This is Us...Living

Live Simply & Travel Slow

discover ireland

Six of the best donuts in Dublin

by 14 Comments

June 2nd is National Donut Day! Dublin might be known for Guinness, pub crawls and cliff walks. But Dublin needs to be known for making some of the best donuts we have ever eaten! Read this post to find the best donut stores in Dublin. Give them a try and let me know which is your fave!

June 2nd is National Donut Day! Dublin might be known for Guinness, pub crawls and cliff walks. But Dublin needs to be known for making some of the best donuts we have ever eaten! Read this post to find the best donut stores in Dublin. Give them a try and let me know which is your fave! June 2nd 2017 is National Donut Day! To celebrate this momentous day, for the past few months, I have been going around tasting donuts all over Dublin. To be extra thorough in this review, I tried them more than once, so you know – to make extra sure that I give you all the right facts.

June 2nd 2017 is National Donut Day! To celebrate this momentous day, for the past few months, I have been going around tasting donuts all over Dublin. To be extra thorough in this review, I tried them more than once, so you know – to make extra sure that I give you all the right facts. I will say this, Dublin might be known for Guinness, pub crawls, cliff walks and canal views. But Dublin needs to be known for making some of the best donuts we have ever eaten!

The best donuts in Dublin and where you can find them! Click To Tweet

Here are my fave donuts, and where you can find them in Dublin. Give them a try and let me know which is your fave!

6. Krust – Our first ever taste of a cronut. A cronut is a croissant mixed with a donut. I have to admit, I wasn’t wow’ed by this on first bite. But I warmed up to it after a couple of bites. Krust also does regular donuts, but we decided to try a cronut instead. I will be back to sample the regular donuts soon!

Cronut from Krust Bakery. A Croissant Donut!

5. Aungier Danger – I think I may have hyped this too much in my head. I went with high expectations – I especially had to try their creme egg donut that they brought out just for Easter. I am so sorry to say, my expectations were not met. The filling was a little sparse. I found the donut to be quite heavy, and a little dry. They were kind of not so memorable. I actually had to look back at the pics to remember what we ate.

Aungier Danger Creme Egg Donut for Easter

4. Boston Donuts – In true American fashion – this store boasts a bunch of flavours, and endless options to choose from. Rob and I battled to select donuts to sample. They were also the cheapest, and even offered a combo “coffee and donut” deal. I chose the mint chip topped with a mint thin. Rob had something chocolatey. He didn’t enjoy the pudding filling but we both agreed that the donuts were fresh, and spongey. I absolutely loved my mint chip donut! I could have this again, for sure!

Mint Chip Donut from Boston Donuts in Dublin, Ireland

3. Offbeat – Truthfully, I would rate that there is no third spot. Rob favours Rolling Donut over Offbeat, whereas I honestly dream of the red velvet cream filling at Offbeat often. We have gone back to both spots more than once – this just shows how undecided we actually are on this. I will say it again, the red velvet cream cheese filling is heavenly – and it is packed with filling. Secretly, I dream of going back and eating all the donuts in all of their stores all over Dublin. Leave no donut behind – they all will be mine!

Red velevet cream cheese filling donut from Offbeat Donuts in Dublin Ireland

2. Rolling Donut – The store that started this whole donut craze. We had our first taste in the first week I arrived in Dublin last year, and even went back with our friends visiting from the UK. Rob still talks about his first ever Rolling Donut, the maple bacon. I actually bought us some donuts from here to celebrate National donut day today (also, I needed them for this post! Not really).  With all the sentimentality, Rolling Donut should have been first place, and it would have been, had I not stumbled across a little shop in Blackrock (thank you Instagram).

Red velvet donut from The Rolling Donut in Dublin Ireland

1. Mellow out – OMG. These are the best donuts in Dublin. This might look like a small little take out shop from the outside – but it is bursting with flavours and I literally felt like a kid spinning in my high top chair eating these donuts. The. Best. Donuts. EVER. I had the 99 – which is a donut with icing and sprinkles, and marshmallow filling, topped with a flake. Rob had a classic chocolate donut (with chocolate ganache filling). They were both out of this world. So yummy!

Mellow out \donuts, Blackrock, Dublin, Ireland

So there you have it, the best donuts in Dublin, all picked out for you on National Donut Day! I hope you use this as a great excuse to have a cheat meal, and smash some donuts – but who needs a reason to eat donuts?!

Tell me your fave flavour donut – and where you eat them?

