Archives for March 2017

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

March 17, 2017

Happy St. Patrick’s Day my friends! I’m donning my Celtic brooch and we are headed to over to my mom’s for an Irish dinner and celebration. I’ll take you along for the ride over on Instagram with some snippets of the evening.

The month of March is a magical time as little bits of spring begin to emerge out in nature as well as inside my home. Rather than bringing out all of my easter and spring decor at once, I like to create at a slow pace. In the beginning of the month the lambs come out reminding us of life and renewal, a tradition I grew up with. My mom has a beautiful collection of lambs herself. She gave me that one pulling a little cart last year. I squealed when she handed it to me as I was always admiring it at her house.

At this time of year there is always a trip to the nursery for an Oxalis plant or two which resembles the shamrock, another symbol of rebirth. I prefer the deep purple and the variegated ‘Iron Cross’ varieties.

For fun I am sharing a few photos of a trip to Donegal Ireland that Chris and I took with my family almost 22 years ago. It was an amazing experience spending time with our Irish relatives and traveling the countryside. My most favorite memory was a day we spent our on the strand (the beach) collecting mussels and seaweed to bring back to our cottage for a big family feast. We are dreaming of our next trip to the Emerald Isle, this time with our girls.

This Week’s Vignette

March 16, 2017

this week's vignette

This week’s vignette or shall I say vignettes live atop my piano. I wrote about this piano a few years back and am happy to report I still love it here. I haven’t played as much as I would like to admit but it works beautifully as a place for vignettes. Because the piano is a centerpiece in our home I like to create little scenes on top that change throughout the seasons showcasing some of my favorite things that I have either foraged or collected over the years.

Sitting to the far left is an antique silver ice bucket etched with the letter B for Boston (my mother’s maiden name) that was given to me by my mom. It holds a Tradescantia pallida ‘Purpurea’ plant that I overwintered from my window boxes. Next to the ice bucket sits a stack of books (two of Chris’s favorites) paired with an antique lamb which I found this summer while away at the lake. Next to the lamb sits a thrifted tiny studio pottery bowl which I use as a votive holder.

To the far right sits my handmade ukulele made by Chris. Next to it sits a mercury pedestal holding a foraged bird nest and feathers with blown out quail eggs. In front of it sits an antique pewter handled vessel which I adore. It is adorned with tiny pewter flowers, bull heads and horns and reminds me so much of this favorite story of mine. Inside sits a handmade beeswax candle made by a friend.

A stack of antique dishes and bowls that get used daily at meals also sits on top along with two prints- a pointillism drawing made by my mom in college and a watercolor titled “The Humming River” gifted to me by my mom.

In tomorrow’s post I will talk more about lambs, the month of March and spring inspired decor.

Scone (like gone)

March 15, 2017

Irish scone bread

With St. Patrick’s day just a few days away I thought I would share with you a recipe passed down by my great grandmother, Sarah McMonigle Jennings. Sarah was my mother’s grandmother from Letterkenny, a town in Donegal, Ireland. Sarah died before I was born but I remember her husband, my great grandfather James Joseph Jennings who was from County Mayo. He looked like a leprechaun with his twinkly blue eyes and he had a thick Irish brogue that was hard to understand at times. As a child I remember helping him in his vegetable garden and he always let me blow out his match after lighting his pipe.

According to my mom, this recipe was made for parties and church functions and was always accompanied with tea (although almost everything is accompanied with tea in Ireland). This is not an Irish soda bread as it calls for baking powder instead of soda. It is very moist and resembles more of a cake with the taste of a scone or as my mother pronounces it, scOn, with a short o. Apparently there is quite a debate on how to pronounce the word scone depending on where you are from. Some argue the proper way to pronounce the word is scone like gone but some say scone like bone. My mother must have only heard her grandmother say it like gone because when asked by my sister recently for the recipe for scone (like bone) my mother replied “I don’t know what you are referring to. Oh do you mean do you mean scone (like gone)?” It’s a running joke now in our family (sorry Mom).

When researching about the proper pronunciation I stumbled upon this little rhyme which made me giggle.

I asked the maid in dulcet tone
To order me a buttered scone;
The silly girl has been and gone
And ordered me a buttered scone

Scone

4 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup cold salted butter

2 eggs

2 cups milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Grease a 8 or 9 inch skillet with butter.

Mix sugar, flour and baking powder. Work in cold butter with a pastry cutter or knife until pea sized.

Whisk together eggs and milk and pour into dry mixture.

With rubber spatula mix until just combined (the dough will be wet).

Pour batter into skillet and lightly sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 1/2 hour or until golden brown on top.

I make this bread plain (because of some picky eaters around here) but grew up eating it with both raisins or currants and caraway seeds.

To get you in the Irish mood…

A beautiful Irish legend.

A favorite I grew up singing along to.

Anything played by these guys.

The Bodhran!

Archives for March 2017

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