And we're off!

We're packed and almost ready to go!  First stop - Hong Kong.  Here's a peek at where we'll be dining on Monday evening.  It's called Hutong and I've just made the reservation.  Check out the website here.

Holiday Packing

With only 2 days to go until we embark on our month long holiday, I really need to get serious about packing.  Not a task I relish, I must admit.

For me, a good list is always the right starting point and never one keen to reinvent the wheel, I was delighted to find this nifty travel list tool on The Universal Packing List.  You input some key information about your trip like dates, max and min temperatures of where you'll be, what activities you'll be involved in etc. and an extremely comprehensive set of lists is generated for you.  Don't you love the internet?

I do wish that I had some stylish, matching luggage to carry all my gear in though.  We'll be making do with an assemblage of mismatched cases that, to be fair, have seen better days.

Even if money were no object I still don't think I'd go for a matching set of LV luggage.  It's nice and I'm sure the quality is fantastic but isn't it just a little too predictable at this stage?

This set by Globe-Trotter might do rather nicely however!
 

via pinkmemo

Apparently, Globe-Trotter is the go-to luggage for all those who are well traveled and the company's client list includes Queen Elizabeth II. 

Only thing is, I'm not sure these babies come with wheels.  While this might work ok for Lizzie, I might struggle a bit ... at least until I have my very own valet!! : ) Back to Samsonite in the meantime perhaps.

A Tale of Two Mood Boards

I've been busy today making up two mood boards for our Master bedroom.  Amazing what swapping just a few accessories does to the whole look!  I can't decide which I prefer, but since it's mainly cushions and a few other accessories that make the difference, I might go for both and do a changeover every so often!!

Master Bedroom Mood Board (Orange) by Stylish Irish

Master Bedroom Mood Board (Pink/Green) by Stylish Irish

Paint colour: 'Malta' Resene

Sisal Flooring Artisan

Bed Danske Mobler

Armchair Freedom

Console Andrew Harvey Design

Table Lamp Freedom

Picasso Art Print art.com

Cushions Etsy

My Dream House

As a kid, every time we drove by this house I dreamed that one day I would own it.

via sherryfitz.ie

It's currently on the market, which is really rather distressing as I'm not ready to buy it yet!!!  Even if I had the $$$ (and it is a relative steal given the very distressed Irish property market), there's the issue of me and 'himself' currently living on the other side of the planet! Maybe if I cross my fingers really tightly nobody else will buy it for the next, oh let's say, decade until we can!!!

Look at what it has to offer:

Features

Imposing period detached residence

5 bedrooms

4 reception rooms

8.5 acres

Stables, arena and detached coach house

Magnificent original features

11'5 high ceilings

That is a lot of rooms to decorate!!  And redecorate I would because the current decor isn't quite to my taste:

And after the house itself was redecorated there's then scope to go and renovate one of the out buildings into a studio or guest house...

What do you other bloggers out there think?  Is there a house (perhaps from your childhood like me) that you dream of one day owning?

10 Best: Bedrooms

Here are my current top ten favourite images of bedrooms from my inspiration files.  You might recognise a couple of them from the post I did before on the plans I have for our Master.  I think most are courtesy of Decor Pad.

Which ones do you like best?

Fresh from our garden!

Fresh broccoli from our garden via Stylish Irish

Guess what we're having for dinner tonight?  Those meek little plants at the front of our veggie patch when I posted last Feb have a come a long way - see here.

PS Can't wait to buy a new camera when we're in Hong Kong soon.  I broke our old one (oops!) and am having to make do with my camera phone.

Themed Gallery Walls

Gallery walls are a definite trend at the moment and I'm particularly fond of those based around a certain theme.  For ages, I've had a tear sheet of this image showing a gallery wall of water tower prints.  I think this is amazing.

Here is a couple of other gorgeous examples:

And isn't this one just amazing?

I'd like to try doing a gallery wall of (vintage) images of the moon.  I think I must have seen this somewhere as to be honest, it sounds far to cool to have dreamed it up myself!  My search so far of art.com hasn't yielded quite what I'm looking for.  I've decided the images need to be square which narrows things down a bit.  I like the print below showing the eclipse of the moon in sequence but this is all one print.  Maybe I could cut it up and then do a large frame around each segment? Hmmm...

via art.com

THE Wedding... and the Royal Hatter, Philip Treacy

Well, like most of you out there I tuned into the Royal Wedding.  I was a bit indifferent about it all in the lead up, but when the time came, I was as glued to the TV screen as anyone else.  Look, it's pretty compelling viewing isn't it what with all the grandeur, pomp and ceremony... and of course a little glamour thrown in for good measure.  Kate's dress - well it's hard to find fault with it but I was a little underwhelmed.  I think I preferred the evening version of it with the fluffy bolero.

I quite liked Pippa's bridesmaid dress though and bet that will inspire a few 'real' wedding dresses out there.

via telegraph.co.uk

There are lots and lots of blog posts at this stage discussing the wedding party's style along with that of the celebrity guests (by the way, TPT's electric blue outfit - still can't make my mind up on that).

via telegraph.co.uk

I've enjoyed looking at many of these posts and throwing in my tuppence worth via the comments box.  So I thought I'd do something a little different in my Royal Wedding post and focus on one of the key accessories of the occasion.  And as the milliner to the Royals (and to many stars) is a Stylish Irish, Mr Philip Treacy, I think this is rather fitting.

I believe Mr Treacy made 36 hats in all for various guests at Kate and Will's wedding.  Here are my five favourites:

Lady Frederick Windsor via telegraph.co.uk

Princess Marie Chantale of Greece

Zara Phillips via telegraph.co.uk

Charlene Wittstock, the fiancée of Prince Albert of Monaco via telegraph.co.uk

Miriam Gonzalez Durantez via telegraph.co.uk