Perfect

It's only 28 hours until my second date with Dubliner 1 of 3, and I'm so organised there's not much left to get ready!!

I tried most beautiful dress in the world (II) on again when I got home, to see if it really does go with both pairs of shoes... and yes, it does!! Even Voice of Reason said I looked cool (from a 13 year old mono syllabic boy that's quite a compliment!)

All my other outfits are hanging up ready to be put straight into the car in the morning. I love going away by car, because you can take oodles more stuff than you need to. A quick count of footwear... 4 pairs of shoes and three pairs of boots.

Hey, I'm away for 48 hours :)

Only one thing left to do this evening... my nails! I did my toes last night (to match most beautiful dress in the world (II) of course), but I want to leave my hands until the last minute in case I chip them!

There's only one *slight* problem with this plan. Today is the third Thursday of November... anyone know what that means??

Its Beaujolais Nouveau day!!!!!

I've got to make a mad dash to Oddbins at lunchtime to pick up a *couple* of bottles. So I need to make sure my manicure is complete before I start delving into what is apparently a fab year for BN... so much for the detox :)

I'm such a wine addict... even my nail varnish is called Shiraz!

and breathe!

Thank you, thank you Debenhams :)

Seriously... I can shop! By 8:40am the morning I'm officially the proud owner of the most beautiful dress in the world (II).

I was outside Debenhams at 8:00am, knowing the exact route I was going to take around the ground floor. By 8:10am I've got my choice of 6 dresses in my arms. By 8:30am I've tried them all on, and I've chosen the dress of my dreams.

8:40am it's mine!! I still had enough time to grab some breakfast before I got to the office :)

And... now here's the bonus of bonuses. I actually already have TWO pairs of shoes that will go with the most beautiful dress in the world (II) - strappy heels AND gorgeous little flats.

I've surpassed myself, I really have!

The 'Black Tie Do crisis' increases

So yesterday I let you know about a little crisis, where I can't find the right shoes to go with the most beautiful dress in the world.

Well, said dress is now screwed up in a ball, stuffed at the back of the wardrobe. I picked it up from the cleaners yesterday, and there's still loads of marks over it from a exploded can of hair mousse :(

ARGHHHHH!!!!

I've now got TWO DAYS to find the next most beautiful dress in the world (and shoes... and probably a bag, necklace, underwear... you know how it goes!!) TWO DAYS!!!!

Luckily, Debenhams have a two day spectacular starting in a couple of hours, which is why I'm up ridiculously early. My plan... check their website out (kind of like a pre emptive strike), be outside at 8:00am ready to run around in a sort of ballgown trolley dash, shortlist a few, then go back lunchtime with a lady friend. At this stage I don't know who... I'll ask around the office.

And hell, if none of them are free ANYONE will do... developers have a good sense of style, don't they!?!? JP... Sysadmin Honey... I may be calling on you for help!

Dubliner 1 of 3 (with wine cellar) called last night. Apparently he's a bit nervous about the weekend.

Why on earth is he nervous... he already knows his family!?!

Operation 'meet the family'

Again, apologies for not keeping this up to date, but yes, you did read the title correctly. I'm going to meet the family... the family of Dubliner 1 of 3 (with wine cellar) that is!

I know, we've only had one date, but he wants to introduce me to what seems like most of his family... and you know what - this time I'm OK to :)

So, here's the plan. Friday we meet up in the morning and have the day together. Friday evening we attend a black tie do (his brother in law's birthday). I've got a 'black tie do' crisis going on, which I'll get to later!

Saturday we play golf, and have a fab dinner, then Sunday it's a family lunch!!!

Bloody hell... this is all a bit scary. It's Tuesday now, and we're meeting on Friday morning. So I've got two days to get ready!

The 'black tie do' crisis - I NEED NEW SHOES!!!!

There's an ditzy little problem with Fridays do - it's on a boat (ship/boat... I never know the difference) and there's a little bit of small print - no stilletos. NO STILETTOS - are they mad! I have the most beautiful dress in the world, and the most beautiful shoes to go with it, but they're strappy heels, and they're the only shoes that will do. I keep thinking that flat pumps will be fine, but there's something stopping me buying them (almost unheard of, I know). They just won't work!

What am I going to do??? All suggestions gratefully receive (and before anyone says get a new dress, that thought has crossed my mind, but I know I'll end up buying an equally beautiful one that only goes with strappy heels!)

Other news:

Yoga Guy (who's just about still on the scene, as long has he keeps his commitment longings to himself) has got himself into a rather sweet little habit of buying me gorgeous chocolate every time we meet - it's not the way to my heart, but bless him for trying!

Ooh, and I got an out of the blue call from Dubliner 2 of 3... remember, the nice one who came to visit a couple of months back. Now, I'm back in Dublin in a couple of weeks, so maybe I can do a double date again!

Dublin... the story

So so sorry... I know I haven't updated this, and I'm getting nagged! So here it is... the trip to Dublin!

