u/guavapplause

Hi! I hope this is the right place to ask. I use sticker sheets a lot to decorate my calendar every month with what my plans are, mostly for travel and activities and such. I am always on the hunt for artists that design kind of more realistic stickers like watercolor sheets of camping, mountains/nature, traveling, stuff like that. Any recs? I'm so overwhelmed every time I search I just see so much AI slop. Thanks!

Edit for clarity: I'm so sorry I am not looking for custom made stickers, but just artists I can buy from online!!

June trip to Ireland! Couples trip (F and M, mid 30s). Note: I had just entered my second trimester of pregnancy, but it didn't affect my enjoyment of the trip very much, if at all.

This trip was blessed with fabulous weather (during one of the European heat waves which resulted in an unexpectedly sunny and warm Ireland). We had a few smaller stays in between, but I won't be reviewing those here. To give a quick overview of our general, 2 week itinerary, here it is: 3 nights at Ashford Castle, 2 nights on Achill Island (guesthouse), 1 night in Donegal (guesthouse), 2 nights in Malin Head (Airbnb), 3 nights at Merrion Dublin, 1 night at Killarney Park Hotel, and 2 nights at Adare Manor.

Photos will be included in separate comments with captions for each.

ASHFORD CASTLE

I'm letting you know ahead of time, everything here was a 10/10 (and I am harsher on other properties later in this review). I can hardly begin to explain what a dream this place was. I'll try not to exaggerate or gush too much, but I loved this property. I didn't want to leave. I'd stay here again in a heartbeat.

Property: 10/10

Incredibly beautiful. I mean, it's a castle, but it's just stunning. I appreciated how much of it was still in historical design. Not much grinds my gears more than a historic property being renovated to a modern, beige yawn fest. Not the case here. Everything felt authentic, down to the colors and design of the decor, without feeling stuffy. The gardens outside the castle are lovely, and we enjoyed spending some time in the billiards room (snooker table, not pool)! Wandering the inside of the castle is just as satisfying as wandering outside, where there is a fantastic network of trails and paths along the river and into the nearby village of Cong. I can't emphasize enough how beautiful the surrounding area is - endless trails, gorgeous foliage and flowers, good signage.

Service: 10/10

From start to finish, all of the staff were helpful, friendly, professional, polite, and genuinely seemed happy to be there. We met a man who had worked there for FIFTY years, and his claim to fame was waiting on Ronald Reagan. Everyone was knowledgable about the castle and answered questions about the history whenever we asked. We were always able to find someone to assist us with whatever we needed, such as a small car to take you to the outbuilding where the gym/pool are located. It is a short walk, but sometimes in the rain it would be unpleasant if I had just gotten out of the pool. All of our meals there were well staffed and service was great, no complaints whatsoever.

Rooms: 10/10

We were upgraded (thank you Alex!) to what I believe was a Lake View Deluxe Room, right on the corner of the old part of the castle. The room was very spacious and had a few steps down to a lower level with a fridge/mini bar/sitting area/vanity table. The bathroom was also a great size, with heated floors and towel racks, modern amenities but classic design. The view of the lake here was superb (from the tub)!

Food: 10/10

I have to repeat the disclaimer that I had just entered my 2nd trimester of pregnancy, following a pretty rough 1st tri. For the uninitiated, that can come with a lot of food aversions and general appetite changes. I was just starting to tolerate normal food again (after mentally missing it very dearly) and Ireland ended up being a great place to be for this transition. Potatoes, everywhere! Anyway, I won't digress for too long, but everything I ate at Ashford was excellent, despite my new picky diet.

The breakfasts were lovely; the buffet area was always included and well stocked. We ate at varying times, especially as we recovered from jet lag, and only noticed during one of our late breakfasts that one of the pastries we liked were gone, but that was it. The real highlight for the breakfast buffet is the ham. It is a genuine treat. There is a rolling cart in the middle of the buffet that always has someone nearby to cut for you, a slow baked and glazed whole gammon (yes I took that from the website) that I gobbled up every single morning with mustard. We often added a la carte items and they were always the perfect size - not too large, so we could enjoy the buffet spread and our dish. I tried the traditional porridge, omelette, and potato boxty (really delicious red pepper & tomato relish, I still remember it - yum).

Since we had just arrived and I was still adjusting, we skipped any of the fine dining options. It just wouldn't have made sense for us at the time. The first night we were a little jetlagged so we just ordered room service. I had the beetroot risotto and it was really delicious. The second night we ate at the Dungeon, a small restaurant with a nice array of standard fare dishes, meat and fish and all that. I had a fantastic steak and vegetable pot pie. The third night we went out to eat in Galway.

