Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Hopping Down The Bunny Trail

Week of March 29 through April 4

I always look forward to decorating for Easter, or for anything really, and this year was no exception. I haven't decorated for the Easter holiday in three years. Two years ago, rabbits and eggs didn't seem as important as packing for our wedding in Hawaii. Last year, around the bunny holiday, I was hosting a bachelorette party for a friend, we were closing on our house, and then we were moving. Pulling decorations out of a box, while packing the rest of our stuff into boxes didn't make much sense. Since I had forgotten what most of my Easter trinkets looked like, everything I unpacked was a surprise, which made decorating even more fun this year.

Some surprises, however, were not pleasant. I was particularly dismayed by some of the decorations I thought were cute three years ago. A stuffed rabbit on a spring sprayed with glitter was not one of my most savvy purchases. Plastic eggs strung on twinkle lights don't really create Easter ambiance, either. In my defense, these particular atrocities were purchased in college, when I had no money, and apparently no taste. Cheap and cute are mutually exclusive. There's no excuse for the cutout foam rabbits I bought this year, though. And those are glittered, too.

I've found that holiday decorating in this house is a bit of a challenge. Easter was especially bothersome because our color palette doesn't coordinate well with pastels. Combine the color issues and the tacky junk I found in my (fastidiously labeled) Easter box, and I was ready to give up and decorate for Christmas instead.

One decoration that made the cut was my tin bunny door decoration. He was a bit small on his own, so I revamped his style by tying him to a wreath and adding an egg garland. I'm not entirely happy about the bow - but I have promised myself not to buy any more ribbon until my entire collection can fit into one drawer in my craft room. One very large drawer. Yellow will have to do. For now.


Three papier-mache eggs from Germany (via Williams Sonoma) sit on our coffee table in our living room. These were a post-Easter sale find from last year. They arrived at our old house in the midst of moving and, in the hubbub of packing, I never opened the box. I was delighted when I finally opened them this week and remembered why I liked them so much. Easter decorations in deep colors are hard to come by. And my German heritage makes me a sucker for anything from the "home land."


My small collection of vintage children's books about bunnies sits on our secretary desk in the living room. The book on top is marked $.39 and is filled with the most precious illustrations. The Peter Rabbit book underneath is my oldest; circa 1932.


I found this bowl at an antiques store after Christmas filled with discarded glittered ornaments. (It has been established that I am a sucker for anything covered in glitter.) I am always scouring post-holiday sales for decorations that have been passed over, and when I find the perfect thing, I pounce, regardless of the time of year. Though this bowl lacks the all-important glitter element, I love the vintage look. My parents brought us the tiny bunny couple from Vienna, and their little baskets are filled with real reeds.


Our kitchen table is home to rabbits under glass. The exhibit illustrates the human condition. This art installment will be on display through the end of April. I don't really get art. (Actually, I put all of my stuffed bunnies in my apothecary jar to carry them downstairs, and then liked how it looked.)


The most important part of our Easter decoration is, of course, the dining room table, where our family will share Easter dinner together. I used our Easter tree as the centerpiece, covered with old and new Easter ornaments. On the table, on either side of the tree, are the beginnings of my vintage Easter toy collection. I know there are lots of vintage Easter basket goodies out there, just waiting to be found.


The table is set with an assortment of dishes and glassware. I love to mix-and-match place settings to create an eclectic table, so I used a combination of polka dotted and striped dishes, along with my china and accent plates. The flatware is my silver; originally my great-grandmother's handed down to my grandmother (Tata) and then given to me on my 21st birthday. The glassware is a combination of hand-painted balloon wineglasses and paper thin crystal. The crystal glasses were also given to me by my Tata, and the delicate etching matches the rosepoint pattern of the silver. This will be the first time I have used these glasses since receiving them as a wedding gift.


Hippity Hoppity Easter's on its way! We are so excited to be hosting Easter at our house this year. The Husband has to leave on Sunday for a business trip to Mexico, so we will be having Easter dinner on Saturday with all of the family. Our house is in between my parents and The Husband's parents, so we like to host as many get-togethers as we can here in the middle. Lots of room for family was one of the reasons we bought this house, after all. Having our family over to our house also means I get to plan a party, try new recipes and get out all of my fun dishes for entertaining. The meticulous planner in me loves it. All of my favorite things together: family, food and fancy dishes! Happy Easter!

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