The Interior DIYer

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2012 – goals

It’s the new year and I’m writing a post on goals – shock, horror. But in stead, I’m writing about last years goals. Twelve months ago I wrote a list, and never published them. I kind of forgot about them. And I also thought no one would really want to read them anyways.

Then the other day, I went back to take a look at  the unpublished post, and was shocked when it dawned on me that I managed to achieve each of my goals for 2012. I don’t think that’s ever happened …


Couch to 5k – I always admire joggers. I hate jogging. Probably because I hate sweating. But I’ve come to a point where I want to be fit, and the perfect way to start this is the Couch to 5k program. 
I achieved this, getting up to 50 minutes of non stop jogging. For me – the eternal physical activity hater – that was a huge achievement. I also shed 28lbs/2 stone in the process. I’m hoping to continue this goal into 2013 and I’m proud to say I started kicking my ass again this week after a couple months off. If I can do it, anyone can. For serious. 

Level up – I heart blogging. Since I began, the more I got into it, the more I realized it pushes me to be more creative. I’m contemplating taking my creativity to another level. Possibly stepping into the world of selling stuff online. But I haven’t a clue what I’d sell. Not off to a good start …
I got a couple of magazine features in 2012 which was more than I expected. I’ve had a possible online idea involving revamping items and selling them on, but I’m really unsure how that would go. I do have a daunting /massive/exciting project on the horizon, but for now, I’ll do that annoying thing that people do and I won’t tell you what it is. 
Project Less 365 – I have way too much crap. Stuff I’ll never use, but that can get use from someone else. I’m hoping this year to embark on Project Less 365 – the idea being that you get rid of / give away one item per day every day for a year. 
Having only started this at the beginning of November {delayed by wedding fever}, I managed to almost finish this project by December 31st. And I’m not stopping there. A weight is being lifted the more I get rid of stuff. If you’re curious, you can check out my less is more posts.



Not morph into Bridezilla – I have a pretty tough level of OCD at the best of times. What scares me about our wedding day is that I won’t be able to relax and enjoy it. I’m trying not to put an overwhelming amount of detail into it, that way there’s less to go wrong. And if it does, c’est la vie. Or, I’ll keep a constant supply of g&t at hand.

I was as calm as a Hindu cow the two weeks leading up to our wedding, and I’m very proud. I typically excrete OCD, so this was a big step for me. I reminded myself that yes, it’s our wedding day, but it’s just another day in the end, so calm the fuck down.

As for this year, I’m not yet sure of my goals. And I’m okay with that.

xxA

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Bring on the new year

Just a mushy couple of words to say thank you to all of you who read, liked, followed, crept, encouraged, commented and contributed to keeping my sanity this year. Not many people I know ‘in the real world‘ know of my site. It’s my little corner of the world where I can yap on about dumb stuff, and not feel embarrassed. So to sum it up, I couldn’t say it better than Dr. Frasier Crane – thank you for listening.

Bring it on, 2013.

p.s. Have a safe and awesome new year homies. Careful with those sparklers. See you on the other side!
xx A

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Our wedding

I really feel that adding text to this post will ruin it. Our wedding day was like a dream, and was over twice as fast. But thanks to the painfully epic photography skills from Karina and Emily, we get to relive our day every time we look at our pictures.

I had to crop out a massive paragraph stressing the importance of researching and finding a photographer{s} with mad skills you adore, who you can sit comfortably with on your wedding morning and who will listen to you talk crap whilst you put your face on. It’s an investment you will have for the rest of your life.

Our entire day was all under one roof at Dunboyne Castle. Hubby {fiance at the time} and I stayed the night before our wedding in Dunboyne Castle where we sprinkled tea cups and draped hydrangeas onto every surface the night before. The next morning, we got ready {in separate rooms of course}, walked 3 minutes to our ceremony, got married, and after pictures and catch up with family, mozied across the hotel to our reception. We wouldn’t have had it any other way. Linkage for all the details of our day at the bottom of this post …

We hope you enjoy 🙂

I made my veil 20 minutes before the ceremony. Sorry, but I just cannot justify paying €250 for something similar, when I made mine for about €1. Thrifty to the core.

And the bouquets – nothing other than gorgeous hydrangeas. Huge props to Dorothy from Dunboyne Flowers who spent weeks hunting for hydrangeas the exact shade of purple as the bridesmaids dresses, and ordered them in especially from Holland. I didn’t think it was possible, but she did it. Perfection.

Together with the ever passionate Romy, we put together a bespoke hand fasting ceremony {where we ‘tied the knot’}, as well as traditional exchanging of rings. We’re still getting compliments on what a personal and beautiful ceremony we had. It was perfection and wouldn’t suggest or have wanted anyone else for the role.

To add a personal touch, we displayed framed pictures of each of our parents on their wedding days, and for the remainder of the day, got told how much we look like them.
We also displayed our Confetti engagement mention should our guests be up for some light reading.

In keeping with our tea and porcelain theme, I wrote out our seating chart on vintage plates. I was so stuck for so long as how to display our seating, and I didn’t want to have to go down the printable, chalkboard or anything too over the top route. Thankfully, my dad came up with this simple idea, and after a few trips to the charity shop and digging through cupboards, with a trusty Sharpie, our seating chart was done. Since hubby and I met in a cinema and are avid movie lovers, I printed off our favourite movie covers in black and white {printed twice and glued to either side of a piece of card}, which corresponded with the movies written on each plate. Movies you don’t see – Batman, Star Wars, Fargo, Napoleon Dynamite, Inception, National Lampoons Christmas Vacation and Beetlejuice.

We wouldn’t have done it any other way 🙂
Venue – Dunboyne Castle Hotel & Spa, photography – Karina Finegan and Emily O’Callaghan, ceremony – Romy McCauley  {A Beautiful Ceremony}, hair – Emma Kennedy of Dylan Bradshaw, flowers – hydrangeas from Dunboyne Flowers, everything else from my parents garden, groom and groomsmen suits – Red Herring, grooms shoes – Jeff Banks, brides dress – Memories Bridal, brides brooches – my grandmothers clip on earings along with my own collection {plus a little skull, obv}, brides bracelet – John Rocha bracelet from hubby, bridesmaids dresses – Coast, boutonnieres / buttonholes – made by moi, tutorial here, flower girl – dress by Bluezoo, plus faux hydrangeas I sewed on to match hubby’s boutonniere, flowering tea favours – made by moi, tutorial here, cakes – carrot cake, black forest gateaux, and gateaux Diane, all from Mannings Bakery, tea cups and teapots – from various charity shops and family.