Happy Easter weekend! We are back in town with our new little (well, not so little) puppy. Next week I will share our cross country adventures and introduce you to the handsome fella. With Easter being so early this year, the weatherman is predicting chilly temperatures and rain. So much for eating outside and enjoying the spring weather on Sunday. It’s that time again and welcome to Saturday Meanderings, where we chat about all good things these past 2 weeks, as I missed last week.

Daughter’s Birthday dinner party

Luckily, our daughter is home for her birthday and we had a casual dinner party celebrating both her birthday and St. Patrick’s Day.

With 12 guests, I make 2 of my Guinness pot pies, a large salad and two desserts~Baileys Irish cream cheesecake and a London Fog cake (Julianna’s request). These tried and true recipes are always a hit.

Annual Shamrock Run

Fortunately, after indulging in so many good calories, my daughter and I get up early the following morning to participate in the annual Shamrock Run. It is chilly and rainy, but we felt blessed to see a rainbow before the race started.

Julianna ran the 10K with both her dogs (just amazing!) and I thought I would just walk the 5K. However, at the starting line everyone around me started running and in order to keep up, I, too, started running. Please note that after 3 knee surgeries my doctor advises me not to run anymore. I don’t know what came over me but I ran about 60% of the race and placed 5th in my age category. Not without consequences, though.

I could hardly walk later that day and of course, my knee ballooned up a bit. What was I thinking?!? Nonetheless, it is a fun run with all sorts of outrageous St. Patrick’s Day attire. Plus I never want to miss out of an opportunity to do something with my children. I am trying to turn off the voice in my head that is saying, “Mary, you are too old for this”.

Fruit picking

It’s that time of year where we need to glean all the citrus trees. Sweet smelling blossoms are now opening on most of the trees. Removing this year’s crop of fruit will help the production of next year’s crop.

In our orchard we have 12 citrus trees ranging from oranges to kumquats to grapefruits. With our abundance of fruit, we ship boxes of fruit to family and friends and donate the rest.

Picking fruit equals many arm scratches, so I finally put on my Farmers Defense sleeves, which are a must for any gardener. They come in various designs and you can find them here. Really love this product!

Our Yard this Time of Year

Easter and Spring is when our yard looks its best~mostly around mid-to-late April. A few trees are still bare and will bud later, but the flowers and the lawn are at their prime.

Rose Garden and New Book

The rose bushes in the garden look so healthy and vibrant. A few buds are appearing and I am trying to keep an eye out for aphids, which generally are in abundance this time of year.

I have always wanted to truly learn about roses, but I’m a bit of a weekend gardener. Do you follow Grace Rose Farm on Instagram @gracerosefarm? The photos are always so gorgeous and you can order both cut flowers and rose plants directly from them. I recently received her book, Garden Roses and it is a complete guide to growing and arranging roses.

Currently reading this book to up my roses game. Note: I thought the book would be coffee table book size but it is smaller, which I like. The photos are just stunning and it’s written is a way that is easy to understand.

Making Easter Baskets

A quick trip to Target this week results in some great finds for Easter and Easter baskets. How cute are these fabric, bottom weighted chickens with spectacles?!? At $3.00 a piece, you can find them in their dollar section at the store entrance. I cannot find these online so they must be an in-store special.

I love making Easter baskets and like to find a container that serves a purpose afterwards. These coil rope baskets with leather (pleather?) handles by Brightroom are wonderful storage containers. They come in various sizes but I have the 11″ one here and they are currently on sale for $8.00.

In the basket, there is a bottle of rosé Prosecco, chocolate bunnies, various toiletries-deodorant, facial masks, favorite candies and a wonderful smelling candle. Another Target find at the Threshold section (Studio McGee’s line), this 3 wick candle comes in a matte ceramic container and the scent (Citron and Sands) is fabulous. A bargain for such a large candle at $17.00.

Flower Pressing

Do you remember the post about making your own framed botanical artwork? If not, here it is. In order to press the flowers, I use all of our big books, which is cumbersome.

But Rachel, from The Ponds Farmhouse is very creative with a super handy husband. I love this flower press they make from scrap materials.

Rachel puts her beautiful touches on it using a flower motif. I certainly could have used this when making my botanical artwork. What a wonderful way to preserve the beauty of your garden and yard. You can see Rachel’s blog post here. I think I may ask my husband to make this….

What Am I Reading?

My friend, Andrea recommends listening to this book . However, I read it instead and it is SO good. I imagine it is excellent whether you read or listen to it. It has over 10,000 reviews with 4.6 stars and is a best seller on Amazon. I highly recommend The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. So well done. Now I need to read her other novels, Code Name Hélèna and I Was Anastasia. Is anyone familiar with this author?

