Oh where is my Easter Puffalump

Feeling 33

Seeing the adorable Easter egg garland that my niece and nephew made (pictures posted by my sister-in-law on their amazing blog), made me so excited about Easter!...and a little bit sad, as I realized that Easter is just a few days away and it isn't even CLOSE to Beginning to Look a Lot Like Easter in our home.
My hubby and I have a lot of stuff. What can I say, we're Geeks. And Geeks have lots of books, movies, magazines, comic books, journals, collectibles, and other things. Having so much stuff, however, requires us to be creative when it comes to adding decorations to our little apartment around all the stuff. I think we did a pretty rockin' job with Christmas, Valentine's Day was not bad, St Patrick's Day was a noble effort (as we're not Irish), but try as we might, we seem to be lacking in the Easter decor. It pains me to say that I can't find my purple Easter Puffalump (brought to moi by the Easter Bunny many moons ago). BUT I still have my Peter Rabbit (from the Easter Bunny, circa 1989 - I think).
I always loved how my childhood home looked all decorated from Easter, and I must say that I had the best Easter basket when I was little (it had iridescent Easter grass). So even though a part of me wishes that I could recreate the kind of Easter decor that I had growing up, I'm so excited to celebrate our first Easter together as husband and wife - and all of the Easters we have to look forward to together! Our Easter decor may be small, but it's just the foundation. And after all, it isn't the decorations, it's the memories that mean the most.

Sparkly Delights

Feeling 33

A dear friend and mentor of mine, Ramona Zabriskie, put into print a concept that most of us know, subconsciously - women need pampering (or "delighting" as she calls it). It's important that we find ways to boost our spirits in small ways each day. In her book, "Wife For Life: The Power to Succeed in Marriage" (one of my favorite reads of this year and of all time), she writes, "Delighting your own heart relieves everyone in the family [and I would add, everyone in your life - coworkers, friends, etc.] from the impossible responsibility of making or keeping you happy from day to day. It frees your heart to spend less energy on stress and self-pity, and far more energy on those you love."

Basically, you can't rely on anyone else to make you happy. And anyone who knows me knows that what I LOVE more than soda, "Psych" and food, are sparkles.

One of the ways that I've taken to "delighting" my heart is with my wide array of (mostly) sparkly make-up. I think I may have a make-up collecting addiction....

I may not have anywhere "special" to go, but using and mixing different colors and shades brings out the artist in me - it's like a mini art project every day and allows me to be creative.

It's just another way to bring more sparkle into my life. And you can never have too much sparkle.

Everything Tastes Better With Cheese

Feeling 33

If I had a dollar for every time someone commented on the size of my salads, I'd have a lot of dollars. You could say I take after Elaine Benes on "Seinfeld" - I LOVE my Big Salads. I think I might have been a rabbit in a former life. (If I believed in that stuff.)

Since not everyone shares my love of "rabbit food," it's an ongoing quest to find recipes that will jazz up vegetables. I know when I've found a winner because my hubby will go for seconds ALONG with telling me how much he likes the dish. I think that last night's recipe will be a keeper!

Boldly go

Feeling 33

I loooooove hanging things on our walls. It's one of the greatest perks of being in our own apartment (and not sharing it with anyone). I've always liked to have pictures of loved ones, favorite things, favorite quotes around my place to remind me of the good things in life. My hubby has been the biggest supporter of this obsession - er, preference, using our stud finder, drill and leveler like a pro to hang massive antique-looking mirrors, wedding portraits, and shadowboxes. (Is there anything this guy can't do??)
Wall decor is one of the best things to make our place feel like HOME, and since we have so much wall space, and thanks to Pinterest, I'm always looking at things to add.

I found a small chalkboard in a vintage-looking frame at Target (yay, Dollar Spot! Another obsession...). I love how chalkboards seem to have made such a comeback in the design trend. We used one in our engagement session as a prop with our wedding date on it, which was the first time I'd ever used chalk markers. It turned out so cute, but the markers don't work on porous surfaces (which lots of chalkboards that I've found are). So, we still have the chalkboard with our wedding date on it, since it won't wipe off completely. Not wanting the same thing to happen to this frame, I picked up a small box of Crayola sidewalk chalk. Oh, man has chalk changed since I was a kid! The variety of colors is amazing, and the colors are gorgeous - and there's something SO FUN about drawing with chalk. It brought me back to being five-years-old and drawing on my art easel in our art studio. The final image isn't as clear / sharp as with chalk markers, but at least it's not permanent.

I was trying to think of an uplifting, quirky quote to put in the frame, and since my hubby's affection for Star Trek has rubbed off on me, I thought the juxtaposition of the old-fashioned frame with this "futuristic" quote was cute.

Now I need to find another project with which to use my chalk! Or I guess I could just go draw in our parking lot...