I had afternoon tea and it was truly exquisite (the afternoon tea at Adare was equally matched, maybe slightly better in food, but not service; that review is below). Everything arrived at a good pace, savory sandwiches, then scones, then sweets, plenty of tea to be had. I was in heaven.

We had a couple of light lunches at the Prince of Wales bar, and some good mocktails for me. All great!

Extras: 10/10

We added on the Corrib Cruise boat tour and it ended up fully exceeding our expectations. The service is operated by a pair of brothers who are extremely knowledgable about Irish history, especially when it comes to the lake and the islands within. One of them even wrote a book about it! We booked the cruise that included docking at one of the small islands which had some seriously cool history. The boat was very comfortable even in the wind and light rain, with a small bar below with drinks and snacks. We toured the island that had 5th century monastery ruins that is rumored to have housed the original St Patrick at one point. There is also a gravestone that is said to have some of the oldest Gaelic stone inscriptions ever found. Really neat!

MERRION DUBLIN

Overall, a fantastic stay in Dublin! The location was perfect for us and I can't think of any complaints we had until the very end, related to parking/car storage. In general, I was very happy with our stay and would very likely stay here again.

Property: 10/10

A stunning property in such a great location. The lobby and entrance is spacious and always has plenty of friendly and helpful staff ready to greet you. The courtyard is magical! Lush flowers and plants, a small pool/fountain, lots of seating. We also enjoyed the indoor/underground pool a couple times because Dublin was experiencing the heat wave (it was in the mid 80s F!) and it was very enjoyable, though hardly any seating around the pool itself.

Room: 9.5/10

The room was lovely, a little cramped/small and simple, but no complaints (I forgot to take photos of this room, I'm sorry)! We did not get upgraded, but enjoyed it all the same. We had a nice view of these upper gardens and could see the lower gardens a bit to the side.

Service: 9/10

Very friendly staff, good service during dining, not much to be concerned with other than our parking issue. I won't dwell on that issue too much because it really seems like there wasn't anything they could do, but we had hoped to store our rental car in their underground lot (which we had been doing the entire time we were there, and never took it out) a couple hours after check out, due to the high traffic related to the Dublin Pride parade and festival. The parade essentially ended right around the corner and there were a lot of street closures. We wanted to enjoy the parade and walk to watch. We had hoped to store the car for an extra 2 hours after check out, and they gave us a hard "no" due to a wedding happening later than afternoon. It was frustrating, and it took us some time to move the car and find parking since it was such an impacted area. It worked out fine.

Food: 9/10

I don't have many complaints about the food! The breakfast was very good, and I enjoyed how many self service juice and smoothie options they had (more than Ashford). The service was a bit on the slower end, it was often quite busy. A mild annoyance here was that the tables are a bit too close together, and I was always so worried about either bumping the table next to me (getting a bit bigger over here!) or somehow being too loud even just enjoying a normal level of conversation volume. I just found it a bit uncomfortable. We enjoyed a couple dinners here, a more casual one at The Cellar Bar, which was a gorgeous setting partly underground in a cozy brick room. We enjoyed traditional live Irish music while eating elevated pub fare (great burger). Our second dinner was nicer, in the Garden Room. Fantastic crab cake starter. I can't remember what main I had but it was very satisfying. They also allowed us to order dessert but have it sent up later to our room. We were pretty full, but really wanted to enjoy a couple dessert items (cheese plate and strawberry almond tart) and wanted to wait. We also wanted to watch a World Cup game in our room and they delivered it about 45 minutes later, at our request.

Extras: 10/10

This rating is really only for the free bikes they allowed us to use because it ended up being really great for us. We didn't want to drive in Dublin, and we wanted to enjoy the warm weather and get some exercise. The bikes were comfortable beach cruisers in good condition and they gave us helmets and locks. It was so easy getting around, and we used them pretty much all day long for two full days.

