Style Counsel

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

Q: Where can I get the perfect little black dress?

Christmas stockings

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

Bring some festive cheer into the bedroom with the new range of Christmas lingerie from ItsAllYouYouYou.com

Dress to impress

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

Okinara House of Fashion, recently described as a petite paradise, is a unique boutique in Moycullen offering accomplished fashionistas a beautiful and elegant array of fashions in the most up-to-date taste and trend.

Okinara has introduced many exclusive brands to the Irish market including French label Cop.Copine and Dutch label Mark. These stunning brands will tempt you to make a slight departure from your comfort zone but will leave you with the ultimate feel-good factor.

A bluffer’s guide to perfume

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

For more than half the adult population Christmas shopping turns into ‘Stressmas’, according to a recent survey. The Royal Mail research found that more than a third of Christmas shoppers would rather visit the dentist! While shopping can be stressful for women, spare a thought for the 25 per cent of all Irish men who will purchase a perfume or beauty product for their loved ones.

Dinner parties, the easy way

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

There are many ways to reduce the stress associated with organising a dinner party for friends. You could ask your guests to bring dessert or starters instead of wine; you can cook the main course the day before if it is the type of dish that benefits from 24 hours in the fridge, eg, chilli dishes, curry dishes, or many types of casseroles. There is, however, an even easier way to remove the hassle, and that is to rent a cook for the night. Rentacook.ie was recently launched in Galway; it is the website for a business owned and run by Patricia Begley who has been providing a personal catering service for small to medium sized parties over the last few years.

Go online for the tastiest turkey

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

Food safety promotion group safefood has launched new guidelines on cooking times for a safe and tasty turkey, with turkey cooking time calculator available online or via text to ensure your festive dinner is roasted to perfection.

The group has teamed up with award-winning chef Neven Maguire to launch the guidelines for electric, fan assisted ovens to produce the safest and tastiest turkey this Christmas.

Domestic Bliss

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

With the increase in oil prices and the depletion of oil reserves, many people have turned back to solid fuel over the past few years. Wood is becoming a favourite as it is clean, renewable, easy to store, and can give a warm, lasting, fire. Whether you burn wood in a fireplace, stove, or furnace, good quality firewood is the key to convenience, efficiency, and safety. Most stove manufacturers recommend dry hardwood logs. What exactly are dry hardwood logs and where can you get them?

Take the work out of wet weather

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

Beat the winter weather with a drying cabinet that will make short work of dripping coats, gloves and soggy shoes as well as the wet washing.

Home Ground

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

I know that Christmas, not gardening, is on your mind at the moment but a little gardening is a guaranteed way of working off the turkey and Christmas pudding. I know that the winter weather is not always enticing but we must look for the positives and try to forget, or at least ignore, the negatives.

Beat stress this Christmas

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

1. If you are one of those people who has left all your Chrismas preparations until the last minute, do not fret. Begin by compiling a “To Do” list. Include everything from sending Christmas cards and buying gifts to grocery shopping, cleaning the house, cooking Christmas dinner and visiting friends and relations.

The Claddagh — the old and the new

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

This photograph was taken in the 1930s and illustrates the huge difference between the old thatched cottages in the Claddagh and the new houses that were being built to replace them. Even though the area was a building site with the new houses going up, people were obviously still living in the old houses if we are to judge from the line of washing we see hanging on the gable in the centre. The two thatched roofs look as if they are about to cave in. The woman and child we see on the right look very forlorn... could it be that their house was the next to be knocked and cleared? It may have been small and not very roomy, but it was home, probably to a number of generations of the family, so it cannot have been easy to see it flattened.

A Christmas made in Galway

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

This year in the belief that money spent in Galway goes around Galway, I have concentrated on what I consider would make amazing gifts, by just looking at the wonderful range of crafts, beautiful things, skills, and services actually made in the city and nearby. I had a marvellous time and I thank everyone who showed me what they are doing. It was truly a journey of discovery. I was very impressed with a little boutique in Kirwan’s Lane called Cloon Keen Atelier, and the heavenly smell as I opened the door. Run by Margaret Mangan and her partner Julian Checkly, they offer more than 35 scented hand -poured candles, all made at their larger shop and factory in the craft and design studios, Ceardlann, at An Speidéal. I’ll come back to the Ceardlann in a moment, but I was intrigued by Cloon Keen, named after the village, near Tuam, where Margaret was born. Very professionally wrapped and presented, this is an outstanding product. If you ever wondered what is the smell of Christmas, three particular candles caught my nose and made me smile: Christmas Pomander, Christmas Tree, and Christmas Morning all €14.95.

