A monthly selection of enjoyable things to see, do, buy, read, watch, and more.
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I hope it’s starting to feel like summer where you are. We’re still awaiting consistently warm days here in the Pacific Northwest, though we’ve had some lovely sunny spells — one even reached 79°F.
That was much warmer than where we spent the first three weeks of May: Ireland. We absolutely loved it. The radio hosts warned of a “scorcher” when temperatures might hit 18°C (about 65°F), and a “heat wave” at 20°C — we found that charming and delightful.
There were so many highlights from the trip (minus the stressful returning flights). Below I share a few favorites from Ireland, the travel items that actually worked, the books I read, and what we watched when we got home. I’d love to hear about your good things this month!
Good Things
Ireland
Ireland’s green countryside and dramatic western coast, including the Cliffs of Moher with O’Brien’s Tower, completely captivated us. We started with three days in Dublin, visiting Trinity College and the Book of Kells, the Dublinia Viking Museum, Christchurch Cathedral, and the National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology, which is free and fascinating.
From Dublin we traveled southwest to County Kildare and stayed at my cousin’s wife’s family farm. Using it as a home base, we explored nearby sites like Kilkenny Castle, the lush Altamont Gardens, the Glendalough valley with its ancient monastery ruins, and the Brownshill Dolmen dating back to 4000 BC. Castles are everywhere in Ireland — some are ruins, some tourist sites, others converted to hotels — and I loved spotting them all.
We decided to spend a night in a castle hotel and chose Kinnitty Castle because my cousin recommended it and it retained many historical interior features. I loved the arched windows and stone walls, combined with a nicely updated bathroom. Breakfast the next morning was served at linen-covered tables with menu options — a charming contrast to typical grab-and-go hotel fare.
Next we set out on a seven-day road trip with my cousin and his wife, traveling through Northern Ireland up to Malin Head and Donegal, visiting the Ulster American Folk Park where you can walk through pre-famine Irish life, board a ship to the U.S., and see the immigrant experience afterward — one of my favorite stops. We traveled along the west coast, admired Slieve League cliffs, watched surfers on beautiful beaches, visited Galway and Limerick, saw more castles, and enjoyed miles of rural scenery with stone walls and grazing sheep.
We ate in pubs and stayed in B&Bs throughout the trip. Even a bit of car trouble turned into a warm example of Irish hospitality — the mechanic dropped us at a hotel restaurant and told us to relax with a cup of tea while he sorted things out. Traveling with family who know the area made the experience even richer.
**Note: If you use Instagram, you can view the stories from our trip in my highlight.**
The Teapot Story
One small adventure was the hunt for a teapot reminiscent of the one my mother brought home years ago — the kind that, miraculously, never dripped. I hoped to find a similar cream-colored stoneware teapot made by Belleek. After spotting a perfect one in a gift shop at the Folk Park, we later stopped at Belleek headquarters and found the same discontinued model in stock. I bought it and left it packaged to protect it in our luggage, but when we unwrapped it at home the handle and upper portion were shattered.
I posted about the damage and tagged the company. Belleek responded quickly and explained their in-store procedure, and they offered to send a replacement from their remaining stock. I was impressed with their customer service and relieved that we’ll have a teapot to remember the trip.
Favorite Travel Products
With travel on my mind, here are some travel items that have worked well for me. These are tried-and-true selections, including a few newer finds like shampoo and conditioner bars that helped reduce liquid packing.
- Toiletry bag — a roomy, well-organized bag that fits in a carry-on and holds brushes and essentials without bulking up luggage.
- Mini travel flat iron — compact and useful for styling on the go, especially for quick touch-ups.
- Solid shampoo and conditioner bars — sample-sized bars lasted through weeks of travel and cut down on liquid containers.
I also rely on a hard-sided suitcase and small packing cubes to keep outfits organized while moving between B&Bs. I pack tops in one cube, socks and underwear in another, and layered items like button-downs and sweaters in a third; pants and shoes fit around these cubes to maximize space.
May Reads
The Four Winds, Kristin Hannah. I listened to this on a flight and respected the author’s craft, but found the story relentlessly bleak. Set during the Dust Bowl and Depression, the book presents difficult experiences without much light or likeable characters for me to latch onto.
Someone Perfect, Mary Balogh. A light Regency romance from a series of related “someone” titles. This one felt repetitive and thin on plot, but it delivered the familiar comfort of a happily-ever-after — an easy, relaxing read during travel stress.
Maybe in Another Life, Taylor Jenkins Reid. A backlist title with an engaging premise: one night leads to two alternate timelines based on a single choice. It was intriguing to watch how different decisions shaped a life.
Picnic in Provence: A Memoir with Recipes, Elizabeth Bard. A warm memoir about a family moving from Paris to rural France, embracing slower living and close-knit neighbors. I enjoyed the atmosphere and found recipes I want to try.
The Bookshop on the Shore, Jenny Colgan. A pleasant surprise from a library hold. It follows a single mother who moves to Scotland to work in a book van and care for children at a remote house. It’s emotional but ultimately uplifting with a satisfying ending.
God on Mute, Pete Greig. This book was particularly meaningful if you’ve ever prayed and felt silence in return. Drawing on personal struggle and stories of others in faith, it offers solace and thoughtful perspectives on unanswered prayer. One line that resonated: “Christian maturity requires God to remove Himself at some point (like a parent removing their hand so a child can ride a bike freely)…At such times we may be sure that God is weaning us off adult supervision but He has NOT abandoned us altogether.”
Watching
Operation Mincemeat (Netflix). I enjoyed this adaptation of an intriguing true story; my husband, who had read the book, thought the film didn’t fully capture the book’s suspense but still appreciated parts of it.
Outer Range (Amazon). We started this series with high hopes from the trailer but lost interest after a few episodes. It felt slow and increasingly odd, so we stopped watching.
The Essex Serpent (Apple+). Another show we tried briefly. We found it slow-moving with some historical inconsistencies and overly dramatic elements, so we didn’t continue past a couple of episodes.
That’s it for this edition of the Good Things List.
If you’d like to see more items I’m enjoying, you can check out past Good Things Lists on my site. I’d love to hear your thoughts — have you tried any of these things or do you have recommendations? Leave a comment with your favorites.
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