Unlock the simple life,

~Meg~

p.s. If social media is your thing (snap! It’s my fave too!), you should totally follow me on Instagram.

p.p.s. I try post varied content once or twice a month, to be sure you don’t miss out on the new post you should sign up and get all the news straight in your inbox – Sign up now!

15 ways to save money in a foreign country

by 19 Comments

15 ways to save money while living in Ireland.

ways to save money in a foreign country

The biggest requirement we had for deciding to move to Ireland was that we would not get into debt with the move. We wanted to save money in a foreign country. It was essential to us, that we learnt from our previous money mistakes, and not get into the same bad habits in a foreign country. Trust me, there is nothing more frightening than being in a foreign country with no savings, and debt. So saving money has been a top priority for us.

The biggest way to save money is to first have a clear understanding of your budget – you need to know how much you will earn, and how much things cost. Once you have a budget outlined, there are other ways you can save money. Some of the ideas listed below are perhaps are a bit more extreme for some people, but these are ways we have saved money in a foreign country. I would like to think that with this new outlook to life (of wanting a more simple life), that some of these ideas would continue even if we were to move back to South Africa. But obviously, some things are dependent on the situation you are living in. Thankfully we have found it relatively OK to live off one salary whilst I look for a job, and I think it has a lot to do with the fact that we have a good budget in place and we have stuck to the below ways to save money.

Some of the ideas are extreme, but these are ways we save money in a foreign country. Click To Tweet
    1. Try limit the contracts you sign up for. We made a conscious decision not to buy a TV here in Ireland. Honestly, with the way things are going, I am not sure there is a need to sign up for cable TV, or TV channel packages. We signed up for WIFI at home, and this contract alone has helped us to stream all our favourite TV shows. Data is never an issue here in Ireland. We never run out of it, and the internet connection is super fast, so we are able to watch HD movies, while I blog, and check my social media – technology is a wonderful thing. We both did not sign up for a phone contract when we got here. This is because the competition here for phone deals is ever changing. You don’t want to be tied into a package when you could get a different deal every month. I am on a month to month contract that costs me 15 euros a month and includes 30G of data, 400 minutes to any phone in Ireland. I am still able to whatsapp video call my family back home any time I want to.
    2. We haven’t bought a car (yet). This is a massive savings for us. Right now, we are able to use public transport or walk/cycle to where we need to be. But even if we were to need to buy a car in the future, we have both learnt the hard lesson that cars deprecate in value and it really doesn’t mean much to me to have a brand-new, fancy car. So if we need to buy a car, we would first save up for one, and pay for it cash. No car loans for us. The one expensive part to owning a car as an expat – car insurance is expensive. It is something that we will definitely have to shop around for if we ever decide to buy a car.
    3. Find a place to live in a central location to work and leisure. You will figure out quite soon that rent is ridiculously expensive in Dublin. We could honestly rent 2 HUGE places back in SA for the price we pay a month to rent our little elf cottage. But if you can find a place that is central, you can save money this way. We are incredibly lucky that our place is close to the bus stop, train, luas (tram), bike stop, and we could even walk into town quite quickly. You could find a cheaper place to rent further out of the city, but then you would need to own a car, or pay for public transport to get back into the city. I guess it really does depend where you work, and what you do on your weekends. For us, we love the convenience of a lock up and go place that is close to the city.
    4. Meal plan and shop weekly. This is a huge learning that if I plan what we eat, and only buy what we need to make these particular meals – we can save a lot of money. I am also learning to buy seasonal fruit and veg, and buying things that are on special. Sometimes buying bigger sizes is cheaper, but then split it out and make sure you make it go further.
    5. Eating out is expensive. I understand that it is a nice way to see a new city, but there are ways to save money and still eat out. We have learnt that we can buy one combo meal from our local Chinese take out and it feeds us both. Some restaurants also have early bird specials (where you eat dinner for prime time, usually before 7pm). There are also some places that have a 2 courses for 20 euros deal which is also a cool way to have a meal out but keeps you to a budget.
    6. Take a homemade lunch to work instead of buying meals. And seriously, stop buying those over priced Starbucks flat whites and drink coffee at home!
    7. Avoid the fancy cocktails and hard liquor. Drinking at a pub is a favourite thing to do in Dublin. Alcohol is expensive though. Ways to save money here is to drink house wine; or local beers on tap.
    8. Walk when you can. It is also a great way to see a foreign country, plus saves you money. We walk as much as possible. If you are planning a trip further away from home, then you need to book train tickets in advance. Train ticket prices are cheaper a few weeks before you travel.
    9. Sign up for a leap card. This is an essential whilst traveling in Dublin. You can use your leap card on bus, train, luas and even Dublin bike rentals. Also the rate for leap card holders is cheaper than pay as you go on public transport.
    10. If you use a Dublin bikes, the first 30 minutes is free. Rob uses this to get to and from work, and for the most part, his commute both ways is less than 30 minutes, so it’s free! Plus, cycling gets you there quicker than walking.
    11. This was a big lesson we learnt: if your house is using gas and electric, try switching to gas only – a lot cheaper to heat the water with gas over electric. Our gas heats the water, but also heats the house (through the radiators). A trick we learnt was to turn the dial to only heating water, and not the radiators – as this saves us money too. We also only need to switch the gas on for a short time to heat the water, and it doesn’t need to be on all day, so you can save even more.
    12. A big saving we had over winter was keep the heat in the house to a minimum. We invested in an electric blanket and found that once we were in bed, we didn’t need the heat in the house on. While I was working at home through the winter months, I wore a few more layers in the house, and had a blanket when we sat on the couch. Another great trick is to drink more wine 🙂  – I will find any excuse to drink wine!
    13. The benefit of renting a small house means there is less to clean. It takes me under an hour to clean the bathroom, dust the house, clean the radiator grills, vacuum the whole house and mop the floors. Plus, we clean the house ourselves, so that saves us money too!
    14. You learn pretty quickly that a great way to save money in Dublin, is to actually use coins to pay for stuff. I have been known to take a wad of 5c, 10c, 20c pieces and pay for groceries with it. The great thing is that there is a self service machine at the store, so I can feed the machine all my small change without feeling terrible for making the cashier count it out. We have a piggy bank we use to collect coins, so the last week of the month, we use it to buy bread and milk etc.
    15. Try tap for it, instead of swipe. Bank charges here are quite minimal, but still, it is cheaper to tap your card instead of swiping. You can tap for anything under EUR30.

