The Interior DIYer

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Instagram roundup – December

December was a crazy month for me. I worked four temp jobs in four different offices in as many weeks – c’est la vie of an office zombie. Not to mention Christmas on top of all of it! I was approached by some very inspiring people in December on the design side of things, to embark on new and exciting projects in the months ahead. All of which I cannot wait to get my teeth into – regardless of how terrifying they may be. I also have some big plans festering in my brain that I’d like to make to our home in the months ahead. There’s nothing quite like the overindulgence of Christmas to make you purge every last inch of your home. 

Not only Christmas, but new years has now come and gone. I know – thank you Captain Obvious! I’m always amazed at how quickly the days fly by when I’m not in work. I ate way too much, slept in too long, achieved next to nothing and it was all kinds of excellent. Back to reality tomorrow.
To wrap up December’s Instagram antics I’ll leave you with not one, but two kitteh Instavideos …

They’re up to no good, those two. xx A

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Nannie’s knock-off Baileys

I’ve wanted to try this recipe of my grandmother’s for many years. It sat in my mom’s recipe book in the kitchen and whenever I came across it I’d always say to myself “I gotta make that one Christmas“. But then like, 10 years happened and still nothing.
This year I mentioned to my parents I’d like to give it a go and blog it. While we were in the kitchen stuffing our faces one day, my mom happened upon my Nannie Ada’s recipe and the next day I was buying the ingredients. I was a bit hesitant though because it didn’t seem like the ingredients would get along, but that didn’t stop me.

Ingredients
3 eggs
1 can sweetened condensed milk {
3 tsp chocolate syrup
8 oz fresh cream {roughly 230ml}
1 cup Tia Maria 
1 cup whiskey {we used Tullamore Dew}
Makes 1 litre
Method
Add all ingredients to a large jug and blend with a hand blender until mixed well. Just make sure you add the whiskey last. If you were to add it before the Tia Maria, it may cause the cream to split. Other than that, it’s painfully straight forward recipe. It took me all of about 3 minutes to make.
I think it is an absolute dead ringer for Baileys. Husband says it’s very close, but I think it’s because he knows I made it that there’s that bit of doubt there. It didn’t stop him from having 3 glasses of it last night … I’ve been keeping ours in a small decanter in the fridge to be on the safe side, and because it looks fancy too. You could of course pour it into an empty and clean Baileys bottle if you’d like to be extra crafty. Practice your sinister laugh as you hand your guests a glass. 
Best served over ice, ice, baby.

Being the persnickety shrewd that I am, I cracked out Excel and did the figures. Was it worth it? Will it be cheaper? Well, for 1 litre of knock-off Baileys it cost us €16.07. I was full of doubt. Until I found out the current price for 1 litre of Baileys is €26.83. A saving of €10+. Not bad … Bottoms up. 
And of course, an early happy new year to you! Husband and I will be kicking it at home this year with le chats and up to our eyes in knock-off Baileys, sparklers, bubbly and MOAR food it seems. See you on the other side xx A

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From me and mine to you and yours …

I still can’t believe Christmas is only days away. I’m happy to say all our Christmas shopping is done – well, with the exception of some last minute ingredients for treats I’ll be making over the holidays {like this peppermint chocolate bark by Ketty of French Foodie in Dublin. DROOL}. I got all our shopping done on my lunch hours last week, which means I only had to endure an hour of wading through the retail madness each day. It’s been all go, go, go the last couple of weeks, so I can’t wait to chillax and slow down for a few days.
I only got to take pictures of our Christmassy bits over the weekend. I didn’t go as overboard as I had hoped this year. I did however fancy up some mantle swag by using yarn in my favourite colours, made some tassels and taped them up with clear tape. As you can see, there are no more edible ornaments on the tree. Those suckers were devoured weeks ago. 
And below – we don’t have a fireplace in our apartment {massive sad face}, so husband simply downloaded one for me this year …

So from me and mine to you and yours – I hope you have the happiest of holidays. Don those onesies, get comfortable, and turn on the movie marathons with a box {or six} of chocolates within reach. ‘Tis the season  🙂 xx A