“May your thoughts be as glad as the shamrocks.
May your heart be as light as a song.
May each day bring you bright, happy hours.
That stay with you all the year long”
Hello dear friends! Today we are celebrating all things Irish at Everyday Living. My Renaissance Man recently had the DNA test for the purpose of ancestry. It wasn’t much of a surprise that it came back forty percent Irish. His grandfather’s surname is Kennedy. My ancestry is sixty percent English, Irish, and Scottish.
“If you’re lucky enough to be Irish, then you’re lucky enough.”
Join me as I share the tale of The Traveling Shamrocks…
Imagine my surprise when I received an email that something very special would be arriving in the mail…an Irish shamrock kind of special!
With this very special something, I had to set up my coffee table to celebrate! The background of my green sofa seems perfect for an Irish setting.
Before I go any further, I must tell you that Butch and I visited Ireland in August of 2015. It was truly an amazing three days on the Emerald Isle, its poetic name due to its beautiful, lush and green countryside. This photo was taken on the Northern coast near Belfast! You can visit here to see more of our trip.
The festive vintage table topper covered with shamrocks and Celtic knots has traveled far and wide. It all began with Marigene of In The Middle of Nowhere. From there it passed on to Cuisine Kathleen with instructions to pass it to another blogger the following year to be used for a table. So its journey began…to The Gazebo House, Home Is Where The Boat Is, on to Hyacinths For The Soul and Kitty’s Kozy Kitchen, Mountain Breaths in the North, and then South to The Painted Apron. It remained in the South this year with only a sixty mile journey to my house!
With all the overcast skies and rain, it has felt like our trip to Ireland. It is also rather difficult to take photos inside.
There are many shades of green on my coffee table just like the countryside of Ireland!
I assembled an easy floral arrangement using Bells of Ireland, green button pom poms, and white alstroemeria! The vase is the perfect color!
A quick trip to World Market provided Grace’s shamrock Irish shortbread cookies! Ella Mae and I enjoyed them after the photos were snapped. We even added a little green frosting!
The mischievous leprechaun who joined the traveling topper along the journey, decided to help himself to a delicious shamrock and sour cream chip. Keough’s grown with love in Ireland are Irish potato crisps hand cooked on a family farm!
This is an easy non-alcoholic Irish coffee recipe that all can enjoy on St. Patrick’s Day. Only five ingredients…1 cup strong black coffee, 2 teaspoons light brown sugar, 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, 1/4 teaspoon rum extract, 2 teaspoons cocoa powder for sprinkling on top. This recipe will make two Irish coffees, as you can see I forgot the cocoa powder!
Temple Bar is an area on the south bank of the River Liffey in central Dublin. The busy riverside neighborhood with its cobbled pedestrian lanes and crowded pubs is a must see tourist attraction. Butch and I stopped in at The Temple Bar pub that has been in business since 1840 for some traditional Irish pub food and lively music!
I must admit I am not a fan of Irish coffee…
…but I am a fan of the beauty of Ireland!
Butch and I have been enjoying reading Irish historical fiction. I should get together a list for you all if you enjoy reading as much as we do.
All the shades of green work together as they do in nature!
I believe the precocious leprechaun spilled his pot of gold!
I am so honored to be the ninth keeper of the cloth! Where will it travel next?
You will have to wait for March 2020!
“May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields
and until we meet again
may God hold you in the palm of His Hand”
~traditional Irish blessing
Thank you so much for your visit and the comments you leave behind. Wishing you a joy filled-weekend!
Monday, March 4 is another edition of Monday Morning Blooms! Can you guess our common theme?
Linking with:
Pieced Pastimes, Dwellings-Heart of Your Home, Stone Gable, Confessions of a Plate Addict, Worthing Court, Between Naps on the Porch, Cedar Hill Farmhouse, A Stroll Thru Life, Katherines Corner, Petit Haus, Follow The Yellow Brick Home, Love Of Home, Celebrating Everyday Life, Little Farmstead, Rustic & Refined, The Freckled Rose, Life and Linda, DIY 180, Celebrate & Decorate, Me and My Captain, Shabby Fufu, Designthusiasm, Imparting Grace, Calypso in the Country
Pam, I bet you did an Irish jig when the cloth traveled your way! What fun treats and delights on your table… I picked up some of those yummy shortbread shamrocks at World Market this week! I’m glad to see my contribution and little leprechaun is still working his mischief and helping himself to chips on your table 🙂 Don’t you love Bells of Ireland, I haven’t spied any in the stores yet for sale…lucky you! Have you ever tried growing them? I think I read they’re easy to grow from seed but I haven’t tried, maybe this spring! Looking forward to your blooms on Monday! ☘️
Thanks Mary, the leprechaun is quite feisty! I was reading yesterday about growing Bells of Ireland from seed. Maybe we should both try our luck at growing them?☘️?
