My Love has no Beginning My Love has no End

Video of the Day  <--- This is a local commercial that Ashton and I are obsessed with. It's one of those pull on your heartstrings kinda deals with a beautiful song.


      Also on a side note we are officially losing our minds; as in coming to our wits end on this apartment, schoolwork, and even this lack of rain. Home is on our minds- along with ice and A/C but thats another story altogether. So any who not much to mention really just food...always food. :) So here's a recap on my eats as well as silly moments of the week!

Thanks to my new all-natural face wash my face is FINALLY clearing up.
A review on this great new product will be posted soon :)

That's right. That's my name. On a bar of soap. Whaddup coolness.

Adorable table numbers at a cafe/tea room called Hook and Ladder

I mean even the seating was adorable.

And look at this silverware! Interesting fact- I love unique silverware.  At home we have two drawers of silverware. The left side is the "nice" silverware while the right side is the odd and ends...I love the silverware on the right because it has character :) 

Chili-Chicken toasted wrap with dressed salad, apple cole slaw, and soda bread.

Also, today was the first cloudy day in almost 3 weeks.

Tomato basil wrap with veggie chips and a side cottage cheese parfait.

Kiss My Butt Irish Starbucks

   
That's right, I said it. Kiss me arse Starbucks of Dublin. I am not happy with your barista who insisted on arguing with me about ice in my drink even though the drink has the word "iced" in it!  Milly Starbucks I haven't shown enough appreciation; I am so thankful for your loving baristas, extra-iced drinks, and frequent buyer perks.

   On a lighter note, this past 24 hours in Dublin was the perfect way to spend our last free weekend in Ireland. We stayed at the Best Western "Plus" on O'Connell which welcomed us with pillow topped mattresses, the best air-conditioner we've experienced abroad, and friendly concierge. Overall, we got MORE than enough for our money! Thank you-lastminute.com. After a delicious evening at a local italian restaurant that holds pride in their healthy- home cooked meals we settled in for the evening. It was the best night of sleep i've had since arriving in Ireland. (side note-that craziness of not sleeping is finally over!) We arose bright and early with a full 8 hours of sleep to indulge in our cheap 4 euro grocery store meal. We like to call this traveller style. From there we headed into city centre to do a bit of exploring. I fell in love with an adorable all-natural bath store called Lush. Next stop: wax museum! It was a great experience to say the least. I got to meet my movie crush, Smeagol and even James Joyce.  In another part of the exhibit, Ashton and I visited the room of "Horrors". When we walked into the dimly lit room, bleeding limbs and skinned bodies filled the musky room. A wax-man in the corner was sitting in a chair facing the wall. To our surprise, a motion sensor set off the well played trick of turning the chair around. Never in my life have I ran so fast. I literally thought I peed myself- just kidding. Lunch took place at a local vegan bar called Cornucopia. As you all know, I am in love with all things organic and earthy; this place was my perfect cup of tea. Finally, a little browsing on Grafton Street led to a few fun things and a multitude of street performers. Today was the ultimate taste of Dublin and I couldn't have asked for more. While I absolutely love all that Ireland has to offer, the countdown is on until home. Even though people in Europe make fun of us "Americans" I would just like to share a few words: I am proud to be from the peach-state, I will always be a Georgia girl, and yes we do things very differently and often make mistakes but America will always be the place I call home. 

I packed all of my stuff in my mini LuLu Lemon backpack. Go me!

That's a cheesy smile because I was starving.

Mini portion of Salmon and Spinach Lasagna

Pear + Honey + Goat Cheese Salad

Ceiling at Gino's Gelato

Breakfast- traveller style.

:) 

Aren't we adorable!?

We should have taken the warning as a sign......

A little hard to see buts that Freddy...ya know scary dude with the knives for hands.

Bond, James Bond. A little 007 action for ya.

The drink from the "big-argument"

Street sand-carver

Not statues y'all, these are real people.

Squash-coconut casserole

Cornucopia chic walls

Celery-apple juice!

Flower vendor

Din Din tonight :) 

Last and final tour! I was a little excited.

Awwwwwwww

Barley and local green salad + all natural, GF, WF, V banana bread with cultured yogurt + fruit

Goodbye Dublin, Hello Waterford.

