we love made in belfast

I'm not sure if i've blogged about this restaurant before or not, but it's worth blogging about twice anyway! Made In Belfast is one of my favourite places in Belfast and a definite place to put onto your to-do list if you are a local or a visitor to the city. It is quirky, eclectic and decorated with a mish mash style that gives it a very unique personality. I love how they serve their chips in enamel beakers and the wine glasses hang from a chandelier, but most importantly it ticks these boxes, EXCELLENT food, FRIENDLY service & ENJOYABLE atmosphere.

I was there on saturday night with a hen party (i should probably apologise to the other customers if we where too loud, but we were all just having the craic!) and the bride-to-be Sam choose the best meal on the menu - i'm still dreaming about her delish salsa monkfish. so i am trying to persuade the boyf to go out for dinner this week just so i can order my own. I think it might be a done deal as i also keep raving about their Bailey's cheesecake - and he's a sucker for cheesecake, heh hee hee :)

Anyway this weekend it is Made In Belfast's 1st birthday, so happy birthday guys and congratulations to Emma the owner, you have made something Belfast should be proud of.

http://www.madeinbelfastni.com/

MADE IN BELFAST
WELLINGTON STREET
BELFAST
028 90246712

Xmas prezzies in June?!?

There was a knock on the door this morning, i thought it was going to be my hungover brother saying hello and looking for his t-shirt order. Instead it was the postman with a giant box. As it had been my boyfriend Paul's birthday yesterday - i just presumed it was for him, but NO there was my name. It was for MEEEE!

The senders of the parcel are my wonderful and dearest best buddies Amanda (panda) and Corey, originally from Kansas (Panda was my old room mate at University of Kansas... KUUUU! That's how we met!) but now these folks live in the fab city of Chicago.

Anyway the parcel arrived filled with belated xmas prezzies, postcards from their travels and bits and pieces to let me know that these guys are always thinking of us... aww so sweet, and really cheered me up as i am feeling a little bit blue today. The funny thing is - for those who read my twitter, yesterday i said : "i wish i was magically being whisked off to renegade craft fair in Brooklyn this weekend. http://www.renegadecraft.com/"

It must be magic as the parcel contained some Renegade goodies from last years Chicago's fair. A wonderful renegade t-shirt and this hilarious card :) Isn't that just a lil bit spooky?

THANK YOU PANDA & COREY! I love everything - and I was a good girl not to sneak-a-peak at Paul's prezzie!

if you want to follow me on twitter.... http://twitter.com/teeandtoast

P.s isn't my picnic table condiment set awesome :)

silly billy cards.

Hee hee hee - these silly billy cards make me smile. They are a bit daft and this was my 1st attempt so i think i need to work on them a bit more. But potentially some day, these happy & bright new cards will be on the website soon. In the mean time these boyo's & some other crazy creations will be available from us at St George's Saturday Market in Belfast.

don't forget about your daddy's, pop's, pa's n da's. FATHER'S DAY SUNDAY 21st JUNE

Father's Day is just around the corner - on Sunday the 21st June, so check out our cute idea's that will tell your dad how tea-rrific you think he is. We recommend ordering no later than Tue 16th June, if you live in the UK want your goodies to arrive in time.

here are some friendly suggestions:

cards - make sure you don't miss out on one of our "Daddy - you're tea-rrific!" cards. Each one is hand doodled for extra character and we use fair trade teabags in our design.

t-shirts - there are plenty to choose from but all dad's seem to have a fave... my dad's loves "Hello i'm Johnny Cash!" (it was news to me but apparently there is some joke floating around the golf club - it would be toooo long a story to tell you all!) Or maybe your dad will love, Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Stevie Wonder... or maybe Mr T(ea)? And is the old man a bit of a dinosaur - he'd need to have a good sense of humour though! hee hee hee

mugs - there is plenty to choose from here too and all dads love to drink tea don't they?! As well as a "Make me some damn tea!" mug you could also throw in a bag of tea-rrrific tea!

but most importantly of all, make sure if you can to tell your dad you love them and give them a big squeezzy hug. that is the best present of all and probably all they really want :)

WWW.TEEANDTOAST.COM

Masterpiece 2.0 is a social media art project by Baschz and Selfcontrolfreak.

Masterpiece 2.0 is a social media art project by Baschz and Selfcontrolfreak. It’s the first ever canvas being made with a Web 2.0 approach. It's pretty hard to explain unless you go to the site for yourself and watch whats happening, but it is so amazing - you'd be missing out if you didn't pay a visit.

The canvas interacts with its visitors who can affect the process and final outcome of this masterpiece. So teeandtoast have decided to join in the fun and have submitted our robot t-shirt for the Selfcontrolfreak to wear in the SHIRT 'EM process. Baschz comic book style is awesome and the flow is very comical, it keeps bringing a smile to my face.

We can't wait to watch Baschz paint live on the canvas, through the webcam or the time-lapse movies on youtube and we can also literally watch paint dry...

there is also the making of.. pictures on flickr and updates on twitter.

but we will keep you posted on what's happening too.

Selfcontrolfreak the other half to Masterpiece 2.0 is a character all on his own. He has a side project on his website that is filled with interactive video's. With the click or nudge of a mouse you can make him do lots of silly things, some are just so plain simple that they are entertaining. Others like hoovering the grass at night or dunking his head into a bucket of cold water are just absurd slapstick. BE WARNED: #10 is disgusting DON'T CLICK ON IT. unless your a boy or like gross stuff! :) DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU!!!!

