St. Patrick’s Day

A Markel Family St. Patrick’s Day

It’s time for another Markel Family holiday recap! Like all good holidays, the fun really started last night, when we set our leprechaun trap:

We watched every episode of Rick Steves’ Europe featuring Ireland that we could find (I think there were four on Hulu), and then watched Riverdance. And I had a Shamrock Shake, because I have to have one every year!

Early this morning, we went downstairs to discover that as is the case every year, even though it looked like we had caught something in our trap, all we found was a small treat (leprechaun-sized “cobblestones” that were actually Dove mint chocolates):

This year’s breakfast of Lucky Charms was extra special, because we found a limited edition green marshmallows variety!

In between preparing dinner and working on Turkey’s birthday cake for tomorrow, I found some time to bring my St. Patrick’s Day spirit to Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp:

This really was the children’s “lucky” day, because they also got a special treat with lunch…St. Patrick’s Day cakes!

Of course I took a picture of them all in their wildly varying shades of green:

We had our usual dinner of corned beef and cabbage, roast carrots and potatoes, and soda bread with Irish butter. But this year, we had something extra special to go with it…Green River soda, a Chicago favorite that I remember from my childhood. I managed to pick up a few bottles when we were in Chicago in January, and we used every ounce of self-control we have not to open them until today!

And for dessert, Guinness cake, which I think may be our family’s favorite cake!

It was another fun St. Patrick’s Day, and there’s even more fun to come tomorrow on Turkey’s 15th birthday!

Sartorial Saturday–St. Patrick’s Day Style

St. Patrick’s Day is only a week away! It’s one of my favorite holidays, and it just happens to fall during Mary Blair March. I have one Pinup Girl Clothing skirt that combines the color green with the artwork of Mary Blair…the boat print Jenny!

I decided to go with a bold, contrasting color on top, and I think it’s a really fun look. I also found as many green accessories as possible, including my favorite Splendette Duchess glitter bangles and a frog brooch from Erstwilder. And while the necklace may not have any green, it pretty much goes with everything!

What’s your favorite way to wear green on St. Patrick’s Day?

St. Paddy’s Day 2017

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

We had our typical celebration. The leprechaun trap was set last night, and while we still didn’t catch a leprechaun, we did find some green mint m&ms on the table this morning:

We enjoyed our other St. Patrick’s Day favorites, as well. Lucky Charms for breakfast, some mint creme rolls with lunch, and our dinner feast of corned beef and cabbage, carrots, roast potatoes, and soda bread with Irish butter. Oh, and Guinness cake for dessert, of course! And Ryan even stopped at McDonald’s and got me one of their new Shamrock chocolate chip frappés, which was delicious!

This is always one of my favorite holidays, and we enjoyed it to the fullest!

St. Patrick’s Day 2016

Today we had our traditional O’Markel family St. Patrick’s Day celebration. There was green and a leprechaun trap and corned beef and cabbage. We tried a new dessert this year…Guinness brownies with Bailey’s cream filling and a whiskey-laced chocolate glaze…they were amazing! We also read some of our favorite St. Patrick’s Day books, including Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland, The Night Before St. Patrick’s Day, and King Puck.

IMG_1167

IMG_1151

IMG_1185

St. Patrick’s Day is one of my favorite holidays of the year, and I enjoyed myself immensely!

The Top Five–Holidays

Since tomorrow is one of my favorite holidays, I thought I’d share a holiday-themed “Top Five” list!

  • Christmas–Shocking, right? If you’ve followed this blog for any length of time, you know that this is my very favorite of the holidays….an over-the-top birthday party for Jesus! From Advent through Epiphany, the celebration doesn’t stop. Extra time at church, fun family traditions, special music and movies, commemoration days to celebrate, decorations, gift-giving, cooking and baking galore…what’s not to love?
  • Easter–Easter is the highlight of the church year, and that’s why I love it so much…all the time spent at church, especially during Holy Week, and Easter Sunday itself. I know there was a time we didn’t get to go to two church services, plus enjoy breakfast at church on Easter, but I really can’t remember it, and I don’t want it any other way. Plus, there’s a special family dinner to cap it all off!
  • St. Patrick’s Day–I’m not even Irish, but I love this holiday. I love that its roots come from church tradition, I love decorating in green and shamrocks, I love our special family traditions that we enjoy on this day every year (including school traditions), and I love the special foods we eat on this holiday.
  • Thanksgiving–This is a holiday that’s a lot of work for one day, but we’ve still built so many special family traditions around it that I can’t help but love it. From our “Thankful Tree” and special school unit throughout November, to the seven pies I bake every Thanksgiving Eve, to the pie for breakfast the day after Thanksgiving, plus the Christmas Lego building, turkey soup making, and town tree-lighting that same day…it’s just a fantastically fun family day(s)!
  • Independence Day–And, finally, the holiday that inspired this post…the birthday of our country! I love the patriotic songs (the Fourth of July and Christmas always mean time for the Boston Pops Orchestra!), the red, white, & blue everywhere, the parades and fireworks, and, again, the special foods I make for our family’s celebration. Oh, and the watching of Holiday Inn (firecracker dance, anyone?), and Yankee Doodle Dandy every year on the fourth…it’s so much fun!

What are your family’s favorite holidays?

St. Patrick’s Day 2015

St. Patrick’s Day started as it always does in our house–with the checking of our leprechaun trap and the eating of Lucky Charms for breakfast. We also enjoyed our typical St. Patrick’s Day feast of corned beef, cabbage, and carrots, along with roast potatoes, soda bread, and Guinness cake for dessert, with a few other treats sprinkled throughout the day!

Erin go bragh!

A Sneak Peek at St. Patrick’s Day

I decided to make a Jell-O dessert in the colors of the flag of the Republic of Ireland:

IMG_0293

I’m pretty happy with how it turned out…I think I may add it to our permanent collection!

St. Patrick’s Day Crafts

St. Patrick’s Day is only a week away. It’s one of my five favorite holidays, so I try to find lots of fun things to do. Here’s a peek at some of the crafts we’ve done over the years:

If you’re looking for recipes or reading lists, I have that covered, too!

Green with Envy?

You might be envious of how awesome this green velvet cheesecake cake I’m making to celebrate “Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day” is going to be!

IMG_2329