easter eggs-cellence {guest post}

Hello all!  I'm Janet, Cailen’s Mom.  Cai truly works on designing a beautiful life, and she inspires me daily.  Many of these past moments that I share with you reflect her love of tradition and all things family.   Thanks to Cai, once again, for allowing me to write another blog.  xo to her!

And the ritual begins:

Remove tablecloth from kitchen table, if one is in place
Layer the table with newspaper or a blanket’s worth of paper towels
Gather waxy crayons, stickers, paints, empty egg cartons & rubber bands (you’ll see why)

The Players:

A few dozen hard boiled eggs - or more than probably necessary
Teacups or coffee mugs, half full with the vinegar/water/dye-tablet concoction at the ready
Spoons to try to rescue the eggs

cailen.  many moons ago...

I guess that you can tell what’s going to happen here.  We dye eggs for an Easter Egg Hunt every year, whether it’s inside or out, for 4 people or 24.  The cast of egg-decorating artists changes from year to year, but it always includes family of varying ages, and often a good friend or two.

This can be a lot of fun for a group of any age – you don’t need a child in place to make this ok.  There’s usually an adult that can ‘fit that bill’ as they say, and we have a few.  Put on some great sing-along music, have a Springtime inspired soup and some crispy breads and herbed butters at the ready nearby, and hand out the aprons.  Yes, everyone should wear one. 

austin's rubberband egg

The understudies to these finished “finely decorated, perfectly dyed and gloriously detailed” (smile here because this is said in jest) Easter eggs are the plastic cuties in rainbows of colors that had been waiting in a large bin on a basement shelf for a year.   They get filled with jelly beans and maybe a ‘peep’, or a tiny, silly toy and some pennies.  Chocolate never goes into these in case our Labs, Duncan and Colby happen to be the ones that find them first.   – Long time ago, our old (huge) lab mix named Taz climbed onto the dining room table and ate 2 Easter baskets worth of candy, chocolate and all, while we were out.   Thus, the name Tazmanian Devil. -

After the hunt:  In younger years,  when all the family kids were little, we’d gather up  a couple of quilts to put in the tractor’s wagon to provide a bumpy-but-fun ride for anyone willing to climb in.  Usually it would be the 10 and below group, but you’d never know.  Down the long drive, out onto the country road and into the field they’d go, squealing most of the way.  Those were very good times! 

Not Easter related, just bunny related:  There’s a 1950 Oscar winning film called “Harvey” about a gentle, odd sort of guy who takes life one minute at a time.  He thinks the very best of everyone and says so.  Nothing bothers him.   Now, here’s where the bunny part comes in… this mild mannered guy, Elwood P. Dowd, happens to have an invisible 6’ rabbit-friend named Harvey.  Harvey, being invisible, made Jimmy Stewart’s acting all the more finessed and appreciated.  Implausible and yet entertaining, this simple old movie may take a bit of patience to get through now, but has a real honest-to-goodness moral.   It’s sort of what Abraham Lincoln once said, “Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. “   I like that.

So, enjoy the Springtime, thanks again for reading and I look forward to sharing with you next month! 

My best to all, Janet

thanks, mom!  another fabulous post.  speaking of posts...did you see my mom's last post about her favorite whole-in-the-wall bar called the boat house?  it's totally worth a read.  you'll be jealous of this little gem : )

.

christmas traditions : )

light show at wanamaker's in philadelphia

1. eggnog or hot chocolate?
"put your hands together."  (just a little f.r.i.e.n.d.s. reference for all of you who miss them as much as i do...)  i make killer hot chocolate that's mixed with egg nog instead of milk.  yum!

2. does santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
presents of santa are unwrapped.  presents from family are wrapped : )

3. colored lights or white lights on the tree/house?
growing up we did our big, 12ft tree in the family room with white lights and our little, 6ft tree in the living room with colored lights.  at our place this year, craig and i decorated both tree & barn with colored lights.  it looks awfully cute, if i do say so myself...

4. do you have mistletoe?
not currently.

5. when do you start putting your decorations up?
about a week after thanksgiving.

6. what is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
does "holiday" include thanksgiving?  because i really love my mom's stuffing.  mmm mmm good.  oh, and also my homemade cranberry sauce.

7. favorite holiday memory as a child?
that's a tough one.  i have sooo many wonderful memories.  decorating the house.  baking christmas goodies.  carolling.  holiday gatherings with family & friends.  christmas eve dinner at hotel du village.  not being able to sleep at all on christmas eve.  one thing i have very fond memories of is our annual christmas ride, which we still do to this day. we all pile into the car in our pjs and drive around to see all the lights and decorations while munching on fun (i.e. unhealthy) food and listening to christmas music! 

hotel du village

8. do you open a gift on christmas eve?
craig & i are doing our gift exchange on christmas eve this year before spending the holiday with family.

