I’ll start with Karen and Paul’s, a warm, fun and colourful affair in Ballintaggart House, Dingle, Co Kerry.

There were so many great details – Karen’s bright blue vintage dress, adorable hand-made bunting, incredible details, pretty mis-matched china (from the ever-incredible Pearl & Godiva), soft and natural floral arrangements and a mouth-watering dessert table.

Some pics from the day below.

Karen and Paul, thank you so much again for making me feel so welcome and for letting me be a part of your day. Also, major thanks and props to Ben for shooting alongside me, and making the day a whole lot easier.

Litte being the operative word here. Just a quick post to wish you all a very happy, relaxing, lovely Christmas and sparkling, fun-filled new year. I’ll be spending the day with my family, including my much doted-on nephews –  this little bundle of cuteness, and his very excited three year old brother who is getting a “very big, red, big bike” from Santa.

Just a couple of days after the present unwrapping and turkey eating I will be boarding a plane with Ben and heading on a 12-day road trip across California’s West Coast. We’ll be taking in San Francisco, the Big Sur, Paso Robles, San Diego and LA. Needless to say, I’m insanely excited, both for the amazing sights and tastes that await us, and for the opportunity to spend time hanging out with one of the funniest, loveliest people I know (who just so happens to be as big a photo nerd as I am). The blog will be quiet for a little while, but expect an explosion of shots when I return in January.

Thank you so much for reading and commenting, and see you in 2012!

I got a really lovely DM on Twitter from someone who has been having a hard time recently, telling me that they’ve enjoyed the blog. So to that lovely person, I really hope these pics cheer you up – they certainly brought a smile to my face.

Every autumn, as the temperature drops and the rain kicks in, I have a similar-ish routine – dig out every old scarf I’ve ever owned, ever, buy a very bright umbrella, hunt for that adorable pair of mittens from last winter (and fail, leading to a mitten spree in Accessorize) and dust off this old recipe for Mexican broth. It’s nourishing, warming, and tasty – the perfect thing to tuck into as rain rattles against the window. Plus, the addition of fresh red chilli is great for clearing fuzzy, under-the-weather heads.

I posted it before on an old blog from a couple of years ago, but thought I’d update and re-post. Find it after the jump, and hope you enjoy it if you give it a try!

You’ll need (for 2 people, plus a bit left over for lunch the next day):

• For the soup

3 tbsp olive oil

1 onion

1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped or grated

a few stalks of celery, chopped

2 chicken breasts

1 red chilli, de-seeded and chopped

1 small carrot, cut into slices

1/2 litre of chicken stock (I use 1 Knorr cube)

salt and pepper

1 lime

• For the rice

1/2 cup of rice

1/4 onion

1 chicken stock cube

• For the topping

3-4 cherry tomatoes

2-3 spring onions

A handful of hopped (or a pinch of dried) coriander

1/2 lime + 1 lime for serving

salt and pepper

–

To make the rice:

Add a bit of olive oil to a hot saucepan. Then, add in the onion and fry until softened and lightly golden. Add the rice and fry it just a tiny bit – let it get coated in the oil. Then break up the stock cube and add that in, making sure no clumps are left (a little water helps here). Once the stock cube is well blended in, add in the requisite amount of boiling water, as per your pack’s instructions. Let it cook while you do the soup, then drain and set aside (covered). This is rice the way my mum cooks it and it also goes really well with fajitas.

To make the soup:

Season the chicken (I usually go for salt, pepper, and cayenne with a bit of lime juice), grill and chop into bite-size pieces.

For the broth, heat a glug of olive oil in a medium-sized pan over a medium heat. Add the chopped onion, cook until softened, then add in the chilli, carrots, and garlic. After a few minutes, add in the 1/2 litre of stock. Bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer. Here, I normally add in about a tablespoon of Chipotles en Adobo, a salsa which can be found at the Sabores de Mexico stand in Temple Bar’s Meeting House Square on Saturdays. It’s not necessary, but it does gives it a nice kick.

Add the cooked chicken and leave on the heat while you mix up the topping.

To make the topping:

Roughly chop and mix the tomatoes and spring onions, then add a pinch of salt, pepper, coriander and the juice of half a lime. For a bonus kick, add some finely chopped red chilli.

Serve it up: Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of the rice into a deep bowl. Ladle in the soup, add a tablespoon of topping, serve with the juice of a quarter of a lime. Enjoy!

(PS - Taco, Taco, the Mexican stall in the Epicurean Food Hall, on Abbey Street, do something similar (but much better) – it’s called Caldo Talpeño and costs around €3.50. Total bargain.

The former home of Charles Stewart Parnell, it’s a vast, really gorgeous spot, surrounded by woods, a river walk, a cute picnic area, and, luckily for us, loads of gorgeous light.

I can’t wait to share the rest of the shots, and some deets about the day, but for now, here’s a little sneek peek –  how much do you love the bride’s blue dress and red shoes combo? And don’t get me started on the bike. Heart.

Hola! My poor camera and blog have been a wee bit abandoned these past few weeks but I’m delighted to be back hanging out with both.

I absolutely love this time of year. The leaves, the gorgeous golden tones, the pretty autumnal bokeh. Drool, the bokeh…

Anyway. Some shots from a recent trip to Phoenix Park with Ben below.

There are still some lovely flowers to be spotted around the park.

Other autumn tones  – my beauts new camera bag from Ona and tan knee boots from Office.

And finally, another seasonal highlight – Oktoberfest! Those giant pretzels were delish.

Some pics from our trip to the island below. Ben and I suffered from some serious reverso lens envy – he was mad for my 100mm Macro (and has some beautiful shots to prove it), while I kept borrowing his super wide 20mm. Because of that, and some low battery issues, there was a lot of camera and lens swapping, and a high chance that some of these photos were taken by him!

Garnish Island, by the way, is incredibly pretty and boasts some gorgeous tropical gardens, a Martello tower, an amazing view, and  plenty of seals lounging on the rocks around it.

My gorgeous lil’ nephew Noah is eight weeks old today. Isn’t he a cutie?

He celebrated with a bath with his big brother, and a mini photo sesh on the bed. Rock and roll.

And here’s the first proper pic I have of the two of them together. They’re both very wriggly and easily distracted, so snapping them is a bit of a challenge.