I was inspired by the green and pink colors of my new Erstwilder Easter brooch for this week’s Mani Monday. The shades aren’t the same, but the pink and green combo is still there with Holo Taco’s “Pink Fizz” and “Mint Mojito.” I love these pretty pastels for spring…they’re both absolutely lovely colors!
This year, in order to take a look back at our Easter celebration, we have to back way up, to before Holy Week even began! While Bunny was home from college on spring break, I made hot cross buns, and we made the paschal candle for the year, so she wouldn’t have to miss out on everything. Unfortunately, she had to go back to school the day before Palm Sunday, so she didn’t get to join us for that (or any of the church services that followed).
Our Holy Week was pretty standard, even though we were missing having Bunny at home. We went to church on Maundy Thursday:
On Good Friday, when I wasn’t teaching school, I was working in the kitchen, chopping things and making pita bread. Ladybug helped out by baking and decorating some cupcakes for me:
And then we went to church. The service was beautiful, as was the sunset we were treated to upon leaving the building:
On Saturday, I was back at work in the kitchen, making baklava, tsoureki (a Greek Easter Bread), and prepping other various components of our Easter dinner:
I also did a little work on decorating, including pairing some linens in a new way for the kitchen island and making our napkins look like bunnies!
And then it was time for the best church service of the year, The Great Vigil of Easter!
On the way home, according to tradition, we stopped at Wendy’s for Frostys and fries, and watched Rick Steves’ European Easter.
Back to church this morning for a service filled with joy and beautiful music!
It was weird taking pictures of only four of the children. Since things were already different, I decided that instead of taking my usual pictures by the font, I’d go with the Paschal Candle as the backdrop instead:
And a picture of…the Fab Four? Nope…that just isn’t right!
Also a picture of 6/7 of our family:
I planned a special Easter breakfast this year…I finally learned how to make omelettes! So we had a made-to-order omelette bar, featuring ham and smoked salmon, dill, chives, mushrooms, bell peppers, and two kinds of cheese:
We also had mixed berries, 13(!!!!) kinds of mini donuts (Seasonal varieties included carrot cake, blueberry, peach cobbler, spring sprinkles, honey bun, strawberry shortcake, plus the standards: powdered, old fashioned, glazed, frosted, zebra, crunch, and double chocolate ), pink pineapple, and the requisite Easter candy:
Here’s a look at our completed Osterstrauß, which was the centerpiece of our buffet:
I chose a smoked salmon, dill, and mushroom omelette, and it was delicious! I also really enjoyed the pink pineapple, which I thought tasted a little bit like watermelon…it might have just been a mental thing because it looked kind of like watermelon, though!
I didn’t have a whole lot of work to do this afternoon since I had prepped so much of dinner, so I had plenty of time for setting the table while we watched the first two My Big Fat Greek Wedding movies:
My family requested gyros for dinner, so I seasoned some sizzle steak with gyros seasoning we found at the international market and cooked it in my best approximation of gyros. We had all our favorite toppings: homemade tzatziki sauce, tomatoes, onions, and feta cheese:
I decided to go full-on Greek with our dinner, including a Greek salad, spanakopita, the previously-mentioned tsoureki, and because I’m still scared of making saganaki, fried feta coated in sesame seeds. The only thing missing was dolmas (stuffed grape leaves)…maybe someday I’ll tackle those!
I’ve been thinking about doing a Greek Easter dinner for a few years, so I really enjoyed it!
In keeping with our Greek theme, we had baklava sundaes for dessert:
And I found some time to stop by and say “hi” to Zipper T. Bunny!
This was our first big holiday without all of us here, which was weird and sad, but we made the best of it, and it was still a lovely Easter!
This year for Easter, I wanted to wear something really different!
I don’t normally wear wiggle dresses (or lime green), but when I saw the Grainne-Lina dress and the Jordi-Lina blazer from Miss Candyfloss, I couldn’t get them out of my mind! The cut of the jacket, in particular, is so striking, with the double collar, wide sleeves, lovely peplum, and green polka dot trim, and the color just screams spring and Easter!
My fears about how I look in green have been completely assuaged…I actually think it’s a really fabulous shade for me!
I feel ready to walk down 5th Avenue in this outfit!
I decided to go with pink accessories, featuring a fascinator and lace gloves. I added a stack of Splendette Duchess Bangles, a new Easter brooch from Erstwilder, and a pair of SUGARFIX by Baublebar butterfly earrings that I found at Target:
I continue to be impressed with how well Miss Candyfloss does peplums!
Here’s a look at the dress without the blazer. I love the detail at the waist!
I love trying something new, and I’m really excited about how well this worked out!