Monday:
After an emergency golf lesson with Gorgeous H (who offered to caddy for me in Dublin) I set off for the airport (well actually, I was dropped off by Yoga Guy, who *almost* made me late - not funny!).

A completely uneventful quick flight. I only just had time to have a glass of wine before we landed!

Dubliner 3 of 3 was there to pick me up, and I quickly dumped my bags off and we headed out for a drink! He's actually quite a funny guy and we ended up drinking far too much. I rolled back to the hotel at 3:00am, forgeting this was the moment I'd been waiting for for around 4 months.

Tuesday:
Woke (bleary eyed) in time for breakfast, and to quickly jump in my own personal sauna (oh yes... my room had it's own sauna AND jacuzzi!). Probably not a brilliant idea afterafter way too much Guinness, but hey - I was on holiday :)

After way too long trying my best to look fresh and radiant, it was time to finally meet Dubliner 1 of 3 (with wine cellar).

First impressions... well he looked just like the photos I had of him (a good start). He was a real gent, and offered to carry my clubs to the car (and as I'd declined Gorgeous H's offer of caddying I thought 'why not'!). We had a half hour drive to the course of courses, during which time he started to tell me his life story (more about that in a bit... but it was scarily similar to mine)

We get to the club (remember, this is the course of courses... probably the most exclusive in Ireland!). He pulls out his clubs from the car, and seriously, they're the skankiest I've ever seen in my short golf life. I'm thinking there's no way this guy is a member of this club - he's been exagerating just a little!

Wrong! When we get to the club it's quite clear he's a familiar face there! The people there all seem to know him - I stand corrected!

So, quick change into my first set of golf attire. Big thanks to God of Sun... even though it was the end of October (and it's Ireland) for some reason God of Sun has decided he's going to let me wear my 'Oh So Cute' golf skirt :)

So... without boring you with golf details, he was a gent on the course, and followed all the normal rules of etiquette. And it was a fab game. I seriously played pretty well (thank you Gorgeous H - the emergency lesson was worth it's weight in gold!). Time for lunch... I'm now on outfit number 3, and it's only 1 o'clock!!

We had an amazing lunch at the club, and he made me feel really special!! Then on to out next round of golf. Outfit number 4 (no 'Oh So Cute' skirt this time, but still just as cool). He actually commented on how well I dressed for golf!!!!!

Another good round... this time with challenges of money per hole. To be fair he is a bloody good golfer, and I lost a few euros!

Time for outfit number 5 (I'm not kidding, I took more luggage with me for two days than I would normally take for a two week break!). We're booked for dinner in a sweet place back in the city.

On the way we stopped in Phoenix Park (for those of you that don't know Dublin that's a huge park in the centre that you can drive through, and get lost in!). Now... if you don't like slushy romantic stuff you may want to look away for a couple of minutes. He stops the car in the park so we can watch the deers (oh yes... they have deers there!).

So, we're watching the deers getting amorous, when out of the boot of his car he pulls out a chilled bottle of champagne and two glasses. Seriously!! I'm standing alongside a guy with his own wine cellar, who plays good golf, and keeps champagne in the boot of his car. Have I died and gone to heaven???

On to dinner... again, a beautiful place, where the food was great, and the wine to die for (should I have expected anything less!)

After dinner we had ANOTHER bottle of champagne, and chatted well into the ealry hours!

Wednesday:
Outfit number?!?!? (I've lost count). Another golf match, and another attempt at transforming myself from hungover floozy into serious contender. God of Sun had decided to have a day off, and in typical Irish style it was raining... sideways?!?

The course for the day was a links course (by the sea, so fully exposed to the elements!). But it was still a fab game, in another amazing course. After a shower (to warm up!) we had lunch at the club, then spent the afternoon still around chatting for hours.

We've now planned dates (in a non commited kind of way) up to 2010... really!!!

Ooh... and we talked a lot about our strangely similar stories. Without going into too much detail we seem to have had the same experiences with our last relationships (and I hadn't told him anything about mine before I met him). It doesn't make us soulmates, but if you know my story you'll understand it was a rare thing to hear someone else has been through the same.

Serious moment here for a bit. It was amazing to hear his story, espescially coming from a guy. Strip away all the niceties like champagne and fab golf, and there's someone brave enough to open up and talk about things that even now I find hard to talk about. That's the one thing that made the couple of days so much nicer... we've got a common background, which I hope makes him understand why I can get a bit freaked out about intensity.

End of serious moment!

He dropped me back to the airport, and we made our plans for the next date... November in Southampton (I know, sounds strange, but I'll get back to you on that!)

After a 4 hour delay I'm back down to earth (and thank you Bruv for picking me up) back to earth... and what's the verdict?

I do like this guy. We seem to be on a level, and it was fab to finally meet him. Since then he's called a few times, and we've got a few dates planned.

I *promise* to keep you up to date :)