KILLARNEY PARK

I wasn't going to include this one in the review originally, but we enjoyed this place so much even with such a short stay (one night and barely any extra time due to travel). I won't do a full review here but it deserves a mention. For being a fairly small hotel, it was incredibly lovely. I also don't have pictures but our room was very spacious, extremely cozy (with a really nice fireplace sitting area), gorgeous bathroom. The bar/restaurant area was comfortable and enjoyable. We had a dinner included here so we took advantage and enjoyed it immensely. This is a silly comment but they had the best smelling toiletries ever, I even took a picture of them to see if I could get them elsewhere (Wildsmith - Linden, Chamomile and Cedarwood scent). Anyway, I kept saying I wish we could have stayed longer. If you are planning to do the Ring of Kerry drive (we only did a small portion, didn't have enough time) and want a home base, this would be a fantastic place to do so.

ADARE MANOR

While this place was very nice, coming off the heels of Ashford, it ended up being kind of a let down. I'm trying to find the right words to describe it, but it just didn't stack up to the other places we had stayed in Ireland thus far, and we were wholly underwhelmed. There were some highlights though, and nothing particular bad happened, just somewhat lackluster overall.

Property: 9/10

Adare Manor is undoubtedly a stunning property, but it just felt a bit stuffier and overly manicured. You could easily tell where the modern additions were made and it made for a strange contrast at times. The gardens are beautiful though, and they have a very cute fairy walking path. There isn't much in terms of additional trails and it felt like the grounds were just mostly the golf course and the manor.

Room: 8.5/10

Nice room, not too cramped, two queen beds, nice spacious bathroom. We were in the newer building. This rating may feel a bit harsh, but the room decor bothered me every time I entered. While it had everything we needed, I found the design to be boring bordering gaudy and a bit cheap. I know this is a personal preference, but I laughed everytime I entered the bathroom and looked at this wallpaper. The marble and everything was beautiful but the wallpaper... it just felt really out of place. We also kept having issues with the automatic lighting during the night in the bathroom. What was supposed to be a nightlight would sometimes turn on bright lights on motion sensor. I don't know, it just wasn't overall that great, though nothing egregiously bad.

Service: 8/10

Adare Manor really fell short in the service department. I can forgive decor not aligning with my personal taste, and again, nothing overly horrible happened, but the service just had a "meh" quality to it most of the time. The staff was kind but not very enthusiastic. Some of the front staff were very sweet though, I do remember an older man greeting us at the door that was exceptionally friendly and funny, but the food service staff that we saw more often just didn't have the professionalism and poise I'd expect in a luxury place like this (not to mention, more expensive than Ashford). Upon arrival in our room, we had a lovely charcuterie board, but it took them way too long to take it away when we were done, and it started to look gross (more than 24 hours at least) even after multiple housekeeping visits. Breakfast service would be slow and generally a bit unattentive. The worst servie was during an afternoon tea. It was hard to get their attention. When we finished our trays of savory sandwiches, they asked us if we wanted more, and we declined. Ten minutes later, someone dropped off a full sandwich tray at our table and walked away. It took us quite a while to wave down a server and tell them we didn't want it, and didn't order it. We also had dinner in the Carriage House, with a reservation, but when we arrived, they "didn't have a table for us." We ended up wanting to watch a World Cup game in the waiting area and just didn't feel like waiting for a table to open up, so we simply ordered our food there on the couch. It was a bit silly but we just didn't feel like dealing with it. The best service we had was in the downstairs bar The Tack Room, which we enjoyed pre-dinner cocktails/mocktails twice, and we loved the staff down there.

Food: 9.5/10

Overall, everything was great throughout our stay. We mostly stayed on property for our meals. Breakfast was tasty but again, a bit outshined by Ashford's spread. Afternoon tea was incredible, probably my favorite meal there. This was some seriously high quality patisserie; I was very impressed. We enjoyed our drinks at the Tack Room and they always arrived with surprisingly delicious free bar snacks (uniquely seasoned nuts and olives). Carriage House dinner was very good, can't remember what we had. Otherwise, not overly memorable but good.

Extras (Spa): 9/10

I enjoyed the spa on our last day, with my first prenatal massage experience. My massage therapist was excellent and I felt thoroughly relaxed. The amenities were quite nice - a small pool at an enjoyable temperature, and I saw a sauna and a steam room. I remember some tea and small snacks, but not much else. I do appreciate when there is a bit extra to enjoy before or after a service. The lounge area post treatment was very relaxing.

Overall, we had a fantastic trip to Ireland. It's a beautiful country, with so many friendly people, stunning views, and rich history. Don't get me started on how stressful driving is, but it was worth it. I'm happy to answer any questions about the properties or our itinerary.

