Easter Eggs made with Onion Skin Dye & Flowers

Easter Eggs Wrapped in Flowers

and Cooked in Onion Skin Dye

Top left: Carnation wrapped; Top right: Fern; Bottom left: Baby's Breath; Bottom right: Daisy



Egg wrapped in Baby's Breath

       After wrapping cut flowers (carnation, daisy, baby's breath, and fern) around a raw egg (using quilting thread), I placed the wrapped eggs in a pan and covered them with the onions skin dye (the outside skin of two onions that had been boiled about 20 minutes) that I had previously used for dying eggs with leaves yesterday (click here for that post).  I then boiled them for at least forty minutes (and I'm surprised that my eggs didn't crack because they were only supposed to cook for twenty minutes but yes, I forgot about them!)  The result was much darker than the eggs from yesterday.  This is such fun!

 

 

Springtime Easter Fruit Cups

A Healthy Fruit Treat for a Happy Easter

 

        Part of our "Healthy Easter Treat" for the girls' Easter party at Tiny Tots playgroup preschool was a medly of watermelon and cantalope cut into Easter shapes (a chick, a cross, a tulip, and a butterfly), then set in a spingtime cupcake paper (which I had lined with a flower-shaped foil cut-out so that the fruit juice wouldn't soak the paper).  It was a bit tricky to cut the fruit into layers conducive to cutting out shapes (but the only real "tricky" part was trying not to have a ton of scrap left over).  The rest was super easy because cookie cutters cut through melon quite well and my girls had such fun nibbling on the excess. 
       Luckily, the night I worked on their Easter treats coincided with their Tuesday night playtime/Spanish exposure with my dear cousin Rachel so I was able to work with less distractions (you know, those fun everyday interruptions like diaper changes, the "I'm thirsty"s, etc which seem to add an extra hour to every project attempted!).  I am so thankful that my girls have the opportunity to play with 25 children each Wednesday morning, that they have such a wonderful teacher, and that I, too, have the chance to visit with highschool classmates of yore!  Life is such fun these days!

A Bridal Brunch: Celebrating Family

Yogurt, Granola & Fruit Trifle

Hibiscus Mint Iced Tea (linked)

Carved Watermelon Turtle

Scones with Hibiscus Butter (linked)

Basil, Mozzerella, Tomatoes & Olive Oil

Vegetarian Zucchini Squash Casserole

Granola Trifle Garnish

Angel Food Cake with Berries & Cream

       One of the most beautiful aspects of family is that whatever is defined as "family" is constantly being altered, changed, and (my personal favorite) grown. Today we celebrated the recent official addition of my cousin's wife, Portia, to the family! Since they married in an extremely private ceremony, before announcing their "secret" and stuff-of-love-stories engagement to the rest of us, we had the opportunity to celebrate Portia as a new bride instead of the typical bride-to-be at our Bridal Brunch this morning.
        The most enjoyable facet of expanding a family, other than the obvious joy of deeper dialogue with a new friend, is the celebration(s) that accompany that growth: whether it be baby showers, weddings, or in this case, a Bridal Brunch centered around tea and utilizing all the information that I could possibly glean from Portia's Pinterest account (favorite foods, hobbies, etc from her boards). I adore planning, researching, shopping, decorating, and baking for a family party, especially since it involves dialoguing with my family members as we scheme and plan the event. An excellent-- perhaps perfect--day is a day filled with cookbook/magazine/internet scouring for satisfying event ideas.  And the fun triples once menu drafting with a cousin, baking with my mom, and attending the actual event with my daughters and family. 
       Thank you Portia, for joining our family, and for giving us a reason to celebrate you. We wish you and Philip a loving and joyous life together!

Menu:

Scones with Hibiscus Tea Butter

Basil Tomatoes with Mozzarella

Watermelon Balls in Carved Watermelon Turtle

Goat Cheese Grits with Corn

Spinach Salad with Apples

Quiche

Peach & Berry Tarts

Hibiscus Poppy Seed Shortbread Cookies

Strawberry Angel Food Cake

Buttercream Roses Topped Cupcakes

Hibiscus Mint Iced Tea

 Blooming Jasmine Flower Silver Needle Teas