It’s almost St. Patrick’s Day! Eloise here, and my number one childhood memory of St. Patrick’s Day, besides green milk and eggs, was the year that Dinah convinced our youngest brother, Brooks, that leprechauns were real and very dangerous. He was absolutely terrified of them, and when we were playing around the house, we would randomly shout “Look! A flash of green!” and he would start to cry. Now that I think about it, it wasn’t very nice, and I can’t believe that we kept it up for as long as we did. Luckily, it doesn’t seem to have done any lasting damage, but it’s become one of the clearest memories of childhood that we all share. (Dinah here, yes, I was a monster that tortured our very sweet little brother, it was really not nice, but also really funny to 5 year old me, and one of our favorite family stories)

This year, we want to celebrate with slightly less traumatizing traditions, and make memories of people laughing rather than crying, so we’re pulling out some of our favorite new and classic books set in Ireland, setting the table with green napkins and green milk and Irish soda bread, and

What We’re Reading and Watching

• Classic Pick - Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy is one of my favorite books and movies of all time! Set in 1950s Ireland, it follows three friends, kind and “well fed” Bernadette "Benny" Hogan, orphan Eve Malone and beautiful Nan Mahon who grow up together in a small town. They move to Dublin for university, and fall in love, with the story in the movie centering on Benny (Minnie Driver) and her relationship with Jack, played by Chris O’Donnell. - D

• Current Pick - Normal People by Sally Rooney is about the relationship between Marianne and Connell, from high school, where they start to secretly hook up, and then following them as they also go to Dublin for university and their high school roles reverse. Over the years, they circle around each other, dating other people and pursuing other opportunities, but finding themselves pulled back together, then pulled apart by misunderstandings and unspoken feelings. The show on Hulu was one of the best surprises of last year! - D

What We’re Buying

• Green Gingham Target Dress: How cute is this dress and it’s less that $40! It would be a great dress for Easter or spring in general. - E

• My festive accessory for the day is definitely going to be the Lele Sadoughi green leopard print headband that two lovely friends gave me for my birthday this year! - D

What We’re Making

• Crafty Morning - This website has such cute and easy St. Patrick’s Day crafts. The girls made pictures of leprechauns and shamrocks out of cupcake liners and green food coloring from ideas they found on this site this weekend. -E

• Our mother always makes a very simple Irish Soda Bread recipe that was passed down to her from our grandmother. I (Eloise) made it this weekend and Chad and the girls loved it.

• Helpful Tips:

  • I didn’t have any caraway seeds, so I skipped that and it was totally fine.

  • The dough stays in pretty much the same shape that it starts in (it doesn’t rise or puff up) so make the effort to put it into a smooth, slightly round or oval shape, if you want it to have a traditional look.

  • It’s so yummy with a thick spread of Kerrygold butter.