Spring Door Decor and Tablesettings for a Celebration
Happy Weekend!
Whether you are celebrating Easter, or Passover, or just spring this weekend, this is a time for hope and a celebration of new life and fresh starts. I’m so excited to be able to host Easter dinner for family and friends this year. After the last couple of years of quarantine induced holidays, this is a huge reason to celebrate. I won’t take that privilege for granted ever again!
Spring Outdoor Decor
In the spirit of the season, I’m starting the transformation to our spring/summer outdoor areas. It’s still a wee bit early to plant the patio and deck planters and pots…it still dips into freeing territory overnight occasionally, but since I’m hosting Easter dinner, I did change over the front door decor and pots to suit the occasion!
Nature seems to scream green yellow and purple in the spring, so I’ve obliged with purple and yellow pansies in our front pots. Pansies are pretty hardy and will survive even fairly cold nighttime temperatures. The little very prickly evergreen shrubs I put in the middle of the porch urns last fall are still going strong and I’ve underplanted them with ivy and pansies and tucked in some pussywillow stems from last years crop from my Mom’s bush.
Since my parents are moving in a couple of months, this year is the last batch of them I’ll get, but I’ve rooted a few branches and planted them in my own garden, so eventually, I’ll get a crop of my own!
I’ve also inherited a cast iron bucket from my parents that has been a planter in their yard for as long as I can remember! I’ve put it by the lamp post at the stairs to our front walk and planted that with ivy and pansies for spring as well.
The window boxes need some work - I did pull out the dead evergreen branches earlier this spring when I took down the Christmas decor, leaving just a few faux ivies and junipers, but a family of finches seems to be nesting in them now, so I’ll have to wait until they fledge. They should be gone by the time I change over the decor for summer…hopefully!
I took a peek while on a ladder today and it looks like 2 or 3 have hatched…they are just a mass of fuzz at this point and were mostly sleeping, but I saw at least 2 heads poke up briefly - hoping it was mama with some food, no doubt!
My front door has been naked since I took down the snowflake wreath when the calendar said it was spring…I certainly didn’t want to encourage any more snow!
Now I’ve hung a temporary arrangement of forsythia branches cut from the bushes in the yard, along with some pussywillow stems and faux ivy and some sheer ribbon in lavender and green. All of it is assembled in a tall narrow white wicker basket and stands out nicely against the black front door.
Celebration Tablesetting
Inside the house has already been spruced up for spring and Easter with flowers and faux eggs and nests - you can see that tour HERE.
My plans for our Easter table include these little faux nests with pastel birds and eggs for each place setting.
For a centerpiece, I’ve temporarily planted my long narrow trough planter with the same pansies, which complement the colors in the china I’m using. I’ll replant them outside after Easter where God waters them (I’m notoriously bad at keeping indoor plants alive!)
I’ll be using this floral china I found at an antique shop on vacation a few years back - I love this china! Scalloped edges, floral design, gold detailing…all of my favorite things! And, of course, a variety of teacups - selecting complementary flower colors from my collection.
In case you are wondering…On the Easter dinner menu
For appetizers, a charcuterie board with crudite, crackers, cured meats, cheeses and dips, and fruit alongside caprese skewers with balsamic creme.
For dinner, we are serving ham with an orange/maple/brown sugar/mustard sauce, roasted potatoes with rosemary and sea salt, honey-thyme glazed carrots, steamed green beans with lemon olive oil, spinach salad with strawberries and poppyseed dressing, and the all-important Lucia rolls…these are a favorite and I’ll use any celebration as an excuse to make them…these slightly sweet current studded saffron rolls are terrific with tea any time and freeze beautifully for later if there are leftovers :). My friend Nancy is bringing a delicious flourless chocolate cake for dessert. Suffice to say we will not go hungry!
And now that my kids are grown, the Easter Bunny brings MUCH better chocolate too!