Meadows & Byrne is a pretty cool home and garden shop in Dun Laoghaire. It's one of those places…read moreyou walk into with no intention of buying anything, and then leave with a whole range of interesting items you never knew you'd ever want or need (but you need them now!) They sell all sorts, from kitchen furniture to glasses, to 'slurp' soup mugs, to banana leaf trays and garden settings. My favourite item in store is the wall-mounted wine opener, which comes in at a pretty 139 euro (ouch, but once you see it no price is too great!) A good place for some Sunday shopping if you're of the inclination. They also have an Insomnia cafe attached for those who tire of their partner's browsing habits.

This is a nice big open store with plenty of ideas if you are furnishing your home...at a price…read more Good selection of cooking and kitchen gear and they are mostly where I go when I am looking for something in particular as they generally have it. Think Ikea but more expensive so keep an eye open for their sales as they generally have a good bargain to be found. When you do bite the bullet and buy something you generally still love it even after a few years and their stuff is always good quality so perhaps they may be expensive but worth it.

***Note: this is a review of the Carolyn Donnelly Eclectic range***…read more Since its impressive launch onto the scene not two years ago, the ex-Quin and Donnelly fashion designer's range of homeware has remained true to form, and more. For lovers of a vintage sensibility, it's a must, but what I love about this range is that it's not easily categorised. It is what the name suggests, and numerous sensibilities combine with the designer's personal stamp to create something unique yet entirely of a piece as an ensemble - from the smallest cake cutter or knife and fork set to the larger furniture pieces. And it comes with a distinctly modern twist. The shabby chic look has become so omnipresent that it's cliched, and I'm so glad this range doesn't fall at its feet, rather takes those aspects that appeal in a more classic way and then shakes them up a bit. Her Rosetta Dhurry rug is a great example of this I think; at first glimpse, you might think, seen that before. But in fact you quickly realise you haven't, as its almost pixelated design gives it something quite different. http://www.dunnesstores.com/cushions-throws-and-rugs/carolyn-donnelly-eclectic/fcp-category/list What comes across throughout is a great deal of thoughtfulness and a real love of comfort, eclecticism, ethnic design and vintage chic combined, from the smallest paperweight at around a fiver, to a velvet-covered blanket box/head board or bedside lockers. For lovers of any of the key design aspects, I find you'll find this this range interesting. Another vote in its favour is the keen pricing. Some of the furniture isn't particularly cheap, but there is certainly great value to be had at the lower scale. It's now my first stop when buying gifts for friends, from the very pretty tea light holders to the beautiful keepsake boxes which you're happy to form part of a room decor, to the range of kitchenware which suits a mix n match approach to decor perfectly. I really hope that Dunnes know what they have here and how to market it (there's no doubt they could be making a lot more of it on social media), because I think that it, teamed with the Paul Costello range which is more traditional, classic, male-oriented and higher priced, they have created something special. Plus these ranges are available on their online site now, which seems to be coming together even if it's not yet of the standard we've come to expect from the bigger UK chains and more long-standing online retailers. For instance, I can't find the furniture on this range featured here, but perhaps they don't sell that online. In the store itself, on George's Street - the showcase one for the range - you'll walk on the rug but you won't see that it's actually for sale; you have to enquire to find that out. A browse here will walk you through the range; a visit in store will let you get a proper feel for it: http://www.dunnesstores.com/carolyn-donnelly-eclectic/home/fcp-category/home?resetFilters=true Really something special as the new range shows - the only serious problem is how to choose!

We came to the grocery store portion. It's pretty solid, we were able to pick up some chocolates…read moreand other gifts for a much cheaper price than at the retailers. They offer plenty of self check out kiosks. My only complaint was that they do not offer any bags. We had to purchase a plastic bag for .70 euros.

A kitchen lovers paradise. Tons of options from utensils to all forms of baking and kitchen…read moreappliances etc. Love looking for the odd interesting item here and have shopped here many times. It has lots of nooks and crannies to look through and find some interesting items for your kitchen. Love it here and come back every time I am in town.

This place tried to charge me 7 euro for the most boring of door stops. And they almost got away…read morewith it. I walked into this shop hoping to buy a nice tea cosy, the place is jammers with cool stuff. Things like chopping boards that fold up for easy scooping into a pot, and spatulas with a bump to keep the spatula head off the kitchen table and thus keeping the table clean. These are really good ideas, and you look at the prices and think that they're expensive, but maybe they're good value... Anyway, after a few hours of unsuccessful search, I pull a member of their staff away from her Facebook to ask where Tea Cosies can be found. They have a lot of tea cosies, it has to be said, I spent a good 20 minutes deciding between the cosy shaped like a hen or the bottom up design for €20 In the end, function over fashion, the bottom up design won (see photo). I then remembered I needed a doorstop for the house. I found a bucket'o'doorstops and picked one up, no excitement needed here! At the checkout my bill came to €27, which was €7 for the doorstop. I was like "ok, that's fair", compared to this €20 tea cosy, that seems like the going rate. But thankfully I managed to cop myself on to this absolute ripoff. They are actually trying to charge me €7 for a piece of plastic which does nowt but use friction to resist the door's gravity... So I just went to Dunnes and got one for €0.50 instead!. Anyway, this story only justifies a 2 star location, but they go down to a 1 star shop in my opinion because of their TERRIBLE hours. Stock closes at 5:30, and is closed all Sunday. Suddenly I understand why their prices have to be so high.

