All Smiles

Dishes are done, dessert in the oven, the house wide open and plenty of evening left.

On Easter we enjoyed an early dinner after the guys played nine which gave this mom time to pause & appreciate the day.  I rarely “pause” in the kitchen so I decided to document it.  This always clears the room!

Everyone made a beeline to the family room to watch the final round of The Masters.

Finally! Time to share with you a couple of little Easter treats that landed in my basket at the market. Nope, not the fruit silly. I’m talking about the adorable Lilly Pulitzer box of Barnum’s Animal Crackers!

I must have been in an exceptionally good mood while shopping because all sorts of bright & cheery products were finding their way into my basket. Listen, Christ had risen & it was time to celebrate!

Have you tried

San Pellegrino Limonata?!?

Heaven.

They come in a sunny four-pack to share nicely with others – if you want to.

The roar of the gallery in the other room and my dessert timer going off paused my “pause”…

I stashed my goodies & continued with tradition by dishing up my Great Aunt Eloise Stinson’s Apricot Cake for us all to enjoy while watching the adorable Bubba Watson win his first Masters!

 This year, Lilly Pulitzer and BARNUM'S ANIMALS have partnered with Operation Smile, an international charity that provides free surgery for children born with cleft lips and cleft palates.

 As the adorable boxes create smiles nationwide, they also are creating awareness for children who can't smile because of these facial deformities.

  I urge you to read this wonderful interview at

where Kathy Magee, Co-Founder and President of Operation Smile shares with Lilly Pulitzer how she & husband Dr. Bill Magee began their wonderful mission to bring smiles to those in need.

 

And one more thing…if you love Barnum’s Animal Crackers as much as I do you’ll appreciate that Lilly's Animal Cracker Tracker is back!  See the map below - I pinned the location where this darling box jumped right into this mom’s Easter basket!  Come on Lexingtonians - The greatest gift one can give is a smile!

BTW, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house when Bubba won.

Thank you, dear readers, who have inquired.

Here’s the story behind the recipe of

Aunt Eloise Stinson’s Apricot Cake 

I hope you love it!

                        

Unless sourced, all photos Lisa Porter

A Bluegrass Easter Basket

Over the weekend I came across a delightful, earthy & organic tutorial for DIY Eggshell Planters.

As soon as we finished breakfast (we had eggs) I bid farewell to my family and headed out to the garden with my earbuds & eggshells to share my version of this lovely tutorial with you!

I started by gathering my supplies.

A little garden soil and moss and new little sprigs of this & that to fill each eggshell and create a natural Easter Egg Garden.

I also gathered blossoms.

Both pink and white for just a little color.

The delicate blossoms were a bit too large for the individual shells so instead, the varieties of moss became my focus.

I think it beautifully compliments my grandmothers Dresden,

and allows the eggs to nestle together nicely.

So a Kentucky Bluegrass Easter Basket it is.

My helper is waiting for the Kentucky Bluegrass Easter Bunny!

I hope you’re enjoying all the blessings of this season.

All photos above, Lisa Porter

To see this “DIY Eggshell Planter” tutorial in it’s original and beautifully photographed post I urge you to visit Megan at Postcards from the Robin’s Nest where she collaborates with her friend Jess Roy of Roy Joy on this “Easter Basket with an Indie Twist!”

Photo by Megan at Easy Dreamer Photography

Note this post was originally posted 4/4/12.  All content had to be re-written and published on 4/9/12 due to an issue with the Blogger App for iPad & losing all my original content.

Sorry for any confusion & thank you for all your wonderful comments, they are truly appreciated.