easter baskets

Growing up, Easter was always something I looked forward to.
I could count on having a pretty new Easter dress for the very special church services, as well as a basket full of goodies at the foot of my bed.
I still have some of my favorite little stuffed animals and other treats that my parents got for me for Easter morning. I specifically remember a giant cream-colored stuffed bunny that my parents got me from Disneyland, and gave to me on an Easter morning when they couldn't be there with us and we were staying at my grandma's house for the Easter weekend. I loved that soft rabbit to pieces.
Another year, my dad got my little brother and I life-sized stuffed rabbit people. And not life-sized as in child-sized; life-sized as in DAD-sized. They were huge! Mine was a girl, in a lovely floral dress. It took up my entire bed, and I loved it.
Another traditional Easter basket finding was mini perfume. My mom almost always made sure to tuck in a collection of mini perfume bottles for Easter or Valentine's Day.

This is not my actual collection, although it could be! I have a lot of the same :)

The funny thing is, I don't think I ever actually used them. I just loved the way they looked and smelled, and I would tuck them safely onto a special shelf to look at, and feel fancy (my desire to be fancy started early in life).

All that being said, this year was our first Easter spent away from our families. It was a little harder than I was expecting it to be. While we were married last year as well, we were able to drive home from school and spend Easter with both of our families.
The weeks leading up to Easter, I consistently referenced the fact that I absolutely had to wake up to an Easter basket on my bed. Dusty would just roll his eyes. I knew the seed had most likely been planted around the 40th time I mentioned it.

Little did he know, I had started collecting Easter basket goodies about two weeks before Easter.
One thing that's very important to realize in this deception is that Dusty checks the status of our money quite often; he pays the bills, he manages the accounts, etc. etc. We have a joint checking account, and he has the credit card, so for me to be able to purchase something without him noticing is absolutely impossible.

The first thing I bought was at the farmer's market. My friend Allison graciously lent me the $5 in cash to pay for it, so there would be no paper trail ;)
It was a giant homemade white chocolate Oreo bar, in the shape of an ornate Easter egg. Yum!

Then, I asked Dusty if I could buy something for him for his birthday online. I spent about $30 to get him a few movies; one of which was The Muppets, (super cute, if you haven't seen it, you should!) which was going in the basket. I also got him some other movies to give him on his actual birthday, to throw him off guard!

I also went to JoAnn's, to get some fabric that I needed for some custom Etsy orders. While I was there, I picked up some Easter eggs and candy.
The last thing I did was go to the grocery store. This is where it got tricky! We had a gift card with about $20 left on it. I did our regular grocery shopping, and also got him a bunch of candy, including Cadbury eggs which he'd never had before!! I also got him a $5 movie there, so he would think the movies I gave him would  add up to the $30 I had spent on amazon. (Dragonheart, which he'd never seen (!!!! click on the link to listen to the theme song, and cry at your desk) and all 3 Underworld movies).

{This is totally off topic, but I had a dream the other night that I was flying, over a beautiful landscape, while the Dragonheart theme song played. It was very moving.}

I also grabbed some strawberry milk and Little Debbie's Oatmeal Creme Pies, to aid in my deception.
I used the gift card, so the total leftover amount on our card would equal a regular grocery amount.
Sigh.

So then, when I got home, I peeped in the door and told Dusty to close his eyes. I ran upstairs to "put my JoAnn's stuff in the craft room" (and shove the Easter stuff under the bed), and told him I had a surprise for him. That's when I whipped out the strawberry milk and Oatmeal Creme Pies, to totally wipe any suspicion from his brain.
I put the Easter basket together while he was at school late one night, and had it all ready to go, in a crevice between our suitcases under the bed.

The funny thing about all of this, is we both already knew we were going to "surprise" each other with Easter baskets. I mean, really.

Easter Morning

I set my alarm for really early, to set Dusty's Easter basket at the foot of his bed.
Once that was accomplished, I crawled back into bed and went back to sleep.

I awoke about an hour later, and Dusty was gone, and his basket remained, untouched. I tried to listen to see if he was downstairs somewhere, but I didn't know where he was. I thought maybe he really hadn't gotten me an Easter basket, and was making me coffee or something to make up for it.
He finally came back up, and I sat up and wished him a happy Easter. He plopped down on the bed, smiling at his basket. He said, "Sorry, I had to go the bathroom." He then bent down by his side of the bed, and said, "OR, I was getting YOUR Easter basket!". He pulled my basket onto the bed, and it was fantastic. Cotton candy, WAR HEADS! Yes, sir. But the best part were MINI Cadbury eggs. Oh my goodness. How many times have I stated that I love myself a good Cadbury egg on Eater, but one is more than enough; they're SO sweet and gooey, that it's almost too much. How perfect are the minis! One little bite, and it's all the Cadbury I need. (I can't really explain why I ate like 6 that morning).

Dusty was still bursting with hardly contained glee, so he finally said, "Now, now, now, look out the window! I'm pretty sure the Easter bunny came by here..."

