Shamrockin' Out

Apparently I deem a random clover slightly more favorable than a huge flash spot....

 
I'm belatedly blogging about St. Patrick's day because I was quite la diligente abeille* when it rolled around. I worked that day, then hosted Bunco for a group of 12 ladies chez moi* that night. And I don't just host. Hosting is my thing, so I go all out. I'm pretty sure I think I'm Monica, from Friends, when I host something.

For dinner, I made cheesy chicken and spinach ravioli casseroles. I even made the sauce green by pureeing spinach into it and used green spinach raviolis. I also made Irish soda bread with this to-die-for garlic relish, an all-green salad, and green punch. Pistachio cookies with green icing, green cupcakes iced with shamrocks and glitter, and bowls of Andes mint chocolates rounded out my Shamrockin' dinnertime fair. It literally took all night to clean my house and make all that scrumptious food. Oh, but I love hosting so much that I didn't even care.

As hostess, you also get to pick out the prizes. I went to a kitchen outlet near Portland and put them in glitzy green bags to display. They included a doughnut maker, silicone cake molds for a huge cupcake with an insert for a creamy filling (and featuring photos of ideas to decorate your cupcake as a cute animal... I was so tempted to buy one for myself), griddles that make "pancake puffs," cookie cutters, and soft fruit slicers.

I tried to find St. Patty's Day decorations, but ended up with that lone wooden sign you see in the top image. St. Patrick's day was fun, but difficult to decorate. That's why I used my food and prizes to do the job. AND in my frenzy to be the hostess with the mostest, I forgot to take pictures. Can you believe it? All that hard work and no proof. Oh là là là là!*

We still had a fine time, and I was peacock-ishly proud of my St. Patrick's day outfit. I strutted around in it all day like nobody's business, wondering if anyone took note of my efforts (they didn't.) I took 2 matchy matchy outfits I've worn countless time and combined them to make a new ensemble. The first of these matchy matchy outfits, which formed the green base of my St. Patrick's day attire, is nauseatingly matchy:

Skirt, Turtleneck: B Moss / Long-Sleeve Top: Gadzooks (Yes, it's that old) / Peacock Headband: Fred Meyer / Shoes: Payless / Bracelet: Gabes

I started with the green skirt- easy enough considering it's both green and tartan, though the latter is a really Scottish. I first considered just wearing the black top. Boring. So I added some jewelry, but it still didn't ice my cupcakes.

Then it hit me. The black was built in. I needed to add brown. Or, a tint of brown at least. And I knew the perfect piece. It was originally part of this matchy matchy outfit I'd purchased for my business casual wardrobe for my first real-world job post college. It's matchiness isn't so bad because neutral on neutral is still stylish, though not terribly exciting, and the neutrals are different enough:

Top & Capris: Old Navy / Sweater: Maurices / Shoes: Gabes (AE) / Necklace: AE

But when I took the sweater and added it to my current ensemble with some taupe boots, it became this:

Sweater: Maurices / Skirt: B. Moss / Boots: Ross (Apepazza) / Necklace: Urban Outfitters / Man in the Reflection: The Husband

Ahh, much better. So sorry for the reflective backgrounds. By the time I thought to do photos to document my outfitting process, it was getting dark.

P.S. I found these Apepazza boots on clearance for $15. The tag said "compare to $295" and I didn't believe it for a second, though they did seem good quality. I Googled them and, sure enough, they were being sold for $295 at multiple locations. Real Italian leather boots. Now, you can only buy them from here and they're on sale for $129. A week later I found another pair in black. That's bona fide Luck o' the Irish!

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*la diligente abeille = busy bee; chez moi = at my place; oh là là là là= oh my

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