Mary’s Must Haves

As you can see in some of the photos above, I really love this lightweight polyester vest from 32 Degrees. Originally, I bought mine at Costco, but inventory there is certainly hit or miss. Amazon sells this same brand in 6 colors and it has a 4.6 rating.

Also Amazon has a similar looking one for less money and in 12 colors (currently 50% off), but I cannot verify the quality. However, with over 13,000 reviews and a 4.4 rating, it may be a good product. I actually might purchase one and try it out as I like some of the color choices.

What I love about this vest is that it is very light, packable, and washable. During these Spring days when it is warm one minute and cold the next, it is perfect for me, especially in our drafty old home.

I own a blue and olive green one and depending on the weather, it works well with long or short sleeves. I’m 5’4″ and am wearing a Small. This yellow one is particularly cute, isn’t it?

Great Rubber Shoes

These Sloggers are my go-to shoes when it’s wet or muddy outside. They are perfect for gardening too. My very first pair was a gift from my friend, Janie and not only are they cute, but oh so comfortable. Now I own two pairs and one set of boots.

With 24 designs to choose from, you can be slogging through the mud in style. I typically wear a 7.5 woman’s shoe size so the size 8 works out well.

I could go on and on today, but there are hot cross buns and babka bread to be made for Easter Sunday. Wishing you a blessed holiday weekend. Please look for my post next week where I will share all the details of this handsome guy!

Another rainy and chilly few days here in the Valley of the Sun. My garden is very happy about the additional moisture and of course, the cooler temperatures are always appreciated. Happy St. Patrick’s Day weekend! Tonight we are hosting a dinner party celebrating our daughter, Julianna’s 27th birthday. I will be serving my two favorite recipes which I did share with you this week. Welcome to another Saturday Meanderings, where we chat about all good things this week.

Hosting a Cocktail Mixer

As you may know, I sit on the board for our neighborhood association. This week we hosted a cocktail mixer to introduce people to the association and recruit new board members. With about 40 people attending, I am hoping a caterer will help out with hors d’oeuvres, however, my favorite person is not available.

Using the large round wooden board from Sur La Table, with the help of Costco and Safeway, I create a charcuterie board using cheeses, meats, fruits, nuts and crackers.

Nasturtiums are abundant in the garden right now, and it’s amazing how a pop of color can take your charcuterie board up a notch.

Store-bought French macarons from Costco and lemon yogurt covered pretzels from Safeway make for a colorful Spring dessert tray.

This is the first time buying the Green Chili Chicken Firecrackers from Costco. A quick bake in the oven, it’s always nice to serve a warm/hot appetizer. By cutting them in half, this became a one-bite finger food. I didn’t try them but the tray was nearly empty, so I’m guessing they tasted good.

No photographs but in addition, there is a vegetable tray with hummus dip, fresh shrimp on ice with cocktail sauce, small bowls of cashews, garlic herb almonds and salt and vinegar potato chips.

All in all a very productive and fun meeting.

Gardening Update

This week I plant 6 brand new San Marzano tomato plants. I love this variety of tomatoes as it makes the best sauce. Five out of the 6 plants are missing….just gone. What? For years now, I have grown tomato plants and the critters have never expressed any interest in them. Who/What is eating my tomato plants?

Scattering seeds this week in the garden. I love growing chamomile for its delicate flower and scent~wonderful to dry or make tea. Even though the growing season for chervil is short, it makes a tasty salad.

The castor bean seeds are a new experiment and not even sure it will grow here. Now in doing some research apparently the seed and leaves can be really toxic so I may pull the plants if they grow. Here I thought castor beans = castor oil, all good for you, right? Geez. Not the brightest thing I’ve done.

Do You Take Magnesium?

Gaia Herbs posts an informative article about magnesium. Do you take this mineral that supports muscles and bones, energy, brain function, and so much more? Here is the article and it appears I need to do further research about this.

Currently, I take Magnesium Lactate as this was recommended to me after having low magnesium via a hair mineral analysis years ago. Taking a bath and using Epsom salts is another way to absorb magnesium into your body. Will do a deeper dive and let you know what I discover.

From the Internet

With warmer weather prompting Spring growth, it is also weed season. Stacy from Bricks ‘n Blooms has a very informative post about Homemade Weed Killer and other natural ways to kill weeds.

If you are using weed killers with glyphosate, there is evidence of its connection with cancer. With so many chemicals in our gardening world, please find an organic way to control weeds.

This time of year I love to tackle small Spring cleaning projects. Barbara from Mantel and Table will get you motivated to clean out your linens drawer(s) with her post on Storing Napkins~How to Organize a Beautiful Linen Drawer.

