The St. Patrick's Day Birthday Party!

We're big on traditions in our family.

Every year we celebrate Court's birthday over the St. Patrick's Day weekend 

because she was thisclose to being a St. Patrick's day baby!

Carrot cake has been her favorite since she was very little, so that's the birthday cake of choice each year (and this one was quite good, if I do say so myself!). The cake topper I use (almost) every year brings back sweet memories of her very first birthday!

My Nana's china is the star of every St. Patrick's day meal. I come from a long, proud, Irish heritage on my mom's side and our New England boiled dinner just couldn't be served on anything else!

Sunday was beautiful and sunny despite being quite chilly. But the kitchen, with the pots boiling and the oven going was hot, hot, hot, so I threw open the dining room window while I was cooking despite the cold temps.

The birthday crown rested atop the lamp shade until the birthday girl arrived.

It's the crown of honor for whoever's birthday we're celebrating. 

The birthday girl arrived and we all had a wonderful day together! 

Happy birthday, sweetie! May all your wishes come true!!!

Love, Mumsy

Our Galway Girl...

 ... with her hair of black and her eyes of blue...

I come from a long, proud 100% Irish heritage on my mom's side! To this day, I can still hear my mom singing Danny Boy! And I'll never forget the 45 of  "Who Threw The Overalls in Mrs. Murphy's Chowder," that used to play on our old phonograph when my sister and I were kids!

Mom always made sure my sister and I wore something green on St. Patty's Day, and she did as well!

I made sure my girls did, too, when they were younger.

Love and miss you, Mom! Happy St. Patrick's Day to you!

And wishing all of you a Happy St. Patrick's Day as well!!!

After all, everyone is at least a wee bit Irish today!

Donna

A time honored tradition continues...

This is my first time posting a 'tablescape,' so I hope I'm doing it right - Thank you, Susan!

This year, the arrival of spring inspired the table setting for our annual St. Patrick's Day dinner...
(click any photos to enlarge)

... with garden statuary birds and a vintage, cottage-styled tablecloth...

...of pink and white flowers scattered across a cheerful blue background.

But the real star of every St. Patrick's day dinner is Nana's china...

I always assumed my Nana had purchased this china (Marx & Gutherz Carlsbad #1446 Austria, circa 1885-1898), as it had been passed down from her to my Mom, and then on to me. But after researching this pattern and seeing the manufacture dates, I'm now wondering if my great-grandmother originally purchased it and started the tradition of passing it on to the next generation (my Nana would have been just a baby in the late 1800s!)...

The one thing I am certain of is that these dishes have been part of every St. Patrick's Day (and many other celebrations!) on the Irish side of my family for a minimum of 90 years, but more than likely well over 100 years ...

The curves and lines of the serving dishes are so beautiful, as are the delicate pink and blue flowers in the pattern... I definitely think my Nana (or great-Nana) had excellent taste when it came to picking a timeless china pattern!

Now this may not be as pretty as the china, but for a St. Patrick's day dinner it's every bit as important! I took possession of my mom's large cooking pot after she passed away. Every New England boiled dinner I remember her serving was simmered in this pot. So the tradition continues...

... a St. Patrick's day dinner of corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and onions.

This year the meat was so tender, it just pulled apart...

These beautiful serving pieces really make the food look so good!!

Thank you for letting me share our St. Patrick's day dinner and table setting with you. We're usually pretty casual around here at dinner time, so I don't often have anything to share on Tablescape Thursday!

After dinner, the cleanup begins. Naturally all of Nana's china is carefully handwashed and dried; and then it's back to the hutch until our next celebration!!

I have a favorite photo of my Nana as a young woman hanging between two of her plates above the hutch. I think she'd love that very special memories are still being made around the dinner table set with her china!

Now I'm heading over to Susan's beautiful blog, Between Naps on the Porch, to visit all the other Tablescape Thursday blog posts! I hope you'll join me!

Donna