Video #13 i can only presume will end up very messy as you have to feed the Selfcontrolfreak beer. i only got through a few cans, but maybe when i've a bit more time on my hands I'll see how wasted he gets. But really i'm more interested in hearing him belch from drinking all that beer so quickly!


http://masterpiece20.com/

http://www.selfcontrolfreak.com/

my wonderful birthday prezzies

Yeah well if partying hard wasn't enough, my wonderful friends and family gave me some fab prezzies. & they all seem to fall into these categories: 1920's, tee & toasty or nice & bright.

My very thoughtful boyfriend Paul bought me the most amazing camera, i've had my eye on it for some time and now i own a wonderful Nikon 40 automatic & SLR. WOW - so i decided to use it to help write a wee blog all about my prezzies :)

tee and toasty:

my wonderful friend rob drew these awesome tee and toast comics, inspired by different t-shirts designs. i can't believe how much thought and effort went into this present - and apparently there is more comics to come. i can't wait :) check out rob's art on http://rdch.deviantart.com/


very tee and toasty - MEMO TOAST, how crazy is this present from my lovely friend Big Lisa. you push down the lever and a memo note flies through the air, just like a crazy popping piece of toast. so i'll be making many notes to myself just for the excuse to use it! hee hee hee. love it!

My friend roisin's present is also nice and toasty, cosy polka heart pj's. Pajamas are probably my 2nd favourite item of clothing after t-shirts, soo yeah PJ's :)

nice & bright:

Look at this beautiful present from my friend Elaine, even the wrapping was sooo nice - I had to take a photo. It's such a compliment when friends are able to look at something and know you'll love it. Elaine bought this wonderful pouch from a shop on etsy called Glamour Damaged, and the colours are just soo nice & bright :)

I also got this wonderful wallet from Helen, with a beautiful butterfly emblem embossed onto the purple leather. It really is gorgeous, especially with the orange lining. The purple and orange are amazing together.

aren't the colours and pattern on this lampshade fantastic? this was a present from my boyfriend's family. Paul's little sister choose this i am sure, as she knows i am crazy for colours and patterns. it now has a wonderful new home brightening up our kitchen.

who can turn 30 without some bling? but also some colours, these bangles and rings are really going to be fab accessories to lots of outfits, thanks Helen for the colour & thanks Big Lisa for the colour :)A big C for Claire - woohoo

1920's:

Gorgeous isn't it? this lovely jewellery box is from my big sis Emma, along with some other bits and bobs and as it fitted in so well with my 1920's party theme.

And wow - unfortunately this prezzie arrived after my party but my big Brother Damian and his lovely wife & girls, the dog & 2 goldfish. But it is an illustration of a flapper girl/ butterfly from the cover of life magazine. For me it also symbolizes life is gonna start at 30... woo hoo.

Sorry if i forgot to mention you - i honestly got far too much to blog about, but i'm not complaining. I'd lots of lovely baking supplied by my mum and my friend Emer, lots and lots of fizz to help keep the celebrations lasting longer, silly toys, vouchers, spa breaks, money, flowers, perfume & smellies & lots and lots of nice other things. i am a very lucky girl so thank you XXX

it was my birthday, hurray :)

Unlike most i love it when it's my birthday, even this year with it being the big 3.0! As long as i grow old happy and healthy, i'm looking forward to the next 3o... or maybe 60 years life wants to throw at me. So anyway, the reason i love my birthday is because for the past few years i've been notorious for throwing (amazing, if i do say so myself) parties with a theme. From Jamaican BBQ's, Mexican Fiesta's, Beach Bum Camping, umm what else... oh yeah my favourite, Bring an Inflatable Object & Fancy Dress Accordingly (hee hee that was funny!), Bring a Bottle Cocktail Night & last but not least A 1920's Speakeasy Tea Party!

The rules were: 1920's attire, so girls in flapper dresses, beads & feathered head bands. guys in smart suits, bow ties, braces, waistcoats, trilby's and the odd nasty moustache floated about!
Drinking was only allowed to be out of teacups - just in case the prohibition police knocked on the door. & finally no entry without the password: WHOOP DEE DOO!

It really was a tee-rrific night, with everybody putting in alot of well appreciated effort. So special thanks to Me - for annoying everyone with my 1920's music, jeez it was only to set the mood peeps! Rob for organising the overhead projector which showed old episodes of laurel and hardy. Paul for helping to get the house tidy on time, my lovely mum who baked her little socks off, Ursula for surprising me with a wonderful cake (the candles all lit up a different colour!) & to everybody else for turning up & making it such a wonderful birthday.


drum roll please...
(i doubt any of these read my blog but i have a few awards i'd like to hand out...)
best dress: posh rosh :)
best hair: gemma (wow)
best hairdresser: rachel (thanks for doing my hair!)
best tash: k man scullion
biggest feather in their hair: big lisa
best dressed man: uum i might be biased, but tuff i'm giving it to boyfriend paul
best accessory: christopher for his puffing cigar
best teacup: me because most of your forgot to bring your own! tut tut. (2nd place to emer!)
best cocktail of the night: i'm giving that to paul cassidy - thanks for making paul pass out :)
best party goer - all you guys, thanks :)