There you have it, this is just some of the ways we save money in a foreign country. We are still learning and figuring out things, so I am sure that we will learn even more ways to save money as we go. The trick is to be aware of your priorities. For us, we want to save so we can pay off our debt, and travel!

How do you save money where you live?

Unlock the simple life,

~Meg~

p.s. If social media is your thing (snap! It’s my fave too!), you should totally follow me on Instagram.

p.p.s. I try post varied content once or twice a month, to be sure you don’t miss out on the new post you should sign up and get all the news straight in your inbox – Sign up now!

Even with a clear budget, you can save more money. Some of the ideas are a bit extreme, but these are ways we have saved money in a foreign country.

What being unemployed feels like

by 23 Comments

5 tips for handling unemployment: Being unemployed could be the best or the worst time of your life - it is all about how you handled it.

unemployed for the first time in 20 years, what to does it feel like?While scrolling through Instagram the other day, I saw a post by a gal I follow; highlighting one big thing that has happened to her for the last ten years. I have never done anything half as impressive as donating a kidney to a friend! However, I have been pretty self-reflective lately, and well since I am unemployed,  I have a bit more time on my hands. The post inspired me to sit down and contemplate what my own list would look like.

I have a book. It was a blank book when my sister gave it to me when I turned 18. We all thought my future was somewhere in art. Instead, I have used to write in. Draw little things of random places and past a photo or two of something important. Id write about about a good book ive read. Something that upset me. Past a polaroid of a drunken night with friends. Some long gone, some still around. This year marks my 10th of owning this book. I didn’t really have a plan for it. But I hope oneday kids find it and learn things they never knew about me. I hope I can keep it up for another 10 years. On the back of the book I wrote the year and one significant thing about it. Just one. It’s not as easy as it sounds. A lot can happen in a year. A lot has happened in 10 years. But this year. This one isn’t done yet, but I wrote in 2017s entry. Because its quite an entry.

A post shared by Lydia Afonso (@greenlydia) on

I started with the last 10 years and I was pleasantly surprised. I have had some crazy milestones so far! It puts life into perspective when you think back on the one key moment of your life, for each year. I decided to take it further, and looked back on 20 years. So many ups and downs, massive life changes and small moments that actually ended up being rather pivotal key moments in my life. Things that made me sad, and things that made me laugh and remember the moment like it was yesterday. I have had an amazing life so far, and I am incredibly grateful for it. This list check made me realise, that while you are focusing on days and weeks – life has a habit of getting busy. Even when you aren’t really taking note of it, its creating moments that you will later look back on.

