April

This is my favorite time of year!

The sun shines brighter, we begin to wake up and spirits begin to soar.

The earth seems to get greener and every boxwood, flower, and bough begins to burst with color.

Easter is a time to come together and celebrate the resurrection.

Today’s a day for spontaneity & lightheartedness.

Tomorrow I’ll celebrate twenty-four years of marriage to the love of my life!

Like I said, my favorite time of year!

What’s your favorite time of year?

I hope that it too is filled with lighthearted celebration & joy!

Photos | Lisa Porter

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

To make a day.

To make a day takes a morning and an evening.

During the holidays it takes much more than that.

There's card writing, gift wrapping, tree trimming, cookie baking, party giving and much, much more.

Perhaps these are the ingredients for your day too.

This is about the time when I begin to droop as my list of holiday "should do's" becomes longer, not shorter

You bet it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas because we are busy doing it! Yes, we are, performing miracles, and making dreams come true, all in a day!

Wouldn't the real miracle of Christmas be if we slowed down so that our holiday traditions & celebrations became authentic, meaningful, and memorable for all the right reasons?

Mother Nature has a way of taking care of that!

Look at your list. Choose to let only what you love best about the holidays remain. Cross out a couple of "should do's" and realize that you can't do everything.  Not all at once. Not in a day.

Now there's time for play and making snowballs with the first snow.

Now there's time for more comfort & joy!

I do hope your lists get shorter and you have time to enjoy these days among all the rush & pitter-patter!
A few of you have inquired about what cookbook I was looking through that morning. It's
  Delicious Flavors by Victoria Amory and it's a go-to cookbook for recipes that please both guests and family every time.

If you love snow days as much as I do and would like my Orange Glazed Cinnamon Rolls recipe, head over to Nest where author Tamara Stephenson (who loves snow days too) shared my recipe!
Also, join me and other hosts & hostesses at Tablescape Thursday @
 Between Naps On The Porch!
All photos: Lisa Porter