Monthly Musings - All About Spring

This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Fresh Cup of Coffee helps continue the coffee breaks and conversation. 

Taking a few minutes in a busy day to try and answer some Monthly Musings questions! Holly at Pink Lady and Patty at Good Better Best co-host this monthly sharing of tips, tricks, and conversation starters. 

I've been enjoying a vacation "back home" with my family in Maryland, and some of my days have been busy, while others are quite relaxed. I've taken a little bit of time here and there over the last couple days to work on some of this month's questions, which are all about spring. I guess now I just need to wrap it up and share it!

Favorite spring fashion pieces? Well, I don't pay a whole lot of attention to fashion trends, so for me I'm really happy when I don't necessarily need a jacket; and when I can wear flip-flops or sandals and not worry that my feet will get cold. 

Favorite spring scent? As a perfume to wear, or just in general? I always prefer the lighter floral scents to wear. An outdoor scent that I associate with spring is apple or cherry blossoms. I don't like the smell, but to be honest, I used to say you knew that spring had arrived when you caught the scent of farmers spreading manure in the freshly turned fields! haha.

Go-to spring meals? Spring is time to fire up the grill for cookout season, and I'm here for it. I especially like grilling things that cook quickly, like hot dogs or kebabs, because that way we can grill even if it cools off quickly in the evening or if rain is threatening.

Share a spring dessert recipe. I'm not sure this is specifically spring, but it's a favorite that doesn't require baking.

Nanaimo Bars

Bottom Layer:

1/2 cup butter (or margarine)

1/4 cup sugar

5 tbsp cocoa

1 egg, beaten

2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

Melt butter, sugar, and cocoa in top of a double boiler (or a heavy saucepan). Add beaten egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat and stir in graham crumbs. You want it to be moist enough to pack firmly and hold together, but not be mushy. Press firmly into an ungreased 9x9 pan.

Middle Layer:

1/2 cup butter (you can use margarine, but trust me - butter is better)

3 tbsp milk

2 tbsp vanilla custard powder

2 cups icing sugar

Cream butter, milk and custard powder together, then add icing sugar and mix well. Beat until light and creamy. Spread over the bottom layer. I suggest chilling it a bit at this point to help that layer set.

Top Layer:

2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or 4 squares semisweet baking chocolate)

3 tbsp butter

Melt chocolate and butter together over low heat. Allow it to cool for a bit, but while it's still pourable, spread gently over the second layer. Chill in the fridge for about an hour before serving. Cut into 36 squares with a sharp knife. 

Share a few spring traditions. The one that comes to mind is our family's Stanley Cup playoff pool. It's grown from just my husband and myself and our kids to include the kids' significant others, our granddaughters, and my husband's sister and her husband. We are a family of hockey fans so this is go-time for us - the NHL playoffs and the beginning of baseball season, since baseball is the other sport we all follow to a certain extent.

Best spring cleaning hack? Is it bad to say I never did much in the way of spring cleaning? With spring sports in full swing, hockey playoffs to watch, and school to finish up, I really didn't have the time to do a bunch of extra things in spring. I tried to do fall cleaning instead, because somehow that made more sense to me. I switch out flannel sheets for cotton and pack away winter coats, and that's about it. 

So here's my cleaning hack, if you can call it that. Fresh air! Opening the windows and hanging laundry on the line. Of course I don't have a laundry line at the townhouse, and that's something I'm really missing. 

Will you plant a garden this year? Well, without a yard, the answer to that has to be No. I plan on getting potted plants to have on my patio, but I don't think I'll even bother including herbs in that. I'm certainly not much of a gardener anyway.

Spring rain . . . love or hate? Oh I love it! At the house in Maryland, we loved sitting out on the covered front porch and watching a storm roll in, or just listening to a gentle rain. I will miss that in Ohio as well. The only thing I don't like about spring rain is the abundance of worms on sidewalks and roads afterwards. Eeww.

Favorite spring flower? I can never pick just one favorite of anything. Tulips and lily-of-the-valley have long been my favorites in spring, but I also love daisies, gardenias, and pansies.

Any spring travel this year? I'm on my vacation in Maryland right now, heading home to Ohio on the weekend. My husband and I will be heading back to Maryland again in May for our daughter's graduation from university, but other than that we don't have any plans for spring travel. Spring is his busiest time at work so it's been our habit to stick close to home during these months and are more likely to travel in summer and fall.

Sorry I'm so late sharing this! What are your spring plans - Travel? Gardening? Leave a comment and let me know!

I'm linking up with Monthly Musings hosted by Holly at Pink Lady and Patty at Good Better Best.

 Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to A Fresh Cup of Coffee by email. 

 ©2006-2023 HS Coffee Break/Just A Second/A Fresh Cup of Coffee. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. https://morecoffeebreaks.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.