In the blink of an eye, 20 years goes by pretty fast. In 1997, I was 15. It was the year I got my first ever job. Ha! It was a job at the local Wimpy, as a waitress. Earning a small sum of R5 an hour, a total of R25 a day, working weekends and school holidays. The best part of the job was getting a free burger, chips and a coke. Flip, I loved that job! I saved up and bought a Smashing Pumpkins double CD with my first paycheck. Took me about 3 months, but I was so stoked when I could afford it! It was the first time in my life that I felt the true meaning of work hard and you can earn “good” money. And later, I look back and realize the lesson really was: when you enjoy your job – money actually doesn’t matter as much.

After reflecting, I realised, this is first time in 20 years that I have not earned some kind of income. Either part time or full time, I have always had a job. Right now, I am unemployed, and I am not too sure how I feel about that. I have been really focused on being more kind to myself this year. I believe that when you keep positive, good things happen. But I’m kinda not sure how to take being unemployed. At first I will admit, it made me panic. What the heck am I doing with my life?! But then I thought about it some more… I guess I realise now that you have to sometimes accept that this might be an obstacle to guide you on a path to something bigger and better. So here is hoping that this short break, leads to great things, and the best new job! In the meantime, here are my 5 tips for handling unemployment:

5 tips to handle being unemployed Click To Tweet

1. Get a routine
I am enjoying naturally waking up at a normal time, without an alarm clock. At first, I slept in, but now I seem to naturally wake up, feeling well rested. In order to feel this way, I know I need to have a routine. It also means I still need to get to bed early, to get good night’s rest.

2. Plan outings
I have been fortunate to make a few friends, who are either stuck in a similar situaton, or know exactly what I am going through. Who ever says that they arrived in Ireland and found a job quick quick – LIES. Or have been incredbily lucky. It has been hard to get a job here in Ireland – the T&C’s and admin is super confusing! And I don’t seem to be the only one with this experience. It has been nice to meet up with these new friends, have a coffee and just get out the house and away from applying for jobs for a short while.

3. Get active
I walk Jack every day. It has been so great to have the time to run when I want to, and walk when I want to too. We are lucky to live close to several parks as well as a beach – so our walks are never boring! The fresh air and bit of sweat is really important to keeping your mood positive.

4. Get those odd “jobs” done
Ever find that when you actually have a job, you never get to take that short course you wanted to do, or read that blog post you have saved in your email?  I have a ton of things on this list, and it is great that now I have the time to actually do some of them.

5. Find a creative outlet
For me, that is blogging, but for you it could be reading, or crafts, or perhaps even cooking? I also have a great adult colouring-in book that a friend gave me before I left SA that I love. Maybe you have always wanted to bake, or draw, or write poems? Find something that is completely for fun, and let your creativity flow. It helps to destress and distract you while you wait for call backs.

Lastly, enjoy the down time and rest up. Take a nap and binge on series if you really feel like it. When that new job comes knocking, it will be hard work and very little room for play – so make the most of your free time while you have it. Most importantly, keep being positive, the right job could be just a click or a phone call away. Trust that everything will work out as it should, and remember that you are an asset to any team. The right job will come at the right time.

Ever been unemployed, how did you handle it?

Unlock the simple life,

~Meg~

p.s. If social media is your thing (snap! It’s my fave too!), you should totally follow me on Instagram.

p.p.s. I try post varied content once or twice a month, to be sure you don’t miss out on the new post you should sign up and get all the news straight in your inbox – Sign up now!

7 walks to do around Dublin

by 19 Comments

7 walks to do around Dublin7 walks to do around Dublin. Along the river, or the canal. All walks are easy to moderate7 walks to do around Dublin; and all free to do, all year round!7 walks to do around Dublin - plus you can get to them using public transport!

Dublin walks/trails to do this weekend!

Since arriving in Dublin we have made it our mission to do all the Dublin walks/trails we can get our hands on! We both come from families who love to hike and walk in forests. Since we are trying to conserve our money, while I wait for a job! Getting out and going for a walk doesn’t cost a damn thing! Plus, we love to pack a picnic and it is a great way to really see the city from all angles.

