Pink Caravans & Pink Gin - A 'Staycation' At Ange's Cottage

My favourite places to eat in, stay at or visit are the ones that make me say 'wow'. The ones that make me take a second look around, with quirks and features that pique my interest. Somewhere that stands out. That's exactly what Ange's Cottage in Roscommon does - and it does it very well.

My mum and I were very lucky to be invited to stay overnight in Ange's Cottage at the weekend. We'd been wistfully looking at pictures of it for a while, so when we were told we could come along for a night we jumped at the chance! Ange's Cottage is a 'micro glamping' site nestled in Arigna, Co. Roscommon, with stunning country views and conveniently located near the Arigna Mining Experience. 

After getting a little bit lost, Angi, who runs Ange's Cottage, came to meet us and show us the way. Angi is a lovely lady, so friendly and welcoming - and very stylish to boot! When we pulled up to Ange's Cottage we both instantly said 'wow' - in front of us was the gorgeous little pink caravan and beside that was the cottage we were going to be staying in that night. 

The pink caravan - fabulous inside and out.

After a few selfies in front of the caravan Angi showed us around outside. We spotted a vintage typewriter by the trees and asked her about it. She said whenever she has families with children come to stay, she puts paper in it and tells the children they can write a letter to the fairies who live nearby. The day the family leaves the fairies will have written a reply to the child - so sweet! I love little touches like this.

We went into the cottage, which had a beautiful mint green door, and were instantly in love. From the minute you walk into the cottage it's evident it's owned by someone with an eye for details and quirky, colourful homeware. I adored the pink bar stools, the pastel blue microwave, kettle and toaster trio (I want them!) and the vintage tea set. A retro style pastel blue radio sat on the windowsill (again, I want one) and tied in with the appliances. Angi had very kindly filled us up a picnic basket with croissants, Tayto and a carafe of orange juice for our stay. She even left a pizza in the freezer for us for after the pub later that evening. This is definitely a very 'homey' place to stay!

We continued on into the living room, which was my favourite room. I thought it was so tastefully decorated and the colours were just fabulous together. A bright geometric patterned rug lay in front of the wood burning stove, which was framed by a mantelpiece which had some fabulous ornaments on it. I love the little pops of yellow throughout the cottage - in the living room there was a beautiful yellow armchair and a Foxford Woollen Mills yellow throw to brighten up the grey sofa. In the corner was an orange pull-down desk which Angi said contained her 'mindfulness library' - all of the books on the desk were about healthy living, food, mindfulness - I love it! Angi takes pride in the fact there's no WiFi and no TV in the cottage so you can really 'switch off' and relax. She told us that some people use the pink caravan as an office or to film vlogs in - such a good idea.

The cottage has 3 bedrooms - a single, a double and a twin - so plenty of room. All of the rooms are done up so nice, I loved the one I was staying in. Everything about it, from the upcycled dressing table to the blue record player, the shelf above the bed with tea cups hanging from it, and the amazing cushions, it was a pleasure to sleep in. Angi had left a few treats on our beds including a notebook, pencil, and a pack of funky tissues, which was a really nice touch. 

Angi left us to take photos, admire all the knick knacks and get settled in. She said she usually leaves her guests a 'to-do' list of things she recommends for people to do during their stay. On ours, she suggested a hot chocolate from Sweet Geranium café in Drumshanbo, a selfie in front of the pink caravan (check!), a selfie in front of the Arigna Mining Experience, and a pint or local gin from the Miner's Bar. Again, a great idea and it adds a personal touch to your stay.

Our first stop was to try out the hot chocolate in Sweet Geranium café - for research purposes, of course. We also had a bite to eat seeing as we were both starving after taking loads of photos! I went for the eggs Florentine and mum got a goat cheese toastie. Both were delicious - as was the hot chocolate. Definitely a good idea to head there if you're staying in Ange's Cottage!

We had a wander around Drumshanbo, which is a nice little town, before heading back to the cottage. Angi recommended we head down to the Miner's Bar that evening as there was going to be music - and gin (again, research purposes) - so we decided to relax a bit before getting ready to head to the pub. I had a bath, which I was embarrassingly excited about - I live in student accommodation, a bath is a luxury, ok?! - which was lovely, albeit a bit of a narrow bath for someone with big hips and a booty. I thought I might have to get a John Deere to haul me out of there, but it was ok in the end.

