Here's How It Starts......

I found some beautiful vintage St. Patrick's Day postcards.... and pretty green invitations.... and Mardi Gras-style plastic beads with green shamrocks on them.... and green shamrock stickers.... and gourmet pretzels covered in green and white chocolate and sprinkled with tiny green four-leaf clovers.

All of that can only mean one thing: I must have a St. Patty's Day Tea Party. I've already made a list of 8 friends who I know would love to come to tea, and I've made a list of foods that I can make-- all of which have a green touch: Greek spinach pie, biscuits stuffed with pesto, Key Lime mini-tarts, scones sprinkled with green sugar crystals, and those white grape juice cocktails that I made for New Year's Eve-- but instead of a strawberry in each one, I'll drop in a slice of kiwi. I'll use the green & white chocolate pretzels as favors, and I've already bought the shamrock-decorated cellophane bags to wrap them up in, plus I've got pretty white ribbon that has green shamrocks on it. The latest Avon booklet has green enamel & rhinestone shamrock pins, so I may order 8 of those also.

When I write out the invitations, I will ask everyone to dress in something green. And the centerpiece for the dining room table will be the little white and green shamrock tree that I made last year. Come to think of it, I have a set of dishes with green trim, so I'll set the table with those. Now I have to find St. Patty's Day napkins, which the Hallmark store should have.

One little idea....... and I sure can run with it. Last time I had a tea, it was on a Sunday, so that's what I'll do this time. It worked out well for everyone, since two of the women who came to my last tea have to work every Saturday, and the Sunday afternoon tea was like a mini-vacation for them.

But that's the next project. Today is Valentine's Day, but we're going out for dinner tomorrow or the next day to celebrate. (As if our Valentine Party wasn't celebration enough.) All of the restaurants are just too crowded tonight, and that's not my idea of a good time. I made my husband a pot of crawfish bisque soup for dinner (it's pink, in keeping with a Valentine theme), and I stopped at the ice cream shop and bought fresh strawberry ice cream. I found two beautiful red cocktail glasses in SteinMart yesterday, and I'll use those to serve the ice cream.

Happy Hearts Day to everyone out there!