Ireland 2013: Part 2

In my last post, I gave you a glance at Powerscourt. Let me tell you, that "glance" doesn't do those gardens justice! The Powerscourt Gardens are stunning Victorian gardens. You could meander through them all day long. They have a beautiful Italian Garden, a Japanese Garden, and even a pet cemetery for those of you who might want to add a spooky element to your tour. I'll be honest, we took the route AROUND the pet cemetery because I am not a fan!

But, everything is gorgeous. The flowers were in bloom and the grass was bright green, almost electric! This was the perfect way to start off our first day. After being on a plane for seven hours, we definitely needed a little fresh air! Here are a few scenes from our visit.

So excited to see my sister in-law! It had been almost a full year!!!

 

Beautiful view from Powerscourt.

After our morning at Powerscourt, we had a light brunch/lunch at the cafe at Powerscourt and then headed towards Cashel. Props to our two drivers, Adam and his dad. Not only were they having to adjust to driving on the wrong side of the road (and car) but we had a manual...so they had to shift gears with the wrong hand! Both did a great job!

Our drive to Cashel was eventful...in that we all took turns choosing music and new conversation topics to keep ourselves...and Adam (the driver) awake and feeling perky. This was not an easy task considering no one slept on the plane! But, we made it to Cashel in one piece.

When we arrived, we were able to check into our cozy little B&B and then tour the town. The major draw to Cashel is the Rock of Cashel. This is a large rock where the people of Cashel built a very large church and apparently Cashel was a sort of Irish hub town for awhile. We toured the Rock and tromped through a field (dodging cow pies all the way) to walk through the old abbey ruins. The air was nice and cool and very windy on top of the Rock.

A view of the exterior wall of the Rock of Cashel.

A View of the town of Cashel from the Rock.

At the Rock of Cashel...it was FREEEZZZINNGGG....

Abbey ruins in Cashel!

After our tour of Cashel, we, of course, needed a little pick me up! So, we stopped into the Cashel Palace Hotel for a snack and our first Guinness of the trip! After our afternoon "tea", we went back to the hotel to regroup...showers, naps, and then a light dinner and a long sleep!

Cashel Palace Hotel

First Guinness of the trip! Cheers!

Ireland 2013: Part 1

Adam and I decided from Day 1 of our marriage that we wanted to make sure that we did plenty of traveling before we decided to settle down and have little ones. So far, we have kept that promise to each other and this year was no exception.

In our first year of marriage, we were lucky enough to travel to Mexico and Colorado. Each trip was centered around a friend's wedding, but what a great excuse to get out and travel! We also went to Seattle to visit Adam's sister who moved their shortly after our wedding. These were all short and budget friendly trips, but fantastic all the same!

During our second year of marriage, we decided to go to Italy. It had been one of Adam's dreams to go to Rome and to explore the city, the Vatican, and enjoy the excellent food and wine. And I, having been before, was all the more excited to show him one of my favorite countries to visit!

This year we celebrated our THIRD anniversary, and to be honest, I can still hardly believe it's been three years! The time has flown by and we have had a blast! To celebrate and keep our tradition alive, we traveled to Ireland.

Our trip this year was great! Neither of us had ever been to Ireland, and we went with Adam's family. The Sheehans, as you might guess, are originally from Ireland, so for them, it was like travelling home.

We left on a Friday, flying out from Charlotte and straight into Dublin. Our flight cost was reasonable and the flight itself wasn't too long. We arrived on Saturday morning and immediately picked up our car, my sister in-law (who traveled to meet us from Jerusalem!) and headed to Powerscourt Estate and Gardens.

Stay tuned for details of Powerscourt and the rest of our trip!

Dwindling Posts

I started this year out strong on the blog front...but I noticed today that each month of this year, my number of posts as dwindled.

I am making no excuses...I have not even given blogging a second thought over the past month or so.

That said, I need to get back into it because I have a LOT to tell you about! We've made some MAJOR progress on our landscaping, gone on an awesome trip, and we're gearing up for a trip to the beach and some fun wedding celebrations for my best friend!

Stay tuned!

New Blog Idol and A Recipe I've Got to Try!

I've got a mix of blogs that I love following. I stick with blogs that focus on my favorite things: gardening / landscaping, traveling, cooking (and eating, of course), home decor, and shopping.

One of my absolute favorites that I discovered a few months ago, was Cupcakes and Cashmere. Emily Schuman is quickly becoming my blog (and let's be honest, life) idol. She posts on ALL, that's right ALL,  of my favorite things (except maybe, gardening...but then again I've only been following for a few months, so who knows what I've missed!) She's got great style, a super collection of recipes, and is an impressive writer...I'm just dying to get a copy of her book!

Her post today is on something I've been dying to try. Now, you know how much I love food and cooking...but I'm not sure if you've noticed that I don't rarely bake. Since our trip to Italy last summer, Adam and I have become bruschetta nuts. I mean we love it and it is a Spring / Summer staple at our house. We make our own toppings with basil and tomatoes that we grow in our little garden, but I've never NEVER made my own bread.

Adam enjoying some bruschetta! (He's going to just hate love this photo).

Today, Emily posted about a recipe for No-Knead Bread and I am just dying to give it a try! I'm not super strong in the baking department, but this recipe seems to be pretty straightforward. So perhaps we'll make a little No-Knead Bread this weekend...after all, it is bruschetta season!

Picture From Cupcakes and Cashmere.

Have you ever tried to make a no-knead bread? What's your "sooo need to try this" recipe?

Grill Master

The weather is finally warming up...and Spring Fever is kicking in! Tonight, in celebration of this gorgeous weather...and the perfect temperature (fleeting, of course), I decided to break out the grill for dinner.

Adam spent a couple of hours in the yard this evening, so I thought I'd give him a break and fill in tonight as the new "Grill Master". While getting set up, I made a new friend...this cute little frog. He just chilled out with us while we cooked!

Little frog matches my favorite Italian beer!

For dinner, I marinated two chicken breasts in Goya Mojo Marinade. I marinated the chicken for about 24 hours. I have used this marinade before for fajita seasoning, but I loved the flavor of the chicken with the marinade and the smokey grill taste. It was just perfect. I also grilled some zucchini with olive oil, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. It was yummy with a hint of spice. Finally, I grilled romaine. This has to be my new favorite way to do a Caesar salad. Just slice one heart of romaine down the middle, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. You only have to grill it for a few minutes. As soon as you remove the lettuce from the grill, sprinkle it with Parmesan cheese and it is ready to serve! We also drizzle our hearts of romaine with a little Caesar salad dressing.

A perfect meal to kick off grilling season!

What is your favorite spring "Grill Meal"?