Easter Pretties

We got home from a trip to Charleston Saturday night & were able to enjoy Easter at home.  Dave surprised me with these daffodils (I was disappointed because I never had the time this season to pick the ones from our yard so he came to the rescue.)

And it was such a pretty day!!! I love this weather... In the morning, I set the table with some antique blue & white china that my mom gave me years ago ( & that I'd almost forgotten I owned. )

Justin was being "helpful"----

I labeled the eggs with our names & set them in little bowls filled with reindeer moss:

The lucite & brass candlesticks with charteusy-green candles were a gift from Eddie & Jaithan the last time they visited & I love the vintage-modern feel of them:

Later in the day, my family came over & I had to take a pic of these beautiful mini strawberry flower cupcakes my mom & little sister made:

And my grandmother made these adorable bunny twist buns.  (below) Seeing them brought me back to when I was a little girl & she used to make them.  (She hasn't in years & I totally forgot all about them...  She now has to make them every year because I neeeeeeeed them ;)

We had enough family over that we put the leaf in the table & I ran out of blue & white china but there's something I love about getting a pretty table ready for a holiday.  (I guess maybe it's that I never really put any time into it & on holidays I have the time??  Or the reason for doing it??  Lately we've been so busy that mealtimes have taken sort of a backseat & I certainly haven't been making any pretty table settings.  A while back I was going to try to do at least 1 pretty planned meal a week but that sort of got forgotten.  BUT...  for the next few weeks before our Baby #3 arrives, I think I'll try to make a little bit of an effort... before the Baby Haze sets in & the thought of a pretty planned meal is laughable.)

We had an Easter Egg Hunt in the yard...

{I'll try to stop posting pics of my wisteria  arbor but I'm not promising it...  I cannot tell you enough how happy it makes me!!!!!}

And the boys (okay, me too) ate a disgusting amount of chocolate...

It was a great day. 

I'm without babysitting today so I have the boys home with me for one more day before the real work week sets in.  I've been feeling a bit anxious about the baby coming so soon and all of the work we have planned to squeeze in before that time.  With a last-minute photo shoot and a few design plans & installations for clients, I know I'll be able to power through it, but I have to admit, I'm a little nervous.  I'm feeling pretty good physically (we are just finally getting over that awful bug we all had at out house- arrgggg) but I can tell my body's about to try telling me to slow down a little.   My cankles come & go (ps- so embarrassed I misspelled cankles in a previous post.. I'll blame it on pregnancy brain ;)  and the baby's starting to make things pretty tight in there.  Bathroom breaks are a constant but if I can just keep running for a few more weeks, I should be good.  Both of my boys came early so I need to get things wrapped up as best as possible before the first week of May.  Fingers crossed for me!! 



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Easy Crab Feast

Last weekend we had a little crab feast with some of our friends.  At our house (probably like at most houses) we like to use parties as an excuse to tie up all of those loose ends around the house.  (see my last 2 posts ;) 

We finally had an excuse to mulch our gardens & break out all of that wedding drinkware. 

We strung up hanging lanterns & set out a couple of folding tables in the grass.  Here's a pre-party pic:

For a quick & summery arrangements, I filled old ironstone pieces with sunflowers for the tables:

We packed the kids off to visit "Gramma" and their playhouse shed turned into the bar:

I loved having this massive drink dispenser for the margaritas:

(I'm kicking myself for taking this pic before I'd set out the rock salt and hid the tequila to make it look pretty but oh well ;)

I made a couple of different salads including my chick pea one.  (recipe here)

 

We covered the tables in newspaper & topped with sunflowers & crabs:

My husband steamed the crabs in the oven using a roasting pan and they were easy & awesome.  I loooove Old Bay seasoning and sprinkled it on top and then we served the crabs melted butter, extra old bay & lemons.

It was soooooooooo yummy and I want to do it again right now. 

I love how the lanterns looked at night, lighting the patio for games:

I really loved having this party because getting it together was actually pretty easy.  It was a lot of effort but it was pretty planned out, which made it simple.  Food & friends  is always a good time, especially when the weather's perfect & you're outside.  

