Easter Weekend

The weekend went as planned.  Easter eggs were decorated.

The Easter bunny brought an abundance of chocolate and we all over-indulged. 

We cleaned out the closet in preparation to make it into an office.  Now we are planning what color we'll paint it and how exactly we will set it up.

And we looked at a beautiful home in a beautiful neighborhood that we probably cannot afford.  I was willing to give up the idea of having chickens when I heard a peaceful stream whispering softly in the backyard.  Jason and I are still discussing it.  It's considerably more expensive than the house we're in right now, but the neighborhood is gorgeous and the house is about three times as large as ours.  Plus, it might not be that bad considering we'll be making money from the sale of our house, since we have done so many renovations.

The house doesn't come without work either.  The kitchen needs to be updated and there are some small projects we would need to do.  But there are some gorgeous features, like two stone fireplaces and four bathrooms that probably cost around $20,000 each to install.

We need to call a realtor this week to find out how much our house is worth.  It's a big decision . . . but I'll keep you all posted.

Easter dinner turned out great. I added flowers to the tablescape and baked my first ham.  We invited some friends over, along with my parents and it was the first time this year that we were actually able to sit out on the deck and enjoy the sunshine.

I hope you had a beautiful Easter weekend.

Easter Eggs, Home Tour and Closet Office

I'm so excited for the weekend.  For one, it's Easter, which means tonight we will be coloring Easter Eggs. I will have a vision of a fabulous egg that I've designed free-hand without any fancy stencils or decals.  I'll just use a crayon and old fashioned food coloring and vinegar, just like my mama taught me when I was a kid.

In my head, my egg is going to be fabulous, like one of Martha Stewart's creations:

Instead of my fabulous piece of art on an egg, I'll end up with a big melted mess from the crayon (I'm always too impatient to wait for the eggs to cool), dipped in a color.  Then, I will become jealous because Jason's egg will look like something that belongs in an art gallery.  I will take this opporunity to remind everyone that Jason originally went to school on scholarship for illustration before switching his major to Art History.

I am inspired by these coffee-dyed eggs from 504 Main though, so maybe there is hope for me this year.

Other than coloring Easter eggs, we will be looking at a new house!  I'm not getting too excited because I have become quite picky in selecting a new home.  For one, this house is NOT out in the country with a lot of land, so the whole idea of getting chickens is out of the question.  However, this house is for sale by owner, and is coming HIGHLY recommended by Kelby.  If you've been following my blog, you know how we feel about Kelby around here.  He is never wrong, so when he suggested we look at it, we jumped at the opportunity. 

The other reason we're not getting too excited is because this house is located in a pretty fancy schmancy area around here.  Most of the homes are big and ornate, rich with intricate detail, old wood and brick.  I am sure this is probably one of the smaller homes on the block and I'm sure we probably won't be able to afford it anyway!  But, I am still super psyched about going to look at it. 

My mother was a real estate agent when I was a kid and I always liked when she let me tag along so I could look at all the homes that were for sale.  I am always thrilled to look at other people's houses, so the fact that this is on the agenda this weekend makes me happy.

Finally, we have come to a road block with the guest room renovation.  The problem is that this room also serves as an office and I hate the way the computer and all of its accessories look.  I considered getting an armoir of sorts to hide it, but have been unsuccessful in my search.  Plus, the room is pretty small and I think adding any more large furniture would make it look crowded.  We already have that crowded look going on in our bedroom, so I don't want to make the same mistake in the guest room.

My solution is one that Jason has been resisting, but honey . . . if you're reading this . . . it is happening this weekend.   I want to turn the closet that is under the stairs of our Cape Cod home into a tiny little office.  It already has a light and electricity in it and it's certainly big enough to fit a computer and printer.  It would solve my dilemma about electronics and I am confident we can make it look nice.

I would take a picture of the closet, but it's really crowded with stuff and I'd be embarrassed for you, dear reader, to see my hoarding problem.  I will post it on my before and after photos, I promise.

In the meantime, here are some closet-turned office pictures that will hopefully inspire!

http://www.cbc.ca/stevenandchris/

DIYideas.com

Apartment Therapy

Finally, I hope there might be time to go check out a store I just discovered here in town that sells recycled building materials, like claw-foot bathtubs, antique lighting etc.  We didn't get to go treasure hunting last weekend, so I hope we can squeeze it in between looking at the house and taking Imani to a rock and mineral store that she's super excited about.

Sunday, we'll wake up to the happiness that the Easter bunny brings and head off to church.  Imani asked last night how the Easter bunny is connected to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Jason had some interesting answers, but I just smiled and asked her what she thought. 

She said she wasn't sure but that the Easter bunny has to be real, right, even though it seems ridiculous?!

Happy Easter.

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

I used to think it was corny to decorate for any holiday except for Christmas and Halloween.  I didn't think there was a way to do it without having it look cheap and cheesy.  For Easter decorating, I had visions of plastic window decals and plastic eggs and plastic Easter grass. 

The problem is, I don't particularly like plastic. 

I have a nine-year old daughter and I know good Moms decorate their houses for holidays.  At least my Mom did, and I think she's a good Mom.  I always liked all the different decorations out around the holidays and I didn't much care if they were plastic.

When I joined the blogging community just over a month ago I started seeing some really creative people who managed to decorate for the holidays in simple, yet festive ways.  Some even managed to make plastic look good!  And then there is always the Pottery Barn catalogue, which is always a great source of inspiration.

Photo: Pottery Barn

I decided it was time to step up and decorate for Easter, starting with my table. 

Remember that grubby duck and that grubby bunny I got at the Salvation Army?  I know there were some doubters out there who thought I was crazy.

  I gave them each a fresh coat of white spray paint (although they could be a bit shinier).  Well here they are after their facelifts.

I stole the burlap table-runner idea from Jessi over at Yankee Belle Home.  I thought it was such a great idea to use a piece of burlap for the runner, so I cut it and frayed the ends a bit.  It adds a nice texture to the tablescape.

I got the candlesticks at the Salvation Army too.  I just added the raffia bows around them to add a little extra detail.  I got the little nests and bunnies at AC Moore.

The eggs are plastic.  Yes, I used plastic.  I spray-painted them blue and then used a tootbrush dipped in brown paint to make them speckled.

I bought some Spanish moss and put it in the bottom of a big vase I got at TJ Maxx, tied a ribbon around it and put the eggs inside.

All I need now are some beautiful flowers to make the table complete. 

Now the question is, who's coming for Easter brunch?

I'm linking up with:

http://bethcrabtreehunter.blogspot.com/