse Her and Stones n' Roses

I haven't written a post about nail polish in a while, but after digging out some Essie polishes I bought last year I was inspired to share them with you. Maximillian Strasse Her is from the Spring 2013 collection. I remember this shade got a bit of attention when it was released because it is such a  unique colour. When I first saw it in the bottle I wasn't that pushed on it, but whenever I saw someone wearing it I made note to buy it the next time I was at an Essie stand.

It's a cool toned pale grey/green that almost works as a neutral. It's like the green version of Essie's Cocktail Bling which is one of my favourite shades of theirs. I get compliments on it every time I wear it because it's such an unusual shade. It's still available on Debenhams, Amazon and Superdrug if you want to get your hands on it.

Stones n' Roses was part to the Resort 2015 collection and is what I would describe as a pastel coral quite similar to Tart Deco, but a little more washed out. I've been wearing this a lot throughout Spring and now that it's "Summer" I'm wearing it on my toes too.

As with all of my other Essie polishes, the formula of these is excellent, in fact you could get away with one coat of both of these shades. The diffusion line in Boots and other pharmacies has a wider brush than the usual Essie polishes I've bought online and I definitely prefer this kind of brush as it allows me to coat my nails much quicker and more easily. Even though I apply a top coat over these, I still find them longer lasting than most of the other nail polish formulas I've tried.

Stones n' Roses can be found on Boots website and on Amazon.

Essie remain one of my favourite nail brands, I think I've featured them more than any other brand here on the blog. I adore both of these shades and feel like they're the perfect subdued Spring/Summer nail colours.  

What nail colours are you loving at the moment? Do you know any dupes for these shades?

Emma x