“And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” Genesis 2:2-3
What is happening? Today there is a great silence over the earth, a great silence, and stillness, a great silence because the King sleeps; the earth was in terror and was still, because God slept in the flesh and raised up those who were sleeping from the ages. God has died in the flesh, and the underworld has trembled. Truly he goes to seek out our first parent like a lost sheep; he wishes to visit those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. He goes to free the prisoner Adam and his fellow-prisoner Eve from their pains, he who is God, and Adam’s son. The Lord goes in to them holding his victorious weapon, his cross. When Adam, the first created man, sees him, he strikes his breast in terror and calls out to all: “My Lord be with you all.” And Christ in reply says to Adam: “And with your spirit.” And grasping his hand he raises him up, saying, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.” “I am your God, who for your sake became your son, who for you and your descendants now speak and command with authority those in prison: Come forth, and those in darkness: Have light, and those who sleep: Rise.” “I command you: Awake, sleeper, I have not made you to be held a prisoner in the underworld. Arise from the dead; I am the life of the dead. Arise, O man, work of my hands, arise, you who were fashioned in my image. Rise, let us go hence; for you in me and I in you, together we are one undivided person.” (quoted in For All the Saints, vol. III, p. 1037)
Back to work after spring break…we’re in the home stretch now! First the fun stuff…we’ve been working on a project for Easter. The girls painted Ostereier and we made an Ostereierbaum to display on Sunday…it turned out beautifully, and reminds me of the one I had when I was a child!
In pre-calculus, Ladybug worked with sequences and series. She read about Augustine and the Donatists in religion. In physics, she started the chapter on electrostatic force and Coulomb’s law. She finished reading Macbeth. In history, she read about Edward III’s fight against Scotland and France and the beginning of the Plague. She read about the different types of joints, muscles, ligaments, and tendons in health.
Chickadee continued to work with ratios in math, and also had an introduction to simple probability. In religion, we read more of the teachings and miracles of Jesus. She started reading about the immune system in science. In history, she learned more about the Reformation, Gutenberg’s printing press, and the Renaissance. We continued to read The Door in the Wall.
“For behold, by the wood of Your cross joy has come into all the world.”
“Thus says the Lord: What have I done to you, O My people, and wherein have I offended you? Answer Me. For I have raised you up out of the prison house of sin and death, and you have delivered up your Redeemer to be scourged. For I have redeemed you from the house of bondage, and you have nailed your Savior to the cross. O My people.
Thus says the Lord: What have I done to you, O My people, and wherein have I offended you? Answer Me. For I have conquered all your foes, and you have given Me over and delivered Me to those who persecute Me. For I have fed you with My Word and refreshed you with living water, and you have given Me gall and vinegar to drink. O My people.
Thus say the Lord: What have I done to you, O My people, and wherein have I offended you? Answer Me. What more could have been done for My vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? My people, is this how you thank your God? O My people.” Lutheran Service Book
One more picture from Chickadee’s 12th birthday. I didn’t buy trick candles, but for some reason, a few of them reignited on her, and she really thought she was being trolled!
I always figured that if I was going to have a full-on Starbucks addiction, it was going to be because of some kind of new coffee creation. Imagine my surprise, then, when I discovered that the best drink I’ve ever had there is actually tea based!
The Iced Lavender Cream Oatmilk Matcha is my new favorite. I’ve always been kind of obsessed with lavender as a flavor (I’ve made lavender lemonade and lavender shortbread, and I’ve been considering adding it to a rub for meat), and I love matcha, so I’m kind of ashamed I never though of pairing them before. As soon as I saw this item on the menu, I knew I had to try it, and I’m embarrassed to think of how many of them I’ve had since. It’s a bright, floral, (and yes, possibly even grassy) beverage that’s absolutely perfect for spring! I love it so much, I don’t even mind the oatmilk (although I have gotten it with plain old whole milk, too), and I was inspired to recreate the flavor at home with matcha milk boba tea topped with lavender lemonade whipped cream from Target:
I know Starbucks seasonal flavors don’t stay around forever, and I’m already dreading the day this one leaves the menu, but maybe it will come back next spring!
Since Chickadee just celebrated her birthday, I let her pick the colors for my most recent mani. She chose her favorites, “Sparkling Water,” the recently retired “Lemon Spritzer,” and “Lavender Syrup,” from the Holo Taco Pastel Rainbow collection. The pastel collection is probably my favorite thing from Holo Taco…even though I tend to like darker nail polishes, these are just so beautiful, and catch the light so wonderfully…I’m even including a bonus photo taken in direct sunlight so you can see the beautiful rainbows that show up!