Love your blog. Please give us your list of Irish historical fiction books.
Thank you Colleen, I will try to get that accomplished. Have a wonderful day!
Being part Irish, my maiden name is Collins, I loved this post and especially that it’s a traveling post. Ireland is a fun place to visit. Each pub has someone playing and singing with the customers singing along and usually there is a fire going in the fireplace and that never ending smell as they burn peat.
Alice, we hope to return to Ireland in the future! Have a most wonderful day!
The traveling tablecloth is a wonderful idea — and it’s so pretty, too. Love how everyone has signed it. Your table is delightful as are all your seasonal bits, right down to the cookies! I think you are ready to celebrate! I can imagine squeals of joy when you opened the package!
Thank you Jeanie! Have a wonderful Thursday?☘️?
Pam, what a wonderful idea of the traveling tablecloth. I so love your arrangement with the Bells of Ireland and all your shades of green are lovely together.
This post reminded me that a few years ago, I was given the task of creating an all green arrangement for a flower show. It was a challenge – but the design took the top awards.
As always a wonderful post, Pam. Now, if you could pass me those yummy shortbread’s, they would be perfect with my coffee this morning.☘
Sandra, I read that Bells of Ireland were easy to grow from seeds. I may give it a try. Yes, I would love to share coffee and shortbread with you!?☘️?
Oh Pam, what a wonderful job you did with the special table topper! Your coffee table is St. Patrick’s Day perfect with all the fun elements you’ve added and your flowers are fabulous!! And the way you wove your personal experiences, travels and DNA into the post makes it even more special…those incredible pictures of Ireland! Thank you for this delightful post and for honoring the table topper, I hope you had fun with it!
Jenna
Thank you Jenna, it was loads of fun. I am so happy and honored to be a “keeper of the cloth”! This is such a lovely idea?☘️?
I was always told by my maternal grandmother that we were Scotch-Irish. My DNA proved that but with a little more British and Scottish than Irish. But I love all things Irish. My husband and I visited England, Ireland and Scotland 5 years ago for our 50th wedding anniversary. Northern Ireland countryside reminded me of the Tennessee hills where my mom was born. I love the traveling tablecloth.
Love this post! Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Kippi #kippiathome
Thanks so much Kippi!☘️
Pam what a lovely concept! I adore your story…I am Scotch/ Irish (bet you couldn’t tell by my red hair) Although one of my dear friends in Ireland has the prettiest black hair. We call her Mags. Thank you for your beeauttiful vignette. Hugs sweet friend
Thank you Kari! Have a most wonderful Thursday!
What a fun post Pam! The tablecloth is so pretty and representative of Ireland. It is so clever to let the tablecloth travel & have a little leprechaun escort it along the way. The vase and floral arrangement are both beautiful. I may investigate getting some Bells of Ireland seed as they are so colorful & contribute so much to a floral arrangement. The treats look yummy! Ireland is on our travel bucket list & if we are lucky enough to get there one day, I think a pretty Irish linen tablecloth will be on our souvenir list. This is just what we needed to brighten our day. Wishing you many blessings. Clara ☘️?
Thanks so much Clara! I am going to look into getting Bells of Ireland seed. I read that they are easy to grow! I hope you travel to Ireland, you will love it! ☘️?☘️
Love the idea of the traveling tablecloth and it sure has made its way to some talented ladies. It goes great next to your green sofa for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day.
Thank you Karen! ☘️
Pam, what a beautiful Irish setting in your gorgeous living room! Your floral bouquet is sp pretty and complements the table topper perfectly. Those treats look scrumptious. I recently found out during my DNA test that I am quite a bit Irish. I dream of visiting there someday and locating the places where my ancestors once lived. It looks like such a lovely place. Happy Thursday, sweet friend!
