That Time of Year

32 years ago today, I discovered my love for cake.

The Tale of the Thirteen Piece Fry

An Ulster Fry is the stuff of breakfast legend. As you would in England, Scotland or Ireland, you get eggs alongside ham, sausages, and mushrooms with an Ulster Fry. But the Ulster Fry goes a step further by adding fried soda bread and potato farls, oftentimes both black and white puddings, and sometimes a grilled tomato. It's kind of a must for any visit to this corner of the world. The idea of a 13 piece fry, proposed by Anna and Luke's grandfather, sounded heavenly. We decided we would tackle the fry on Monday morning, before I had to depart for Dublin.

And so begins the tale of the 13 piece fry.


We set out for Newcastle (Northern Ireland not England, mind you) and drove through countryside sort of like this. The build up for the fry was massive. This breakfast was becoming the event.


Newcastle is by the sea, though you can't tell from this photo. Do these people know how lucky they are to live in a town with a 13 piece fry?


We park and start off in search of the restaurant genius enough to offer a fry this big. What? The 13 piece fry has been downsized? Never mind. A fry's a fry.


The list of items: eggs, ham, sausage, mushrooms, black pudding, white pudding, potato bread, soda bread, tomato, pancake, and beans.


The tea arrived. Apparently tea is the most appropriate drink with a fry.


And then the blessed moment: the arrival of the fry.


Post-fry.


Payment for the fry(s).


Then we did what any self-respecting person would do; we went for coffee and ice cream. I thought this row of school children we passed was kind of artsy.


The possibilities for ice cream cake personalization are endless.


The sundaes. One was chocolate madness or something-or-other and the second was called pooh bear something-or-other.


My sundae view.


A hard day's work.

And so ends my short tale of the delicious 11 not 13 piece fry.

Re-Gift Prevention

Here's a clever idea for personalizing a book. And bonus! It should aid in preventing your gift from ever seeing a garage sale or the musty inside of a thrift shop.

Idea came from where else? Martha Stewart.

Good Music is Hard to Come By Sometimes.

I've been listening to this album since last week. I tend to wear albums out, playing them constantly in my room, at work and in the car until I know them inside and out. Do other people do that? Or maybe it's just me. Actually, it's probably just me. I mean, who else refers to music as an album?

Each time I listen to "You Were Never There" I feel like hopping on a plane to Mexico City, which I am planning to do in July. Hooray!

Album is by Diego Garcia.

Getting Ready for a Trip!

I'm headed back to Ireland next month. Super duper!! I recently joined pininterest, so I've found myself distracted by pretty pictures for my boards. Here's a photo I pinned:

I originally saw these old travel posters way back in 2007 in a hotel called the Slieve Donard in County Down, Northern Ireland. Then I saw reprints at a LOVELY spot for breakfast in Holywood, Northern Ireland. Oh man is the food good at The Yard. And the adjoining art gallery is swell, too.
You don't have to fly all the way to Ireland to buy one of these prints. You don't even have to buy a print advertising travel to Ireland. This site has prints for sale for other destinations, including Scotland. I'm talking to you, Katherine!
Enjoy!

p.s. hey! I just noticed the tiny photo on that site was taken in The Yard. Huzzah!

p.s. again. I think I really like exclamation points today.

Noted!

via stumbleupon via pininterest created by littlemissanj.

Ever Feel Like This?

Pretty much sums up my month! What a sweet girl.