One of those places that tries to cater to as many needs as possible in one shop, and it does a…read morepretty good job. From cards to groceries to sandwiches to newspapers, they fill the little place up with quite a lot of stuff for you to purchase. Though Rathmines is littered with Spars and Centras this little family-run business has managed to hold on in there despite the intense competition, although it probably has a little location advantage as it's just far enough away from the swan centre for you to consider being lazy and just buying what you need here.

Admittedly, my favourite thing about this shop is the name. However, it's really great to see a…read morefamily run shop in an area over run with 'the enemy' as they call Spar and Centra. The owners are always friendly and ask you how you've been. At different parts of the day you'll meet the wife, husband, and their sons behind the counter. One time I was having trouble with my DVD player and the husband actually offered a great deal of advice and told me to come back in to him if his suggestions didn't work! They've got everything you could imagine and I even found marshmallows there once that I couldn't find in Dunnes or Tesco. Some of the food in there is a bit dated as Ciara pointed out. One time I bought a bag of Dorito's ony to bring them home to find out that the bag had been opened and they were stale. Another time my flatmate went to buy milk and all sell by dates had passed the week before. So if you decided to fight against the corporate giants and support this shop, as I suggest you do, it might be best to stick to non-perishables!

I paid over €1000 for heavy full length sitting room curtains to be made. I was very disappointed…read morewith the quality of the stitching, they are only hanging a month and already the lining is coming away from the curtain fabric. Would not recommend.

A fab new Interiors store recently opened facing woodies Glasnevin , Staff are so friendly and…read morehelpful and offered some amazing advice on my new home , something to suit all budgets .

If you have oodles of dosh, then take a trip to The Design Centre in The Powerscourt Townhouse…read moreCentre. It's where the ladies who lunch shop - you know for their racing outfits, balls in Marbella, little Timothy's communion etc. Don't get me wrong - the clothes are fab. With designers like Matthew Williamson, Ben de Lisi and top Irish designers like Louise Kennedy and N+C Kilkenny you will definitely be making a fashion statement wherever you choose to go, but be warned, you will certainly pay for it.

The Powerscourt Townhouse Centre is very fancy-shmancy in general, but this expansive portion of…read morethe centre is the cream of the crop, or since it's on the top of the place, the icing on the utterly gorgeous and expensive cake. I really love places like this that showcase talented up and coming designers that might otherwise not have that many venues to showcase their work. And boy is there a lot of talent here. Another great feature of the Design Centre is that is has apparel for all occasions and in many different styles. From beautiful silk tops appropriate for the office, to suits that can anchor a wardrobe, to elegant cocktail dresses to exquisite wedding gowns you can find anything you're looking for, provided you have the funds to plop down in exchange. The sales assistant, who was tall, beautiful and impeccably attired, came over to me and asked, "are you just browsing, or looking for something in particular?" I interpreted this as her interpreting me and seeing that I was obviously just going to browse. Intuitive, this Amazon beauty! She was sweet though. Right next door there is another shop dedicated to the Design Centre sale items, which aren't as startling beautiful as the full-price stuff but still gorgeous and some of it was actually financially-accessible, even to me.

Anthologie is a cute little boutique clothing store on the main drag at Clontarf. At first glance…read moreAnthologie looks like just the store for groovy 20-somethings, but looks can be deceptive. While it stocks a nice collection of clothing, I tend to find some of the pieces a bit middle-aged and unfashionable. So it would probably be a more suitable shopping destination for ladies rather than girls, or for the refined occasion - think hats and gloves - rather than a night out on the town. The shop itself is nicely set out, with accessories strewn around the store, breaking up the clothing displays and providing temptation for its shoppers. Unlike some of the other women's clothing stores in this precinct, this one is very unpretentious, and doesn't make you feel like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman.

