A Little Recap

Hola! How was your weekend? Ben and I spent most of ours chillin’ like villains in Farnham Estate in Cavan. There were pruney-fingers a-go-go after a day at the lovely spa, and I also got a Yon-Ka Aroma Luxe massage which was nothing short of amazing. One those so-good massages that you fall asleep during. If you’re anything like me, you wake up with a start, slightly worried that you snored/drooled in the middle of it. Right as we were leaving, this cow was hanging out, practially posing so I fired off a few shots.

I’ve been working on lots of fun stuff over the past few weeks. The new issue of IMAGE Interiors & Living is out, and in it I got to visit the studios of some incredibly talented and creative Irish peeps and chat about how they work. Above is a pic of the cool laser cut cards that Fiona and Michael of Snow create, and the fab notebook that Danielle from Flax Fox totes around, which is filled with illustrations and doodles of different Belfast and Dublin buildings. I also worked on a fun Galway travel guide, which really opened my eyes to all the amazing things going on over there. The mag is on shelves now, and I would love to hear what you think!

Elsewhere, I’m getting into the swing of some freelance work and loving the variety. I got to shoot and write a feature for The Dylan magazine on the wonders of Ranelagh. My great friend Sorcha, who grew up there, spent an entire day walking me around, bringing me to out-of-the-way spots and giving me loads of interesting history. You can read it here.

I also have a couple of features in the new issue of U Magazine – in one, I interview and photograph four women working in social media, which was a real treat. In the other, I interview Erica Mannherz, co-founder of the very cool KillSwitch app. As you can probably tell, I’m really enjoying geeking out on all these tech pieces, especially for women’s titles. Women don’t have nearly as strong a presence as they could have in the tech world, so it’s an honour to be able to champion those working in the area. And did you know 60% of mobile gamers are women?

You might also see my name popping up in the Irish Indpendent‘s Health & Living supplement. The last few features I’ve worked on have left me feeling very humbled and grateful – from interviewing the smart, funny and inspiring Joanne O’Riordan, a teen with no arms or legs, to talking to families about their experience in two of the country’s children’s hospitals (read that here). The hope and positivity I encountered  really put my stressing about deadlines, work and washing up into perspective.

I’ve also been reading tons and tons – I just finished Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg, which was a motivating and eye-opening read. I haven’t stop blathering about it to anyone who will listen.

And in the midst of all this, shortly after returning from Dubrovnik and right as we were going to press,  I turned 30. Phew! More on that soon. Have a great week 🙂