Apologies for the lack of posting this week, and this rushed update, but its been a mental week for me, in a good way:)! Theres a lot going on at the moment, all of which will be revealed in due course, but for now I hope you'll keep voting for The Style Strutter in the Cosmo Blog Awards and have a lovely weekend! I'll have a very special post for you in a few days so stay... Similar posts

So I'm sure by now everyones heard that Cosmopolitan magazine are having their 1st ever blog awards and nominations are open now! I would really love if you could spare a minute and give The Style Strutter a vote for the Fashion/Style Award. I don't hold out too much hope as there are some pretty amazing blogs out there, but nothing ventured, nothing gained:)! So Id love to give it a shot.  I also really hope that an Irish blog or blogs plural get through as it would be great to see some Irish talent being recognised:)! Ive voted for quite a few of my favourite Irish blogs in the hope that at least one of us will get through:)!So go on, share the love, make me a happy happy girl and give me a vote:)! It really only takes 20 seconds! Just click here!! And just ask if you want my vote... Similar posts

As most of you know, I don't write conventional blog posts about enhancing your personal development or actively get your business increased or improved. Rather, I seem to be drawn to things and ideas based on the very things that happen around me in my personal and professional... Similar posts

I'm happily... Similar posts

I had a great time. The tea party at the g Hotel was fun, fun, fun. Mirrors on the ceiling and a bath that defied expectations. While I didn't paint my nails, I had a great time talking to many wonderful women out on the terrace, partaking the delightful giraffe wine. Didn't even want to really leave to go to the awards but good times there were there too. Though I mostly propped up the bar with a few others. My memories are fragmented but I don't think I met everyone I wanted to. Oh well there's always next year. I did meet some great people and had a number of involved discussions on wide ranging issues. In short, it one of the best nights I've had in quite some time! Extra thanks to Damien Mulley and Sabrina Dent for organising a great night... Similar posts

Image via Wikipedia I’m coming late to the Annual Irish Blog Awards Post Mortem Car Crash, but there are a number of basic points. (1) there is a process but no one knows what it is, it’s the Coke secret formula and KFC magic recipe. (2) any criticism of the process or awards winners draws the wrath of the clique down upon you. The questions that anyone would ask about a winner is what ‘Besty’ quality did they have that made it the best? How might a blog seek to be ‘best’ next year or is that trying too hard disqualifies? What made it best? If it is simply to be taken on trust that some judges, somewhere, somehow made this decision then I think that’s a worthless process no better than the one used to select popes. “We thought he was... Similar posts

I went to my first ever irish blog awards this Saturday and it’s Monday night and I’ve just about recovered, but only just mind. I’ve removed my nail polish from the L’Onglex Ladies Tea Party (with L’Onglex nail polish remover of course- acetone free and given to us in our goodie bags- yay) and sitting down to recap on it all. I wonder is there any way to map the massive upswing of irish blog posts that much surely follow the awards every year? If the amount of traffic on twitter is anything to go by it must put a terrible strain on the internet altogether. So- what of the awards then? they were in Galway this year, and I headed down from Sligo with fellow lady blogger (and fellow model staffer) ladydotty on a lovely sunny day. The whole sunshine/spring... Similar posts

I cannot upload a photo not even one! Blogger uploads and says click done and then the photo disappears into cyber space!Update I have just uploaded one so I am now publishing in case it disappears again!The Irish blog awards were announced on Sat night, the category I was short listed in was won by bicycletic an excellent blog and worthy winner. I also feel a winner as my blog was considered good enough to be nominated by Catherine and was short listed from hundreds!I have also visited the shortlisted blogs which were all excellent and Marie's Beyond Breast Cancer is uplifting and reaches out to so many people.I was also honoured to be asked to write my very first guest post by AnnaMy niece Catherine has just self published her first book and it is available to buy as of... Similar posts

Donal Skehan may just be the hardest working author/blogger/chef/popstar I know (though I know few enough that meet that exact definition). He has really been working himself to the bone the last while and it’s really delivering for him. he won the best Food & Drink blog for his incredible blog The Good Mood Food Blog at the Irish Blog Awards in Galway. He also let everyone on twitter know that he has had over 1,000,000 hits on that blog! His book, which I had the pleasure of commissioning while at Mercier Press and launching when it came out in time for Christmas (there’s a video of the launch here), Good Mood Food, has been reprinted and he has been on the afternoon show twice recently. I’m sure there’s more great stuff to come from Donal and it’s all... Similar posts

I’m back from Galway and the Irish Blog Awards 2010 with absolutely no voice whatsoever, a lovely award, a girly swag bag of happiness, and a huge smile on my face. The carefully made plan for this weekend was to travel up to Galway on Friday to be well-rested on Saturday, a plan that when horribly wrong when I woke up at 6:00 am with awful shoulder pain, two eyes glued shut by the conjunctivitis I picked up in hospital, and a suspicious croak in my throat. Six hours was the most sleep I’ve had since dislocating my shoulder but so, so far from enough. I entertained idle and exhausted fantasies of cancelling the Ladies Tea Party all morning, but instead opted to drink double espressos whilst desperately wishing I was 28 and still taking speed. At 3 PM everything got massively... Similar posts