  

                            

   

    8 hours of sleep in a pillow top bed. National wax museum. Vegan bar lunch. Shopping on Grafton street. Investing in Birkenstocks. Seeing beautiful places and meeting beautiful people. 

Today I said goodbye to Dublin. In two hours I will say hello to Waterford. And in six days I will be able to say hello Georgia, how I've missed you so. 

But I Don't Wanna Wear Pants Today

I mean come on, who doesn't right? - please please please....if you don't read anything else in this post, please watch this incredible video. I seem to be stuck in a viral video phase...Conversations with My 2 Year Old

          Let's Catch Up

    I'm so terribly sorry for the slight lapse in my postings, as you know things are very busy around here. Especially with it being exactly a week until pack up! I'm so excited it's insane. I love it here, but lets be real. I also love home. Okay random rant over.

 A Ramble On Surfing:

                a ramble? how about a flat out catastrophe (perhaps that's a little over exaggerated for added effect). I cannot skateboard. I cannot longboard. I cannot SURF. But ya know..who cares?! I surfed in FREAKING IRELAND. I mean i'm thankful for the fact that I had the opportunity to even attempt such a difficult "sport" in such a beautiful place! Not a lot of pictures were taken because our cameras were packed up. Sorry folks, wetsuit will have to suffice your "cherie looking like a seal" craving.

  A Speech on Runnin': 

                 I've been on a half-marathon plan for about two weeks now. Everything is going really well. I realized that I had slacked off a bit on my favorite cardio while being here and it was starting to show. Other cardio (my current substitute has been insanity 3/week) just isn't working as well for my body. Running just seems to help all of the flubby areas the best, so why not get back into the swing of things! The plan should take me into November just in time for a thanksgiving half marathon! Thats my goal :) I've even made it a self-rule to run to my destination. For example, city centre is 2 miles from my dorm. About a 30 minute walk or a 20 minute run. I simply suit up and run to my errand, pick up my necessities, and catch a city bus back if it's dark or hot. It's been an easy way of tricking myself into more running...so far I love it! 

A Chit-Chat on Yums for the week:

           I've been 80% clean, 20% splurge -compared to my 50/50 way for the first 3 weeks here- unfortunately, that caught up with me and the fatigue, swollen feet, and slightly snug pants just wasn't worth it. A week into pretty strict eating and i'm already reaping the benefits! When I do splurge I try to go for healthier options (i.e. organic, gluten-free, etc.). It helps keep me in a positive choice mindset.

Goat cheese + spinach + chorizo pizza 

Spinach-cod stir fry

Sweet potato + spinach quesadillas on gluten free tortilla

Whole wheat french toast with honey berry drizzle
Not nearly as good as my uncle Jeff's french toast, but it will do!

A Testimony on Rock of Cashel:

          Dude, it was legit. Cashel was an adorable little town with rich history. I took a tour of Rock of Cashel which was simply stunning and finished the trip off with a visit to Bolton Library to see the "smallest book in the world". Confession: I wasn't supposed to take a picture of it, but come on! I didn't use a flash at least. The picture of me hopping on one leg is related to a local legend. If you hopped around St. Patrick's Cross 9 times on one leg you'll be married in 12 months! No worries...I stopped after a few hops. I figured I would just wait it out :) Better than busting my face in front of a tour of people. Oh Irish myths-they're so cute.

View from top of Rock Cashel

Loveddddd this sculpture of Irish dancers.

I did it!  Haha just kidding Lee ;)

A Plan for the Weekend:

         The last travel weekend is free game for we students! Tomorrow we will go to Dublin for our last official field trips. My art class will be visiting a local art gallery, and Trinity College to see the Book of Kells. Ashton and I will then make our way to our cozy hotel in city center which we snagged an AWESOME deal on. Then Friday will be a little bit of exploring in city centre. Last time we went to Dublin we stuck to the outskirts of town and ended up missing a great bit. Saturday will be a day trip back to Killarney! -Wanted a little extra time in my favorite city in Ireland :) So that's it yall. Don't forget to watch the world's best youtube video above ^ and stay tuned for a posting from the weekend's festivities! I'll be posting small things here and there all weekend :) Dublin here we come!

Went to see Monster's University. Naturally, we were the only people in the beginning!