More traveling

Today started out rough. Still not sleeping well and when i did finally wake up I could not breathe for anything. We went down for breakfast but I couldn't eat much because i just was so upset from being so sick. We asked at the front desk, and she told us of one pharmacy that was open on Sundays. We went there and the pharmacist gave me some liquid meds,and then picked up some menthol cherry GUM.. It is so weird but works. I then really needed to use a restroom and neither the pharmacy or the supermarket had one, so someone told me to go to the local church, it was just getting out so success!!!. We then proceeded to drive to Rock of Cashel. Unfortunately a lot of it is closed for renovations, but the views were stunning. We enjoyed the views then continued on to Cork. We checked into our hotel, The Ambassador and it is gorgeous.we have a city view room with fruit and bathrobes. We walked downhill all the way into Cork which is about a mle. We did some light souvenier shopping, stopped into a little joint and had some hazelnut white chocolate and some carrot cake. We continued walking, saw some sites including the Beamish Brewery. We stopped for dinner and i had an amazing cottage pie which was essentially shepherds pie. Dave had chicken fingers. It was a nice local joint and some good music. We walked back to the hotel which is all uphill hahah.. We got some drinks at the hotel dave got a Murphys and i got a hot whiskey. We came back up to the room, i took a hot shower to try and clear my chest, then climbed into bed to enjoy my hot toddy... Going to go try and get some sleep....

Underground today

Well today we left the hotel and went into Waterford Mall to look for food and an ATM.. We found Dunnes grocery store and got some stuff from the bakery. We then headed to Kilkenney to the Dunmore Caves..it was a beautiful site and even though I was out of my comfort zome it was well worth it. It contained 3 different sections that you had to get to and consisted of 700 stairs round trip. Back in the general area there was a guide who was a local and extremely entertaining. He gave us hand drawn maps, told us NOT to stay in Limerick so we have changed our destinations slightly.. He went on hilarious rants especially about Prody churches and how they are BS.. After leaving there, we continued to St. Canice's Cathedral. It unfortunately was broken into last night and it made my heart break. They had a circular spiral staircase you could climb which Dave did but i wimped out. It was extremely narrow and you had to climb miltiple ladders to get to. I am not sure if it was nerves or the cold but I kept getting dizzied and dizzier the higher i climbed. From there we went to Kilkenney Castle. Absolutely stunning.. To make it even more magical, while we were inside, it started snowing outside. By the time we were finished, it was sunny out again. The weather here reminds me of back home.. If you don't like the weather just wait 5 minutes and it will change. the hotel was literally right around the corner, it is ok nothing amazing. We went to a local pub for dinner. I had chicken pot pie esentially and Dave had fish and chips, plus we had the most amazing garlic bread. We stopped at another pub on the way back for another drink... A guy who was talking to another girl and asked Dave if he was married because she liked him.. It was hilarious... Back at the hotel we changed our plans for limerick ... Still have this nasty chest cold... Tomorrow is Cork!!!!

The travel continues out of Dublin

Today started early again. We awoke, had breafast at the hotel again but today i had eggs and porridge along with tea. We went back to the room, packed our bags, caught a cab to where we were renting the car in midtown. We had no troubles with obtaining the car but when we went outside to get in, i started towards the now passenger side and Dave gave me a quizical look and i just looked at him and said other side dear, other side.. He did replied with non PG language, i laughed so hard...we got out of Dublin and ventured to Powerscourt Estate then to the waterfall which was 3km away. The estate was grand, exactly felt like I was in Pride or Prejudice... There were Japanese gardens and a tower we were able to climb. The waterfall was stunning.. It came down off the mountain and the sound itself was impressive. Next we drove to Hooks Head Lighthouse. It was beyond freezing and the wind nearly blew me away a few times. We wandered along the coast and got some amazing photos. We decided to head towards our hotel which is located right out of Waterford with every turn i would laugh at Dave because he would turn on the wipers oppossed to the turn signal. We were making good time, when we were coming down the hill and the GPS says stay left and bear onto the ferry!!! The what??? FERRYYY..hahah we swore at the GPS numerous times, turned around and found a way around it. We arrived into ferrybank but there was no address for the hotel, we asked numerous people for directions and finally arrived. I was famished so we stayed and had dinner here at the hotel because by the time we crossed the river into Waterford, found parking and a restuarant, i would have died. Dinner for me consisted of Broccoli soup, butternut squaush rosotto and for dessert a lemon steamed pudding with earl grey custard and ginger syrup. Dave had wild irish game tireen then pork belly with colcannon and for dessert a chocolate pot with sea salt caramel. Now relaxing with an irish coffee...til tomorrow...

