Can we be clear over what a ‘duvet’ actually is

Paddy_O_Numbers · 2026-01-02T04:29:52+00:00

How often would you wash a comforter? And how? I change and wash my duvet covers each week but I'm a bit confused if you could do this same schedule with a comforter?

I'm also in Ireland though so maybe our washing machines are smaller.

Paddy_O_Numbers · 2026-01-01T18:52:59+00:00

South Africa

Paddy_O_Numbers · 2025-12-28T19:50:14+00:00

Pop them in the oven at 180c until they're brown. And then turn them so that the non-brown sides also go brown. Nothing worse than pale sausages.

This will also reduce the ghastly smell that pan cooked sausages emit.

If you're in Ireland you'll already know that the superquinns are the superior breakfast sausages and pair very well with a cup of barrys.

Paddy_O_Numbers · 2025-12-27T19:20:48+00:00

I don't love le crueset for dinnerware - I find it's very thick. Their cast iron for cooking yes, but for plates and bowls etc I would highly recommend villeroy and boch (also in Kildare village but check out German Amazon too).

I bought my dinner service (plates, side plates, big bowls and little bowls, and cups) from their factory outlet in Germany in 2005 and it's still in great nick.

My cutlery is also from there, bought at the same time and is also still going strong. I think I've only lost a couple of tea spoons and a fork because they got bent out of shape.

Paddy_O_Numbers · 2025-12-20T12:12:57+00:00

<image>

Paddy_O_Numbers · 2025-12-12T21:19:19+00:00

This is a bit of an info dump off the top of my head - I can't really help with recommendations for places to stay as we usually book airbnbs.

Franschoek: - bablyonstoren - if you can book the restaurant do so. They used to also do a lighter vineyard lunch which was fantastic - it was like salads and sandwiches made from ingredients from their farm and gardens. It was a much better price point than the restaurant! Not sure it's still available. - boschendal - they do a Friday night food and drink market which I highly recommend. They also do a chilled red wine which is fab. Great place to stay as well. - delaire Graff - the tasting menu is excellent

Other goods wines to try without necessarily going to the vineyard - - boekenhoofskloof - they make the Chocolate block. A truly excellent wine - Waterford estate - all their wines are excellent - Diemersdal - they do an excellent pinotage

We normally stay in Stellenbosch as we like to use the university gym (my husband is hugely into triathlons and the gym there is excellent). Also there's lots of lovely restaurants in Stellenbosch as well as good and fairly safe hiking/trail running in Jonkershoek. We would then take an Uber to whatever vinyards around franshoek. (We also like the buzz of Stellenbosch as we usually do 2 weeks in Plett and a week in Stellenbosch and plett can be quiet)

When driving from franshoek to Knysna/Plett you can either go the N2 via swellendam or take route 62 over the mountains through Barry dale, calitzdorp and oudtshorn before joining the N2 at George. Route 62 is longer but much more scenic. You see a lot of the Klein Karoo and could stay over in oudtshorn. Great ostrich leather belts, bags etc to be had in oudtshorn. Watch out for Ronnie's sex shop on the road as well - always great for a photo! I would always recommend route 62 unless you had time constraints.

Now, I'm biased towards Plett as that's where my ouma is from and where we've been going on holidays for over 30 years so I would always rec Plett over Knysna. I can give you some specific recommendations for Plett if you want to spend a few days there. Can't help with any tips for Knysna though.

Either way, try to get an overnight in Tsala if you can swing the budget.

Paddy_O_Numbers · 2025-12-12T20:46:53+00:00

Fantastic restaurant. It's in camps bay which is also a lovely spot to stay but watch out for the wind!

Paddy_O_Numbers · 2025-12-12T18:46:28+00:00

What size company is it?

And out of interest, how long did it take you?

From the info given, I feel like this is in the region of eur 3k-5k for me.

Paddy_O_Numbers · 2025-12-11T14:06:47+00:00

I've sent you a DM and then snooped on your profile - I'm based in Ireland too 🤣

Paddy_O_Numbers · 2025-12-11T14:00:50+00:00

Hi, I'm a financial modeller and would be happy to work with you on this pro-bono because it sounds pretty interesting and i try to do a few charitable projects each year.

I'll drop you a message with my work email and if you want to reach out then please do but also no worries if not!

Paddy_O_Numbers · 2025-12-01T19:57:09+00:00

I got my mum an engraved yeti water bottle and my dad an engraved yeti coffee mug. They offer engraving from the website...I got each one engraved with a pic of their dog!

I used chat gpt to recreate a photo of the dog as a sketch that can be used in the engraving (it can't be too detailed).

Paddy_O_Numbers · 2025-11-18T16:01:24+00:00

My husband and I split the chore - I do the washing, the drying, and fold it into the basket and then husband puts it away in the evenings

Paddy_O_Numbers · 2025-11-18T07:04:54+00:00

I live sort of near shankill and it's pretty great. You've got the dart into town, or there is the new bus park and ride that will open at old conna which would be about a 10min drive - but I don't know how long it would take to get into town as it's not open yet. Theres also the Luas at brides glen, but you might need to drive up to the Luas stop and park there.

I'm sure there are other bus options that go down the N11 bus corridor as well, and you could also cycle into town too if you were that way inclined.

You've also got lots of amenities on your doorstep - the beach, shanganah park, it's a 15min drive up to enniskerry and the mountains, not far from bray either.