I was really confused. Santa came by, but the Easter bunny...I wasn't really sure he existed.

Dusty, I mean the Easter bunny, had littered the ENTIRE front grass with Easter eggs.

Some were even hidden in the bushes!

I had a basket full :)

It was so fun, and SO silly. It just kind of reiterated the fact that we're both really weird, and that we both really enjoy that about ourselves.

Speaking of weird, bear with me as I share some kitten-related pictures.

Alright. Moving on.

We then got ready for church, and were very lovely in our pastels :)

We decided we wanted to try out our own funky little Easter tradition, so we went out to all-you-can-eat Sushi after church. :)
It was a fun, spur-of-the-moment decision.

While I wouldn't call this the best sushi on the East Coast, I'm not sure there is a "best" on the East Coast, of anything sushi related.
But we had a really good time :) I look forward to many more sushi-filled Easters in the future!

My dress is from our J. Crew Outlet,
and the sunglasses are Ruche!

Our house was warm and candy-filled, and still is...candy-filled, that is. It's been a chocolatey week, that's for sure! I've also been taking a lot of naps. Sugar comas?

We're loving our new chair in the living room, and so is Luna. :)
More cat pictures to come...but only because she just happened to be in the shot :)

Our happy living room! :)
I also used the leftover Easter basket stuffing to put inside the bases of some of my vases.
I actually really like the way it looks :) very Spring-y and fun!

We spend way more time in our living room now. There's something cozy and home-y, feeling like the room is finally complete.
Well...almost. I've gotta figure out a slip-cover concept for this new chair of ours....

Anywho! Happy Easter, and happy Spring to you all.
Until next time :)

In love,
Cait

The Facts of Life

Does anyone else remember that show?
By all means, I shouldn't really remember that show, but thanks to Nick @ Nite, I was able to watch it constantly when I was younger.

The theme song was even my ringtone for a while. I remember this particularly well because my phone went off in Chemistry class my Junior year of High School. My embarrassment level was pretty much as high as it could go (mostly because my teacher was quite scary -- likeable, and great, but scary).

I also remember it because the song drove my little brother insane.

Anywho, I have learned quite a few "facts of life" in my days here in Virginia. Sometimes you don't quite realize how much ya know.

(DISCLAIMER: this list is entirely generalized based on my own experiences, and you are welcome to take everything with a grain of salt, since I am sure you or someone or something that you know of may be the exception in some way or another).

1. Home Fries.
Ya know, I thought it was pretty universally known that "Fries" refer to fries a la french. In otherwords, Fries refer to slender fried potatoes. But, nay. Home Fries are actually home potatoes. Little chunks of potatoes. In no way are they "fries". I'm not a fan of this.

2. Valentine's Day.
Girls (who are single) HATE Valentine's Day with an unnatural fervor. This entry coincides with a newly realized pet peeve of mine. Would ya calm down, missy? Next month when you have a boyfriend, you'll be all for it. So go get yourself some ice cream and leave St. Valentine alone.

3. All freeway entrances should be merging. To yield is to risk your life on a daily basis. Growing up as a merger, I am no good at being a yielder. And the funny thing is? People who grow up as a yielder are no good at being a yielder, either.


4. Nobody likes a salesman. This isn't a newfound revelation from VA, just a commonly known truth.


5. Lynchburg doesn't get that cold.

6. Writing a book is a lot harder than you might think. I can't tell you how many times I've read something and thought, "Psh! I could write that..." but, as these last months have proven, being an author is hard work. The 3 books that I'm in the middle of writing (and by "middle" I mean 2 paragraphs in) all pretty much suck, and I have newfound respect for anyone who has theirs published and adored.


7. "Cellar-Door" is the most beautiful combination of words in the English language.


8. Even if you're feeling great, you will say "I'm tired" just to have something to say.

9. The 90's were absolutely the greatest time period to grow up in. The more I look back, the happier I am that those were my years. My children will experience all the treasures of the 90's. Because I'm pretty sure their generation is going to be doomed, based solely on the apparent need for 5 year-olds to have cell phones and the overall stupidity of the Disney channel.

10. Sitting at a computer all day not only demolishes any and every energetic and motivational molecule in your body, it also removes about 7 years of your life. (**this point has not yet been proven).

11. I'm tired.

12. Cheese is God's way of saying, "In case you missed my rainbow, this is another promise of everlasting goodness for you (and also to remind you that I won't flood the earth again)."

13. Reading is absolutely a great way to spend your time. Unless all you read is Twilight.

14. Nicholas Sparks has and always will kill off someone or something in every single one of his books (even if what he kills is simply the last remaining hope of love or happiness).



15. Don't assume that everyone has manners. Just because I would do something a certain way, doesn't mean I can expect everyone else to rise to that level of excellence. In fact, it's better to just assume that everyone sucks so as not to be incredibly disappointed when you are mooched off of and taken advantage of daily.


What facts of life have you encountered lately?

In love (and love for sarcasm),
Cait