erin go bragh.
see what i did there? i used my name in a seasonally appropriate blog post title to tie it in to my own life. but it does fit pretty well, doesn't it? erin go bragh means "ireland forever", and i'm happy to share a name with such a wonderful place!but even being proud of my irish heritage is not enough to get my butt to the st. patrick's day festivities in downtown st. paul. too many people, not enough bartenders, and this year, way too cold! plus, Mister Man and i had more pressing celebrations to attend to on our own.you see, as of saturday, we are officially credit card and short-term debt-free. we still have MM's student loans to deal with, but in the last 8 months, with some serious budgeting, sacrificing and saving, we've been able to pay for trips, pay for my translation classes, and pay off all the short-term, high-interest debt we had from school and the wedding. and we are BEYOND excited!
see, i wore green to the russian restaurant on the irish holiday, i still participated in the fun.
this is about one-third of the bar. mostly vodka.
so we decided to celebrate with dumplings and vodka at moscow on the hill, an amazing russian restaurant down the street from us in cathedral hill. and celebrate we did...if you guys ever have a chance to eat real russian food, make sure you get the dumplings. holy cow, those things are so simple, yet so delicious. i can't explain why, i think they put drugs in them, but they are amazing.
and those vodka drinks. goodness me. i was in the mood for a dirty martini, which they make goooood at moscow. i also had a drink called a skazka, cinnamon infused vodka with apple juice. that one could end you if you're not careful, it is really easy to drink. Mister Man had a couple of fun ones as well, and the night was absolutely the best way to celebrate our newfound financial freedom!
the real st. patty's day was spent like a good old-fashioned irish family. the husband woke up to put corned beef in the crockpot, and i whipped up a loaf of irish soda bread to go with it for dinner. then we headed to Mass at the Cathedral (i wore my green!) before straightening up around the apartment. we had mama z and my friend ashley over for a dinner of corned beef and cabbage right after a stop at costellos for a guinness, and thank goodness we had someone to help us eat the food! do you guys know how much steamed cabbage one head of that stuff makes? i'll tell you: a crap ton. if anyone wants some, we have plenty of extra, i'll bring it over to you! we finished the night with some green peppermint ice cream and sunday night cartoons.
i really tried you guys, but there is no way to make cabbage photogenic. it's not possible.
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this recipe is the best.
the weekend was perfect, and now we will spend the week getting ready to jet off to sunny maui! which for us means that today we will do as much cleaning as possible while my husband is still at home (he is out of town for work until friday), then i will attempt to cross as much off the to-do list as possible until saturday. i don't know if i've ever told you before, but i HATE packing for things. it's just so much to think about! it makes me crazy and then i procrastinate until 2:00am the night before the trip. i may try to take my childhood friend caitlin's packing tips to heart. she gives the best advice regarding fashion and related topics. (i highly recommend her blog if you like pretty outfits!)
tulips from mama z.
hope your weekends were just as wonderful as mine and that you have nice, easy weeks ahead. raise your hand if you drank some green beer or participated in green-related activities! then tell me about them!
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