What a great little find in the quieter end of Ilac mall!…read more You actually can smell the shop several doors away, with the biggest range of incense sticks I've seen. Oil burners and essential oils are aplenty too. There are other traditional Asian products reminiscent of shops back in Singapore and Thailand. Oh and a great section on yoga mats and other props - all very reasonably priced! I bought myself a little mist diffuser after seeing it used in the store with a gorgeous lemongrass scent. The owner took the time to show me how to use and clean it, with some handy tips - great customer service :) Now don't mind me while I zen out in my lounge with a blend of lavender, bergamot and grapefruit aromatherapy...

At first I categorized Pagoda as your standard kind of crappy gift shop, but in reality I think…read moreit's got some great stuff! It's kind of a hodge podge of stuff, with the main thrust being Asian-inspired home goods and gifts. They have some nice wooden boxes with Asian details, pretty tea tins, large decorative fans and paper lanterns. But they also have some random stuff, like a wide selection of picnic baskets replete with cups and plate! I think these are actually really cool and handy. Imagine if you got invited on a date and the guy or girl busted out one of these sets, a delicious picnic dinner and a bottle of wine. All I'm saying is that if that happened to me, that guy would probably be getting some later.

I usually pop in here for a nosey to see if there is anything interesting on offer that would make…read morea nice present. And on the last two occasions it has been a success, hurrah! The products here are quality. They stock some fabulously luxurious individual greeting cards. They are tad expensive, but they are all handmade and almost probably each unique. So if you really want to impress, the cards in here will. The sales assistant seemed a bit miffed when she saw me waiting at the till though. She had the stop what she was doing to serve me... can you imagine.... ;)

Daintree is a really pretty shop that specializes in stationary. They have a wide variety of paper…read morein different colors, textures and weights, as well as complimentary accent papers and corresponding envelopes. Whether it's wedding or party invitations, birth announcements, or personal correspondence stationary, Daintree lets you order from their portfolio of popular designs, or you can custom design your own. Other accoutrements that can be customized are favor boxes, stickers and goodie bags. One thing that I really love about Daintree is its focus on DIY. No matter what your style, color scheme or theme is, Daintree has pretty much everything you will need to create beautiful stationary. From paper to ribbon to tools and advice, they've got it all covered. The one thing I would say that Daintree could improve upon is the range of their other items - such as notebooks, albums, streamers and other such gifty things. I think that if they had more of these things the store could attract a wider range of clientele other than brides-to-be and new moms. Still, I think what they've done in the space is pretty magical.

They get good stuff here. China tea sets for the retro-chic lover, great value. Cheap, good quality…read morecuddly toys a go-go. Toys. Reasonably decent clothes with the odd great find. Good stuff goes in the window regularly and if you're passing at the right moment, you might just find it's your lucky day. They don't have that snazzy window thing that Enable Ireland, the trend-setters in charity shop window display, have made an art form of. But doesn't that sometimes lead to you feeling let down when you go in and it all seems a whole lot more mundane? And then there's the lack of prices on window stuff, and the inability to buy or even book it, before some future date when the price will be revealed and presumably the bargain hunting masses will set upon the shop and each other to fight over the desired item, freshly released from show. It feels like a lot of effort for a plastic handbag, in the end of the day. There isn't an ounce of glitz about this project. But surprisingly good stuff may await the dedicated charity shop hunter, especially the type possessing what I've come to think of as a TX-Maxx style fearlessness when it comes to going on the bargain-attack. The staff are decent too. And they'll even release something from its prime place in the shop window and sell it to you there and then, without the slightest fuss.

The best place for picking up something quirky and cute for a birthday/Christmas present for…read moresomeone (or yourself). Full of absolutely gorgeous and usual bits, from office equipment to ornaments to lunch boxes to bags, it's a must! It can sometimes get a little bit messy but you can generally find what you might be looking for. Allocate time for yourself to look through and explore everything in here!

I'm such a big fan of Paperchase and I just love their shop in Arnotts in the Jervis Shopping…read moreCentre. Anyone who gets excited about stationery will want to spend a lot of time and money here. There's so many practical buys like the birthday book where you can keep record of everyone's special day or the blank recipe book where you can list everyone's famous dishes. There are racks and racks of cards for every occasion like the one that congratulates you for turning 25. Who thought 25 was such a milestone? There's also school supplies such as notebooks, pens, markers, post-its and agendas. The shop also sells the Filofax brand which is considered to be the creme de la creme of personal organizers. The best thing about Paperchase is that it makes all these day-to-day items exciting, colourful and fun.

I discovered Penney's while perusing the buzzing neighborhood near my hotel. As soon as I walked…read morein, it reminded me of Primark. Lo and behold, I found out they're a part of the same company/brand. How cool!! Same great products, same great prices. They even had a fully operating hair and nail salon inside. I barely had any vacant space in my luggage, but I absolutely had to grab some good deals and exit quickly lol. The store is huge and the various sections are easy to browse. It was also easy to spot employees walking around if you needed to ask for help.

So great, so affordable, friendly service... I love visiting Penney's when we visit Irelandread more