I was going to go with Jo M on this and give a 3...but it has definite potential and they were nice…read morewhich brings it up to a 4! It's a really inviting boutique and I like both the decor inside and their window dressing. The shop is small, but has a reasonably good selection-only one size of each item is put on the floor to maximise the space. There is a cute range of accessories and knick-knacks too. The stock is a mixed bag-some of it is pitched at women of a certain age I think. There is definite potential to pick up that unusual special something though and it's surprisingly reasonably priced. A major plus is the welcoming atmosphere. Even though it's small and pretty quiet, the staff member today wasn't even slightly pushy. She was smiley and simply let me know that other sizes were available before letting me browse. This was despite my usual Saturday pottering outfit of runners and backpack. Perfect! I will definitely be back...

I've bought a few pieces from Jennifer Slattery over the years. Mostly for gifts, and even better,…read morea few for myself :) The designs are beautiful, and contemporary, steering clear of that traditional Irish look, which I'm not a massive fan of. Her napkins have always gone down a treat, and they're my go to when my millions of friends are getting married (not me though - no such luck!) If you're in the market for some beautiful textiles then this is where to start looking. It also helps that she's a really lovely girl.

Finally a Christmas Market in city centre Dublin that's a handy location for me. And for tourists…read moretoo for that matter. Arriving early, the market wasn't open yet, so we strolled around the green until it was. Then when it was open, there was quite a few stalls still not open. I reckon a good few of these were still to be taken up by a business. That said there was a huge amount of people here for the market today, in mid-November. It's going to be very popular indeed. Of the ones that were open, there was the usual suspects: Seaweed products, scarves and wood carvings. To be honest, stuff I will never buy, either for myself nor as presents. But I could be wrong and some treasures might open up in the coming weeks. Lets hope so. The food and drink stalls are the winners here for me. Pulled pork rolls, pies, crepes, burgers, hot chocolate, hot toddys and mulled wine. I look forward to going back in the coming weeks to see what other stalls have opened up. I will also be back to try the food, drink mulled wine and be merry!!

This is a really cool idea and it works very well, great Christmasy feeling and plenty of food an…read moredrink to satisfy! The only negative is that there is not enough variety of food, seemed to be mostly burgers or hotdogs. there were other stalls selling pies and popcorn but they are a bit washed out by all the burgers and hotdog.. apart from that I think its great. supper cool to grab a nice hot drink on a frosty christmas evening..

A pheasant with a top hat and a walking stick. Come on! That's the best. It's like the UK…read moreabercrombie. And the boys and girls who are working there are even two or three times prettier than me. Is that even possible? Go see for yourself.

Cool, Contemporary and costly. This is the proclaimed British answer to Abercrombie and Fitch (I…read moreonly somewhat agree). The store's setting is indeed "fabulously British", the self proclaimed description the Wills folk have given themselves (I totally agree), it's like walking into a Stereophonics song set in Camden. The staff is authentic, preppy, very helpful, cheerful and fabulously British themselves, which complements very well the setting (Worth a visit for the cool upmarket cockney accents from the staff alone). Clothes wise... Imagine Paul Smith and Top Shop had a baby, Jack wills would be the creation. I love the clothes but dislike the price, a hoddie and sweats on the A&F website delivered to your front door will probably be cheaper by about €50, A&F is better in quality and slightly better in image to Jack Wills too, so the price for what you get does not reflect, I'm sure you can do better than that now Jack! However this is Ireland, and we are taken advantage by most companies because we are stupid enough to pay these inflated prices, I myself guilty. If Jack Wills was 20% or so cheaper I would be paying the coolest store in Dublin more 50% or so more visits! The lay out is similar to Urban Outfits, but on a midget scale, and much cooler, more compact, artsy, intimate, and laid out nicely. The out of the way (especially if you're a non-driver) Kildare Village however has its own outlet Wills store, so good bargains can be found there, and your JW fix can made cheaper (50% cheaper on two pairs of sweats for me) if you don't mind last seasons clothes. I would recommend this store and Wills clothes; it beats the digressing, once great, urban outfitters and has a much better range than All Saints, but don't forget the credit card.

Class little shop in the middle of George's St arcade. Now, remember I said class not classyyy..!…read moreThey have bags in the shape of cats and all sorts of weird and wonderful printed clothing. It's where you'd go for something different - probably you'd be of a younger demographic, or at least young at heart! It's a teeny little place, cheap and cheerful, but definitely worth a gander.