Happy St. Patrick's Day! There's no shortage of green on this festive holiday, and some businesses are adding to the influx by offering freebies for the day. There may not be a pot of gold waiting for you, but you can take advantage of some fun free food and services offered today.
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Naturally you know to keep pets away from those minty sweet treats and stout snacks, too, but what exactly is a festive-yet-safe alternative to green beer? Well, the luck of the Irish must be with you since I've gathered four doggone suggestions in this slideshow to keep your pets in the green with St. Patrick.
Nothing gets your heart rate up like dancing a jig on St. Patrick's Day. The Irish definitely have that down. This playlist contains no songs from Lord of the Dance or sea shanties, but it's chock-full of fun, rockin' Irish music to make you want to move.
To see the rest of the playlist keep on reading.
There are some recipes, like this one for Irish soda bread, that are full of history. My great grandmother was born in Ireland, and she shared her method, for the St. Patrick's Day staple, with my dad. He only makes it around this time of year and when I was little, my disgust for both raisins and caraway seeds caused me to dislike the bread.
Now that I've grown to become a foodie, I've taken on the annual tradition of baking and sharing my great grandmother's Irish soda bread. Each March when I make it, I imagine my relative stirring together the ingredients.
The recipe is incredibly simple; no special standing mixer or fancy gadgets are necessary. All you need is a bowl and a wooden spoon and you can enjoy this savory, slightly sweet, and wonderful bread. My favorite way to eat it is in the morning, toasted with butter. To see a part of my family's past get the recipe and read more
When it comes to spirits, I don't discriminate. It really depends on my mood, but I enjoy vodka, gin, tequila, whiskey, and everything in between equally. When I was younger, my go-to shot was tequila; however, now that I'm a little more refined, I like to shoot whiskey! It's also what I fill my flask with. Since St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner, I'm wondering, how do you feel about whiskey?
Update: We tried making a black and tan again with much more success this time. Learn how to pour the perfect black and tan.
This was supposed to be a tale about how easy it is to make the glorious drink that is the black and tan. But, instead it is a recount of my struggle and ultimate defeat of the classic beer cocktail. You see, on Wednesday afternoon I had the brilliant idea of making myself a black and tan.
A black and tan is equal parts pale ale and stout. The pale ale is poured into a glass first, and the stout is slowly added over the back of a spoon to create a layer of tan and a layer of black. Although I've never made one before, I assumed it would be simple enough. 
Instead of purchasing Bass, like the recipe recommended, I bought Harps. I tried over and over again and was, each time, unsuccessful. Thus, I turned to the pros. I called up my friend Aaron, one of the owners of 15 Romolo, and he informed me that I had to use Bass or another ale with a specific gravity higher than Guinness.
A trip to the store later and I was ready to try again. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the Guinness to layer even with the Bass, so after wasting six beers, I gave up. If you wish to make the black and tan, best of luck to you; here's the recipe.
On many nights, happy hour can't come quickly enough and, frankly, every hour is playtime for furry friends. So turn some time soon into your pup's happiest one and grab some bottles. These cute squeaky toys let a dog safely imbibe — well, chew — drinks named suspiciously similar as beers you'd recognize, but with a canine twist. (Case in point: Heineken sounds way more dog-appropriate as Hiney Sniffen.)
For the underage pooches or four-legged teetotalers, there are still nonalcoholic, nonalcoholic choices — like this Mountain Dew Drool. Bottoms up and order from the rest of the products in the widget below.
Even though I'm hosting my St. Patrick's Day get-together at a local Irish pub, I still plan on decorating. Green and white are the colors that will bring the leprechauns to life.
The food will be served on white and green recyclable paper platters. Instead of using regular toothpicks, slices of frittata will be stabbed with shamrock flag picks. Balloons allow guests to know where I've set up the party. Paper napkins and paper plates ensure a quick and easy clean up.
Beaded necklaces with clover pendants make a fun party gift. I won't forget to fill a flask with Irish whiskey — we'll enjoy this later at the parade! How are you celebrating St. Patrick's Day?
On Saturday a big group of friends and I are going to the St. Patrick's Day parade in downtown San Francisco. This is our fourth year in a row, and it should be a blast. Before the parade, we're meeting at an Irish pub in lower Haight. I'm making some snacks and one sweet treat.
Since it has to be portable and something I can put together the night before, I've decided on these festive and cute clover cookies. The cookies that aren't eaten at the bar can be packed in my purse and reserved for the beer garden later. To look at the recipe I'll be using, read more
