Our St. Patrick's Day Finale!

A Surprise Visitor?

Well, well, well....what do we have here??  A visitor maybe?





Hmmmm....I don't know kids...looks suspicious!



It's ok everyone...Princess is going to check it out for us!  She is so brave! 

Princess checks it out for us...



OK...come on in everyone!  Coast looks clear. 

Princess Kitty thanks for being on the front line!

Oh!  Watch out Papa and Nana see the culprit!  

Quick!!!...get into action everyone!



Nana and Papa are shocked at the sight!

Look over there!  There he is!  The Leprechaun himself!  He left this trail of gold dust clear out to the front porch!  What was he thinking?

This Leprechaun must have gotten out of our trap!  He is so sneaky! 

Look at him there...seems he may be mocking us?

He loves the Gold Coin Inn!  His favorite part was the gold coins we hid inside!  They were filled with chocolate! 

Oh silly little Leprechaun!  You are so funny and handsome!  We will get you next year for sure! 

Nana and Papa with the Leprechaun trapped in the Gold Coin Inn!  Hehe!

We had a wonderful time talking to the children about the Leprechaun!  How funny he is!  The kids got such a kick out of this surprise on Green Day!

Nana showing the kids how he went inside to eat the gold coins!

Nana and Papa supplied all the great St. Patrick's Day socks for our little piggies!

Such adorable sockies!

Here we are happy lads and lassies!

Our celebration continued with food!  Food glorious food!

Some Jello shamrocks!  Four boxes of lime Jello and 2 1/2 cups hot water.  Pour half into a 9x13 inch pan.  Chill until well set.  Use shamrock cutter to cut them and then place dish in hot water to loosen the Jello.  Use spatula to remove from pan.  I had to have my husband do this because I had NO patience after I broke the first shamrock!  Sit on wax paper and return to fridge.  The kids loved them!

And of course Princess Kitty Girl had to join the action!  She loved the Watergate Salad the best!  LOL!

Boiled parsley potatoes!  Fresh parsley of course!

Good old cabbage and noodles.  For sure this is best made by my husband.  LOL!

 And here it is...this is the final plate!  And of course it wouldn't be a great feast if we didn't forget something in the microwave like Gram used to!  This year it was the cauliflower with mayonnaise and cheese sauce.  Don't worry it didn't go to waste!  We ate it for dinner the next day! 

Menu:
Beef roast
Cooked carrots
Parsley Potatoes
Haluski
Celery sticks
Watergate salad
Moms frozen fruit treat

The Watergate salad is made with Jello brand pistachio pudding mix.  We found the recipe on Kraft's website!  You can get to it here.   

Watergate Salad from Kraft

If you have any questions on the other recipes we used please let me know! 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

UPDATE------as far as I know in our area of PA they do not sell the Pistachio pudding anymore.  Check for green jello instead and mix green jello with some marshmallows on top.

St. Patricks printable!

Keep Calm and Pinch On Printable

Hey ya'll!  I just found this awesome St. Patrick's Day printable!  It's from the great blog, "The Hands-On Housewife"!  Thanks for allowing me to share this printable!  Click here to go to her blog and download!

Check out her other posts!  Stephanie...your blog is so much fun!

More St. Patrick's Day decor!

The Lucky Charm

Some additional decorations for your viewing pleasure!

This is a cute sign in the dining room.  It's from Hallmark!  Add some glitter shamrocks to a hurricane.  If you don't have one use a glass container you have. Or a bowl!  

Add some fine Martha Stewart crystal glitter to any printable or sign you find at the craft store.  Spray with spray glue or Aleene's spray adhesive.  Sprinkle glitter over, tap off extra, add ribbons and hang to enjoy!  Quick and virtually free if you are updating a printable or something you may already have.

Happy crafting!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Day decor

Top O' the Morning to ya!  

We are getting ready for St. Patrick's Day ya'll!  Are you celebrating this year? Take a look at our wreath ideas and a handmade banner to bring the spirit!  This isn't blarney ya know.  This is a great holiday to bring out the festive side of your Irish heritage.  Even if you are Irish in spirit only...you can still have a great time bringing the green to your home!

