“A leprechaun, a cluricaun, and a far darrig…”
Sounds like the beginning of a great joke!
The joke is really on us in the states as we’ve condensed these three completely separate creatures into the Leprechaun. Here in the US the leprechaun is recognized on cereal boxes, plastered on t-shirts, posters, buttons, etc for St. Patricks day. I’ve often wondered what does this guy have to do with St. Patrick's day...he isn’t St. Patrick. In fact, St. Patrick wasn’t even Patrick to begin with; he was Maewyn Succat and hailed from Great Britain. Kidnapped by pirates; sold into slavery in Ireland; and herded sheep on a mountain. One day God spoke to him in a dream to become a priest and his journey to sainthood began. But I digress, let’s get back to leprechaun and his pals.
The Leprechaun, sometimes called “wee folk”, inhabited Ireland before the arrival of the Celts. They are small enough to sit on your shoulder and are quite intelligent and a bit mischievous. Leprechaun translates from Irish leith brog into "One-shoemaker." He is often seen working on a single shoe.
Legend has it the Leprachaun makes shoes constantly and dresses in smart little suits with waistcoats, hats, and gold buckles on his shoe. He has grown very rich from making shoes therefore dresses most proper! Ah, so that is where the pot of gold comes in, isn’t it, to store all his riches? Hardly. Old treasure crocks were buried during war-time by soldiers whom never returned from the battlefield. The Leprechaun discovered the buried treasure and claimed them for his own.
Irish fairies the gave him magical powers in case he was ever captured by humans who may be lurking near the pots of gold. The leprechaun could then use his magic to either vanish into thin air or grant three wishes!
Dodging humans and animals all day is hard work so the leprechauns are well known for playing hard too with musical instruments such as fiddles, tin whistles and even the irish harp! They get together and have crazy music gatherings at night called “Ceili’s, where hundreds of leprechauns join together to dance sing and drink. Their favorite drinks are Poteen and Moonshine. You’d think they would cause some chaos, but it is not the case, his fine cousin, the Cluricaun, is the real trouble maker with his drink.
The Cluricaun is considered the night “form” of the leprechaun. Surly, rough, and mischievous he makes himself drunk in gentlemen's cellars after finishing his daily chores. Folklore concludes clurichauns enjoy riding sheep and dogs at night. If they are treated well they will protect your wine cellar, but mistreated, they will wreak havoc on your home and spoil your wine stock. Sometimes they act as liquor stockroom spirits, plaguing drunkards or dishonest servants who steal wine; if the victim attempts to move away from their tormentor, the clurichaun will hop into a cask to accompany them. Once plagued by the Cluricaun, it is difficult to get rid of him. If one happens to invade your wine cellar, I’d suggest staying on his good side. The Far Darrig is a different story; at first glance he looks like trouble!
The Far Darrig, meaning the Red Man, occupies his time with practical if not gruesome joking. He is closely related to the leprechaun, with similar features and a short stocky body. His face is splotchy yellow and dresses in red from his hat down to his socks. This is the reason he is called the far darrig or red man.
Ever the practical joker he can manipulate his voice, emitting sounds like the thudding waves on the rocks or the cooing of pigeons. His favorite sound to make is the dull, hollow laugh of a dead man coming from the grave. It is advisable to say 'Na dean maggadh fum'-- do not mock me', when you come into contact with a far darrig so you will not be used in one of his macabre games. Unfortunately, he plans his tricks so well that mortals are snared long before they realize what is happening.
With all this being said, the far darrig does not actually desire to do harm! He is good natured and will bring luck to those whom he approves; but cannot resist an initial prank or two. We can surmise the far darrig does have a good side although his appearance suggests otherwise.
The small, magical, mischievous and well dressed Leprechaun seems to be the spokesperson for his relatives here in the states, and I think we now know why! What does he have to do with St. Patricks day? Absolutely nothing until Walt Disney released a film "Darby O'Gill & the Little People" which changed the face of the Leprechaun to Americans everywhere. He is now a happy, joyful, and lucky symbol for St. Patrick's Day.
I have checked around the shop a few times to see if there were any of the 3 creatures living among the plants in the showroom or maybe hiding out in the back cooler waiting to suprise a customer or designer but haven't seen any yet.
We may not have these mischievous creatures lurking about to pull pranks but should you come visit in search of something green for St. Patrick's Day; you will be able to find quite a few fun, happy, and charming bouquets available!
Click below to see what Irish inspired delight our designers have created this year!
