Happy Halloween - Pumpkin Carving and Pumpkin Soup

Happy Halloween everyone - I'm really hoping the rain will stop for trick o treating tonight. My daughter, who is obsessed with all things Egyptian -is dressing as a dead Pharaoh. My mother, who lives back in Connecticut - made this amazing outfit and shipped it over to us in time for Halloween. On Friday night - Sophia and I worked on our pumpkins - she gutted them and I carved them. While I've never been the best at carving - I thought the one above turned out quite well.

Sophia enjoyed gutting these babies - note the black nail polish - I've got a matching colour on!

Here are our two mad pumpkins - kind of love them:)

And now today, on this chilly rainy day - I'm making pumpkin soup - Dunne's was selling good sized pumpkins for only 75 cents the other day so I'm doing soup with a bit of curry powder and coconut milk instead of cream.

I roasted the pumpkin chunks first in the oven just drizzled in olive oil and with salt and pepper - now that's all in a pot with onions, vegetable stock - cooking away. Once that's done I'll whizz it all up with my hand blender - the best invention ever....and pour in the coconut milk. Should be delicious.

I'll put photos of Sophia in her costume up tomorrow - have a great night everyone!

Cottage Crafts - Recession Chic Ideas in Country Homes and Interiors

In the November issue of Country Homes & Interiors - there was another great feature called The Look We Love...Cottage Crafts. What I loved about it is that return to the simpler things...working with what we have to make our home better and more livable. When you need to recover a chair - like above - why not make it a patchwork of colours? It adds personality and a unique look to your home.

Who doesn't have some old embroidered tablecloths? They are probably sitting in your hot press or hidden away in a drawer right now - I'm going to pull out some of mine and use them for Sunday dinner - why not!

I bet you have some remnant fabrics sitting around - I know I do and recently I had a great purge and gave my neighbours a whole batch. One neighbour who had recently built on a new master suite extension - we all fondly call it the "West Wing" - stretched fabric across frames and hung them in her new bedroom. Remnants are perfect for making fun accessory pillows too and my other neighbour was able to take the fabric I gave her to make new curtains for her sitting room.

The wall in this bedroom has been papered with the same paper but in two different colourways - I love how it turned out. Plus, the big chunky croqueted throw paired with the lace - it's a wonderful old fashioned look that is so in vogue right now. It's all about returning to simpler times - knitting and sewing have seen such a resurgence

I'm smitten with this bathroom - I just love the wild colourful wallpaper - of course, it's Amy Butler...who is such a favourite of mine right now. Makes me have to re-think our family bathroom - it's simple and blue but it's not exciting - we've been re-painting the downstairs of our home and next year we'll be working on the upstairs so by the time we get to the bathroom - I'll have my plan in place for a new look!

Even jars and journals can be given a new lease on life with a few fabric swatches - I love the flower pins - I've got to get a bit more crafty and use my remnants to do something like this.

This story was styled by Anna Malhomme de La Roche and Tamara Kelly - photographed by Claudia Dulak.

Dolce Vita Collection of Wallpaper from Antonina Vella Designs

Hot of the press - I love this bright snappy selection of new wallpapers - my favourite - the Grata, above. Love the graphic look and range of colours. These are all from the Dolce Vita Collection from Antoninia Vella Designs and available through York Wallcoverings in the USA.

I'd just love to give my home office a little sprucing up and slap this up on the walls. What a face lift! Maybe even just on one wall. Actually think the green colour way would look great in our utility room - as it goes out into the garden - that stylized trellis look would be so effective. Actually to be really daring - I'd like to paint this design over my back garden wall....ok my husband would kill me but how cool would that be.

The sweet geometric pattern of Celia - above and below, is great too - it adds loads of colour without being too overwhelming. I do think it would work well in a bedroom.

Who doesn't love paisley - Edda - seen above and below has a lovely feminine touch to it but it's not too feminine if you know what I mean.

Mimi is bold and strong - it has huge impact and could work for an entire room. It's very effective here in the darker colourway balanced out with the strong elements in white.