It’s hard to pass through Kirwan’s Lane without visiting Judy Greene’s beautiful shop. Her Connemara floral designs on her tableware are famous, but check out her new An Dressiúr range which include the popular ‘Malaí Tae Caite’(€17. 50) for the old tea bags, and the cups with ‘An Múinteoir is Fearr (€15), and ‘An Boss Beag’.

The Claddagh — the old and the new

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

This photograph was taken in the 1930s and illustrates the huge difference between the old thatched cottages in the Claddagh and the new houses that were being built to replace them. Even though the area was a building site with the new houses going up, people were obviously still living in the old houses if we are to judge from the line of washing we see hanging on the gable in the centre. The two thatched roofs look as if they are about to cave in. The woman and child we see on the right look very forlorn... could it be that their house was the next to be knocked and cleared? It may have been small and not very roomy, but it was home, probably to a number of generations of the family, so it cannot have been easy to see it flattened.

A Christmas made in Galway

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

This year in the belief that money spent in Galway goes around Galway, I have concentrated on what I consider would make amazing gifts, by just looking at the wonderful range of crafts, beautiful things, skills, and services actually made in the city and nearby. I had a marvellous time and I thank everyone who showed me what they are doing. It was truly a journey of discovery. I was very impressed with a little boutique in Kirwan’s Lane called Cloon Keen Atelier, and the heavenly smell as I opened the door. Run by Margaret Mangan and her partner Julian Checkly, they offer more than 35 scented hand -poured candles, all made at their larger shop and factory in the craft and design studios, Ceardlann, at An Speidéal. I’ll come back to the Ceardlann in a moment, but I was intrigued by Cloon Keen, named after the village, near Tuam, where Margaret was born. Very professionally wrapped and presented, this is an outstanding product. If you ever wondered what is the smell of Christmas, three particular candles caught my nose and made me smile: Christmas Pomander, Christmas Tree, and Christmas Morning all €14.95.

It’s hard to pass through Kirwan’s Lane without visiting Judy Greene’s beautiful shop. Her Connemara floral designs on her tableware are famous, but check out her new An Dressiúr range which include the popular ‘Malaí Tae Caite’(€17. 50) for the old tea bags, and the cups with ‘An Múinteoir is Fearr (€15), and ‘An Boss Beag’.

Whatever happened to Barry’s tea? And other food conundrums

Thu, Dec 11, 2008

Barry’s tea still has that kick-awake taste in the morning when you take the first gulp; but tea in general has changed, and changed dramatically. Just look at the choice of teas next time you reach for a packet. Where once there was only Lyons, Barry’s and PG Tips, now there has to be a choice of at least 50 different blends including herbal, organic, loose or bagged, or the plain ordinary black. And I was surprised to learn that there are at lest two tea blenders in Galway; including Solaris Botanicals, which not only won last month’s Junior Chamber of Ireland Entrepreneur of the Year, but in the same week clinched a deal to supply Harrods of London.

Three steps to looking and feeling fashionably fantastic with Delila

Thu, Dec 11, 2008

We asked Delila, our fabulous Galway Advertiser stylist, to give us some special tips for looking and feeling great this Christmas.

Win a €2,000 wedding package at the Dream Wedding Exhibition

Thu, Dec 11, 2008

It's now full steam ahead for the Dream Weddings Exhibition taking place on Saturday January 10 and Sunday January 11 at Leisureland. The exhibition puts couples directly in touch with wedding service providers to help make wedding dreams come true and will be full to the brim with specialists who know everything about choosing dresses, venues, flowers, cars, and cakes.

No fuss party looks for bareMinerals

Thu, Dec 11, 2008

A range of new box sets from bareMinerals will have you looking fabulous through the festive season.

David Martin opens in Knocknacarra

Thu, Dec 11, 2008

David Martin recently opened its latest hair salon in the city in the Burkeway Construction development at Kingston Road, Knocknacarra, formerly known as O’Brien’s Pavilion Stores. David Martin, one of the city’s most established and well-respected salons, now offers its renowned expertise to the Galway west population. This is the second salon by the David Martin Group, with the first situated at New Dock Street.

A Christmas gift that reduces your carbon footprint

Thu, Dec 11, 2008

We are all being encouraged to reduce our carbon emissions — the much publicised change.ie website lets us calculate our carbon number and gives advice on how to reduce it. As Christmas approaches, the gifts we buy often further add to our carbon footprint as much carbon has been produced during their manufacture while their packaging, often a large component of the gift, also has to be disposed of.

E-paper

Read this weeks E-paper. Past editions also available from within this weeks digital copy.