I flicked through some of the great books from the mindfulness library, and also perused the magazines, whilst relaxing in front of the fire to dry off. It was so cosy and chilled out, I didn't want to get off the sofa! Alas, I did have to put on real trousers as it was time to head to the pub. We got our glad rags on and headed down. The Miner's Bar is really nice and atmospheric, I loved the flowers in the makeshift Drumshanbo Gin bottle vases, and the candles on each table. Everyone was really friendly too - always a bonus! I had a Gordon's Pink Gin Fizz which was pink gin, prosecco and lemonade, with a couple of strawberries added in for good measure. The drink was absolutely delicious, but quite strong especially as I don't drink much anyway - it went right to my head! We chatted and enjoyed our drinks while listening to the great music from local musicians who were very talented and played an array of instruments.

After the pub it was time to head back to the cottage and sit in front of the fire with a hot chocolate to relax us before bed. I slept so well that night, the cottage was perfectly warm and peaceful. I have to say it was strange waking up and thinking 'when did I get a record player?!' before realising where I was! Still slightly disappointed I don't have a record player, but alas...

We were very sad to say goodbye to Ange's Cottage the next day. It was such a perfect 'staycation' to reset things and unwind. I left feeling refreshed and inspired to make my living space more interesting and relaxing. I might do a blog post if I happen to find any quirky homeware bits on my travels! We also went to Derreen Woods in Boyle on the way home so I'll include a snap of me from our little impromptu photoshoot.

Thanks again to Angi for being so hospitable and giving us the opportunity to stay in her beautiful cottage - it was truly a wonderful experience. You can find Ange's Cottage on Facebook here.

Boo! Quick, Easy Halloween Treats (No Tricks)

Once again, apologies for my long absence. I've been going through a disheartened spell where I haven't been motivated to blog. Combined with being in my second year of college, and battling depression, it's hard to find the time and energy sometimes. However, I'm feeling a lot better recently and am looking forward to getting back into blogging!

Seeing as Halloween is tomorrow (where has this year gone?!) I decided to make a few quick, easy nibbles for if you've forgotten all about Halloween or don't have time to put on a massive spread. Most of these recipes are pretty healthy too so it's a win-win! Note: I'm no Nigella Lawson and am aware some of these snacks look like I was blindfolded whilst making them, but I tried my best. You can play around with the execution of these snacks and do what you want with them - I'm sure you're all a lot more creative than I am!

I had a quick look through Pinterest to get some inspiration but kind of added my own flair to these. I also asked my lovely boyfriend, Laurence, for some ideas as he's pretty good with this sort of thing. So, without further ado, here we go!

1. Halloween Nibble Platter

Cocktail Sausage 'Rotten Fingers' - this one is easy. Simply get some (cooked, unless you hate your guests) cocktail sausages - I used Quorn ones as I'm veggie but you can use any ones you want - dab some ketchup on the top of them to look like blood, and add a pumpkin seed to each tip. Alternatively, you can use flaked almonds to give the look of nails, but I didn't have any so I improvised. Voila!

Babybel Eyeball/Pumpkin - get Babybels. For the pumpkin, just carve out eyes and a mouth with a small sharp knife. For the eyeball, cut out a tiny circular piece of Babybel from the middle. Slice an olive and take one of the little olive rings. Place the olive ring in the middle of the Babybel over the hole you cut out, put the circle you cut out on top of the olive ring and add some black food colouring to make it look like a pupil. I dabbed some ketchup around the 'eyeball' to give the illusion of bloodshot eyes.

Devilish Eggs - Hard boil some eggs. Leave them to cool, or if you're lazy like I am, run cold water over them until they've cooled down. Tap and roll them once on the kitchen counter so the shell peels off easily. Peel them, slice in half lengthways, and scoop out the yolk. You can mix the yolk with mayonnaise or just fill them with mayonnaise, hummus or even guacamole. I don't like hard yolks so I just filled mine with mayonnaise. Sprinkle with paprika. Get a red chilli pepper and cut out little devil horn shapes. Stick the horns into the mayonnaise in the middle of the egg. Don't do what I did and slice the chilli pepper and then go to the toilet, unless you're into that kind of thing.