 

Of course I forgot to get pics of us.  (Fellow bloggers, I know you understand.)

...And I definitely did something to my hip dancing.  I think it was the kip-ups.

xoxo,

lauren

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Our Thanksgiving Table

This year we're having Thanksgiving dinner.  It's an "off" year for our family so most of them are travelling and the gathering will be small.  My dad's driving out from Chicago but hasn't left yet so we'll see if he makes it to Virginia in time. 

{Our table set up in the lower level in the family room-combination-office}

My parents divorced when I was two years old, so I'm used to split up holidays and celebrating whenever it's possible even if it's not on the true "day of."  Deciding where we'll spend holidays does tend to get me a little tense because of so many years of back-and-forth between my parents and always feeling like everyone was fighting over me.  Now that I'm married and have in-laws it's even harder because there are more people who love us (haha what a rough life! ;) and want to be with us.  We'll definitely be doing a bit of the celebrating of the holidays on other days this year so we can see everyone and still get to spend some time at home. 

hahah okay, enough of my saga and back to the table...   I started with curtains from Ikea for the oatmeal-colored linen tablecloth.  (I didn't have one long enough so I went with curtains...  By using two panels (unsewed and overlapping) I could spread them wider and longer.)  I layered a beautiful vintage orange quilt over the curtains. 

I still have pumpkins left over from Halloween and added them to the table...

It was hard for me to get a picture of the magnolia wreath I hung at the window because the light was streaming in so strongly, but here's an attempt:

{It's a leftover Christmas wreath from last year that's browned just the right amount for Fall}

I used my Grandma Maestranzi's 'wild clover' china because I knew my dad would love seeing it {in case he makes it here in time ;}

{After so many years of daily use at the lake cottage, there were only 2 pieces left of her china...  I loved it so much and had so many fond memories of using it as a little girl that I went to replacements.com and found a whole set for myself.}

And another pumkin... wondering if there will be any room for food on this table???

{I'll remove some of the larger items once we sit down but I love a pretty table for guests to see.}

We might even have a fire in the wood burning stove...

...So have a very happy Thanksgiving!!  We all have so much to be thankful for.  In the least cheesiest way possible, I want to thank you for reading.  This blog has become such a big part of my life & I really appreciate your time & support. 

Oh?  And the food??  ummm... yeah, we'll see what happens with that.  We're attempting our first turkey tomorrow!! 

ps- I also have my 10-year high school  reunion Saturday night--- so excited to see everyone!!!

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Christmas at Our House

I took this pic last weekend (above) during the beautiful little snowstorm we had. (It was the perfect time to remove the pumpkins!- ha how terrible am I?!) I made poor Ashby sit in front of the doors for pictures. (She's a wimp & really isn't that into the snow unless she's wearing her winter jacket- no joke.) Anyway, I'm so glad you all convinced me to keep the door orange! I even like it at Christmastime. There are intentions of adding a white bow to the wreath, but it most likely won't happen. We can't find any electrical outlets outside & might not have Christmas lights this year either. :( Christian really wants them.

But let's go inside! Below is the entryway & I just hung a few simple unadorned garlands around...

I kept it easy in the kitchen too & figured that plates full of cookies & a garland would do the job for us this year with the baby coming...

The problem is that they disappeared WAY too quickly!! --- into my already stuffed-to-the--max belly!! (Note to self- cookies on cakestand on kitchen island WILL NOT LAST.)

We put a fun letter to Santa on our fridge (which is now gone) but will be back for Christmas Eve:

I don't have the energy I usually do right now so I didn't change the bookshelves much, but I did switch the books around so the reds were more prominent, and putting the turquoise ones in more inconspicuous spots. (I just realized that if you're not into switching your house around all of the time that probably sounds insane... but i know most of you get me &/or are like me ;)

In the dining room we did a little tablesetting: My best friend came into town so we actually used it! ha

I wanted to keep it simple & green & natural like the rest of the house... No frills really, except the tiniest bit of sparkle from the crystal & the floral plates... I love a bare table...