Finally, Alessa - has a lovely lighthearted design - I love the butterflies and floral motifs floating over the white background. This would work so well for a little girls room or a guest room or even a bathroom.

Do you agree? Which are your favourites?

Digging through My Archives - Everyday Food

On the cover - Tomato and Olive Penne - Photographed by Minh+Wass.
As I've told you before, I'm a bit of a hoarder. Re-organizing my cookbooks and recipes recently, I came across the first issue of Everyday Food - published in 2003. I loved these little handy magazines when they came out - the size is perfect - Martha's team of fanatical workers have put together loads of great tips and ideas - like how to slice a grapefruit and How -To - make a vinaigrette - giving you the basics and some of Martha's favourites. That's why I hang onto them.

The recipes are simple and well photographed - of course! This issue has a feature on main dishes. Above, Cinnamon Broiled Chicken with Raita - photographed by Con Poulos.

Creole Chicken Fricassee photographed by Clive Streeter.

This Lentil Soup look so yummy and hearty - I'm holidays now until November 2 so I think I'll whip up a batch of this for lunches and pop some in the freezer as well. All you'd need is some good crusty bread with this and you'd be well satisfied. Photographed by Con Poulos.

Recently, on a wing and a prayer, I tried to make my own cauliflower soup and I got it oh so wrong - now I have this delicious recipe for Curried Cauliflower Soup which I expect will be perfect and the curry will make it the perfect meal again for the winter. Photographed by Clive Streeter.

Finally, there was a scrumptious recipes for Corn Kernel Cornbread - again photographed by Clive Streeter. You can use frozen corn for this -here's the recipe.

Serves 8

Prep time 5 Mins

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Put 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter in 8 inch square baking pan or 9 inch ovenproof skillet; place in oven just long enough to melt butter. In a bowl, stir together 1 cup flour, 1 cup cornmeal, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir in 1 egg and 3/4 cup milk until just combined. Stir in 1 cup frozen corn.

2. Spoon batter into prepared pan, and spread evenly. Bake until golden, 30 minutes in pan or 20 minutes in skillet.

This is obviously an American recipe - I'm going to work it out here for Ireland so if any of you want it let me know - I'll work out the measurements for you and can email through or re-post my results. If you want any of these recipes - I'm happy to send along. Leave me a comment or email me directly.

Skies are clear and looks dry out there today. Enjoy it.

Winter Wardrobe Update and Finding Emerson Made.com

The colder weather has finally descended here in Ireland although I have to say - the rain is nowhere to be seen -thank goodness. I've been in a slight panic lately as it gets colder because things are a little different for me from last winter. What's the change you wonder? Well the change is I have lost 17 pounds since last winter and of course, while I'm thoroughly delighted with this fact - the teenie problem is that understandably - my clothes don't' quite fit me the same way. The long wool black coat I had worn for years, is like wearing a big black bag now - not particularly flattering. So, I've been trying to sort through my current wardrobe and see what I can salvage from my former heavier days and what really needs to be let go. Black coat has been let go - and my new purchase of this week is this fabulous taupe coat from Debenhams. It's the perfect length for driving in - it's well fitted - showing off my sleeker figure and it's absolutely perfect for work or for weekends with a pair of jeans - which I exhibited this weekend in Dublin. So, now, I love this coat - I really do but was thinking what it needs is some kind of fun accessory like a flower pin and thus leads me to the discovery of this US firm - Emerson Made.

They have a delightful range of flower pins - for men and women and even have their own apparel line but I just had to share the photos of their pins and clutches.....the photography is really brilliant and fun too. Above is the Emerson Bouquet, $74.00.

Emerson on right with husband and partner Ryan. She looks like she has loads of spunk!

As you can see here modeling the Big Dandy flower pin - only $38- now to figure out about finding someone to sell them here.

Check out the Big Dandy clutch! Love it.

Doesn't he just look ducky?! The Little Dandy pin, $24.50.

She's wearing the One and Only Flower Chain, $175 - with her fluffy chicken - do love their photos!

The packaging is beautiful too - just look at this chain - it's so unique.

Big and bold - the Poppy, $54.00.