Thanks so much sweet Shannon. I hope you get to visit Ireland. ?☘️?
I always love Bells of Ireland in arrangements as they have such sculptural beauty. Ireland is on our bucket list and one of these days we will get there.
Linda, you must get to Ireland ☘️?☘️
Oh, how wonderful! I love the traveling shamrocks. I bet Marigene gets a real kick seeing this thing travel around from year to year. Great display and storyline to go with it too, Pam. My dad’s people are also from Ireland, and settled in what was then Virginia, now West Virginia, in the mid-1700s. I have some great historical documents of land deeds granted and family genealogy, but would to complete it someday with a trip to Ireland as you had the thrill of doing in 2015.
How interesting Rita! I hope you make it to Ireland one day. This was such a fun post for me!☘️?☘️
Dear friend, I perceive your joy to know the origin of the family. Knowing the origin of the family has always been of great importance to me. I will tell you again about the origin of my father.
As you know, I was in Ireland, a beautiful visit that took place in April 2018 and I never had a report due to lack of time. Ireland is beautiful, cheerful, bright and its people are very close. At no time did I feel strange … they are very funny people.
Well, that way I see that you have prepared a tribute to that beautiful land with sweets and ornaments in honor of Ireland.
Beautiful everything, I love …
You see it? We already have something in common … we belong to Europe.
Affectionately Dolores
Dolores, todavía me encantaría ver fotos de tu viaje a Irlanda. Sé que disfrutó mucho el viaje y fue muy especial con su herencia irlandesa. ¡Disfruté armando el escenario irlandés en mi mesa de café! Tenemos mucho en común querido amigo! ?☘️?
I don’t read blogs often but I’m so glad I saw your post! It was so much fun to see the cloth again, it brought back fond memories of the years I hosted the St. Patrick’s Day Blog Crawl. I was the second receiver. Thank you for showing all the names!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Kathleen Connolly Miller
Cuisine Kathleen
Kathleen, I am so glad you saw my post. I had so much fun doing it, and I wasn’t even blogging when you received the cloth! I feel honored to be a keeper of the cloth! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!?☘️?
That was such a fun journey Pam! Thank you, ♥
May God’s blessings be with you (said in an Irish accent) 😀
Jennifer
Thanks so much Jennifer!
You’ve got all you need for an Irish celebration – food, drink and friendship! Cozy tabletop, lovely Ireland photos and a great story. May the luck of the Irish follow you.
Thank you Sandra?☘️? Wishing you a most beautiful weekend!
Beautiful post ! LUCKY you to go to Ireland ! What a beautiful area! The history and St Patrick!
Thank you Cynthia. Have a beautiful weekend!
Your table is so cheerful on this Southern version of a rainy Irish day! The story of the traveling cloth is indeed special. I know Ella Mae was a good little helper. I’ve been fortunate to visit many of my DNA origins…Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, and France. It was a huge surprise to find a tiny Italian and Scandanavian percentage, but now I have new places for my bucket list! Did you by any chance get to visit the Belleek porcelain factory? Highly recommend it to anyone who visits Ireland.
Thank you dear Roxanne. We have made visits to all of the countries you mentioned. I would love more time in Ireland. I am so sorry I didn’t get to the Belleek factory, I wished I had some of their lovely pottery for this table. We did go to the Waterford factory which was most interesting. We have managed a couple of trips to Italy and have been to Sweden, Denmark, and Finland! We haven’t traveled outside of the states since 2015. With both of us having aging fathers, we feel we need to stay closer to home. Wishing you a most wonderful weekend dear friend!
I love this post, it brings back sweet memories of my trip to Ireland. I love the idea of The Traveling Shamrocks and the special table topper. It travels with memories and continues to make new ones along the way. Love y’alls DNA connection to Ireland. I have my own as well. I can’t remember the percentage but it’s up there, Irish, English and Norway. My mom’s name was O’quinn. I love the pretty vignette you set up on the table. I always enjoy buying the shamrock shortbread for St. Patrick’s Day. When we were in Dublin we stayed in the Temple Bar neighborhood. We loved eating at Gallaghers Boxy House, the food was delicious! What fun you’ve had with the Traveling Topper! Happy March
Thank you so much Emily! Have a wonderful weekend☘️?☘️
Beautiful! I’m enjoying your posts, and you’ve inspired me to get out my vintage dishes.
