12 Pubs of Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my friends and family both here in Ireland, back home in the States, and wherever else you might be in the world. I wanted to give you an update on what the holidays have been like here in Dublin and in the country (Naul).

But first, my boss Gavin bought a new puppy that he brings into work everyday. Meet Rufus, the new office dog. He's pretty damn cute, and making up for the fact that we lost Sophie this year at the grand old age of 14, whatever that is in doggie years. See the pic of her driving below. She had so many skills....

Rufus

Sophie

Little Rufi fell asleep on my Michael Kors bag one day at the office....

I wasn't even mad.

My office had a Christmas party and being the only girl, I, of course, was in charge of decorations, food, music, everything basically. I made Santa hat brownies, taco dip, sandwiches, and a Christmas tree cheeseboard. I got the ideas for all of this on pinterest.com, which I have seen a few people been getting into lately. There is some great recipes, party ideas, and other stuff on there. Be sure to check it out if you haven't. 

Last time you checked in with me I was headed off on a driven shoot with Eddie Whyte, Peadar's Dad. We went to this really cool old estate out in the Irish countryside, and apparently the house had been there for hundreds of years. Check it out below.

Basically how the shoot works is that there are 4 drives throughout the day, all at different sites. The pheasants are in the woods, and everyone involved in the shoot draws a number which correlates with their assigned position on the field. The shooters spread out to their positions (see the picture with all the men and their dogs) and "the beaters" chase the birds out of the bush/woods (hence the saying "beat around the bush").

My assignment was to help Eddie load the shotgun. This way he can keep his eye on the birds instead of having to fumble around with loading the shells. I was pretty good at this if I might say so myself!

Eddie locked and loaded.

The day we went, Dec. 19th, was one of the coldest days we've had in Ireland this winter, but I still got to wear a sweet outfit. Reversible camo hat, hunting jacket, beige skinny jeans and hunter boots!

The thing I love most about Christmastime in Ireland, is that it is a full week of celebrations and events, not just 2 days. Part of Peadar's present this year was custom t-shirts I had made. One says "Who left the fridge open?" because Peadar's always "giving out" (American translation: complaining) because I constantly open the fridge, browse around, then walk away leaving the door swinging. Another one was "GTL" since we love Jersey Shore so much, and another one is "I'd Rather be Farming" with the Farmville logo pig on it. Now that I think of it that would be a great t-shirt for my cousin Collin, who is a Farmville extraordinaire. 

Two years ago for Christmas (yes, that right 2 years, as in 2009) I got Peadar a Lego tractor for Christmas. I found it in his room this year, still completely unbuilt, and busted it out.  

Peadar and Ciaran started building it, but Ciaran got tired and fell asleep. Pad finished it though, despite many people who didn't think it could be done without his brother Ned's help. Apparently Ned is the Lego genius in the family. There's always one. My older brother Kyle was ours. 

My mistake, I think this is actually a Lego combine harvester, which is a totally different machine than a tractor, as Peadar will tell you. 

After Christmas Eve, and Christmas, is another holiday called "St. Steven's Day" aka: The Day After Christmas. I'm not sure what exactly that celebrates but I know it's another day off of work, which is grand. In between Christmas and New Year's, there is also an obligatory night where you do the "12 Pubs of Christmas" which is basically a pub crawl where you go have a drink at 12 different pubs, if you can make it. We joined at pub 3, and made it until the end. Although, we were hurting pretty bad the next day. 

Peadar and I brought funny hats to the pub crawl, me in my True Religion Eskimo number, and Peadar brought his "trilby" hat, which I also got him for Christmas this year. Pad's cousin Angela Wall is wearing the "trilby" in the pic above. Pretty badass. When Peadar first said "trilby" I thought it was supposed to be "Thrilby" and he just didn't pronounce the "th" because of his accent! Turns out I was wrong!

Christmas this year also involved a lot of sitting around and relaxing, as most holidays do. As I was strolling by the Whyte's living room. I snapped this pic of Finbar, Michael, Olive, and Eddie, all engaged with their cell phones or computer. Too funny! You can see Olive's baby bump in this picture. She was actually due New Year's eve, and is almost 2 weeks overdue at this point. She is basically ready to go at anytime, and mentally, she is really ready to get the baby going! She could basically be giving birth as I am writing this post, that's how ready she is.

Mary-O cooking away!

I even made deviled eggs and introduced them to Ireland.. Check em out in the spread below. 

St. Steven's Day dinner table. 

Peadar and Finbar rocking paper crowns, a tradition from this part of the world. You get them from "Christmas Crackers" which are not, as I found out, crackers that you eat on Christmas. They are basically like little fireworks that you pull apart and they have toys and crowns in them. 

On New Year's Eve we went to Peadar's sister Catherine's house for a party. See us looking sharp below!

Peadar's birthday is today, January 11th!  Happy Birthday Dude! As a treat I won't post any embarrassing pictures of you in my blog. What a present! Also, though, I got him a sweet flat screen which is a nice upgrade from the old TV we were using before. Now I can actually see the screen. 

Lastly, my good friend Rachel Taggart is headed to Brazil this Friday to do volunteer work for 4 months. Before she left though she found the time to send me some lovely xmas pressies for the home, including coasters, bottle openers, pictures, frames, etc. One of the things was a little stand that I wasn't quite sure what to use it for, but Peadar found the ultimate solution, an iPad holder! Thanks Rach!

Lot's of love to you all and have a happy, healthy, New Year!!

XOXO

Amanda