Do you stop for roadside freebies? I am guilty of doing so with this set of Adirondack chairs. Check out how my friend, Rachel from the Ponds Farmhouse transforms these resin planters into DIY faux Concrete ones. It’s probably good that Rachel and I do not live near each other! Ha!

Since my goal is to always post beautiful things, I consider this next post valuable to keep all of us safe. Since I drive a very old car, I don’t have a wireless or remote starter to the ignition. But since many of you do, please read this very informative article for your own personal safety and to prevent your car being stolen while pumping gas.

Mary’s Must Haves

If you have the sourdough bread making bug, then this starter set is a must have for your baking. It is 27% off this week at $39.99. Not baking sourdough bread yet? This is also a great gift for someone who does.

Speaking of bread, my sweet friend and neighbor, Tevia, ordered some dehydrated sourdough starter from the internet and shared some with me this week. Yes, you can order starter from around the world and rehydrate it.

There is one that is several decades old from San Francisco, and with it I make this nice looking loaf of cheddar, rosemary and garlic bread. I will post this recipe shortly~it’s a family favorite. It is fun to experiment with different starters.

Cake Pans

After purchasing my favorite cake cookbook, Layered, I realize that I do not have good cake pans. Yesterday, in making the London Fog cake (a request from my daughter, Julianna, for her birthday), I want to share these cake pans that I love.

The cake recipe requires three 8″ round cake pans and these from Fat Daddies do not disappoint. It’s amazing that just having the right equipment makes such a difference in the success of the recipe.

I am in the process of trying to consolidate all my Mary’s Must Haves. There will be tab at the top of my home page where you will be able to find all the items and their associated links. Hope to have that complete in a week or two.

Tonight, for the birthday celebration for our daughter’s 27th birthday (which is actually on St. Patrick’s Day), I am busy in the kitchen making 2 Guinness beef pies, a Bailey’s Irish Creme cheese cake, my favorite arugula salad and of course, the London Fog birthday cake.

On Sunday, I am doing a 5k/10k with said daughter in order to work off some of the calories from the night before!

Next week, we are heading to Virginia to pick up our new puppy. I am not sure if I will have the opportunity to post, but I hope to share pictures of our journey (and our new little fella) along the way.

Until we chat again, have a wonderful weekend, a fun St. Patrick’s Day and we will connect soon!

Just a reminder that any words that are italicized bring you to the source. If it is a product on Amazon, please note that I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you purchase something through my website, I receive a small (very small!) stipend, which doesn’t affect the price you pay at all. My goal is to make sourcing the items easy for you. Thank you for your continued support.

Even though we are not of Irish decent, we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th, because it is the birthday of my daughter, Julianna and my mother, Julia. That, in itself, is a good reason to set a St. Patrick’s Day Table. However, who is St. Patrick and why is this holiday celebrated around the world?

A Little History

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated annually on March 17, the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish observe this day as a religious holiday and have so for over 1,000 years.

St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland and its national apostle. Born in Roman Britain, he was kidnapped from his home and brought to Ireland as a slave at the age of 16. He later escaped, but returned to Ireland and was credited with bringing Christianity to its people. 

Mixing Old and New

For this year’s St. Patrick’s Day table, I am using this fun piece of contemporary fabric from my friend, Anne. I couple it with my antique English china, Fondeville Ambassador Ware 6762. The rich shades of green, gold, pink, blue and yellow make these gold-rim plates one of my favorites.

To me, this is the essence of collected chic~mixing bold patterns with elegant tableware.

Stacking the antique china on the simple brushed gold chargers enhances the gold in the pattern. Adding the crackled gold rim clear salad plate from Leslie Roy does not diminish the platter floral design. Similar chargers can be found here. These chargers are so affordable and I use them frequently.

Of course, I love my Wallace silver/gold bee patterned flatware (see link here) which seems to go with just about any place setting I create. The combination of green and gold in this setting lends to the luck of the Irish!

Made in Waterford, Ireland, the Waterford crystal Marquis water goblets and Lismore wine glasses are in keeping with the Irish theme. Gold trim napkins softly fold and find a home inside the wine glass. See similar napkins here.

Making it Festive

With a fun and festive holiday like St. Patrick’s Day, it is easy for the table decor to become kitschy or juvenile. Trying to keep the table elegant, but fun, I add gold shamrocks to the tablecloth. Since I bought these several years ago, resource unknown, you can use gold coins instead.

Each place setting gets a light up shamrock necklace for added whimsy for our guests. See similar necklace here.