Is that a new ring on your finger?! Did you just celebrate Valentine's Day with your significant other and end up a fiancé by the end of the evening? If so, congratulations! So now what?
When I was planning my wedding in the days of yore the first thing I did was go to the store and pick up a couple of copies of bridal magazines. Of course, we had internet back then but this was before pinterest and the best way to gather your ideas was cutting them out of magazines and visiting the bridal stores to pick up free info.
Have you seen the movie "The Wedding Planner" with Jennifer Lopez? I did. As a very indecisive person, I loved the idea of having someone else take care of the arrangements. Someone to say "we need this done by this date, you should have your dress by this date, the venue should be selected by..." Sounds awesome, just tell me what to do when and I will do it. Unfortunately a wedding planner was not in my budget so I settled with the helpful lists the bridal magazines supplied and went online to gather more info.
Vyclone
Lupercalia was actually a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus. 
Lupecalia was celebrated until outlawed due to it being "un-Christian" around the end of the 5th century when Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day. It wasn't celebrated as a day of love right off the bat however; began as a liturgical celebration of one or more early Christian saints named Valentinus. One legend is Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine realized the injustice of the law and performed marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. 
This day to celebrate love has come a long way from its origin. As Valentine's Day 2014 approaches, not only am I thankful for more opportunities to express love to my husband but also that I don't have think about an unknown bachelor drawing my name out an urn and lining up along the street for a chance to increase my fertility! 
One of the most interesting dresses was the Rani Zakhem which "The Big Bang Theory" Kaley Cuoco was wearing. A corseted floral ball gown on millefueille tulle with watercolor floral patterns.
Next up we have songstress Taylor Swift in a striking Carolina Herrera strapless gown with a black bust with bustling red gown. The dress is simple yet elegant so I chose Glamazon to add a bit more attitude to the ensemble.
BBC's "Orphan Black" Tatiana Maslany shimmered in an Old Hollywood styled Jenny Packham gown. The Bauble Bath corsage complements the style with posey callas, clear jewel accents, a butterfly, an adjustable bracelet and other jewel and silver accents! 
Now lets not forget about the guys! The ever so smooth and southern accent dripping Matthew Mccounaghey accepted his Golden Globe award in style with his Dolce & Gabbana and Cartier cufflinks. This guy has so much style I decided he needed a single rose in a silver boutinniere to complete his sophisticated look. 
"You look fantastic today"; "I appreciate you making dinner"; "Thank you for being there for me"; "Thinking of you makes me smile"; "You did a difficult job really well"; "I love the way you giggle"; "You smell great!" The list is endless. It could be anything that you love and appreciate about someone, as long as you're saying it out loud and with a genuine heart! 
Gifts:
Physical touch doesn't have to be limited to hugs, holding hands and cuddling although those are just as lovely. These actions speak mountains to someone whose love language is physical touch. Another case of actions speaking louder than words. 
That's great! All the multi-tasking but now it's time to put your phone away, avert your eyes from any mobile device which might have your attention, switch off the screen to your computer, turn off the tv and look at each other. Well...maybe after finishing this blog, then you can do it. 
"We live in Indiana..It will negate any reason you have"
Okay..I know what you're thinking. "Hey this is a blog about chasing the blues away, not making things more depressing by cleaning!". Trust me, I understand. Although it would be nice to have Mary Poppins singing behind me as I clean toilets; it's not going to happen. BUT thinking about how accomplished I feel after cleaning makes the effort worth it. Don't feel like scrubbing? Throw something away instead. Grab a grocery bag, pick out any drawer in the house, give yourself 15 minutes and find things to throw away in said drawer. I bet you anything one hour later you will have a bag full of stuff, 3 or 4 drawers cleaned out and an overwhelming feeling of "Ahhhhhhh". Purging junk you don't need is good for the soul. If you don't have time for a grand purge just try one little drawer. I promise it will make you feel better.
I love snow! I do not spend enough time in the snow as an adult and parent of children, and in these sub zero temperatures; well I will continue to admire it from the safety and warmth of my home.
What effect did the first winter storm of 2014 have on you? Did you lose power? Was your neighborhood buried? Did the plows come through and block you in? Did your car get stuck in the drift of the roads? Did the pipes burst at your house? How has the weather impacted your life in the past few days? Not long ago I mentioned nature had a way of making us slow down.. Even at its most inconvenient timing, it still remains the case that nature WILL slow things down and may cause damage along the way. It's ineveitable through one disaster or another, we will be affected in some manner. 
