Staying at the Sandymount Hotel, Dublin

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There’s always something special about staying at a hotel in the city you live in. It feels like a real treat, a brief blast of indulgent escapism from your normal life of doing the dishes, grudgingly sorting out the laundry and throwing together dinner from last night’s leftovers before settling down to your ‘Sex And The City’ boxset.

This weekend I got to indulge in 24 hours of escapism when I stayed at a Dublin hotel I’d shamefully never heard of before – The Sandymount Hotel, a family-run home-from-home that’s been in business since 1955 and that’s right beside the Aviva Stadium. (FYI if you’re attending a match or event at the Aviva, this is THE place to stay, as I soon found out on Saturday morning as I bravely battled through the deluge of enthusiastic rugby fans heading in the opposite direction.) Continue reading “Staying at the Sandymount Hotel, Dublin” →

How to deal with negative thoughts

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This week I wanted to don my Oprah hat and write about something I think we all experience: negative thoughts and self-doubt. I’m told that self-doubt is as much a part of a writer’s DNA as coffee dependency, narcissism and nosiness. To be honest, that doesn’t really give me much comfort when I’m hunched over my laptop, paralysed with fear and self-loathing, as though the assignment I’m working on is the first thing I’ve ever written and wondering why the editor gave it to me of all people. So how do you stop that niggling negativity from completely taking over? Continue reading “How to deal with negative thoughts” →

Summer reads 2018

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One of my favourite blog posts I’ve written so far has been this one from last year, Summer Reads 2017. In a case of déjà vu, I wanted to recommend some more books to read for 2018 if you’re heading off on holidays or if you’ve been a bit lax on the reading front and want to become a summer bookworm.

Summer is the perfect time to catch up on all the books you meant to read earlier this year but never got around to. I for one will definitely be tucking into the stack of books on my bedside locker (ok, and floor) that just keeps growing. Continue reading “Summer reads 2018” →

3 ingredient peanut butter banana ice cream

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Summer is definitely in the air and I for one am looking forward to the days of La Roche Posay Factor 50, getting my vitamin D fix and not having to wear 6 layers of clothes to cover all four seasons in one day. The other reason why I’m looking forward to summer (even though I live in Ireland and we have approximately 1 and a half days of sunshine each year) is it gives me the perfect excuse to live on my new favourite vegan snack, peanut butter ice cream. Continue reading “3 ingredient peanut butter banana ice cream” →

Money saving tips for vegetarians & vegans

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One of the most common gripes I hear is that healthy eating is expensive. If I received a bean for every time someone suggested to me that you need a steady supply of cash to be vegetarian or vegan, well, I could make a very nice dip with it.

The truth is, convenience foods ARE less expensive than healthy items but there’s plenty of ways you can adopt a plant-based diet without needing to take out a bank loan. Being smarter about key ingredients, prepping your meals in advance and getting creative in the kitchen are just a few ways you can eat healthily on a budget. Continue reading “Money saving tips for vegetarians & vegans” →

Mediterranean tofu scramble recipe

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Of all the meals we eat in a day, I’ve always found vegan/vegetarian breakfasts the hardest. Maybe it’s because I’m not a big breakfast fan (but trying to become one) or maybe it’s because everything seems to involve eggs or dairy, especially when you go to a café or you’re staying in a hotel. Everything changed when I discovered tofu scramble, Mediterranean-style. Continue reading “Mediterranean tofu scramble recipe” →

Snap out of that funk!

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Have you ever been stuck in a terrible funk that just wouldn’t shift? I don’t mean a rut, I mean a crappy mood, a general Charlize-Theron-in-Young-Adult ‘why bother?’ feeling. Lately, I just can’t shake it.

Unlike being stuck in a rut, my ‘could you be bothered?’ mood isn’t because of a bad break-up, getting the boot from a job I loved or a run-in with nightmare relatives. It’s just there. In many ways it’s easier to get out of a rut because you can change jobs, move to a new place or do whatever it takes to give you a change of scenery. Getting out of a funk and changing your mood is a bit trickier. Continue reading “Snap out of that funk!” →