Irish celebration weekend recap

Last Friday Ryan and I headed to Jim Thorpe. It's is a really eclectic town, perfect for a night away. We stayed at the Inn at Jim Thorpe and the staff and accommodations were wonderful. We walked around town and shopped in the little shops the line the streets. Next we had a fantastic dinner at Moya, best scallops I have ever had... in Jim Thorpe! It really felt like a city restaurant in this tiny little town, really surprising.


We then went to the Mauch Chunk Opera House where we enjoyed a (few) pints of Guinness and watched a great Irish Band, The Barley Boys. We had a great time and headed back to the Inn for a nightcap. 

The next morning we had breakfast at the Inn's restaurant, The Broadway Grill, and left for Scranton for the St Patrick's Day parade.

 Even though it was cold, we have a great time at the parade! 

Just a few of the pipe bands we got to enjoy.

Also a great Irish dance team

Have a Happy St Patrick's Day, from the Knowles family!

St Patrick's Day rainbow cake

I wanted to make a special treat for the upcoming holiday and found an great idea on Pinterest that I had to try. I adapted this recipe but didn't decorate it as much or make the leprechaun trap, I only had about an hour while the girls were napping ;)

Spray an angel food cake pan with non-stick cooking spay and dust with flour. Preheat the oven to 350 (follow the instructions on the box).

I used one box of white cake mix and separated the batter into seven bowls:

• 6 ounces – red
• 5 ounces – orange
• 4 ounces – yellow
• 3 ounces – green
• 2 ounces – blue
• 1 ounce – purple
• the rest of the batter, kept white

A measuring tip, 1/4 c is equal to 2 oz

Fill ziplock bags with the colored batter and be sure to get all of the air out.

Pour the remaining white cake batter in the bottom of the cake pan. Then the fun begins! Start with the red and make a small cut in the corner of the bag. Pour the red batter in, making it a wide ring of batter. Then pour the orange over that, keeping it inside the red.

Pour in each color, creating narrower and narrower rings. As you go along snip smaller corners off the bags, it will help you control the narrower shape you are trying to make. 

Bake according to the package instructions and after cooled, level off what will be the bottom of the cake and icing/decorate as desired.

Then we had to wait 4 agonizing hours until Ryan got home from work to do the big reveal and eat the cake. We brought it outside to enjoy the insanely nice weather we have been having, 75 degrees in PA is amazingly crazy on March 15 :)

Even though it's not a perfect rainbow, I'm happy with the results. It was fun and much easier to make that I thought it would be. The girls loved it too!

Have a safe and fun St Patrick's Day tomorrow, I will be posting some pictures and videos of the Scranton St. Patrick's Day Parade from last weekend, stay tuned!

Walgreens Photo: 2 FREE 8×10 Photo Prints!

Walgrees Photo is offering a free 8x10 photo print (excludes collages)! Just head over here and create your 8x10 print ($2.99 value), then use the code FREEONE during checkout. If you choose in-store pick up, it will also include free shipping. There is also another code 1PRINT that you can use for a second free print, but will need to use it in a different transaction. This promo runs though March 17!

Thanks hiptosave!


I'm off to attempt to make a St Patrick's Day rainbow cake, results tomorrow!