Ireland, I miss you.

I really do..

I visited Ireland in 2008 and really really want to go back. I love the beauty, the people, the accent, the Irish coffee.. Ha..

Seriously though, I think I'm going to see about making another trip there next year.

Here are some pictures from the '08 trip... 

At the Jameson Distillery

I love all the green!!

Bunratty Castle in Shannon

At Blarney Castle

Pretty!

My mom and me somewhere in the Ring of Kerry

In the words of our guide "ABC.. Another Bloody Castle"

Bagpipes!

Me kissing the Blarney Stone

The Cliffs of Moher

St. Patrick's Day!

I am definitely one of those girls who dresses up and goes all out for random holidays.. St. Patrick's day happens to be one of my favorites. First off, I LOVE Ireland, my mom and I visited in 2008. Secondly, I love green. Thirdly, I'm part Irish..

Anyways, this year I decided to cook an Irish meal for the family.

Here is the recipe for the Steak and Guinness Pie I made.

This is what goes inside the pie (steak, bacon, onions, peas...). The Guinness makes an AMAZING gravy. Let me tell you..

Here I am with the finished product..

Here it is on the table.. I must say, this pie was scrumptiously delicious. It was hearty. It was yummy. It was Irish. I highly suggest you try it out. The only downside was that my family gobbled it all up and there were absolutely no left-overs.

I made Whisky cookie balls for dessert. They were also fantastic. (I'll post the recipe at the bottom of this post.) We had Bailey's Irish Cream with dessert as well.. So I guess we had the three most popular Irish drinks at dinner (Guinness in the pie, Jameson whiskey in the cookies, and Bailey's).

Here's my green for the day:

Shirt: Express
Cardigan: Express
Jeans: Miss Me
Shoes: Anthropologie

I just love these shoes. I bought them on sale last year and have only gotten to wear the once, so I decided St. Patrick's day was the perfect day to air them out.

And here's my whole family decked out in their green. We're nerds together, at least. :) And I kind of forced them to wear it....

Well, I hope you all had a wonderful St. Patrick's Day!!


Here is the recipe for the cookies:

Recipe: Irish whiskey balls (no-bake cookies)

Ingredients

• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 2 cups vanilla wafer cookies
• 1/2 cup Irish whiskey (preferably Jameson)
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon corn syrup
• 1 1/2 cups pistachios
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• Optional: green food coloring

Preparation: Grind together white chocolate chips and vanilla wafers in a food processor. Add powdered sugar and process until combined. Add the whiskey and corn syrup and process until crumbs form a mass. Add pistachios and pulse until nuts are coarsely chopped and throughout mixture. Optional: Add a drop or two of green food coloring to give the balls a St. Patrick's Day holiday color.

Form 1-inch balls. Place sugar in a shallow bowl and roll balls in sugar. Store in wax paper-lined airtight container in a cool dry place. Let balls sit for a few days before eating for best results.

Makes 48 balls

My Room..

I have spent the past couple of days completely reorganizing and cleaning my bedroom... So, here it is:

Here's my bed.. The comforter is from Target, my mom made the big green pillows, and the small green one is from the world market.

I drew this in my college art class. It's a charcoal drawing of a picture I took in Paris.

The shelves (facing my bed)... I love this part of my room..
Here are some detail shots:

 My grandmother painted the heart shaped box.

If you can't tell I like green... Haha. It's an Irish / green theme. :)

The desk (to the right of my bed):

I LOVE this chair... We found it in my parents' attic and had it reupholstered.

I got the dress form from my parents last year for Valentine's day.

I bought this in Ireland.

I took the pictures in Ireland..

What girl doesn't love a huge mirror?

My mom made the curtains and pillow and the doll is an antique from my grandmother.

The decal over my bed... I bought it on Etsy. Love it!

I had a friend / decorator help me place everything. I hope you like it!