6 Easter Menu Ideas

quiche | home fries | salad | madeleines | raspberry ricotta cake | homemade cream eggs

When I was a little girl the Easter Bunny would bring us dried fruit, maybe some m&ms & a small toy. Rarely did we have the novel chocolate bunnies waiting for us in our baskets. My mom got a nutrition degree from Cornell so I’m pretty sure she laid down the law with the Easter Bunny about what could & couldn’t make the basket. That said there was always plenty of dessert around in the form of baked goods at Easter that were sugary but usually more fruity or Italian cheese cakey, I suppose to compensate for the lack of chocolate bunnies.  That is probably why half of the recipes I pulled for this post are desserts (he he). Grab the links for those 6 recipes here:

1. quiche 
2. home fries 
3. salad 
4. madeleines 
5. raspberry ricotta cake 
6. homemade cream eggs

Easter’s one those holidays that can start early, like breakfast. So why not make some brunchy type foods for your family? We’ll be spending Easter with family & I’ll be bringing deserts. I’ll probably make this or maybe something new. I haven’t yet decided. What are you making?

Happy Easter y'all :)

P.S.: If you're looking for decorating inspiration check out how my mother-in-law decorates here. She never disappoints. It's always festive & tasteful!

P.P.S. Happy Passover, too!

Ladybug 1st Birthday Party Inspiration

This past weekend we celebrated my little niece, Claire's 1st birthday.  So far it seems Claire's lot in life is to be surrounded by lots of love & amazingly themed parties (remember Marie's baby shower before Claire was born? - refresh your memory here).  Claire's party was chockfull of every little lady bug detail you can imagine thanks to the imagination of her mom (Marie!) & labors of love by both of her grandmothers.  Take a peek there's a table cloth with hand cut felt lady bug spots (over 300 of them!), a ladybug cake, ladybug cupcakes & even ladybug deviled eggs plus all the other accessories that coordinated perfectly like cutlery & party hats.

If you're planning a lady bug first birthday party this is a great place to be inspired!

PS: Happy birthday to my fabulous sister-in-law, Truly! I love you girl :)
PPS: Thanks for sharing Claire's special day with my blogosphere, Marie & Greg :)

A Sign of Hope

photo by Matt Brennan

I'll be completely honest, growing up in the North East meant that hurricanes were things that happened to people on tv with sweet southern accents & dewy faces.  They hit the North East every ten years or never as far as my memory serves me. They become much more real when they are in your own backyard. 

Chris & I are fortunate enough to still have the roof over our heads we had last week & a supportive family that  has bent over backwards for us to make sure we got home in one piece (thank you John & Jerome) & gave us a roof, food, heat & electricity when we returned from Charlotte (thank you Jennifer & Andrew).

The pictures in the news are surreal, they still are each day.  As my eyes searched through my Facebook feed to see if everyone was a-ok I came across the messages about the Brennan family who we grew up with & who now lived in Breezy Point, NY.  As you probably already have heard/read/seen as to add insult to injury there was a massive fire during super storm Sandy that left Breezy Point, NY in cinders.  Luckily, the Brennan family is ok & survived the storm. Their house & belongings did not. 

Then, the photo above showed up on my feed.  It looked like an engagement ring that was found among the ashes.  It was!  What I read next was that this was the engagement ring that Matt Brennan recovered after the flood & fire for his mom that she & Tim Brennan could not find before evacuating.  The story gave me goosebumps & filled me with hope. 

I hope those out there suffering can find some peace through this story of hope.  God bless the families of Breezy Point, NY.

Please help if you can.

Donate to the Red Cross online or by texting 90999.

Or donate to the Rockaway and Breezy Point Relief by mail.
St. Francis De Sales Church

129-16 Rockaway Beach Blvd.

Belle Harbor, NY 11694

ITEMS NEEDED: Batteries (especially C and D); Shovels; Gloves; Brooms; Bleach; Cleaning Supplies; Contractor Trash Bags; Wheel Barrows; Flashlights; Generators; Gas (we can dream); Pumps; Socks; Boots; & Winter Coats are all needed urgently!!!

Any small donation or act of kindness can go along way.

Find more ways you can help here.