9. when and how did you learn the truth about santa?
hmm...i don't remember exactly.  i think i was 8 or 9 when i first started questioning.  but, to this day, i still refuse to become a true non-believer.

10. how do you decorate your christmas tree?
growing up, we decorated the big tree with hand-crafted, homemade ornaments and then decked the little tree with all the truly special antique ornaments.  craig and i don't have many of our own ornaments yet, so we invested in a small starter kit of red, green and gold ornaments.

11. snow! love it or hate it?
are you joking?  who cannot love snow?!!  (especially at christmas)

12. can you ice skate?
i don't think so.  i haven't tried since i was about 7 years old.  craig's a fabulous skater, though.  (he's a hockey boy.)

craig in all his glory : )

13. do you remember your favorite gift?
one of my favorite and most memorable gifts was my cockatiel, tucket.  i desperately wanted a bird in a beautiful cage and come christmas morning, there he was beside the tree.  magical.

14. what is the most important thing about the holidays for you?
being with family & friends and savoring every minute!

15. what tops your tree?
usually an angel.  but, this year, my parents' tree is too tall for the angel to fit.  and craig and i have a small sock monkey ornament bedecked with scarf and hat atop ours : )

16. what's your favorite holiday tradition?
what isn't my favorite?!  i love them all.  i'm big on traditions...  but i would have to say that my ultimate fave is our philadelphia weekend.  for years, we've gone into philly around the holidays to see the light show at wanamaker's (now macy's) and walk through the dickens' village.  in the past, we've stayed at the rittenhouse hotel for the entire weekend to christmas shop and enjoy delicious meals at amazing restaurants.  this year, we're heading in on the 18th!  i cannot wait : ) 

lobby at the rittenhouse hotel

17. which do you prefer giving or receiving?
giving.  i love watching someone open a present that i'm excited to give.

18. what is your favorite holiday dessert?
hmm...another tough one.  i love all the homemade cookies that we bake each year.  especially the shortbread cookies that i just wrote about in my previous post.  so delicious!  and the oatmeal scotchies are great too!

19. what is your favorite christmas song?
i love "the christmas song" sung by karen carpenter.  "white christmas" performed by bing crosby.  and "have yourself a merry little christmas" sung by judy garland.

20. candy canes! yuck or yum?
candy canes, though not my favorite holiday treat, definitely have their place.  i like stirring my hot cocoa with them : )

21. what is your favorite christmas special/movie?
i adore the oldies.  "christmas in connecticut" with barbara stanwyck, "white christmas" with danny kaye and bing crosby and "miracle on 34th street" (both the old and new versions).

christmas in connecticut

feel free to answer any/all of these questions on your blog.  just be sure to send me the link so i can read yours, too!.

the (holiday) countdown begins...

picture credit {here}

can you believe that thanksgiving is just 3 weeks away?!  yes, that's right...i said 3 weeks!  where does the time go?  the holiday season is my favorite time of year.  i (strive to) relish in every moment and savor every passing minute, but it's not always easy.  with an endless to-do list and tons of obligations, it's sometimes hard to sit back, relax and just enjoy.

tonight i'm presenting about how to "make the most of the holiday season" at the hunterdon county library in flemington, nj.  (for those of you who don't know, i'm a lifestyle designer and author and write about how to live a happy, healthy life.)  i was honored when asked to share my tips and techniques about how to truly enjoy my favorite time of year.

picture credit {here}

i'll be offering decorating ideas, tips about how to get through the holiday season stress-free and also discussing the importance of traditions.  (i'm all about traditions and love anything nostalgic, so i'm really looking forward to that part!!!)

so, if you're in the area, i'd love to have you stop by.  the program is at 7pm at the hunterdon county library on route 12 and is free and open to everyone.  for more info click {here}.

happy (almost) holidays!  hope to see you there : )

.

i {heart} the great pumpkin

linus waiting for great pumpkin

"it's the great pumpkin, charlie brown" is on tonight at 8pm (eastern) on abc.  i just love it.  it seriously is not "halloween" without watching the great pumpkin.  i know, i know, i'm 24 and should probably not have a phone alarm set to remind me to watch tonight.  but i can't help it.  honestly, i'm (possibly) addicted to nostalgia.  i love traditions and anything that gives me that warm, fuzzy, fall/winter/holiday feeling. 

my plans for tonight?  (no, i'm not going to sit in a pumpkin patch waiting for the "great pumpkin" to arrive...)  i'm planning on:  pjs.  fire in the fireplace.  hot chocolate.  great pumpkin.  perfection.

good grief!



trick-or-treating





so, what "makes" your halloween?

.