Look how great this wreath looks on the front door!  Some full glitter mesh and a green plaid mesh paired nicely with the St. Patty's ribbon we found.  The neighbors love it!

We used a different green plaid mesh with some foil and a dark green smaller mesh on top.  More green ribbon adds a nice shamrock theme!

And don't forget those handmade banners...these are so easy it's a quick decoration you can put together in an afternoon!  Use your Cricut for quick cut outs and add some ribbon and bling.  Voila!  Done!  

Take a look at this beautiful small quilt!  Don't you just love the shamrocks?  I used an old plastic cookie cutter I had to get the shamrock design!  I used invisible appliqué for the design and it turned out great!

We hope you enjoyed our decor!  More to come!

Christmas Party with Father Jack

Christmas Party at Saint Patrick's Church

Every year we have a Christmas party with the members of the congregation at Saint Patrick's Church in Canonsburg, PA. It is so much fun!  We have soooo much food and a wonderful Egg Nog Punch that Father Jack makes from his own recipe.  It is so creamy and delicious!  The children have such a great time being with family and church friends.  There are many trees and nativities.  Aren't they lovely?

John and Debra in new LandsEnd outfits
in front of the new fireplace!

Isabella and Caroline in matching Ugg boots
and LandsEnd outfits!  So cute!

Jackson and Nana relaxing.  Father Jack
is a fabulous decorator. His trees and 
decor are gorgeous. Thank you to Father 
Jack and all who helped host 
this wonderful annual event!

Sugar Hill Christmas Trees in 2018

Sugar Hill Christmas Trees in 2018

Starting our tour today in the Tennessee room are three trees flanking the window that overlooks the swimming pool in summer.  On the left is Smoky Mountain Christmas full of red and black ornaments and ribbons, in the middle is the Martha Stewart tree full of handmade ornaments through the years from family and friends.  On the right is the Farmhouse Christmas tree.  It is black and white.

Tennessee Room Trees

Handmade Tree

Smoky Mountain Christmas tree

Farmhouse Christmas tree

Annalee Santa and his Christmas Moose

Sleigh Bells Ring

I love this sign I purchased at Tis the Season store in 
Berlin, Ohio for the Sleigh Bells Ring tree.

Baby It's Cold Outside...so let it snow!



We love this Advent pillow in Tennessee room from TJMaxx.


Red Kugels from Marshalls and TJMaxx.

Close up of the Taste The Feeling tree.  This is full of Coca Cola decorations that were collected by my daddy, William Smith, and daughter Lauren Ruffing.

The Coke polar bears are so cute!  They really make this snowy 
tree an over the top design!

Coca-Cola Santa just finished his rounds and is ready for a Coke and a nap!

This tree is full of unique Coca-Cola ornaments collected over many years.

Candy bar...watch out for elves sneaking some treats!

They can get into so much mischief!  Five elves visit us from 

the North Pole every year!

Gingerbread tree-Karina's favorite! 
She decorates this one every year!

Elf Mischief tree

Cute and ornery elves are tucked all over this tree.

Elf Mischief tree topped off with elf hat and elf legs.

Christmas in Vermont tree

A snow flocked tree with sparkling snow ornaments and mint green ornaments

What Will You Keepsake this Year? Our Hallmark tree!

Yes that is a Cinnamon Bear ornament from the 1980's!  
I have the whole series!

That wraps up our 2018 Christmas home tour.  I loved sharing our decorations and trees with you.  Thank you for stopping by and come back soon for more great ideas and decorations in 2019.

Merry Christmas Y'all!

Candy Cane Cookies are a family tradition!

Famous Peppermint Candy Cane cookies!

We make this one every year.  How about y'all?  These are refreshing treats after a yummy Christmas Dinner.  Kids love to help roll out the long pieces of dough too.

We use an easy way to break the candy canes up...put them in a ziploc baggie and grab your rolling pin and crush those canes.






http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/candy-cane-cookies/93832e29-3b4f-4977-ae5a-9820053b254c

Here is Betty's recipe link.  Hers is by far the most tasty we've tried over the years.

Enjoy!

Merry Christmas to y'all!