St. Patrick’s Eve Entertaining

We wrapped up a gorgeous Southern Saturday with a super impromptu gathering of neighbors for corned beef sandwiches.  At five p.m. we had plans for one couple to come down, I ran to the grocery store at six and by seven there were seventeen of us.  It’s one of the things I love love love most about our neighborhood!!

We sipped on the delish and refreshing Southern Living cocktail of the month – The Dogwood.  For each drink, shake over ice 1/4 c. white grapefruit juice, 3 T. vodka and 1T. St. Germain.  Garnsih with a rosemary sprig and lemon wheel.



We sat out on the porch for hours catching up, listening to music and snacking.





But it was definitely the grilled corned beef bar that stole the show!  Honey grilled up corned beef and swiss, traditional reubens, and corned beef and cheddar with guinness caramelized onions. 

 
And dessert was the creme de menthe brownies that make exactly one time a year.  Find the recipe here – they are pretty much life changing.  I wasn’t expecting a crowd when I made these earlier in the day and I’m more than a little sad that I only have one left.  This might be a red letter year as I’m already considering making them again :-)


The littles wished for Liam the good leprechaun to visit again this morning and, as luck would have it, visit he did!  This time bearing green candy sticks.

  
Happy St. Patrick’s Day Eve, y’all!
xoxo

Spring is in the air.....at least in my house!

Last day to be eligible to win the beautiful silver tray for my one year celebration! Click here to visit that post for details...winner to be chosen tomorrow!

OK yes after a ridiculous amount of snow this season we have finally been having some milder days! At last we are hitting the 50's...and it feels positively balmy out there! No complaints form me, when I see the temps creeping up and the sun blazing, I am a really happy girl. However I am not so naive as to think its over...we have been known to get one last blast of winter when our guard is down, so I am not discounting even more snow or frigid temps.

 However just because I can't control what goes on outside doesn't mean I can't let things feel "spring-y" indoors and that is exactly what I am doing! I went to my favorite nursery and filled my cart to the brim with the prettiest array of spring flowers that I could find and came home and had fun filling all my containers with them. Then I got really ambitious and took on a little do it yourself project and from afar they look pretty darn good....blue and white Easter eggs! So here's what I have been up to.....

It all started with this  innocent darling basket of spring beauty that a friend who stopped over dropped off....

 And soon my "spring flower bug" bit and off to the nursery I went.......

And then I got busy choosing various containers for all the flowers......

 Love the way the pale pink hydrangeas look in the blue and whites...so fresh!

 Added these beautiful double ball topiaires to my black tole planters

 

And these pretty white azalea topiaries in my blue and whites

Isn't this planter a beauty? Brand new style soon to be listed in my shop...just got it in!

 More topiaries looking for a place other than my breakfast room table..I SOOO NEED a  greenhouse!

These are tall about 3 feet so need a special place.........

Gardenias  require a  lot of sun so hoping their new spot will get them blooming again!

 Beautiful pink hydrangeas fill my oversized blue and white bowl

 Love this pair near my sink....they just make me happy

 

I did not forget about my powder room, here a pretty pink hydrangea plant graces my newest silver planter

And finally I am not exactly a "do it yourselfer" but every now and then I do enjoy trying to tackle a project here and there.....so I tried my hand at making blue and white Easter eggs, they came out very pretty, as long as you don't look too close!

 I cut napkins into mini triangles, got some mod podge with a paint brush and started pasting them on, a final coating all over the egg seals the deal, let them dry for about an hour and you are set!

And then when dry I put some in my small William Yeoward dish and some in my spring flower arrangemtnets...

And when added to my flower arrangements, they were the perfect touch of spring!

And I was experimenting for a small spring lunch I might be hosting....think this is a neat idea. I put waterwith some baby spinach leaves a few fresh flowers (or whatever you have in the house) in a square container and froze it, I ended up with a "frozen plate" on which to put my salad....isn't that a neat idea? I will use a round mold for this next time, as I think it will sit better on the plate. I think it would be beautiful for shrimp cocktail or some kind of seafood appetizer.....

So....has the spring bug bit you yet? I have to say though I actually like winter, this year I have had more than my fill! I really love the idea of flowers blooming, crave the smell of fresh cut green grass and cannot wait to fling open the windows while belting out a spring-y tune (OK for my kids sake, I will not do the last thing) but you get what I am saying.....I am ready for spring to arrive! Enjoy your day.........