Easter Hangover . .

Ok, so yesterday was just a great day. We did have to drag ourselves out of bed for 9:00 church service (not even the sunrise service) but had a great service with a great sermon. Our pastor, Pastor Reeb, is such a dynamic speaker I really enjoy listening to him speak. I laugh because my youngest is not really into the sermons and gets to draw on her bulletin during that time, just like I used to. Here's a couple photos of her latest drawings -

Just to clarify ANY misunderstandings here, those peanuts are dancing! That is it so please get your mind out of the gutter and keep my baby innocent! I actually burst out laughing, in church, when I saw the one on the left. Someone said "bless you" to me so I just went with it and sniffled a couple of times! Aren't they a hoot? Is it wrong that I want to save these for her keepsake box?

Getting ready to open baskets after church.
Wish the bunny brought me a new camera!

Egg hunting time -
the bunny hid the eggs extra hard this year.
Please observe the beautiful decking but not the rest of the yard!
The lawn guy just sprayed for weeds and since that was the only
green back here, it is now almost all gone!

Sitting down to brunch.
Is it just me or is only half of this photo blurry?

We had our favorite brunch, Amish Breakfast Casserole (this is absolutely delicious and reheats nicely for later meals), an easy cheese danish  (which we liked but did not love), cut fruit and boiled eggs. It was nice to actually sit down for breakfast since we usually eat it in the car on the way to school. Anyone else do that?? Just us?

My youngest wanted to try something she had seen on Pinterest . . .

And I think it turned out great and tasted even better.

All-in-all, Easter was really great this year. We missed being with our whole family as we usually do but it just didn't work out this year. My sister and her youngest daughter did to come to hang with us for the better portion of the day while they waited to pick the rest of their family up from the airport at 11:45 p.m.!! It was super nice just hanging out and catching up. A perfect way to end spring break and get ready for one heck of a busy month, but that is all for another post!

Happy Easter

Ok, so just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Easter. I am posting this early because I am not smart enough to figure out how to schedule a post  I am just that organized!! No seriously, I just want to relax tomorrow and enjoy the day. No chores, no work and no blogging!

I have been busy recapping my spring break trip last year so I didn't have time to share with you my very minor holiday decs.

My mantle this year.
I totally had planned to make a banner to kind of fill
the gap at the top but that never happened.
Maybe next year?

For some reason, I just love the rabbit on the left and
that is not my normal go-to type of decoration!
In the large holder are a bunch to $1.00 glitter eggs from Target from last year.

I also love this guy but he freaking sheds everywhere -
just like a real rabbit!

My Girl Scouts made these many years ago.
Just a styrofoam egg with a popsicle stuck in it.
We added floral foam in the pot and just pushed the popsicle stick in.
(Note: the egg is that smooth type of styrofoam, not the porous kind).

Another Easter decoration made by my scouts.
Super easy and adorable too!

My favorite holiday chalkboard.

Egg dyeing time.

Hubby's contribution.
We are very excited about making the Elite Eight this year
Go Gators!

So just a quick blog post to wish everyone a Happy Easter. I am looking forward to church, food, family and relaxation tomorrow. Can't wait! I will finish tackling the backyard, but that is for another post!

Hippity, Hoppitty, Easter is Over . . .

Love the clean, fresh look of these shelves!

Ok, C-A-N-N-O-T believe it is already April. Seriously, where has the time gone??

So here's a quick recap of our Easter celebrations. Normally, we head to Gainesville to spend Easter with the family. However this year, we were still experiencing jet lag and opted to stay home for some rest and relaxation! We went to Good Friday services and then came home and my girls had a meltdown. Complaining about everything, tears, we can't do anything right, you name it! My husband, fed up with the whining, sent them both to bed and we did our own "wining" - popped a bottle of wine and watched 50/50 (which was incredibly fantastic and gave me a little crush on Joseph Gordon Levitt - yes, the kid from 3rd Rock from the Sun! I know, weird!!). After some truly needed sleep, everyone woke up in a better mood and we had a great, relaxing weekend - an Easter miracle! My oldest daughter is currently going through Confirmation and trying to earn "points" and raise money for the Mission Trip she is going on in June. She spent Saturday volunteering at the church and getting caught up on homework. Youngest daughter worked on her Earth Day project and I spent the day cooking (after attending Weight Watchers - I maintained which was my goal after being in Paris/Belgium/Amsterdam for 10 days!).  Once everything was done, we dyed our eggs.

This was oldest daughter's creation - it's simple beautiful and a labor of love!

Our menu for the weekend was absolutely delish -

Lunch Saturday - Paula Deen's Lady and Sons Grilled Cheese and Asparagus sandwiches. Everyone loved them (again another Easter miracle!!)

Dinner - Pesto Chicken Salad - We have made this as a sandwich before but tonight, we just served on a bed of lettuce with other salad veggies.

Easter Day - Opening our Easter baskets!

Youngest daughter - Olivia.

Oldest daughter - Caitlin.

Heading off to Easter Church Services.

Time to look for eggs.

Brunch is served.

The girls set a beautiful table.

Brunch - Lemon, Strawberry Ricotta Muffins  - Not sweet at all. My husband like them, I thought ok and neither daughter liked them. They have a very dense quality to them. Not sure if I will make again.

             - Eggs Benedict Casserole - fantastic! You have to make it the night before and it's worth it. This was a hit with all the meat-eaters in the family.

            - Fresh Cut Fruit - thank you Publix!

            - Mimosas! I had one with OJ but the next one (or two) were with Cranberry juice. I love those!

Easter Day was the best! We played Kinect on Playstation. It actually brought tears, we were laughing so hard. Then we headed outside for some reading and relaxing. Later, my husband and I poured some wine and planned our next vacation (nothing decided on yet!). 

Time to eat again  -

Dinner - Beef Tenderloin with Blue Cheese Sauce (I know right, what about WW??)

            - Gruyere Potatoes

            - Roasted Broccoli

            - Carrot Cake - this was THE BEST CARROT CAKE EVER!! It's a sheet cake, then you pour a glaze on top, and then cream cheese icing! Moist, delicious and not nearly big enough!!

We had a great, relaxing weekend. Just what the Doctor ordered! Since March was a blur and I am too lazy to take down our Easter decorations we really didn't get to enjoy our Easter decorations, we decided to keep them up until after my daughter's confirmation on April 22. It still is the month of Easter, right??

I think he was a gift from my mom (is this right, mom?) and I like that he is super shiny and looks like chocolate!.

My mantle - I just kept it as it normally is and added the bunny I found at Tuesday Morning and took a glass jar with a metal handle (found at a local boutique) and filled with shiny eggs from the $2.50 section of Target. In fact, I liked the eggs so much, I went back and bought 4 more sets of them but then never had time to find a home for them!

This is my Pottery Barn coffee table. For the love of God, I rotated this picture in iPhoto but can't get that version to load here. Not sure why so just tilt your laptops! Please ignore the Christmas snow still in the table and the tacky chargers in the background!

My favorite little chalkboard. It had the menu on it but it was splattered with water so I just wiped it clean!

I hope all of you had a happy holiday weekend. While we missed being with our family, especially the cousins, we had a great weekend and even better downtime! We will get to see the family this weekend when we all participate in Gaineville's Relay for Life - celebrating my sister Becky's, and daughter Caitlin's, cancer survivorship, but that is for another post!

PS - I was trying to share all the recipes with you but the Pinterest server went down. If you want them, go to my Pinterest page once it is back up and running.