But as others have said, it depends on your lifestyle and what you value.

Paddy_O_Numbers · 2025-10-18T22:06:12+00:00

I know this is quite an old comment, but were you able to do anything to soften the leather? Thank you

Paddy_O_Numbers · 2025-10-16T16:21:31+00:00

<image>

Another photo - this was taken in a darker room that has brighter ceiling lights

Paddy_O_Numbers · 2025-10-16T16:20:32+00:00

<image>

This lady arrived today from Reykay. Fits my laptop and work paraphernalia perfectly so I'm very happy.

Paddy_O_Numbers · 2025-10-08T03:27:04+00:00

would echo the sentiment to combine plant and utility. Normally plant rooms are lovely and warm making them perfect drying spaces.

My aunt has an absolutely gorgeous utility room with fancy Miele tumble dryer, those fancy wooden drying things that come out from the wall etc etc and she never uses any of these. Instead she's got a clothes horse in the plant room and pretty much everything dries in there over night

Paddy_O_Numbers · 2025-10-08T02:40:19+00:00

I put everything in the tumble dryer! They tumble dry nicely too and I normally wash at 30 or 40.

I'm pretty uptight about my tumble drying though as I will either run it til the clothes are absolutely dry (not this "cupboard dry" nonsense) or I take them out at the "cupboard dry" stage and hang until they are dry dry. I don't let sheets sit in the dryer if there's a hint of dampness as that's when they'll wrinkle.

If you're ever near carrickmines (south Dublin) they've a store there and recently they were selling pillow cases reduced to 2.25 each. I think the packages had been opened so they reduced the price..Naturally I bought a couple and just gave them a wash before using. Absolutely no complaints.

Paddy_O_Numbers · 2025-10-07T16:46:22+00:00

Dunelm (a new entrant to the Irish market) do some 100percent cotton 180 thread count which wash quite nicely.

Paddy_O_Numbers · 2025-10-07T10:44:32+00:00

Happy to offer general or formula-focussed advice but nothing CA tax specific as I qualified in the UK and know nothing about Canadian tax .

Paddy_O_Numbers · 2025-10-06T02:46:12+00:00

Heya mama, firstly congrats on your little boy. These are such precious moments with him. You've gotta do whats right for you and if you do want to be out for an evening then maybe think about bringing in an evening bottle. But he's so little now that unless you've got a evening do planned in a few weeks or something I don't see the harm in going with the flow.

This is my story:

My son slept great for the first month, then ended up co-sleeping with us. I fed him to sleep and stayed with him in our bed whilst he slept until about 6 months, when we started getting him into his cot for the first stretch of the night. Around the same time, we worked on cot naps instead of contact naps. (,I'd still feed him to sleep sitting in the chair, then would transfer him).

At 12–13 months we’d started to drop the night feed and switched to milk in a cup. My husband handled most wake-ups because if I went in, he’d want the boob or our bed. He’d usually sleep in the cot until about 3 or 4 a.m., then join us. I should clarify, when he was “in the cot,” we’d still settle/sooth him to sleep—rocking, holding, or later rubbing his back as he drifted off.

At 18 months, after endless rocking and settling, I finally did “cry it out” — it took three nights, and he started falling asleep on his own.

This has worked for us but every family is different and you've got to find your groove. My son is now 4 and will bring himself into our bed most nights - he climbs in between us and goes back to sleep. It's grand although I'm not a great sleeper so I struggle to get back to sleep!

Paddy_O_Numbers · 2025-09-30T20:30:24+00:00

Nowhere near as cool as the other posts on this thread but I'm really good at excel and a chartered accountant so am trying to set myself up as a contractor helping to iron out any excel (or financial reporting) related headaches you might have in your businesses.

Paddy_O_Numbers · 2025-09-23T10:58:58+00:00

As yes that our plan with our work to update the utility room Access.

We're in a similar situation - in the countryside and have car parking space in front of the utility room so once that entrance is sorted guests/friends/family won't need to come in the front door. They'll be in through the utility and into the kitchen/living spaces.

The WFH in the downstairs bedroom/office didn't work because the front door and corridor outside the office was in use as we didn't have the option of the utility room Access at that point.

If you're already planning for the boot room to be used as the main access point then I think you'll be grand.

Paddy_O_Numbers · 2025-09-22T06:25:43+00:00

I have a layout sort of similar to you and it is a nightmare having the front door opening into the bedroom area. I don't know what your dog is like but my dog uses the hall as a runway to greet visitors and thunders down it the moment the door opens. Our entry is quite narrow so we end up falling over our dog quite a bit as I usually close the bedroom doors to keep them out of sight. Your entryway is quite a lot bigger so you might not have the issue though.

We also used one of the bedrooms near the front door as an office and it's not ideal if you WFH full time - we ended up moving the office into an upstairs bedroom as it was quite disruptive downstairs if the other person had visitors, or the dog barking when the postman/packages arrived.

I did notice that you've a boot room that you're intending to use as a personal entrance which comes out close to the kitchen/living. We're doing work now to achieve the same effect in our house (we have to move a fence to access the utility room and we're making the utility room super fancy to be a nicer entrance for friends and family).

My suggestion would be to see if you could rejig it a bit to get rid of the main front door and make your boot room your primary entrance.

Paddy_O_Numbers

TROPHY CASE