Just a little bit Irish

While I was on hiatus last year, we held a St. Patrick's Day dinner for some very un-Irish friends

The guest list comprised Cubans, Mexicans, and to provide that necessary soupçon of Irish blood, we invited my husband.  He's the guy with the green polo by the window, who looks a bit put upon to have to pose for a picture when he'd rather be digging in!  My husband doesn't really know how much Irish blood he has in his background and is not interested in doing a search, however, the litany when he was growing up was “I'm English, Irish, French, Scottish and Italian . . .” usually things would trail off after that, but occasionally he'd add other nationalities just to keep things interesting.

I'm 2nd and 3rd generation Cuban born, my paternal grandfather having emigrated to Cuba from the Canary Islands, and my maternal grandparents born in Cuba.  One of my relatives did some research on the Grimón last name and supposedly it may have originated in Belgium.  So you see, I cannot claim any Gaelic ancestry whatsoever.

And does not explain why I'm so fond of this holiday.  I got the shamrock napkins through a friend who gave them to me with the condition that I should use them once, and then pass them on to another person that might like to use them next, and that person should do the same.  My sister-in-law, Kathy (Kathleen, and of Irish ancestry), now has them.  I can't wait to see how she uses them!

I love party favors!  So, in addition to an Oxalis Plant, everyone got to take home one of these darling miniature books with Irish blessings!

I love the green in these goblets!  Don't they look great next to the green fields in the books?

I can't conceive of this dinner without some lovely Kerrygold butter, and what better way to enjoy this treat than by giving each guest their very own butter dish?  Some things are just to delicious to have to share.  

The napkin rings reminded me of a Celtic knot and they provided a nice contrast against the simple white dinner plates.

I scattered some gold and green fake coins for an extra dose of whimsy.  

Now for the food.  Two big platters of Corned Beef and Cabbage.  It's simple fare, but, oh, so delicious!

And for dessert, Bailey's Irish Cream Bundt Cake, and Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream from Baskin Robbins, my son's favorite.

We "greened" the house a bit  . . .

Hoping that a leprechaun would stop by and find the house to his liking . . .

And maybe, just maybe, we'd find his Pot o'Gold!  Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Dishes:  Traditional by Apilco, from Williams-Sonoma

Flatware:  Jefferson by Reed & Barton for Monticello

Water Goblets:  Williamsburg by Reed & Barton

Butter Spreaders:  Rosewood hadles, by Laguiole

Butter dishes:  Amazon

Table runner:  Pottery Barn

Placemats:  Crate and Barrel

Napkin Rings:  Tortoise Knot by Juliska

Square Platter:  BIA Cordon Bleu, from Amazon

Cake Stand:  HomeGoods

St. Pat's - Part 2

Two St. Patrick's Day parties this year, and we are not even Irish!  Well, not much anyway . . . It was a lot of fun, but with two meals to cook, one in the middle of the week (after work!) there was no time (or energy) to plan two distinct tablescapes.  Besides all that, I'm a lingerer, and I wasn't done playing with this tablescape.  So I laundered the napkins, and it was déjà vu all over again . . .

I did make a couple of changes from the earlier tablescape, click here to see the first one.  I used my every day dishes, Tradition dinner plates by Apilco, instead of the Mikasa dinner plates. 

When I first saw these salad bowls at Crate and Barrel, I looked at the bottom and they were marked "Cavolo."  I was so excited!  I was thinking Caravaggio, Michelangelo, Leonardo . . .  All great Italian artists whose names ended in "o" . . . Was I holding a future masterpiece in my hands . . . ?  I googled the name the minute I got home . . . Alas . . . cavolo is Italian for cabbage!

And, instead of the Tava chargers from the previous post, I used these woven brown placemats from Bed Bath and Beyond.  It added a lighter feel to the setting to counter the color-saturation of the napkin . . .

Shamrock plants made an easy centerpiece, their lovely green color brightening the table; and afterwards, guests took them home as party favors . . .

A thorough watering really perked them up overnight . . .

We served Irish coffee after dinner . . .  A little advance prep kept this hostess out of the kitchen and enjoying the company of her guests . . .

And a cute little pillow that I couldn't resist . . .

St. Patrick's Day is officially over at our house!

Now I can start thinking about Easter . . . yikes!

Here are the details:

Tablecloth - White, linen, Williams-Sonoma

Placemats - Bed Bath and Beyond

Dinner plates - Tradition by Apilco for Williams-Sonoma

Cabbage "Cavolo" Salad Bowls - Crate and Barrel

Napkins - Raymond Waites at HomeGoods

Napkin Rings - Bed Bath and Beyond

Goblets - The Dollar Tree

Candlesticks and candles - The Dollar Tree

Glass coffee mugs - Bed Bath and Beyond

Silver charger - Pottery Barn

Flatware - Costco

Shamrocks - Dominick's (our local grocery store)

Pillow - Joann's

I'm joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday and Cuisine Kathleen for Let's Dish!  I encourage you to stop by to enjoy the creativity of these amazing tablescapers!

Just a pinch of Irish

That's how much Celtic blood runs in this family . . . on my husband's side . . . maybe . . .

When asked, he always says:  “I'm English, Irish, Dutch, Polish, Italian . . . ” 

And he never deviates from that, with the sentence trailing off at the end . . .

But just because our Irish ancestry is extremely diluted, or possibly, non-existent . . .

. . . it doesn't stop us from celebrating St. Patrick's Day . . .

. . . like good ol' Americans . . .

. . . with a corned beef and cabbage dinner . . .

. . . and a modest nod to the green . . .

. . . a pinch of Irish, if you will . . .  Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Details:

Placemats:  Classic Linen, white, from Pottery Barn

Chargers:  Tava, Espresso, from Pottery Barn

Dinner plates:  Mikasa French Countryside

Cabbage Salad Bowls:  Cavolo bowls from Crate and Barrel

Napkins:  Hampton Gardens by Raymond Waites at HomeGoods

Napkin Rings:  Bed Bath and Beyond

Green water goblets:  The Dollar Tree

Wine glasses:  The Dollar Tree

Candle sticks:  The Dollar Tree

Candles:  The Dollar Tree

Flatware:  My everyday flatware from Costco

Shamrock Plant:  Dominick's (our local grocery store)

I'm joining Susan for Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch, and Kathleen at Cuisine Kathleen for her 5th Annual St. Patrick's Day Blog Crawl.  If you have a chance, you should definitely stop by for some tablescaping fun!