This is such a weird problem I wasn't expecting to have. I haven't given birth yet but I've spent the last month or so searching for secondhand items and get my list together of things I need/want to buy. I won't be receiving very many hand-me-downs, if any. Everyone keeps telling me I should get lots of things used and save money... but I'm having such a hard time finding those items. I re-activated my Facebook just for Marketplace and those No Buy/Mom groups (to my own dismay... I really don't like social media but this seems like it's kinda the only way?) and everything gets snatched up so quickly. I don't have time to scroll through the feeds all the time, and every time something gets posted, there are a dozen comments trying to claim it. Garage sales seem to be sparse where I am, and our thrift stores are pretty small and slim pickings. Even though I tagged this as "advice" I guess I'm just wondering if any other moms have run into this problem and just had to resign to buying more things new than they expected? Or am I just not being aggressive enough online?

I really love my mat pilates studio. I attend classes about 3x a week and it’s all on a yoga mat with props like blocks, stretchy bands, balls, weights (usually 3/5/8 lbs), and rings.

The owner of the studio is really great at cues for pregnant women but she just went on maternity leave herself. Such horrible timing for me since I’m about 9 weeks and wondering when I’ll have to start making changes. I don’t really know where to start other than only doing what feels good of course. But historically I’m the type of person to push myself and I’m worried I’ll be doing moves that aren’t good for my body as I approach my second trimester.

Does anyone have any good resources for knowing how to make adjustments during pilates or strength training workouts??

My baby shower is still a few months away but I'm a planner. Anyway, I want to have a coed shower and keep it more like a bbq-hangout-party rather than a formal shower. We want to respect the fact that a lot of our friends are not in the most financially comfortable situations and we also just feel weird about asking people for gifts when we are comfortable ourselves. We had this same dilemma for our wedding and really tried to emphasize that gifts were not necessary, and did something along the lines of "gifts are optional, we just want your presence... etc etc... we do have a registry, but we'd also love if you donated to one of our favorite nonprofits here" kind of thing.

I'm running into a similar feeling that I really don't want people to feel like they have to buy something off a registry. I love people's ideas of asking for books instead, but I actually already have basically a library full of hand me down books, and I don't want to get duplicates, so that idea is out. When I had my masters degree graduation party, I had a little "book recommendation station" (I graduated with an English degree) that I requested in lieu of gifts (a few people brought some, but alas) and people loved it. That made me feel happy about having people contribute without spending money. All this being said, I have so much hand me down stuff already I don't want people to just gift me random stuff.

I'm curious if anyone had another option instead of gifts that they suggested on their baby shower invitation? Something that wouldn't cost a lot of money but could signify contribution?

…and that might be my last long-ish ride for a while. I’m so proud of myself and it was tough (~3000 ft of gain and a lot of headwind the last 10 miles) but damn, making sure I ate enough AND the recovery after has been brutal. In the last few miles I called my husband in a panic to get me a burrito because I genuinely felt ill from hunger, even though I had a full lunch halfway, plenty of sugary and salty snacks every 30 mins, lots of water and electrolytes… my body just demands so much right now! I’ve been in between naps on the couch the entire rest of the day and I just feel completely worn out, way more than normal. I’m glad I know what this was like so I won’t be like aching to go do it again. Good information!

I’m 7 weeks and will have my first ultrasound next week. It’s so early and I don’t feel comfortable sharing with anyone yet, but I’m struggling with figuring out how to navigate this and plan for next semester. This is a half rant, half request for advice.

I’m doing okay now, nauseous sometimes, but my classes are only an hour and a half each, two days a week, so I can manage. My students are mostly freshman and I don’t think they’d really care that I’m pregnant so I don’t feel the need to tell them.

I’m a part of the California faculty union and I am a part time lecturer. As of fall semester, I will have achieved the next level of “entitlement,” which means instead of a new contract each term, I now will be given a yearly contract. It’s kind of a non PhD version of tenure.

Fall semester starts mid August and would end mid December. I’m supposedly due 12/29/26, but will likely get an updated due date after some appointments. I’m stressed about not knowing what to do about informing my employer. Will I need to get a substitute? Will I be able to ask for classes to be asynchronous for the last month maybe? I’m just curious if anyone has navigated this.

I really like the Le Mieux Just Glow BB cream, but I always have to mix it with a green color corrector. Even the light ivory is too warm for my skin (my skin is very neutral. Not cool necessarily, but the ivory one is too yellow/orange tinted). I love that it has SPF and it genuinely makes my skin glow. I’d just love to get the color right. Anyone have a recommendation of a similar one with a truly neutral tone?