It was a night of dapper suits, funeral processions and dancing. Lots and lots of dancing. And the winners of the bloggies were announced – including Best Arts and Culture Blog – No Ordinary Fool! (Serious kudos!) Kudos to for the other finalists – Average Film Reviews, kDamo, and Women Rule Writer. There were lots of new faces, old friends and some very interesting ideas being thrown around all night – with one idea being tantamount – blogging ‘aint dead. Thanks to Damien, Ryan, Steven, the awards sponsors and everyone involved for a great night. Looking forward to next year all ready! Subscribe to the comments for this post? Share this on Facebook Post this to MySpace Tweet This! Share this on Linkedin... Similar posts

I've got free wifi and a bit of battery time left so here's the short, link free version.In summary, it was excellent. I didn't win the best blog post award, but had zero (well not zero since that would be mathematically illogical since I was nominated) expectation of getting in and the winning post (and winning blogger) was a stunner. Best part of the experience as ever was spending time with a load of intriguing, articulate, provocative and funny people.Myself a selection of other lovely ladies meet in the presidential suite of the well posh g hotel for the Ladies Tea Party, organised by the force of nature that is Sabrina Dent. We had lovely pink wine and delicate snacks and there was nail painting and nail polish remover and it was all fabulous. The women I met with, some I knew... Similar posts

It's the weekend of the Irish Blog Awards and I'm off bright and early to Galway tomorrow morning to join the party. Amazingly, I'm a finalist in the best blog post category for a post I wrote last June when Duncan and I had spent a beautiful few days away together, just the two of us. It's a post that flowed out of me, one that expresses my feelings of love, pride, contentment and joy in my child. I'm really happy it was selected to be among the final few posts, astonished too! But it was a lovely surprise in a downer of a week so thanks very much to all the judges for getting it this far. I hope a few people will have read it and consider that parenting a disabled child isn't less than, just different.Here's the list of posts in the category which is sponsored by KRO IT Solutions... Similar posts

Duncan had another appointment with the dentist this morning. Lady and Thomas have both started school now (more on that later- but it's going well) so it was just the two of us. The 1st time we were at that dentist it was a huge struggle to get him in the building. He stood outside crying for ages while I tried to reason with him. We made it into the waiting room where The Tweenies was playing on a tv, henceforth that room was known as "The Tweenies Room." Duncan utterly refused to leave the room so the dentist came to him and after Thomas modelled the procedure, Duncan consented to allow the dentist a brief glimpse inside his mouth right there. On the next visit he made it to the examination room but not onto the chair, though he did enjoy moving the stuffed dinosaur with the big teeth... Similar posts

Apologies for the lateness of this post but we’ve been too busy grinning from ear to ear since the finalists were announced for the Irish Blog Awards. We’re in the Best Technology Blog/Blogger category along with these fantastic bloggers: The Gaming Liberty Pat Phelan Matt Johnston Sinead Cochrane Fergus Burns started this blog for the Irish Web Community way back on the 17th September 2005. I did my first post on 31st July 2006 and we’ve had posts from tons of people since then, including James Corbett, Walter Higgins, Joe Drumgoole, Sean O’Sullivan and David Lenihan. This is the 872nd post here since 2005 and we hope the blog has been of use to all of you in the web biz whether in Ireland or elsewhere. As always, this is a blog by the community for the... Similar posts

In a few short days, many of Ireland’s best bloggers will descend upon Galway to celebrate all that is great about the Irish Blogosphere. Congratulations to all those who were shortlisted, including a number of IIA members. High fives all ’round and have a great weekend. For a full list of nominees go here and if you want to attend the event in the Radisson in Galway this Saturday, you can pick up a ticket here for just €15.00.... Similar posts

G-g-g-galway! A weshterner living in Dublin for a number of years sans automobile I’ve tried pretty much every form of public transport between Dublin and Galway. If you haven’t decided how you’re getting to this year’s blog awards yet then this may be useful: Train Goes from Heuston, about 5/6 services per day. You can nab some nice €10 fares online in either direction but only on selected services. Otherwise it’s about €50 return for an adult. Journey takes about 2.5hrs on average. Bus Thanks to the opening of the motorway from Galway to Dublin late last year the bus journey between the cities has been made super comfortable and as fast as the train. It’s also more affordable than the train so all round win. Buses will drop you at Galway’s... Similar posts

Whoop! Someone was kind enough to nominate the site for an Irish Blog Award – and it has been announced as one of the 5 finalists for the Best Art and Culture Award! Say hello to the others in the category: Average Film Reviews No Ordinary Fool kDamo Women Rule Writer Thank you to whoever submitted the nomination – I really appreciate the effort of voting for me – and thanks to the judges who are (as we speak) reading and well… judging. The awards are a fantastic chance to celebrate what we do and I’m shocked and delighted to have been chosen as one of the finalists. Subscribe to the comments for this post? Share this on Facebook Post this to MySpace Tweet This! Share this on Linkedin Share this on... Similar posts

I could not believe my eyes reading Catherine's comment on my previous post,Catherine had nominated my blog in the Specialist category of the Irish Blog Awards.I had linked to the site and after reading some of the nominated blogs I did not think mine would feature anywhere in the running.I am stunned and excited to be one of the six finalists in this category!There are 22 categories covering every topic under the sun, they are funny, informed and thought provoking.I don't know how the panel of judges can whittle them down or decide between them, not an easy task!None of these awards would be possible without very generous sponsors and the Specialist category is sponsored by IQ content IQ Content have sponsored the Best Specialist Blog category again this year. iQ Content is an Irish... Similar posts