Well, knock me down with a feather, that was a nice thing to turn the computer on and see - I’ve been shortlisted in the Food and Drink category at the Irish Blog Awards. (Thanks to Catherine and Yvonne for telling me!) Click here to read the full shortlist - congratulations to everyone!

To celebrate, I went to the Lakeland shop in York and lusted after their tupperware and handy household solutions (well, I was thinking of going anyway, but any excuse will do). I don’t make a particularly good housewife (dusting - what’s that? ditto laundry, sweeping up and just about everything else) but I looooooooove this shop. It’s full of all the home-related bits and pieces you’ll ever need and a few things you didn’t know you needed until you saw them waving at you cheerily from the shelves.

I asked the extremely helpful ladies in the shop if there was even a teensy, wincy chance of Lakeland opening a store in Ireland one day. They said that someone had looked into it but it was a matter of setting up the supply chain, finding good warehouse space etc. So, fingers crossed then. Us bakers need our beehive and garden critter-shaped cake tins (along with the related storage solutions) as well as some Australian Soft Liquorice to snack on as we go along. Oooh – and this would be fantastic if you wanted to bring hot food to work… 

You see? We need this shop in our lives. (Maz – there’s a whole creative/crafty section just for you )

Unfortunately, I’m flying home with RyanAir, so I can’t really fit many of these wonderful treasures in my luggage without incurring some kind of extra cost. But I’m sure that we’ll take the ferry and drive over one of these days - then I’ll have a whole boot to fill…