Ireland - Day 5

Hey there!  Welcome to Thinking Out Loud Thursday.  I'm continuing to recap our trip to Ireland and today I'm up to Day 5.  If you've missed the first few days, you can catch up by clicking below.

                                                  Day 1  &  2     |     Day 3     |     Day 4

Day 5 was definitely a fun-filled adventure.  We loaded the tour bus bright and early and headed across the country from Dublin to Galway.  Eric and I were lucky enough to snag the front row seats on the bus, which made the road trip quite exciting.

Our first stop of the day was the city of Galway, which sits right on Galway Bay.  The architecture once again was a favorite of ours.

From there we drove the very narrow, curvy path to the Cliffs of Moher.  Good thing I took my Bonine to curb my motion sickness because these roads were unbelievable.  No way could I drive a bus on this tour!

We stopped on the way up the mountain at an overlook spot to take in the gorgeous views.  And to enjoy the music coming from two adorable musicians!

On we went to the Cliffs of Moher. This area is absolutely breathtaking.  We just sat for a while and took it all in.  The day we were there it was a bit on the chilly side and very windy.  That didn't stop us from hiking around and seeing the cliffs from a couple different vantage spots.

On our way back to Dublin, the bus passed so many interesting sites.  I grabbed a few pictures out the bus window.

One very cute thing we spotted was this sign in the back window of a car.  In Ireland, they drive on the opposite side of the road and this driver wanted to warn people that it was their first experience at doing that!

We traveled through the beautiful fishing village of Kinvara and saw the building with the largest thatched roof in Ireland.  If we ever go back and spend a few days in this region, I would love to stay here.

We stopped at McGanns Pub for dinner.  I don't know if we were just famished from all the hiking or if the food was just that good, but it was one of the best meals we had on the entire trip.  Traditional Irish stew at its' best!

The coastline views on this tour were so unbelievable.  Our tour guide pulled over and let us explore for a bit before the drive back to Dublin.

Eric and I separately always make a list of five things we want to make sure to do on vacation.  Cliffs of Moher was on both our lists and it did not disappoint.  My next update will cover another item on my list - high tea at the Westbury!  Pop back in to read all about that adventure!

Now it's your turn - what are you thinking out loud about today?  Link up and share your thoughts!

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Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop - September 18, 2019

Welcome!

Has everyone slowed down a bit from school starting and with all the new activities your kids and grandkids are part of? I have to admit - My baby is all grown up and I get a little sad to be missing out on all the first day of school activities and fall sports.

As I look at the calendar I see that September 23rd is the first day of fall!! Yippee!! Does everyone else love fall as much as I do?

With cooler temps, apple cider and pumpkins on the front porch in our minds lets get this party started.

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Five on Friday - September 13, 2019

Bring on the weekend!  I've been out of town on business this week and am looking forward to walking in my house this afternoon.  This weekend is going to be full of binge watching, reading and relaxing.  I can't wait!  Before all that, here's my five for this week ~

1.  Harvest Moon
Don't forget to take a look up in the sky Saturday night to get a glimpse of the Harvest Moon.  What makes Saturday night's full moon the Harvest Moon you ask.  The first full moon that takes place closest to the Autumn equinox captures the title.  The light from the full moon helps farmers so they could carry on working longer while harvesting their crops.  It might just be the perfect night to light those fire pits, sit outside and enjoy the view!



2.  Hustlers
Jennifer Lopez and crew are hitting the scene today with their new movie Hustlers.  It looks like a movie Eric and I would both enjoy so it's going on our want to watch list.  Here's the synopsis shown on the Marcus Theaters website ~

Inspired by the viral New York Magazine article, Hustlers follows a crew of savvy former strip club employees who band together to turn the tables on their Wall Street clients.

3.  Downton Abbey Cookbooks
With the release of the new Downton Abbey movie right around the corner, you might want to get your hands on the official cookbooks that are being released next Tuesday.  By pre-ordering them, you'll be able to plan your official cocktails and dinner for September 20 before going to the movie premiere.  I'm sure there are lots of fabulous things you'll want to create in your own kitchen tucked inside these books!  Definitely going on my wish list!

Click HERE to purchase

Click HERE to purchase

4.  Trader Joe's Cinnamon Bun Spread
Have you guys seen Trader Joe's Cinnamon Bun Spread on their shelves lately?  Imagine all the things that would taste better with this magic spread on them!  Apples, pancakes.  Heck, this would make your plain toast taste gourmet!  Definitely throwing this in my basket the next time I'm at Trader Joe's.  What would you put it on?

5.  Fall attire.....

Have a good one!  Like I mentioned earlier, I'm not planning anything for the weekend other than getting caught up on with my DVR and Kindle.  If the urge hits, I have a couple new recipes I want to try.  See you back here next week!

