Being mean can require quite a considerable investment in time and ingenuity – but it does pay off! Having been invited to spend a few days with friends in their Co Clare holiday home at Lahinch, I began to figure out what it would cost me. Firstly, I reckoned getting there would set me back €60 to €70 in petrol, not to mention the wear and

A pal and I had lunch at Dublin’s Clarence Hotel, in the Tea Rooms restaurant – for a tenner each. I’m not joking! I passed the hotel and saw that it now has a lunch for €9.95 so my friend and I decided on a nice sunny day we’d pop out of the office for an hour and treat ourselves to a bit of luxury: champagne

Today, returning from a trip to America’s Empire State, I was welcomed back by Ireland’s rainy embrace. While I was on the other side of the pond, I stumbled across some incredible stores finding loads of bargains along the way. I was particularly impressed with Beacon’s Closet nestled in Brooklyn’s trendy Williamsburg. The store stocks an extensive collection of vintage clothing and accessories, from bags to shirts and

It’s a beauty battle Spartacus would be hard pressed to win – cellulite. Massaging, creams, diets and more have been tried and tested. Well, the latest invention is Hypoxi treatment, ridding your body of cellulite through gentle exercise and low atmospheric pressure. What that means is your circulation with be increased in the problem areas, aka the hips, thighs and buttocks. This encourages the breakdown

I decided to follow the lead of our Prudence E-tailer Colette this week and have a snoop around eBay. Thankfully I seem to forget how much I like this website and rarely log on to it - which is just as well because it is, quite frankly, addictive. I have a secret passion for all things ‘owl’ and while I know I’m not alone in my love

On a brief trip to Tipp last week doing research for a friend’s impending nuptials in July, we stopped off for coffee and refreshments at a café off the Dublin Road in Portlaoise where we snacked on tasty sandwiches, soups and good coffee. The place was spotless and the service attentive – obviously the owners have invested in good training as

[caption id="attachment_2142" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Pic posed by model sandwich"][/caption] Pru and the crew had to run out this week for a quick and tasty lunch it being press week and all. So we ran literally around the corner to a relatively new café called Just Off Francis – being that it’s just off Francis Street where Prudence HQ is located. The crew being only two, we

If you're not a mum, the baby section may be the last place in Boots you'd wander - but unbeknown to us, there are prudent purchases to be had for those smart bargain babes! In between the prams and pampers you'll find what seems like another baby offer - five of Boots own-brand baby products for €6! However the cotton wool which is part of this

I was shopping in my local Tesco at the weekend and they had the new range of Ken Hom Chinese-style food on special offer. So I got two mains, two portions of fried rice and four spring rolls – for only €7 which is really good value. Not that I am purporting that you eat fast food all the time (which this kinda is really,

Okay by now we must all know - unless you’ve purposely locked yourself away - that Valentine’s is rapidly approaching us. Unfortunately in the recessionary times in which we live, when we think of this romantic occasion we may also be thinking about how we may have to eat baked beans for the rest of the week if we dare go out! However, there’s no