Yay shoppiiiing!!

Yesterday was Thursday. Thursday is great because it's only one day away from the weekend but also because it's late night shoppiiiiiiiiiing day!! In addition to this, yesterday was payday for me and new money in the bank, super-close proximity to the weekend, and late night shopping are my personal Holy Triumvirate of Wonderfabness. So I took myself off to na siopaí and bought some lovely things (and to my credit, I did actually need them)...

A new body brush from The Body Shop [the bristles on my old one were gone soft]		A new bronzer brush from The Body Shop [I bought my old one in MAC in Chicago and it has been moulting pretty much constantly since date of purchase, grrr.]

Perrty nooo shoooes from Dune: I looove them so much! [The justification for this is mostly that they're so perrty. Also, I was in need of smart flat shoes. Ehem.]

I also bought Himself a car charger for his iPod nano as an un-Valentine's present. I such a good girlfriend!

Valo's: The Update

Well, Himself really outdid himself (yuk yuk) yesterday. We take turns organising stuff to do on Valo's Day and this year the deed fell to him. (Previous February 14ths have involved a trip to the zoo, a bus tour of Dublin, a Tommy Tiernan gig, massages in a Chicago spa and an architectural boat tour on the Chicago River so the pressure to deliver was really on.)

Around 2 or 3 o'clock yesterday afternoon I got a message to say that there was a delivery for me at the main reception and could I come collect it; it was the most elegant bunch of flowers I've ever seen with a single red rose, a huge spray of pink orchids and really unusual foliage in a glass vase. And there was I thinking a white rose was as good as it gets!! There was a card with the flowers addressed to "Lynnie" with the message "Loves ya much" - I'd like to have heard the conversation where that text was dictated so precisely!!

After work, I headed straight into town and checked into The Westin. It's one of the nicest hotels I've ever stayed in. I am horrifically fussy about hotel rooms and usually expect to have to request a change of room because of cleanliness issues/the room just being plain wrong (a double bed and two twin beds pushed together are simply not the same bloody thing, people!), but no such drama in The Westin. The room was beyond clean, large, with elegant decor, a marble bathroom and a seperate shower room, and overlooked the central Atrium of the hotel (which is probably thebest view available; a room facing onto the outside world would be looking out on Westmoreland Street, Fleet Street, D'Olier Street or the bus stops at the side of Trinity College. Not very picturesque!) All in all: fanceeee!

We had dinner in The Chilli Club on Anne's Lane which was absolutely Thai-licious. The staff were nice and the place itself is lovely, small but perfectly formed. Additionally, the meal was pretty cheap-o considering the loveliness of the whole experience so well done on a super restaurant choice, Himself!

On to the Abbey to see a performance of "Homeland" - we're cultured, us - which Himself really liked, then back to the hotel's bar for cocktails [a Metropolitan for me, a Toblerone for Himself, a Lemongrass & Lime Martini for Himself, a Passion Martini for me...] and onwards to the room for champagne.

Oooh la la..!

Happy Valo's Day!

If it's spring and all anyone can talk about is cards and flowers [or lament the lack thereof] then you can bet your little socks it's Valentine's Day. [It's especially likely if the date should happen to be February 14th.] Anyone who attended a girls' secondary school will no doubt be familiar with the kind of grilling that 12-18 year old girls enjoy giving their classmates ["how many cards did you get"/"were they hand-delivered or posted"/"do you know who they're from"/"are you sure that one's not from your Dad" etc were just some of the milder interrogations that could be expected]. There was a brief period of calm [The UCD Years] but my first Valentine's Day in a place of work leads me to believe that years are the only things that seperates schoolgirls from allegedly grown-up women; all talk in here today is Valentine's related.

I only ever received one Valentine's card from a sender unknown, and that was when I was in 6th Year and was too obsessed with Leaving Cert. mocks to undertake any thorough investigative analysis. Although I did steam off the stamp because I was told the sender of a Valentine will traditionally write their name under the stamp... I guess my admirer hadn't heard that one. Now, I have [needless to say!] received other cards but my Dad's handwriting is madly distinctive so "Guess Who???" at the bottom of cards isn't quite enough mask his identity. Himself, meanwhile, is inclined to actually sign his! Oooooh, the suspense...