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High Five for Friday

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Ireland - Day 4

Today for Thinking Out Loud Thursday I'm reflecting on our Day 4 in Ireland.  It's hard to believe that the trip was a month ago and putting this post together was a wonderful way to reflect back on our adventures in Ireland.  If you missed the beginning of the trip, you can catch up here ~

Day 1  &  2     |     Day 3

After a busy Day 3, we slept in a bit on Day 4.  Our tour didn't leave out of Dublin until 9:00 am, so we didn't have to be up quite at the crack of dawn.  On tap for the day was a trip to Glencree, Guinness Lake, Wicklow Mountain National Park, and Glenalough.  The description of these areas in the Rick Steves Ireland 2019 book had me pretty jazzed about these locations because I'm a such a sucker for waterfalls and there were going to be a couple hidden in the mountains.

Our first stop was the quaint little area of Glencree.  Waterfall number one - check!

We visited the German cemetery then popped in the  Glencree Centre for a bite to eat.  

This area was so lush and green.  And truly beautiful!  I could have found a place to sit and just soaked it in for hours.

We loaded the bus and began our journey through the Wicklow Mountain area.  Thank goodness the clouds from the morning parted and we had a clear, sunny sky which allowed the view to be spectacular.

Did you watch the 2007 movie P. S. I Love You?  Well, on the drive we crossed the actual bridge Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler stood on!  Our cool tour guide stopped the bus so we could appreciate the spot.

I was pretty excited to stand in the exact spot where they filmed the movie, but the view from below was the real treat.

The whole Wicklow Mountain countryside is covered in purple heather.  Not a single one of my pictures did it justice.

Little did Eric know one of his favorite spots from the trip was coming up next - Guinness Lake.  It was beautiful!

From there, we parked the bus and had a couple hours to roam around Glenalough.  We immediately started hiking to see the big waterfall I had spotted in our tour book.  Along the way, there was more than one place we just had to stop to snap a few pictures.

We heard the waterfall long before we saw it, and the sound kept us climbing.  We just might have gotten Christmas card picture for this year.

Doing all that hiking left us pretty famished so we decided this would be the perfect night to splurge on a meal at a great restaurant.  Our tour guide recommended The Pig's Ear and we called for reservations.  The meal was devine!  Eric had the beef cheek and I decided on the Sheppard's pie.

What an overall great day!  We returned to the hotel with full bellies and happy hearts.  The next day was going to be an early one because we would be headed to Galway and the Moher Cliffs.  Keep checking back to hear about Day 5.

That's what I'm thinking out loud about today.  What's on your mind?  Feel free to link up and share!

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Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop - September 10, 2019

Welcome to the Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop. So, how are things going?  Blog partying season has truly started and you will see as the attendance at our parties will increase. More traffic coming to our party means more opportunities for your work to be seen. Please encourage others to stop by, Tweet, email invites and share, share, share!!! So, before we start this week's event, let's take a look at our features from last week's party .... 

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Let's Make Apple Dip

You might have noticed that the days are becoming a little shorter and the air is feeling just a wee bit more crisp.  Fall is coming and nothing says fall is on the way like apple picking.  Our favorite orchard, Eckert's, has apples galore in several varieties and we took advantage of a beautiful Saturday to pick a few.

A few turned into a lot and by the time we were in the car on the way home I was trying to figure out just what I was going to do with the 13 pounds of fresh picked apples we had in our backseat.  It didn't take me long to turn through the apple recipes in my collection before I stopped to make an apple dip recipe I had gotten from my friend Janet way back in 2003! 

Here's What You Need
For Apples:

6 apples (Granny Smith or whatever is your favorite)

1 large can of pineapple juice

For Dip:

8 ounce container of whipped cream cheese

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

8 ounces milk chocolate toffee bits

Here's What You Do

There's two parts to this recipe.  Let's start with the apple part.  Wash and slice your apples.  I love using my Pampered Chef Apple Slicer.  If you don't have one of these little gadgets, invest in one!  We love ours.

Pour the whole can of pineapple juice in a large container.  I always use my Rubbermaid Cake Carrier, turned upside down.  Who says the container has to just be used for carrying a cake!

Put the lid on and pop in the fridge.  You can let the apples sit overnight or as short as 15 minutes.

Next, let's whip up the dip.  Place all the dip ingredients in a bowl EXCEPT the toffee bits.  Combine with a mixer and then stir in almost the entire bag of toffee bits.  Save just a bit to sprinkle on top so it looks pretty.

To serve, take the apples out of the juice and spread on a platter.  The juice will keep the apples from turning brown while it's sitting out.

WARNING:  This dip is quite addictive!  You will want to make it over and over.  I recently took this to work to share.  It's great for things like that because you can make it the night before and it's ready to go the next day.  An added bonus is it's so quick to make, you can have it done in a jiffy.

Enjoy!

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