sutton045

For my 30th birthday (weep) the plan was for myself and Dean to head to Seafield Spa in Wexford for two nights then spend a further two nights in his aunties house also in Wexford. A nice local long weekend. We did manage to spend one lovely day and night in Wexford but on the second day, Dean very early and very excitedly handed me our passports and said we were heading to Nerja (Spain) in two days! The second night in Seafield and the two nights in his aunties house were all a lie as we had to go home to shop and pack, as well as hosting a party he had arranged for me! Top:  http://bit.ly/2A7mHhc After a whirlwind couple of days of frantic shopping, partying and packing we headed to the airport on Sunday afternoon. As Nerja isn't a big main city it is a bit of a trek getting there. Once you arrive in Malaga airport you can get the train to Malaga Zambrano Train Station , then walk across the road to the bus station and get the bus to Nerja, which takes about an hour an a half. I...

Ever since we moved into our house the counter space in the utility room has been a dumping ground for everything and anything. You know yourself, it's one of those rooms where you can just throw stuff in, shut the door and walk away! But after constantly tidying it, the empty counter top and wall space felt like such a waste, I was eager to do something useful with it.  After a bit of research on Pinterest, the below image was what I was loosely basing my makeover on. I used this image as it was a similar size and layout to my utility room so it would be easy to recreate. And I swapped out the laundry bits for booze 😆 I picked a lighter green paint as it ties in with some of the shelving in my kitchen so from certain angles you can see both the shelving and into the utility room and they match nicely. Luckily I only had to paint a small wall so I did that myself. Paint is Colours 'Eau De Nil' in Durable Matt -  http://bit.ly/2xnOusk For the shelf I went to B&Q and pic...

This has to be one of the most controversial fake tans I have ever tried, so an in depth review is needed! Ever since Suzanne Jackson released her hotly anticipated fake tan 'Dripping Gold' the reviews have been quite mixed to say the least. I've definitely seen a few people slate it with just as many raving about it. So as a fake tan aficionado I had to try out this product for myself. Price I picked up the tan in my local Penneys for €20. For full disclosure I did pay for this myself, I used a voucher Penneys Head Office had given me, after I found my cotton pads from there were riddled with dead insects. So the decision to buy, use and review the tan was completely my own. Application I went with the shade Dark, as the Ultra Dark sounds a bit intense for my 'so pale it's almost blue' skin. The product is a mousse - definitely my preferred type of tan as mousse always applies quite smoothly. Solid packaging and pump as well which is always important! The tan s...

Before we get ahead of ourselves, this blog post is how to claim tax back on medical expenses. You are entitled to claim 20% tax back on any medical expenses you paid, for yourself or for someone else i.e your child. You can only claim tax back if you have actually paid tax. (Not USC or PRSI) You cannot claim tax back if you have been refunded the medical expense from private health insurance. You may have underpaid your tax and Revenue can take this back. Generally people don't overpay tax but it can happen if you were out of work for part of the year. Right so now that we're clear on the above lets get started! The first thing you need to do is go onto Revenue.ie and log into 'My Account', if you haven't previously used this service you will have to set up an account. Once logged in click Review your tax 2014-2017, in the blue PAYE Services box on the left.  Once into that section you want to submit a Form 12 for the year 2017 (and any other years you haven't...

During the year I decided that I wanted to spend my Christmas days off abroad, rather than the usual lazing at home, gorging on Celebrations. So one sunny day in August, after a few vinos, myself and Dean booked a New Years Eve trip to Paris, thinking it would be the glammest thing ever. We flew with Aer Lingus and paid about €300 for two return tickets. Once we arrived we had a bit of a confusing trek from Charles de Gaulle airport to our hotel, but with one train and one taxi we were there within an hour or so. The metro system in France is quite complex but with the help of Google Maps you'll figure it out fast enough. We stayed in a hotel called Hotel Nicolo  which was small, cosy (and pricey), but close to the Eiffel Tower. While our room didn't have views of the Eiffel Tower there was fantastic views of it from the main street and you could easily walk to the Eiffel Tower from the hotel. Our hotel was in a lovely area (16th arrondissement) with plenty of boutiques, ...