HOPPING DOWN THE BUNNY TRAIL!

Have any of you been thinking of Easter?  It's quite early this year.  It makes me feel like spring is around the corner and that's sort of hopeful for me because I can't remember a cold or cloudy Easter in the recent past.  Last year I had twelve for dinner, did a buffet and made a simple table setting.  Lately I've had a lot of ideas fluttering through my head...I thought I would make a very mix and match table;  White dinner plates and then an assortment of salad plates, a variety of napkins rings for fun.   And I usually don't make a green salad on holidays as we have so many side dishes, but I thought it would be nice to start with a fresh spring salad, maybe with some baby lettuce and and a handful of cranberries and walnuts.  I'm just feeling a little creative and it feels good.  I found these plates at Pier 1 the last time I was there.  I just picked up four as I have plenty to mix and match and can pick up some of these colors. Anyway...sometimes it's all about simple and stress free, other times I love the details and making company feel special.

I was so amazed at this picture I took of a salad I was making for lunch.  I used absolutely no filter and I couldn't get over the vibrant colors.  Wonder what happened? lol!!  I love cherry tomatoes.  If you live in my area, those orange tomatoes we get this time of year just make you shudder and walk away from the bin.  But cherry tomatoes always look and taste great.  I love to bake them and throw them in with fresh pasta and some olive oil and garlic...many of them burst and ooze and make your mouth water just looking at them!  And in salads, cut them in half and the juices will liven up the whole thing.

Again, this weekend I forced The Husband into going out to dinner.  I have been a really good sport about making dinner 6 nights a week...no ordering pizza or getting take~out...so he's been more receptive.  :)  This is a place I tried a few months ago for lunch out in the suburbs and I loved it.  It's called Ottimo, and I have no idea what that means in Italian.  The theme seems to be pigs (or pork), little figurines and such are scattered around everywhere.  I forgot food pics as usual.  We had an hour long wait and managed to get two seats at the bar after about ten minutes.  The Husband and I actually like that, we relax with a drink, chat with the bar people, and sometimes the customers around us.  Often times we have better conversation with one another than we do when we are actually eating.  I guess we are more focused.  I love that.

And then the next day...boy, it never ends...Emily had breakfast for the whole family (and did a smash up job by the way), and we all had a chance to see Elsie.  We snapped some seriously cute pictures of The Husband with his first granddaughter, I have to have this framed.  Elsie looks adorable in this little outfit and my guy had just gotten a haircut! lol!  Totally cute. 

  

I really wanted to chill at home on Monday...I've been busy and that's always a good thing for me, but I have so many things to get done (painting the furniture in Abby's room, cleaning out a big cabinet in my living room that is stuffed with all sorts of linens and dishes and accessories I don't even need...purging a few closets and organizing some clutter in the kitchen).  But Emily has Mondays off and the Call of the Wild came bright and early.  Our temps were in the 40's and I couldn't resist.  We went to an outdoor mall in the suburbs, she wanted to look at furniture at a Lazy Boy showroom.  I was surprised...they have some cool things.  Very affordable, too.  Then we hit Williams Sonoma, World Market (which I have never been to), Pier 1 (to see if they had anything new since last Thursday!!), and Anthropology.  This is the only store location within a close vicinity to us, so it's always a treat.  Emily likes to look at clothes because of course, she can pull them off.  I love the decor, displays, books and dishes.  The books really inspired me.  Tons of cookbooks and the photography is enough to sell them without any attention to the actual recipes.  And green, green, green.  I've mentioned before that I cook and we eat "clean" here, but I can see that we are really lacking in grains.  And the smoothies...you feel like a total slouch if you aren't having one every morning to start your day.  Since I watch my carbs, grains aren't a big option, nor legumes.  But I'm seriously considering the benefits of those. What are your thoughts on this subject?   Bottom line...love Anthro.  

And finally today was my 6 week appointment to have my brown/red/gray roots touched up.  Katie, you know, does my hair.  Again, she is my daughter in law, MC's sister.  We do this at their mother Peggy's home,  who is Elsie's other grandma.  Katie also does her aunt's hair so it is just the same fun time every six weeks.  Katie's little girl, Margot, is a little over four months old.  Here is Katie holding that cutie and Aunt Kathy feeding Elsie a bottle.  See the back door open?  55 degrees!  Yay!  We have coffee and snacks and talk...it's so much better than a salon.  And now it's baby heaven.  I had to joke that about 2 years ago we would have never imagined this scene!

 

Here I am in my spa~like moment.  My hair really isn't this light...I used a filter and screwed it up.  I get my roots touched up and then foil highlights.  My favorite part is getting the blow out.  Don't talk to me, I go into a trance.  It's better than a massage. :)

I don't know how I can ever thank you for the really, really heartfelt comments on the lakehouse damage.  We are taking it one day at a time.  They are still working on drying out the place to salvage what they can...and then working on sterilizing everything so we don't have bacteria and mold when they rebuild everything.  Otherwise, it's all about patience and following along with whatever is required of us.  We've had sleepless nights but it's much better now.  The Husband has work to distract him and he spends a lot of time at the gym preparing for the big hiking trip over Memorial Day weekend (more on that later).  And as you can see, I never seem to have time to catch my breath.  I actually had a recipe to share with you but I think I've run out of time!

I'm truly feeling okay.  We will get through this and there will be many, many good times ahead.  For now...gosh, I so wanted to get a new post up so I didn't have to keep scrolling past those ugly pictures of the damage.  Now I have something good and promising to look at~ you, too.  If I didn't get by to personally thank you...know that all of you touched my heart and confirmed my belief that some of the best friendships are developed in our very own blog world.

See you soon!

Jane xxx