Severed String Cheese Fingers - Get a Cheesestring or any peelable cheese. Cut it in two halves. Slightly peel the bottom of it so it looks like it's been cut off. Get a knife and slightly round off the top so it looks more like a finger shape. Dab a bit of ketchup at the top and bottom to make it look bloody. Again, add a pumpkin seed or flaked almond for fingernails.

2. Crunchy Chocolate Apples

Use your favourite apple (I used Pink Lady apples as they're my fave). Melt chocolate of your choice - I used some popping candy milk chocolate and a couple of peanut butter cups. Melt the chocolate either in a heatproof bowl over a small pot of simmering water, or in the microwave - just make sure you take it out every few seconds and stir so it doesn't burn. Coat the apple in the melted chocolate and put on a tray. You can also stick a gummy worm to it if you want to make it look a bit funkier. Leave the apples to cool until the chocolate is set and dig in! I didn't have any wooden skewers or sticks to put in them but if you do you can just stab one through the apple before coating with chocolate.

So that's it! Like I said, they're really simple snacks and they don't take long at all to make. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go shove my face in the bowl of leftover melted chocolate and throw away those damn chilli peppers.

Until next time - have a good Halloween!

Ch-ch-changes

Yesterday was a big day for me. I moved out for the first time, and moved in with my boyfriend.

I said goodbye to my dad and my brother the night before, and my brother started playing that Beatles song 'She's Leaving Home' which nearly set off the waterworks, but I managed to reign it in. My mum and I set off in the morning for Athlone, with our little green Hyundai Getz almost as weighed down with boxes as I am after a Chinese takeaway. We laughed and chatted the whole way there, and stopped halfway through at McDonald's for obligatory hash browns and coffee. I was half excited and half filled with dread, because for all the excitement of unpacking with my mum I knew she'd soon have to go and we'd have to say our goodbyes.

My mum was such a fantastic help through the whole moving process, I dunno what we would've done without her. I'd have probably ended up moving in with just a toothbrush and a pillow! I managed to sneak nearly everything I wanted to bring in the car. It was like car Tetris trying to get everything to fit, but we did it (well, I say we, really it was my mum).

The next big hurdle was trying to get everything from two cars (ours and Laurence's) up 4 flights of stairs. Our apartment block doesn't have a lift so there was some serious manouevering required. Thankfully Laurence asked Shane, a friend of ours (who happens to be really strong) if he would mind helping us lift some boxes and he obliged. He was a fantastic help and we had all the boxes up within a couple of hours. He even unblocked the gutters for us! The lads sat down playing a video game - typical boy, the first thing Laurence unpacked was his PS4 - while we cleaned, unpacked and then went to Mr Price and Tesco to get a few last minute bits we didn't have.

I tried to hold it together while I said goodbye to mum, but it was incredibly hard. I didn't want to start crying because I knew I'd set her off crying and it'd make it even tougher! Laurence and I waved her goodbye and then went back up to say goodbye to Shane a.k.a kick him out. Laurence left me in the apartment for a few minutes while he waved Shane off. I decided to read my mum's blog post while I had a few moments to myself. Poor Laurence walked back into the apartment to find me crying my eyes out in front of a bowl of half-eaten cold spaghetti hoops. All the emotions I'd built up had finally culminated and the floodgates were open. We had a little cuddle as I sobbed onto his shoulder and got snot and makeup and tears all over his shirt (#sexy), and then he started crying because I was crying.

Last night was such a weird night. Our first night living together. We went to Lidl to get bin bags and kitchen roll (exciting) and then made our first dinner in the new house. I lit a scented candle and we enjoyed our food with a glass of wine, making a toast to a new chapter.

I was so emotionally exhausted I didn't want to do anything else so we just snuggled up on the sofa, watched half of a shite film on Netflix (it was called Before We Go - don't watch it - Chris Evans I'm ashamed of you), and got drunk off the gorgeous bottle of wine my mum gave us as part of a fab housewarming hamper.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit homesick and I miss my family like crazy already. It's like a piece of me has been taken out and I'm wandering around trying to feel normal again. I sat at the table this morning eating my breakfast on my own as Laurence is at work, and I felt very lonely.

