7 Days of Shamrocks Hiatus

I will be taking a small break in my 7 Days of Shamrocks blog due to the fact that I will be out of town for the next few days. I will pick up with days 5,6, and 7 next week. I understand that St. Patrick's Day is this Saturday, but fortunately it's one of those holidays that is celebrated all month long. I started to see St. Patty's Day bar crawl pictures sprouting up last weekend on Facebook, this weekend is the actual holiday and events like DC's famous Shamrockfest aren't until the following weekend. So hopefully there will still be plenty of green and luck on my side as I finish the final 3 days next week.

Here's a sneak peak of what I'll be making: Green Beer Marshmallow Pops, a homemade version of the famous Shamrock Shake and a special St. Patty's Day cupcake. Stay tuned...

7 Days of Shamrocks: Day 4

For day four of my 7 Days of Shamrocks, I went to my old faithful hurricane centerpiece. If you follow my blog, I'm sure you've seen my hurricane centerpiece which I have updated for various themes and holidays including fall, winter, Valentine's Day, Red Carpet Award Shows and Mardi Gras. For instructions on how to make the actual hurricane vase, click on my fall or winter blog.

For this one, I added large foam shamrocks in between the candle and vase. I'm not sure I love it but it's a little different than other things I've tried with it. It's good to mix it up every once in a while and I think it looks cute still.

7 Days of Shamrocks: Day 3

For day three of my 7 Days of Shamrocks, I decided to make some St, Patrick's Day cocktails. If I had been doing my original plan of 17 Days of Shamrocks, I would have made these separate days, but since I'm only doing 7, I figured I'd do one blog for both.

The first cocktail I wanted to make was a Guinness Float. Guinness is a cliche/classic beer to enjoy on St. Patty's Day. There are a few different options to spice up a classic Guinness. The most cliche is an Irish Car Bomb. This consists of dropping a mixed shot of Irish Creme and Irish Whiskey into a Guinness and chugging it as fast as you can. A less known variation of this is a Boiler Maker. That is a straight shot of Irish Whiskey in a Guinness that you chug also. I decided to go for a less "chuggy" twist on a classic Guinness: an Irish Stout Float. Start by taking a scoop of vanilla ice cream and placing it in a pint glass. Next pour a cold 12 oz. Guinness over the smooth creamy cold treat. If you own a Guinness spoon, it helps pour the beer properly. See pictures below.

Your final result is a smooth, tasty treat. An adult Irish version of your favorite root beer float. The sweet creaminess of the ice cream adds something special to the bitter dark stout. Top it off with a festive green straw and you've got an awesome St. Patty's Day beverage.

If an Irish Stout Float isn't your cup of tea, maybe a festive green cocktail is more your style. Going green is never wrong when you're celebrating our favorite Irish holiday. My recommendation is a tasty Green Apple Martini.

Ingredients:
5 tablespoons of sour-apple schnapps (I used Mr. Stacks)
5 tablespoons of vodka (I used Belvedere)
5 tablespoons of lemonade (I used Crystal Light)
5 tablespoons of lemon-lime soda  (I used Sierra Mist)
Cinnamon Sugar for rim

First I poured a tiny bit of sour-apple schnapps into a shot glass and dipped my finger and rubbed it around the rim of the martini glass. Next I made a cinnamon sugar mixture on a plate and dipped the rim of the glass in the mixture. I believe this special touch really added something to the taste of the drink.

Next, take the rest of your ingredients and add them together over ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously and pour into martini glass. I think I'm truly an apple martini fan these days and this recipe was divine!

7 Days of Shamrocks: Day 1

For day one of my 7 Days of Shamrocks, I decided to make a shamrock banner. I saw a similar idea on {where else but Pinterest} and thought it was cute.

Supplies Needed:
Different shades of green scrapbook paper
Scissors
Stapler
Green ribbon

Start by cutting your paper into vertical strips. I used two different shades of green paper, but the more variety the better. If you have any designs like polka dots or stripes, I think it would just add to the look of the banner.

Next take each strip and fold it in half. Then take the ends and staple them into a heart.

Next take four hearts and then staple them together to make a clover.

Make as many clovers and you'd like, depending on the length of the banner you're trying to make. Finally string them on your ribbon and choose a spot to hang it.

7 Days of Shamrocks

I love St. Patrick's Day! It is my favorite holiday. Because of this, I wanted to do a 17 Day challenge for St. Patrick's Day but just needed a breather after all of the holidays and events in February. Aside from 17, doing a 7 day one just made sense. It's basically celebrating the holiday with a week's worth of crafts and recipes. Since I'm doing a shorter one that initially planned, I may feature multiple things per day like perhaps a variety of cocktail recipes on one day instead of splitting them up. Since St. Patrick's Day is on a Saturday this year, my blog will run from Sunday-Saturday, the 11-17th. I toyed with doing days of Green but like the way Shamrocks sounded. So stay tuned for 7 Days of Shamrocks...