Wish List: Fired up with grills, and cool art, plants and skincare

Cast your eye over our top home and interiors picks to brighten up your life and your living space this weekend

Irish company DropChef’s new five-course BBQ Boxes even offer a vegetarian option or they’ll also create bespoke menus. 

It’s summer, and that means BBQ! Do yourself a favour and try Irish company DropChef’s new five-course BBQ Boxes. The quality is outstanding and we love that they use Irish produce and locally sourced gorgeousness like Irish beef burgers from FX Buckley with brioche buns, Clonmel halloumi burgers, and a selection of Ballymaloe sauces. 

Ryan Scott, the co-founder of DropChef, tells us, “We deliver everything that is needed to host a five-course BBQ.’’ 

And he’s not kidding — the four-person and six-person BBQ boxes are nutritious and high in protein and fibre, think fresh vegetables, and sides like caramelised onion and crisp baby gem leaves, honey and lime-glazed chicken skewers, flavoursome feta, flat-leaf parsley topped bulgur tabbouleh with cucumber...and loads more. The Ultimate BBQ Box is available for four people at €47.70 and for six people at €71.55, there's a vegetarian option or they’ll even create bespoke menus. 

Check it out at  www.dropchef.com.

Isn’t this divine? It’s Sun-dappled Sunday by Irish artist Roisin O’Farrell. Róisín’s work embraces beauty in imperfection. 

She explains that the idea that beauty exists despite, and possibly even because of, its imperfection. She consciously honours the imperfect in her work, saving it from correction and allowing the work to express it’s own beauty. 

She says: “ I’m affected by bold jewel colours and treat myself to them as I work, like sweeties from a box.”

Initially discovered by The Killarney Art Gallery in early 2009, Roisin O’Farrell has gone on to exhibit widely in established galleries and international fairs throughout Ireland, UK and Europe. This painting is 32”x35” , and €3,300, find out more at www.killarneyartgallery.com.

Gamechangers are always welcome in the kitchen! The George Foreman Smokeless Grill is a sleek stainless steel machine that looks gorgeous and is designed with smokeless technology to grill with 87% less smoke. 

It really does work — the hot juices from the meat are funnelled through holes in the grill plate and immediately cooled down, so there’s nothing on the grill to burn. With an advanced non-stick coating so it’s easy to wipe down. 

Even better, the removable plates and drip tray are dishwasher safe. It’s €129.99 and the whole George Foreman range is available from independent electrical retailers nationwide.

Exciting news at Adare Manor in Co Limerick, as they launch a partnership with luxury skincare brand 111Skin to create the only 111Spa/Clinic in Ireland. The spa will offer a new signature treatment, The Rose Gold Renaissance uses both Rose Quartz Crystals and gold sheets for a luxurious and relaxing facial. The brand’s holistic oils and healing scents line, 111Aromatics, will be used throughout the treatments and available for purchase at the spa. For more information visit www.adaremanor.com.

We’re delighted to hear about a new indoor plant shop at the Waterfront Business Park, Co Cork, created by 20-year-old student Vivienne Sayers. Prickly Plants began in her little greenhouse on her family's farm in Carrignavar, Co Cork. 

“We've been trading online for the past 10 months and we have just opened our first retail store in Waterfront Business Park, Little Island,” Vivienne tells us. 

They are open every weekend 10 am-5pm and they are encouraging our customers to donate to the Irish Cancer Society in store. 

Call in and check out the homemade 100% Irish pots which they craft and colour using Irish eco-cement and rainwater. See more at https://www.instagram.com/prickly_plants_/?hl=en 

www.dfs.ie

We were thrilled to discover Indian-born Shabnam Vasisht, who emailed us to share her pieces. She is a visual artist who uses waste/recycled materials in her art. She tells us she sees colour as her cultural inheritance and expresses emotion through it. “I often use the medium of her trade as dress-designer to create two-dimensional images and soft sculptures. 

This manipulation of waste textiles sometimes extends to other throwaway products, combining diverse textures and colours by layering, intertwining or juxta positioning into a composite mixed-media whole.” Pictured here is Remembrance, €495, and you can find out more at www.artnetdlr.ie/shabnam-vasisht and Shabnam can be contacted at [e-mail]. 

If you’re looking to freshen up your bathroom, there’s a gorgeous new range from the luxury Meraki brand, available from The Irish Country Home. A Scandinavian range of certified organic, hygiene and skincare products, made from gentle and nourishing ingredients. 

This Harvest Moon gift box contains a mild and effective hand soap and hand lotion that are certified organic with cactus flower extract, aloe vera and olive leaf. The duo gift box is €28, see www.theirishcountryhome.com.

I’m gone mad into the podcasts this summer. One I’m really looking forward to is the Skin Conscious podcast in association with RELIFE. There are eight episodes hosted by Laura Dowling, RELIFE Ireland’s Pharmacist Advisor, you might know her from her social channels @fabulouspharmacist. 

As someone who’s struggling with getting the balance right with my skin, this will be particularly interesting. It promises to be a diverse range of interviewees sharing their experiences of living with skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis. 

There will be skin health advice from the experts on an array of skin conditions such as acne and pigmentation, along with tips on caring for baby’s skin, and make-up application insights for those with very dry skin.The Skin Conscious Podcast will be hosted on Spotify, iTunes and on the website www.skinconscious.ie