I'll miss talking to my mum every night before she went to sleep, sitting on her bed and having a gossip or a bitching session or just a laugh. I'll miss her coming into my room to wake me up so we could go shopping. I'll miss cooking dinner for her and dancing in the kitchen. But I know it will get easier, because hopefully my family will come to stay - we have a spare room, ooh get us - and I can sit at the table at night with them having a cup of tea and a chitchat. I can go shopping in Athlone with my mum and give her a tour of the town. And I can cook her dinner yet again, except this time in a different kitchen with a much smaller fridge and a niggling worry about how much electricity the oven uses.

Despite everything, Laurence and I are so happy we're together and already we've made this apartment feel like a home. And despite all the boxes and bags around us and checking the Pinergy electricity meter every few minutes - I could get used to this.

Hip Hip Hooray For Henry's

I'm back with another food blog! This time my mum and I headed to Henry's Bar & Restaurant, Sligo. I was fortunate enough to win a four course meal for two with wine on a Facebook survey competition run by the restaurant. 

I contacted the restaurant beforehand to let them know I was lactose intolerant just in case this was a problem, as a lot of the dishes on the menu seemed to contain dairy. I had nothing to worry about - Henry's hit the nail on the head and had no problems with catering for allergens.

When we arrived we were quickly seated by a friendly waitress who told us another staff member would help us with the allergen advice, which was great as it meant they had paid attention to my message! A lovely lady brought us over an allergen menu and went through the whole menu with us - she even reassured me a lot of people with dietary requirements go to Henry's so they're used to it. I always feel like a bit of a pain in the arse when I go out to eat but at Henry's I felt as though it was no problem at all. 

I was able to modify most dishes to my requirements so I chose the grilled vegetable starter (minus the feta cheese) and a vegetarian curry for my main course. My mum chose lamb skewers for her starter and a blade of beef for her main. I also ordered a cheeky glass of Sauvignon Blanc because, well, why not! 

We sat and waited for our first course while listening to the slightly depressing music - you wouldn't have wanted to have gone through a breakup that day - and soon enough we were served our delicious starters. My grilled vegetables were perfect - garlicky, savoury and slightly sweet from the raspberry balsamic dressing. I was given a whole array of vegetables - mushrooms, olives, courgette, aubergine, tomatoes and more. I wouldn't usually choose a starter like this but I have to say I really enjoyed it for a change - it was perfectly light so I wasn't too full for my main course, which I find with some starters.

Next it was time for the main course. Again, we weren't waiting too long, and the food looked gorgeous. My curry was served with rice and chips (as I couldn't have the naan bread) and mum had seasonal vegetables and creamy mash alongside her beef. I thoroughly enjoyed my meal, the curry was perfectly spicy without being too much, and the portion size was massive. Mum said her meal was cooked to perfection also. Midway through the struggle was real, we were both getting so full! I had worked out a strategic eating plan by this point - chip, curry, rice, sip of water. I only managed to eat about half my meal in the end because I was crossing my fingers I'd get some sort of a dessert. 

Sure enough, I was told there was no proper dessert I could eat but the chef could make me up a fruit salad, which was fine by me, I think I would have physically exploded if I ate a cake! I was brought out a glass of lovely fresh fruit salad and a pot of sorbet which was a lovely treat, I usually never have dessert when I eat out. Mum chose the Eton Mess which she said was fabulous. By this point I was on my second glass of wine and pondering if it was possible to die from eating too much. 

We both finished our meals happy as can be and thoroughly satisfied with the whole experience. I made sure to tell our waitress how helpful she was and she assured me it was no problem at all. We told her we both had blogs so we'd be sure to write about our meal and she was very grateful. After a quick picture of mum and I for Henry's Facebook page (you know they say the camera adds 10 pounds, I felt like the camera had added about 4 stone in my case!) it was time to say goodbye and we both left with smiles on our faces.

Thanks again to Henry's for the wonderful experience - if you're ever out Sligo way you should check it out, they really do cater for every taste.