Shake o' the Irish

Even if I'm only a quarter Irish, I'm 100% into reasons to celebrate. 

This weekend's wardrobe was green, green, green. (I realized I don't actually own many green things, so a bright green nail polish helped seal the deal.) We watched shows based in Ireland. Dinner tonight will be of the Irish variety. (I'm still trying to figure out what exactly we'll have - any ideas you lads and ladies would be willing to share?) 

For a sweet treat this weekend, we made homemade Shamrock shakes thanks to this Williams-Sonoma recipe.

The most complicated part of the recipe is the mint infused simple syrup which F and I both agreed was totally skipable. If you are looking for a simple, festive way to celebrate tonight, grab vanilla ice cream, peppermint extract, green food coloring, milk and blend, blend, blend your way to the luck o' the Irish.

(psst. If you really want to impress the leprechauns, sprinkle crushed thin mints on top.)

Happy St. Patrick's Day, sweet readers. 

images: hilaryclair

Winner, winner, Brussels sprout dinner!

I consider myself a majorly blessed person, but not necessarily lucky.

I've won my fair share of things - silent auctions, stuffed animals at a play when I was just a wee one, the occasional trivia, I came home from Vegas ahead of the casinos ... but I don't have any Powerballs or new cars in my winning repertoire.

I follow a few of my favorite companies and blogs on facebook and see their contests pop up every now and again in my newsfeed. For the longest time, I didn't even bother to enter, assuming the odds were against me, but then I figured, what is there to lose?

Well, ladies and gents, I am here to tell you that it is worth it.

This weekend, I left a comment on a Williams-Sonoma contest saying what dish I would make in their Staub pan and well, meet my new Staub Perfect Pan!

The contest post.

Their response after the random drawing (there were 3500 entries).

All my lucky stars!

Williams-Sonoma is one of F and my happy places; we could NOT be any more excited.

images: hilaryclair