I scored this urn at Lucketts a couple of weeks ago & they were on sale for only $35!!! (They might still be and there are tons of them outside.)

It's the same urn (except in white) that I have on the sideboard in the background. They are SO heavy but I just love how sculptural they are & what a huge impact they make in a room. It's too big to actually keep as the center for a tablesetting so it gets replaced by food when we eat.

I paired my vintage Camellia plates with some of our platinum-banded Bernardaud wedding china. The silver chargers I found at Walmart! (i would LOVE pewter ones & will never stop thinking about the set I found for a steal & passed up at an antique mall!! argg) I used little wine corks for the name cards (from a good friend's wedding - they weren't keeping them & I knew they'd come in handy one day!)

My friend Amazing-Amy helped me set up for the pics & she also did this beautiful winter greens arrangement in the dark urn (below). She is a landscape designer & her company decorates homes for Christmas & she had so many great ideas & an awesome eye!!! The huge white bottle in the background was a recent Lucketts find & I'm slightly obsessed with it. I need to find the perfect spout for it! How awesome would a drink for party be in it?!

I'm still so happy about the $165 sideboard & it so awesome to have tons of extra storage!! (below)

And, like I've said before, we always have nuts around during the colder months:

We used sticks from the yard throughout the house (Amy is full of ideas!!!... the sticks can be seen on right of pic below) and they have that same kind of wild feeling that the chandelier has...

Here's a view (below) of the living room from the dining room. (Rearranged again!)

The bright green of the sofa is perfect for Christmas! (I'm putting that slipcover way further down on my list!) I am SO loving the feel of the velvet this time of year!

I wanted something kind of crazy natural for my tree & told Amy we wished there was some way to incorporate branches in the tree. No problem she said!! And out went our husbands into the yard (this is the same night we did the 30 entryway prints) to find some suitable branches for the tree. I watched as Amy just started shoving the branches into the tree!!

And I LOVED it!! (I think this will have to be a yearly tradition... I know it might not appeal to everyone... when I sent pics to my dad in Illinois he goes, "Where the hell'd you find a scraggly tree like that?!" he thought the branches were dead pine branches hee hee. I guess to each his own! :) But I do like it when things are a bit "off" and this is perfect to me!! Thank you AMY!!!!!!

And we finally got the mirror for the mantle fireplace box (below)

For the mantle, I created the worst fire hazard you've ever seen: A magnolia wreath hung only inches above an insane amount of pillar candles!! WOW.

But don't worry, most of the time it's like this(below) or we just light the outer candles. It's still pretty to me unlit... I love my house too much to be this crazy ;)

And here's a pretty little shot of Dave's stenciling peeking through the magnolia wreath:

Here's a gorgeous arrangement Amy did in a moss pot! (oh my, they have those?!!)

I am CRAZY about the magnolia wreath but must warn you that they don't last long -or stay fully green for long- inside. Ours stayed pretty green for about a week to a week and a half & now more & more brown leaves are appearing. (It's still beautiful but is developing more of an "Autumn" look & actually will be perfect for next Fall once it's fully dried.)

And here's a little close-up of my tree with our sentimental ornaments:

We love sitting by the tree at night... (These pics were taken before the branches arrived) Christian had so much fun helping to decorate the tree & it's awesome now that he's an an age where he "gets it."

We're finally relaxing in our new house & I just can't believe it! (I don't know if it's harder to believe it's ours or harder to believe we're relaxing! haha) The Carpenter's Christmas is playing practically nonstop (I can't find the rest of our Christmas music... although I still usually play nonstop Carpenter's Christmas anayway) and Christian has been trained to put it on himself. First thing in the morning, he runs in & turns it on. (ps- there's nothing wrong with "training" your kids for your own enjoyment ;)

With a new baby on the way any day, now this kind of "relaxing" might not last for very long, but we're going ot enjoy it while we have it! Wishing you a VERY Merry Christmas & happy holidays & lots of snow!!

xoxo,

lauren