And then they also have these adorable clutches - this is the Dandy and Dogs Clutch, above and

below, $62.00.

And the Classic School Bloom Clutch, below, $74.00. Love it!

Finally, I love this pin - perfect for friends who've just been through a Sh...time! It's called the UnGloom Bloom, $24.50 - so good for these recessionary times don't you think? Although probably not wise for me to wear on work appointments!

All images from Emerson Made - (except coat from Debenhams) Check out their website - for more fantastic products and their witty write ups - http://www.emersonmade.com/

Christmas at Ikea in Dublin

On Saturday, my neighbour and best bud - Ann went up to Dublin for the day. We had several things to do on our list - first stop the Ideal Home Show in the RDS. What a fabulous day it was weather wise - it was one of those perfect autumnal days, sunny with a slight chill in the air. The show was jammers - which was great for all the exhibitors. We had a good two hours to spend there and while it was not the kind of home show I'm accustomed to as an editor - where you can really tap into upcoming trends and see what's new on the interiors front - there were lots of good exhibitors there - loads on the ECO side of things - plenty of gadgets for cleaning and cooking at home and even jewellery and handbags - which Ann and I are proud to say we resisted. There was a great booth selling bulbs for the spring so I picked up 20 Rip Van Winkle miniature daffodil bulbs - my garden is certainly coming along but need to make a bigger investment in bulbs for spring colour.

After the Ideal Home Show we had one other stop and then on the way home - decided well since we are up here - why not head to Ikea. Ann had never been and I am an old pro at Ikea as most of you know from previous posts - a lot of what we have at home is from Ikea. Well, let me tell you - Christmas was alive and well. The theme this year - felt very patriotic - was red white and blue - literally everywhere - on bedding- ornaments - pillows - wrapping paper - you name it. The focal point being this lovely red, white and blue plaid and this wonderful sense of nostalgia which showed up on quilts everywhere.

It all felt so American Country - I loved it and had a hard time not capturing every little vignette I came across.

Had to throw in this wonderfully mad fabric too - I applaud Ikea for their fabulous use of colour! It's so me.

There were loads of delightful options for bedding and I was oh so tempted to buy up a whole load of new duvet covers and pillows covers to create a wonderful cosy winter look for our bedroom.....but I resisted.

Here we have another delightful quilt - mixed in with red and blue pillow covers.

Down in the marketplace - again - Americana was alive and well - if I didn't' know what time of year it was I would have thought July 4th was right around the corner.

Love these tall mugs and the plaid paper napkins (okay I did pick up a packet of those....so fun for Christmas)

A star plaid with one of Ikea fab fabrics.

Paper plates with a decidedly Swedish feel.

Plastic serving plates and bowls - love them!

This chandelier is top of my list of favourites - unfortunately, we just don't have the right height in our hall/entryway to hang it because I can tell you if we did - that would be my next purchase.

In the fabric department - simple pillows tied up with that awesome plaid.

Another sweet combination. Seriously, I could have taken this entire bed home.

More examples hanging from the ceiling in the bedding department - who wouldn't want pillow overs with trumpeting angels? and that plaid again! Just for Christmas time of course.

In the candle/garden department.

Then as you come to check out - all the wonderful Christmas goodies from wrapping paper to ornaments. On top of this chest is a paper cut out of white trees with LED lighting built in - how charming would this look on a mantle or in a window? Only €19.99.

Wonderful examples of wrapping ideas....yes, I bought the plaid paper - just couldn't resist plus two other patterns.

Then I always buy something in the food section - the thin crispy ginger biscuits are quite delicious and come in sweet tins - for something like €3.99. I came across this delightful gingerbread village.....

I know Halloween isn't even here yet but if you haven't been to Ikea yet - do go - it's so worth it from an inspirational standpoint and the prices are so perfect for the recession. It's exit 4 Ballymun off the M50 Northbound. So easy to get on and off. Now with the new motorways - from Nenagh you are on the motorway almost the entire way - it's only Nenagh to Mountrath that you are on the old Dublin road.

Email me if you have any questions or tips for shopping in Ikea - it can be a bit overhwhelming.