A Wee Party

We hosted our annual St. Patrick's Day party on Friday night and it was a big success based on the amount of beer and food consumed. We had about 50 friends decked out in their finest green attire and served them an authentic Irish dinner. I am a sucker for a themed party so I had fun planning, decorating, organizing, and cooking. I love, love, love having a house full of people. I come from a long line of hostesses. I never met my maternal grandmother, but I hear she was quite the entertainer. My parents also had an annual St. Patrick's Day party when we lived in Colorado and I am carrying on the tradition, Texas-style. Sometimes, like on Thursday night when I was up to my eyeballs in cooking, cleaning, decorating, and perfecting, I feel really sorry for Chris.

As previously posted, I served Shepherd's Pie for dinner this year. I found these amazingly perfect little ramekins at World Market on 90% clearance after Christmas. Of course, I snatched up every single one they had. So, if you need 50 green ramekins, you are welcome to borrow them. You can bet that I will be incorporating these guys into every St. Patrick's Day Party I have. Next year, I am envisioning Bailey's Chocolate Mousse with homemade whipped cream for dessert. I digress... back to this year's party. I went with this Shepherd's Pie recipe. Ironically, after the big Throwdown, I went with an entirely new recipe. I hadn't tried it before making 6 batches of it for the party, so I was a little nervous, but it was a huge hit and was definitely the best one yet.

In addition to my favorite Irish sweets and treats, I served Nutella Swirl Pound Cake.

Oh Good God.

It's good, y'all.

Darn good. Not healthy. But, darn good.

That is For Sure.

Chris mixed up a few batches of green beer right before the guests arrived and we had ourselves a legitimate St. Patty's Day party (even though the beer used to color was Mexican, shhh).

No worries, other than the green beer, we served ONLY Irish beer and whiskey.

Oh! But wait! There were those pitchers of margaritas and jello shots that I enjoyed with a few lady friends. How could I forget those? (I'll tell ya how! Hehe). I figured, as long as the drinks were green or had a green lime floating in them, they were allowed.

It's my party, I can serve what I want to.

I didn't have many complaints.

Nicole was able to make a last minute trip up for the party. I CAN NOT tell you what I would have done without her! She helped me so much. She single-handedly peeled and boiled 17 pounds of potatoes. Yes, that's right... 17 pounds. That is in addition to acting as my helper hostess during the party. She was my angel, as she always is. I kept Pickles all to myself on Friday while Josh was all over the neighborhood playing with friends. I shuttled him to three different friends for the day to keep him out of our house and away from the crystal serving pieces and Irish sweets.

Thank you Nicole, Juleeta, Christine, and Erin for all your help!!!

Chris got into character to greet the arriving guests. I almost spit out my margarita when Jay walked in with his leprechaun hat covering his silky smooth head.

Impressive little party trick, Jay.

Who is the only one in this picture that deserves a pinch?

(Hint: Cucumber + Vinegar).

Caleb (far right) and I have the same T-Shirt. Little, naughty Alison fact- I have ALWAYS (since high school, at least) wanted a tattoo that says "Made in Ireland" with a little shamrock. But, Chris would murder me if I did it and then I wouldn't get to enjoy the tattoo, so I think I will stick with my uninked (and alive) skin.

What beautiful lady friends I have!!!

Faye and Jen brought their hubbys and growing bellys to the party. I had a few virgin drinks and chocolate treats waiting for them.

Once the jello-shots kicked in, we pulled out Beatles Rock Band. Brent (aka: John Lennon) thrilled us with his lovely English accent as he belted out the lyrics. Katie was giggling so hard I don't know if she could actually drum and Chris and Caleb were as serious as two attorneys on the guitar. I am glad the kids were not at the party or else they wouldn't have shared Rock Band with us.

After such a late night of partying on Friday, I resolved to not move much on Saturday. I had a half marathon to run on Sunday morning and I needed to save my legs. So, my house remained in a state of utter disaster until Sunday morning when a little elf (my sweet husband) cleaned the entire house while I was at my race!

He then met me at mile 10 and ran me to the finish. It was so fun having him run next to me.

It was a wonderful day for a run and the Rock and Roll Marathon series is so much fun. There are live bands at every mile entertaining and encouraging the runners. The Longhorn band was at the finish line and you know I loved that! I almost tripped myself giving them the horns as I ran past. Ok, I know the horns involve your hands and running involves your feet. I'm just not that coordinated, okay!?! I set my own personal record of 1 hr. 50 min. which is an average pace of 8.25 min/mile. Yeah!!!

It was a big weekend and I am worn out today. We are on spring break, so we have a week packed full of fun outdoor activities with the little man. Stay tuned!