Everyone dresses so well here. It is both adorable and infuriating. I'd fit in well among them as I'm under 5 foot 4 with this rusty brown hair... if it weren't for these boot-legged jeans or my new balance sneakers ("runners") or my hair being forever in a pony tail or my burgundy hoodie. This is what Moms wear in the Midwest! Everyone just be cool about it, ok?

I mean, yes, I'm experimenting with skinny jeans. I'm not thrilled about it, but I am trying. I shop at H&M and have embraced the ten euro cardi(gan). I'm trying to add to my scarf collection. Scarves are everywhere here and you instantly look European! and Romantic! and Ready for Winter!


that's not me in the above image... i endeavor to purchase the outfit, though

This morning I'm attempting to do some work at Starbucks in the local shopping centre. I sit where I can see this drizzled gray sky, watching the young mothers and retired grandads push and pull buggies around the car park and through glass doors. Bright Orla Kiely diaper bags and thin young men in track suits pass by my wide window. Mums in the most beautiful boots I've ever seen carry newborn babies. Business men, kerchiefs tucked in their blazers and pointed shoes at the ready, trade turns with teens skipping school. Off-the-shoulder-flannel will never go out of style, paired today with cut-off jean shorts and sheer black tights. A young goth girl instantly makes me feel at home, for I knew a young goth girl once.

And the leaves are turning orange.

For these #31days I'm writing on being at home in Ireland, including the dress code. There may be a fashion show later. You never can tell.

The Thumbless Mitten

I'm really excited to start my new series, Repurposing Discarded Treasures! There are so many amazing blogs out there about the art of repurposing, that I thought, "Hey, I'm krafty! Why can't I do it?" With that in mind, I bring you my very first project:



We all have them. Our favourite pair of socks that we wear every other day inside our trusty, clunky, old pair of Dr Martens. But the years of shoving your heels inside these leathery Mary Jane's have taken their toll. And behold, the hole.

And there is absolutely nothing worse than wearing socks with a hole in the heel and then stepping in the gallon of milk that your child has spilled on the kitchen floor. But you don't want these beautiful heart & argyle socks to go to waste!

So what do you do? Well, you make a thumbless mitten! This project was so unbelievably inspired, yet super easy to achieve. All you do is pick up the sock, put a hand in it - either hand! your choice! that's the beauty of it! - and, voila! A perfectly snug, yet very fashionable, thumbless mitten. Perfect for holding that piping hot (third this morning) mug of coffee, texting your sister that she's late (again!), or driving your child to pajama day at preschool.

The only caveat? The matching sock doesn't have a hole in the heel. Don't worry, though. Bide your time, put on your Docs, and wait for a hole to spring up in another favourite pair of socks. In no time, you'll have a quirky, mismatched set of thumbless mittens. 

And that's a good thing.

Ignore the confused look of your children. Your mitten is perfect.