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Ireland

A Weekend at Home in Belfast

Well haaay! Firstly, I'm so sorry I haven't posted much in a while, I've been buried chin-deep from a relentless barrage of uni work and it hasn't been fun but I'm back now, thank goodness, and ready to bombard you with my usual biweekly ramblings! Also, apologies for the poor image quality, I left my camera back at uni this weekend because it was a bit too bulky to fit into my bag so all of these photos were just taken on my iPhone.


So this "weekend" (i.e. Saturday to Tuesday) I took a little trip back home to Northern Ireland for my mum's birthday. I booked it maybe about a month ago, meaning for it to be a surprise and sure enough I did actually manage to keep my sister relatively tight-lipped about the whole affair, though my mum did get a little suspicious at her constantly suggesting that she should stay at home and relax that weekend (Anna isn't known for her skills in deception). In the end I told her I was coming home a couple of days before because I was a little nervous about the ridiculous 12 hour journey ahead. I had to take the ferry from Liverpool so I could bring Buddha home with me which takes a whopping 8 hours back to Belfast, but even though it didn't end up being much of a surprise she was still very happy that I was coming home anyway!


After taking Saturday night out to recover from the journey, my mum and I headed into the city centre on Sunday morning for some brunch. I have been ranting and raving to everyone back in Lancs recently about the wonders of the "Ulster Fry"- it's basically a full English breakfast but with soda bread and potato bread- so making sure I managed to get one was quite high up on my priority list this weekend. After we'd eaten we then headed down to St George's Market, a large indoor variety market in the city centre with some really amazing food and craft stalls by local designers.



I thought these cushions and embroidered felts were stunning, I actually think I'll probably go back and buy one for my uni room once I'm back home again. Unfortunately I forgot to make a note of who the designer was and I've been scouring the internet trying to find out but without a trace. If anyone is particularly interested in these designs, let me know and I can certainly find out who the designer when I'm back in Belfast.

The gorgeous ceramics pictured below are by Gail Gilmore who designs a fab range of decorative pieces, ceramic bowls, and labels for tins and jars.




I also really loved these cards! The designer, Sarah Majury left me her link on my instagram so be sure to check her out on Etsy! She's got some gorgeous paintings and prints as well.

The designs pictured below are by designer Danielle Morgan of Flax Fox Designs. She basically creates gorgeous screen prints of famous Northern Irish buildings and sites which you can buy in prints, or on tea towels and cushions. I had a really lovely chat with her and truly fell in love with her designs when I saw them on her stall (I've since since them in various local outlets since too). Again, I really want some of her work for my university room!



My sister, Anna had been away for the weekend with school so we picked her up on Sunday afternoon and went out for a wee cup of tea. If there's one thing about our little Farrelly clan, we are big tea-drinkers, which may help explain the high concentration of hot drinks I've noticed appearing amongst these pictures.

When we called into Pets at Home to get some food and things for Buddha I just decided I'd take a picture of the snuggling bunnies and regal-looking lizard below, just to explain.




On my mum's actual birthday, which was Monday we took a drive up to a little seaside town called Newcastle where we stopped for lunch and took a little walk around the shops before heading to the Slieve Donard Hotel for hot chocolate, which, I kid you not, was one of the best hot chocolate experiences I have had in my short life thus far. It came with baby marshmallows and a the best fifteen I've ever had, ever. Would recommend.




The remainder of my trip was spent mainly just reading and relaxing but all and all I had a lovely time at home! I'm starting to look forward to heading back at Christmas time.

Do you have any nice plans for the coming weekend?

17 comments

  1. Aw sounds like you had a great time! That's crazy how long the ferry took but glad it was worth it :) x

    Jasmin Charlotte | UK Lifestyle Blog

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    1. Yeah it was mental! I ended up booking a cabin though because the thought of having to sit in the lounge for the full 8 hours was just too much, so I managed to sleep through quite a bit of the journey :) xx

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  2. I always enjoy reading your blogs but I've never been brave enough to comment before for some unknown reason to me. I hope your mum enjoyed her birthday!!!

    www.inmypairofshoes.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. Aw Gemma! I'm so very glad you decided to comment :) Thank you so much xx

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  3. I'm sure your mum had a lovely weekend, I was going to surprise mine for her birthday but in the end decided it wasn't worth the hassle trying to get my brother to keep it a secret! That breakfast looks amazing - definitely worth the long journey! - and the market is so cute, I definitely need to start going to more places like that.

    Megan // Lazy Thoughts

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    1. Yeah it was definitely a challenge! As you say, it was worth it though :) xx

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  4. Looks like you had a lovely weekend, that market looks great. Hope your mum had a good birthday :)

    Bethan Likes

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  5. Lovely photos Beth. Glad you had such a nice weekend. Those pillows are just made of crocheted granny squares which are super easy to make, I have a tutorial somewhere on my blog, I'll hunt it out for you!

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    1. Aw thanks Hayley! I've actually been wanting to take up crocheting for the longest time xx

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  6. You and your mom look absolutely beautiful! (and so does all your photos) I had a slight shock when I saw the model-esque reptile though HAHAH (seriously it looks like its posing)

    I've made my very first book recommendation and it would be an absolute honor if you would read it <3

    bcfactor.blogspot.com

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    1. Awww thank you so much, Bea!! You're far too kind! Hahaha yeah I know, I love majestic reptiles <3 Absolutely, I'll check it out now :) xx

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  7. I love that you took your hamster home for the weekend :) your brunch looks utterly delicious - I could do with a hash brown or two right now! So nice that you had a chance to escape the mania of term and chill with your mum for her birthday. Absolutely worth doing! And I love the alcohol-related prints and cards - the 'Gin'll fix it' needs to be hanging in my bedroom! Mother's ruin forever. xx

    Tamsin / A Certain Adventure

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    1. Aww Tamsin I had to bring him home and leave him at my mum's cos he kept getting in the way at our house and it was annoying my housemates :( I miss him so much but I'll be back home to see him in a couple of weeks anyway. All the staff on the ferry loved him though, he was a big hit! Haha me too! I wish I'd had someone to buy them for at the time! xx

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  8. Ah, the wonders of an Ulster fry. They're really hard to beat. My mum's been telling me to visit St George's Market for a while now, but I haven't made it yet. Maybe make it up for a bit of Christmas shopping. :) Looks like some lovely stuff to buy for presents.

    Sara Bloo xo
    bloonstuff.com

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    1. My mum was at me for ages as well and kept telling me how good it was because she goes every weekend. I ended up going one day and now I absolutely love it! It's great inspiration for crafts and stuff as well seeing all the different stalls. And yeah, there's some really great gift-shopping opportunities there as well, all the stuff is so unique! xx

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  9. Those embroidered cushions were so cute! You should definitely go back and get them!
    It looks like you've had an awesome weekend Beth. I hope your mum had great birthday!

    I've nominated you for the Versatile Blogger Award! Thank you for your great posts.

    Charlie :)
    littleredcharlie.blogspot.com

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Thank you so much for your comment! They mean a lot to me and I read every single one. Sometimes I can be poor at replying so if you need a faster response feel free to email me at beth_farrelly@live.co.uk or tweet me @alphabethblog

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