Easter Joy

This Easter was a bit different for me and my family. A beautiful day remembering new life and new beginnings, unfortunately without some very special people, my Poppo, Dad and Sister. "Firsts" are hard. I feel seconds, thirds and fourths will be just as hard. We had the spirit of those 3 pretty amazing people surrounding us all weekend. We shared a few tears and a few smiles. We shared the joy of knowing and loving them. 

Mom and I started out our morning sharing chocolate and coffee. Nothing like hoping off the treadmill and having a pretty amazing "recovery" meal. Then we picked up Gramma and headed out into the sunny day to my cousin's Christine and Denis's home for a lovely, tummy filling brunch. 

Christine creates beauty all around her home. Her chandelier in the kitchen was full of pansies, fresh budding birch branches and real hardboiled brown eggs. 

I am always amazed by her creativity. She set a beautiful table of intricate hand-embroidered white linen tablecloth and napkins. Adorned with antique glassware and white plates. My love for white made we want to hug this beautiful table and place settings. 

Beautiful music filled the air, songs of Frank Sinatra reminding us of Dad and his friends as well as him and Poppo's  love for dancing. Gramma telling stories of special times of her and Poppo dancing the night away was a uplifting and special converstion. 

I did my best to honor my Dad's Bloody Mary blending skills and carefully made up some cocktails to start the day. 

Then there was the mouthwatering line up of Chef Christine's masterpiece brunch: 

Fresh berries and star fruit, salmon deviled eggs with salmon caviar, grapes. 

What would Easter be without a honey baked ham? 

Quiche with pancetta, parsley and gruyere cheese in a flaky, delicious homemade crust. (Wow!!!)

Green eggs and ham: broccoli, hard boiled eggs, hollandaise sauce and ham. Seriously, this was so delicious!  I will get the recipe and share it so you can make this next Easter. 

And we finished with a holiday tradition, my Mom's homemade caramel, pecan and raisin cinnamon rolls. With butter and coffee of course! 

Karlie had the right idea, naptime after this amazing brunch. I debated on taking a walk versus taking a nap. Nap time won!  

I hope you all had a joyful holiday. If it was a "first" for you, my heart knows how you felt. If it was a second, third or fourth, I will know how you feel in the years to come. Time keeps moving and the seasons keep changing. 

How lucky we are to have such special people in our lives, those on this earth and those in other special places. How lucky I am to have had this day again with those I love. 

AE 

Week in Review

 

Happy Happy Holidays!  I hope you had an amazing one with family and friends or whoever is special to you!  I enjoyed the holiday with some of my favorite people and appreciated the very low-key days we had together. Mr. and Mrs. Claus were up to only good things of course!  Love these two!  I couldn't imagine having anyone else as my parents! Christmas Day was celebrated with my Gramma and Poppo with a delicious brunch and fantastic conversation. It was gorgeous out, sun and 46 degrees. It was a pretty perfect day in Panama, Iowa.

 

Over the past couple of years we kind of started a new tradition by having crab legs on Christmas. Lucky for me, I work at the best Hy-Vee in the land and my friend John hooked me up with a few pounds of Alaskan deliciousness. I love that we dress the table with newspapers, melted butter, lots of napkins and tools for crab attacking. Which is exactly what I did.

 

We shared in our seafood delight with my cousin Christine and her husband Denis. No one was safe at the table this year. I got a little crazy cracking my crab. Denis and Christine took some home on their heads and the window also got a little taste. 

 

 

This year has been a year. I cannot say it has been my favorite year, but it has been a year of learning and growing. I am hopeful for all that 2015 has to offer and look forward to what lies ahead, whatever it is. I hope as the year closes, you have fond memories, moments that you learned something new, have met a new friend, have faced one of your fears and conquered it and you are ready to not look back and continue to look forward.

 

Here's to 2014!