Flowers, Fashion and Food

Hey! It’s Mew. And welcome back to another post here on our site. ^_^

Today I decided to take a break from my usual Dublin blogging and take a drive out to an area that was a little more countryside.

Avoca Kilmacanogue is definitely one of my favourite places on the Dublin periphery. Once a traditional old Irish hand-weaving mill, now a treasure-trove store of Irish craft and design, and also the home to many Irish artisan restaurants and cafes, coming here in December for some Christmas shopping and pre-Christmas eating is definitely a must-have experience!

Though there is a really quaint, rural vibe to Avoca, (it is located below towering ancient trees, rolling hills and vast gardens in full bloom year round after all,) the entire company is quirky in the sense that it is effectively a unique hybrid of the most potent aspects of traditional Irish culture and contemporary luxury through its abundance of unique handmade jewellery, exclusive designs produced locally in the mill right next to the store, not to mention original homewares and fragrances unique to the house. Oh and did I forget to mention the luxurious selection of food?

I I think the reason why I must love Avoca so much is because it is such an overpowering feast for the senses. Everywhere you turn, one thing is prettier than the next.

As well as designer-quality handmade clothes to drool over, there are also so many dazzling selections of costume jewellery and fun books to browse through ranging from everything from fashion to food, to crafting and home decor as well as other little humorous joke books and other little miscellaneous things like that. I was so happy when I saw this book written by the editor of British Vogue. I had never seen it in any other bookshop so I can’t wait to read it now that I finally have it on my shelf. ^_^

What I’ve really been loving about Avoca lately is how they’ve been stocking one of my favourite jewellery designers in their stores around Wicklow and Dublin. Her name is Chupi and her pieces are just so enchanting. A lot of them are inspired by woodland settings and the dainty things you find in nature like small twigs and brambles, branches and leaves. Isn’t her work just amazing?

One of the most enjoyable parts of the day was wandering through the kaleidoscopically colourful garden centre. Even though it’s the middle of winter, everything was in full bloom and alive with colour. They had so many amazing red flowers and twinkling white ones on display for Christmas. Even the greenhouse was so beautifully and festively decorated. It’s amazing how well the plants and ornaments are organised to make you feel like you’re in a real life wonderland.

Shopping in Avoca is certainly a lot of fun, but the best part of it all has got to be the food! In their adorable little market they have an abundance of organic fruit and veg, fresh fish, their very own craft butcher and even a sushi bar! They also stock a lot of artisan chocolatiers, unique Irish brands you wouldn’t find in an ordinary supermarket as well as the thick chocolate cakes and decadent desserts you can take home with you from their to-die-for bakery.

That said though, the Fern House restaurant as well as the lavish cafe and dining area at the back of the boutique are undoubtably the parts of the store that will win your heart if make you fall in love completely with their speciality hot chocolates, (complete with cream, marshmallows and the obligatory flake,) warm, oaty apple crumbles and generous slices of chocolate cake, gilded with thick layers of creamy dark chocolate ganache, the list goes on!

Even if you’re not much of a sweets addict in the same way that I am, there are so many healthy options and savoury super foods to choose from. You could literally eat there all day!

So this was my day at Avoca. I didn’t come home with a haul this time like when I usually write about a specific place. I did however come home with a happy tummy full of mince pies, hot chocolate and cake, as well as the Vogue book I told you about!

So that’s all from me for now. As always thank you so much for reading and I’ll see you very soon in my next post.

BE HAPPY ♥ BE HAPPY

~Love Mew xx