Since we rely on public transport, I thought I would share some of the more obvious Dublin walk options first, the ones that are easy to get to. Then later, I will write a post on the harder to get to walking/hiking trails. If you are keen to get out this weekend, here are some great walks you can do, in and around Dublin this weekend:

  1. Poolbeg Lighthouse (11 km)

We are very fortunate that this is right at our doorstep. I might be a bit trickier to get to for others. It is an 11 km from our door to the lighthouse and back. I suggest you park along the Sandymount beach promenade and start the walk from there. It is such a varied walk, starting along the promenade, then into Sean Moore’s park, bit of a hill through some forest bit, out onto a service road, along the beach and then out onto the pier. There is a guy in a coffee van most weekends which is a great place to stop for a coffee either before or after the walk along the pier. Just a word of warning that at high tide, and bad weather the pier gets beaten with the waves. I tried to run out there on a windy day, and ended up having to turn around. It was a big NOPE! cold, windy, and wet? I did not sign up for that. But on a good day, I imagine the pier may be busy with others taking in the good weather, and the stunning views. It is well worth it.

poolbeg lighthouse

  1. Sandymount Beach Promenade (5km)

If you are not keen on a full-on trek, you could just walk from one end of Sandymount Beach to the other end and back. If you do both ways it is a nice 5km walk, plus it has the most incredible sunset views.

sandymount beach

  1. Ringsend to Ballsbridge Canal Walk (4km)

There are some great walks along parts of the river or canal around Dublin. We are lucky to be very close to Aviva stadium, so we often walk along the river to and from Lansdowne train station. It is also a great to cycle or run, if walking is not your vibe. From Ringsend church, you can follow the river all the way past the stadium, under a bridge and all the way to Ballsbridge. You could even extend this walk and cross over to Herbert Park.

dodder river walk

  1. The Dropping Well to Bushy Park River Walk (5km)

Truthfully, this is a bit further away from us. We took bikes from grand canal docks along the canal/river all the way to the dropping well restaurant before starting this section on foot. The dropping well is in such a cool spot, however, on Sundays it is quite a popular spot for the elderly and families (they do a good roast special!) We grabbed a drink and sat outside on the deck. The great thing is there is a smoking and non-smoking part to the outside deck, so you can still enjoy the views without getting smoked out.

Bushy park dublin

Then if you hop onto a train, you can do anyone of these walks too:

  1. Dun Laoghaire (from 3km)

Take the DART from town to Dun Laoghaire (Mallin) station. There are two piers walks to do in Dun Laoghaire (east and west), but you could also walk along the promenade to forty foot (and go swimming, if you are brave!) Plus, it is an excuse to grab a teddy’s ice cream, which is a great day out in my books! You can read more about Dun Laoghaire here.

  1. Killiney/Dalkey Hill (2km)

Take the DART from town to Dalkey station. As you come out of the station, keep left and follow the signs up to Killiney hill. You could walk up, catch the view, and walk back to Dalkey, or you could walk up from Dalkey and back down to Killiney. There is a DART station in both little towns and the full loop is around 2km, so not too far too walk at all. You can read more about Dalkey here.

  1. Howth (2km – 6km)

Take the DART to Howth. Here you will have plenty of options, including grabbing a mandatory fish and chips. You could walk along the pier, along the short promenade in front of the harbor. Or if you are feeling very active, you could do the cliff walk. Some parts are a bit tough (uphill), but for the most part, the views distract you and it is a great loop. You can walk along the cliffs, and then when you get to the top, reward yourself with a pint at the Summit Hill Inn. The cliff walk is 6km. If you are lazy after the walk (or after too many pints), you can grab a bus which is right outside the pub, alternatively, it is a downhill trek back to Howth station.

howth cliff walk

  1. Bray to Greystones (6km)

Technically not is county Dublin (it’s on the border), but not to be missed. Grab the DART and get off at Bray. You can then walk up Bray’s Head, which is short in distance but all uphill, but the view of Bray is amazing. Then you can come back down and do the bray to Greystones cliff walk. This walk is 6 km (one way), and not at all strenuous. It’s pretty flat. But the views are amazing. You can also watch the train go by, and grab the train from Greystones back home. Just a word of warning, the train doesn’t stop at Greystones very frequently, especially on Sundays, so you may need to wait a bit for the train. You can read more about what we did in Bray here.

Which walk have you done? What have you got planned this weekend? With the long weekend upon us, it is a great opportunity to get out the house and get a bit active! I know my main reason is to try work off all the creme eggs I intend on shoveling in my mouth this weekend!

Unlock the simple life,

~Meg~

p.s. If social media is your thing (snap! It’s my fave too!), you should totally follow me on Instagram.

p.p.s. I try post varied content once or twice a month, to be sure you don’t miss out on the new post you should sign up and get all the news straight in your inbox – Sign up now!