The Centerpiece

Brass candlesticks from West Elm brighten up the table. Set up in our family and surrounded by windows, the table changes color as the day progresses.

The centerpiece is a vintage Westmoreland oval footed milk glass bowl with hydrangeas, peonies and green glitter shamrocks. Again, the glittery shamrocks are fun but the centerpiece still looks elegant. The shape is the perfect size for this round table.

Will you be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day? My daughter will be 27 years old and my mother, if alive, would be celebrating her 99th. Time marches on, doesn’t it?

Wishing you all a happy Wednesday.

Just a reminder that any words that are italicized bring you to the source. If it is a product on Amazon, please note that I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you purchase something through my website, I receive a small (very small!) stipend, which doesn’t affect the price you pay at all. My goal is to make sourcing the items easy for you. Thank you for your continued support.

If you enjoy this post, please share on Pinterest.

This post shared with Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday #650

Whether you are Irish or not, I believe we all need the luck of the Irish right now! St. Patrick’s Day is special in our home as it is the birthday of both my daughter and my mother. To learn more about the history of this holiday, please click here. Today, I have two recipes for you: Guinness Pie and Baileys Irish cream cheesecake.

Most people think of corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day. But I am not a huge fan of the traditional dishes. Each year, I make both of these recipes and since they are so delicious, I make them again and again! The original recipe for Guinness Pie was published in the New York Times but if you try and get it online, they make you pay for a weekly subscription. Not sure how I scored a paper copy of it, but the printable recipe is below. I will provide a link to the cheesecake recipe.

Guinness Pie

If you need a pie crust shortcut, I strongly recommend Trader Joe’s pie crust. These are a staple in my freezer as I use them for both sweet and savory pies. You can find them in the freezer section of your local Trader Joe’s. This is my favorite preferred alternative to a homemade crust and super easy to use. However if you don’t have a Trader Joe’s, you can make your own crust or use another store-bought brand.

Before I start any recipe, I gather all my ingredients.

Since this recipe requires a bit of chopping, having sharp knives is important. The sharper the knife the safer the chop. Before you sharpen your knife, please note the type of knife you have. We have a sharpener for my Asian blades and a different one for the German blades. Here are several choices in knife sharpeners.

With all the vegetables chopped and ready to go, cooking commences.

Carrots, celery, onion, garlic, mushrooms are cooked in a oven-safe pot. I used my Le Creuset pot~~which I love (and wish I had a few more!). But any Dutch oven or heavy stock pot will do.

A side note about my Le Creuset~ this signature porcelain enameled cast iron Dutch oven is an investment, but you will not be disappointed. Mine is 5.5 quarts (or #26). With this recipe I believe you could go with a smaller one, maybe a 4.5 or 3.5 quart size.

I use my Le Creuset frequently. It’s perfect for everything from baking homemade bread to making soups and stews. This pot will be passed down to the next generation. You really can’t go wrong with purchasing it.  

While this cooks, your kitchen will smell so good!

The recipe calls for 3 pounds of brisket. Though it does not instruct to trim the fat from the brisket, I did~~about 7 oz. of it. The fresh rosemary is clipped from the garden. If you don’t have an herb garden, I really encourage you to have fresh herbs in a pot. Simple pleasures and how intoxicating is the smell of fresh rosemary?

The recipe also calls for 4 cups of stout beer. I had two bottles of Guinness but when I measured it, the volume was only 3 cups. However, the beer did cover the beef in the pot, so I didn’t feel a need to add more.

What makes this stew so delicious, is that, after sautéing all the vegetables and beef, is the slow-baking in the oven for 2 1/2 hours. After the appropriate baking time, freshly shredded cheddar cheese is added (or trotter gear, if you have it). Look at the rich texture and color of the stew! While the stew is cooking you can work on the crust.

Just a side note on trotter gear. It involves pig’s feet (ewww) so the cheddar cheese option is fine with me. But here’s a recipe if you are interested in making it.

The pie crust can be placed in either a 8-inch square Pyrex dish or a pie pan. I like using a 9″ deep dish glass pie dish. After I add the beef stew, I put the remaining cheddar cheese on top and then top it with a basketweave crust using different widths of dough. With the leftover dough, I use shamrock cookie cutters for a decorative touch.

If you are not familiar with a basketweave top crust, a standard pie crust top is fine.

Using green food coloring, I paint the shamrocks with a pastry brush. I did this for the first time last year and really thought it made the Guinness pie look more festive. Then pop the pie into the oven for another 45 minutes until the crust is puffy and golden.

This is such a flavorful, hearty pie, which is perfect for this time of year. Though the recipe yields 6 servings, I could easily get 8 out of the pie. Since we are having guests for dinner on Thursday, I will be making 2 pies. Plus the leftovers are equally delicious!