Thank you Janine. I left a comment on your blog, I didn’t see it come up, but hopefully it did. Have a wonderful Sunday!
Wonderful green !I love all of your gorgeous vignettes!Hugs,dear Pam!
Thanks so much dear Maristella!
I love this story, especially the special bond that all of you bloggers have shared with one another with your Traveling Topper! Your story makes me want to come up with something like this and start a round of it! I haven’t been to Ireland, but it is on my list!
Thank you Chloe. I thought the same thing about starting a round of something. It was fun!
OH, my! SO much fun and excitement in this post! I LOVE the idea of passing around the cloth all these years! Oh, the memories that have been made in so many of your lovely homes and the stories the cloth could tell! It is so neat that all of you have signed your names. We have an oblong birthday plastic cloth that we have been using for birthdays for many years. Each time we take it out for a family member, each person who is present signs their name and dates it. It is getting so old and I am afraid to keep using it out of concern of it falling apart, but it is SO precious to my heart. When I do look at it, I am reminded of so many special memories with precious loved ones. So many of them are now gone to be with Jesus, and it makes me sad thinking there will be no more tablecloth memories made. One day, we will all be together again, and we will celebrate around God’s throne! So wonderful to visit with you today, sweet friend!
What a beautiful post, I loved scrolling through the pictures. There is a little bit of Irish blood in me from my mother side, I would love to visit Ireland and Scotland. We have some friends that lived there, we worked with them in Papua New Guinea.
Thank you so much Betty. Did you serve as missionaries in New Guinea?
Yes we did for seven years. Before that we served in Bolivia, South America. Now we serve as Member Care Reps in the southwest in the states.
Pam, I am late commenting but I have been out of town four days this week and I am so behind!
I have just had a ball viewing all the Traveling Shamrocks posts. I had forgotten all about them as that has been a year ago. They brought back so many memories. I read all the comments and saw so many blogging friends. Some are still blogging others are not.
Loved your Ireland pictures. I would love to travel there.
I’m so glad Kathleen saw your post. I remember when Mary told me about her friend Kathleen and suggested I join her linky party. Those were the days!
You styled the topper beautifully.
I am so glad you enjoyed this post. I had so much fun using the table topper and was most surprised to receive it in the mail.
What an amazing idea! And everyone has signed it! That is fabulous.
Your table is absolutely beautiful! ??
Thank you Nancy ☘️?☘️ Happy Sunday!
I now remember that you also was one of the recipients of the Keeper of the Cloth. Love this! ☘️
Yes, it is fun to see who will have it each year ☘️
It was so nice to see where the lovely Irish topper was sent to! You did the traveling topper proud, Pam! I was the recipient in 2016. It was nice to know that you and your hubby visited Ireland. My late beloved and I visited Ireland back in September 2009, and had our dream vacation.
Did you love the fish and chips there, and the brown bread? The patchwork landscape of the different shades green was so beautiful! I love historical fiction, and would be most happy to see your list of favorites. Thank you for sharing your pretty table.
Kitty, I am thrilled that you saw my post of the traveling cloth. I read your post when I received the cloth in the mail. I was saddened to read of the passing of your beloved husband, but what great memories of your trip to Ireland. I know your loss is tremendous. We did enjoy the food in Ireland and Scotland. I am going to compile my reading list soon!
Pam, I am thrilled that you were so joyful to receive the traveling cloth. I knew I had sent it to Jenna, so a bell went off in my head (finally) to go look and see who received the cloth for St. Patty’s 2019. Loved your Ireland pictures, and perhaps I will visit there someday even though I am not one wee bit Irish. I’m so glad Kathleen saw your post. I joined her linky party for many years, and we had so much fun. The topper looks beautiful in your home, and I love that you have a green sofa!! xo
Thank you so much Debra, it was such a delight to be a “keeper of the cloth!” I looked back on all of the posts of each blogger who had received the traveling topper and read all of your posts and I was so inspired by each one. We hope to return to Ireland and stay longer, it truly is beautiful!
I love the simplicity, warmth and love shared with this traveling cloth and its story. Thank you!
100,000 blessings to you and yours and a very happy 2020