Day two of the Irish

Well another amazing day is coming to a close. We awoke at 9:30am just in time for our breakfast. I had my first Irish Breakfast.. It was ok, nothing extradionary imo. The white sausage was ok, but the black was not even remotely yummy to me YUCKY to be more accurate lol. I am not a huge sausage fan to begin with, so it is hard to judge. There were scrammbled eggs, what reminded me of pork and beans, irish bacon, so pretty much ham and the black and white pudding. we then ventured back to St. Patricks to go inside, it is simply amazing. From there, it was time to go for some BEER..yes, we went to the Guinness Brewery.had a great time touring the facility and then went to the 7th floor to enjoy a nice cold pint. We enjoyed the views of Dublin City and chatted with other visitors.. Couples from Florida, Ohio and then England.Next on our travels we walked ( the long way hahah) to Kilmainhim Gaol. A jail to be precise.It was sort of a miserable walk if I may say so. It was spitting/ raining, cold, wet and long...I decided we had gone far enough and really should be there, so i noticed the local library and we popped our head in and they brought us outside and said, see up on that hill, that is it!!! We were so close, was so happy we stopped to ask. You can only see the jail by guided tour so we caught the last tour of the day. Another truely impressive place. Don't fret, there were a ton of pictures taken!!! We left there and walked back to the hotel.. All in all we walked probably close to 10 miles today. Back at the hotel, we quickly showered and headed down for dinner. I had the lamb stew and it was perfect! Dave had the salmon. there was local band and then Irish Dance. We relaxed and drank. I had my first irish coffee which helped soothe my throat. Not sure if it is allergies or a start of a cold but my throat is tight and losing my voice some. It is now the time for some much deserved beauty rest!! Day 2 did not disappoint..

Well Hello Ireland

Let me fist say that today has been a very long day but completely worth it. We caught our flight at 6pm from Logan on 2/14.. For the most part the flight was not too horrible. There was some turbulance but I did manage through it. the plane made great time and we arrived in Dublin at 4:45am. We went through Customs, caught the local bus and arrived at the Arlington Hotel at 7am. Due to Valentines Day the hotel was completely full the night before so they told us to come back at 9am to see if a room was ready. We dropped our large luggage off and headed out walking. We walked to Christchurch Cathedral then decided to head to St. Patricks Cathedral. We arrived in time to see the sunrise from a nice wooden bench in the green surrounding St. Patricks. After some nice relaxation, we stopped at a little cafe and had breakfast of toasted scones and tea in front of a fireplace. The culture is so different here watching people coming in for their daily lunches to bring to work, or picking up breakfast and coming back at lunch break to pay. We ventured back to the hotel and after initially saying no rooms were available, they saw how tired we were and a room was finished. We slept from 9-1:45. We showered and headed back out. We headed to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells and the Long Room...absolutely amazing..we continued to the Custom House for some stunning photos.. Stopped at a local camera store to pick up a shoulder strap for my camera and had a fun conversation with the local gent that had worked there for over 30 years. We kept walking admiring the views. O'connell st and the Spire were viewed. We stopped for a delicious dinner. our first Guinness was consumed and i had amazing Guinness beef stew and Dave had Irish Bacon and Cabbage. We came back to the hotel and headed down to the bar.. local music and spirits to end the evening. The day has felt like an eternity but day one has come to an end. Ireland, i am falling in love with you after only one day... Goodnight all...

Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

There is nothing like refreshing mint in the summer heat, so it inspired me to make these cupcakes.
Growing up, mint chocolate was my father and I's favorite. Again, I think it was because of the cooling factor providing a slight relief to the scorching  Florida heat.I started this recipe off with a chocolate based cupcake with a tsp of peppermint extract because I could not find pure mint extract anywhere along with some semi sweet chocolate morsels.. I then made my basic buttercream frosting also adding in a tsp of peppermint extract and 1 drop of green food coloring.I then topped them with some chocolate chip morsels.. The end result.. Pure minty amazingness...I hope you enjoy them!
Cupcake Recipe:
1.5 cups of Self Rising Flour
4 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup superfine sugar
1 cup ( 2 sticks ) sweet butter, softened
4 eggs
1 tsp peppermint extract
.5 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Frosting:
1/3 cup ( 2/3 stick ) sweet butter softened
2 cups confectioner's sugar sifted
1 tsp mint extract
1 drop green food coloring
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 tbsp of milk

Preheat oven to 325F. Place 18 paper baking cups into muffin pans. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, and baking powder. Set aside. Beat the sugar & butter together in a large bowl until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour mixture gradually, stirring until well combined. Stir in the mint extract & chocolate chips. Spoon 1/4 cup of mixture into the cups. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven & cool for 5 minutes. Then remove the cupcakes and cool on a rack. To make frosting, beat the butter and confectioners sugar in a small bowl until smooth and creamy. Stir in the mint extract, food coloring and milk. Frost the cupcakes and decorate with chocolate chips.

New Year's Resolution

So for my New Years resolution I want to go back to what I love doing.. Cooking and especially BAKING! I adore baking. My mom had me in the kitchen at age 2 beating eggs, making cookies, frosting ect! Yesterday it started snowing a bit and it made me feel like baking so I decided to make some peanut brittle. My grandmother and mom always used to make it. It really reminds me of my parents since my mom used to make it for my dad on special occasions especially their anniversary
For my first time I was pretty proud of how it came out. It is so extremely easy to make, it will now be a tradition for me!
















I adored the color and the glossyness of the peanut brittle the way it came out. Some people say that spreading the brittle/sugar mix is difficult but I had absolutely no problem.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup peanuts
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions

1. Grease a large cookie sheet. Set aside.
2. In a heavy 2 quart saucepan, over medium heat, bring to a boil sugar, corn syrup, salt, and water. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Stir in peanuts. Set candy thermometer in place, and continue cooking. Stir frequently until temperature reaches 300 degrees F (150 degrees C), or until a small amount of mixture dropped into very cold water separates into hard and brittle threads.
3. Remove from heat; immediately stir in butter and baking soda; pour at once onto cookie sheet. With 2 forks, lift and pull peanut mixture into rectangle about 14x12 inches; cool. Snap candy into pieces.