In addition, I will serve my arugula salad with lemon dressing so we have more greens for St. Patrick’s Day. We have a bumper crop of arugula that will bolt soon as the temperatures rise, so I am trying to harvest as much as I can from the garden.

Bailey’s Irish Cream Cheesecake

The next recipe is very decadent but such a festive dessert for St. Patrick’s Day. Just a note: The recipe recommends a 5 hour refrigeration time so plan accordingly. Here is the direct link to the cheesecake recipe~~click here. I will be making this the day before and finishing it on St. Patrick’s Day before company arrives.

For the crust, put whole Oreo cookies in the Cuisinart to get 2 cups of crumbs~~approximately 18 to 20 cookies. Mix in melted butter.

The recipe tells you to put the crumbs in a spring form pan, yet isn’t clear on if they only go on the bottom or up the sides. Keep the crust on the bottom (per the pictures on the link). Bake for 8-10 minutes. If you need a 9″ springform pan, see one here.

The directions are a little vague about wrapping the springform pan. I wrap the bottom and the sides with double foil to make sure no water will enter the inside of the pan during the hot bath.

Once the cheesecake is finished baking and has cooled, it needs to be refrigerated for at least 5 hours or overnight.

I let mine cool overnight and will make the chocolate ganache the next day.

Last year I failed to get a photo of an individual piece, so this is from 2 years ago. My ganache last year is much shinier, which is the trademark of a successful ganache. Regardless, the taste of the cheesecake is just amazing.

I hope you will try these recipes because I only recommend the ones that I have personally tried and tasted. There’s nothing worse than spending time in the kitchen only to have an underwhelming dish.

Also, if you missed the post on decorating a St. Patrick’s Day table to go with these fabulous recipes, you can see that here. Enjoy!

If you enjoy this post, please share on Pinterest.

Every year we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Not because we are Irish, but our daughter’s birthday falls on March 17th. This year it’s a big one for her~27. And this special date was also my mother’s birthday. Mom (Julie) would have been 99. But we hold those who have departed dear in our hearts, hence this day of celebration in our family.

Whether you are Irish or not, don’t we all need something happy to look forward to? This holiday is next week so why not make it special? Here are some tablescape ideas to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in style. Next week I will send you my favorite St. Patrick’s Day recipes that I make year to year.

Shades of Green

Green is the color that comes to mind when celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. But there are SO many shades of green. Recently I purchased an Indian block tablecloth from Just Darviny in hopes of using it for this holiday. However, when I lay my dishes on it, nothing really looked great.

Finding Solutions

See how the tablecloth now looks blue against the various green shades in the dinner plates. A great solution to this problem is to add placemats on top of the table linen to break up the green/blue pattern.

What better way to do this than with authentic Irish linens? During a family trip to Ireland many years ago, I bought these hand-drawn threadwork Kerry border placemats and napkins. I just love the elegant border detail.

Now with the plates a distance from the tablecloth, it all seems to work. Now I add in other shades of green and soon the table looks festive.

The Place Setting

The green basketweave dinner plates are from Pier One and made in Italy. The sweet flower salad plate is an eBay find from Fondeville Ambassador Ware England. Of course, my favorite bee flatware from Wallace, which is so versatile with either gold or silver. The dinner plates are no longer available, but check out these pretty green and gold chargers I found on Amazon.

Both the water and wine glass are Waterford crystal, another fine Irish company. My husband’s favorite candlesticks in the shape of sea horses are also from Waterford. Since we stayed at Waterford Castle and toured the Waterford Crystal facility, these pieces are very sentimental.

The Centerpiece

The centerpiece is super easy. I’m not the best at keeping indoor houseplants and there is little to no work in growing and maintaining a philodendron heartleaf. It is the perfect plant to fill the center of the table. Tucked around the bottom are various faux flowers in shades of green.

Fun, green shamrocks are scattered around the table for a bit of whimsy. There are many green-themed decorations you can find to decorate your table here.

I believe this table captures the sweetness of Ireland and the festivity of St. Patrick’s Day, all while feeling a bit vintage. And I like the layering of the placemat over the tablecloth too!

Previous St. Patrick’s Day table

If you would like to see last year’s St. Patrick’s Day table post, click here. With a much more vibrant shades of green, it’s fun to compare them.

Whether you are Irish or not, don’t these shades of green just remind you of Spring which is just around the corner? Thank you so much for joining me today! Wishing you a day of happiness and sunshine.

If you enjoy this post, please share on Pinterest.

This post shared with Between Naps on the Porch 804th Tablescape Thursday