Sunday in the Park

I have a new favorite flower! Tulips!

I've always thought they were pretty, but I never realized how many different kinds, shapes, and even sizes there are! I am in love!

I had been hearing about the tulips in Foster Park in Fort Wayne, Indiana for years and never made it out there to check them out. This year, I made it my mission! And I am so happy I did. We finally went this past Sunday after a belated Easter celebration. It was a perfect day for exploring the park.

Foster Park has bed after bed of expertly coordinated tulips interspersed between gorgeous flowering trees and other spring flowers such as daffodils, muscari, and hyacinths. There are also a few different groves of gigantic light and dark purple and white lilac bushes. Needless to say, the smell there is heavenly!

This trip was so inspiring! My yard goals have officially been upped! I imagine Foster Park is a smaller scale of what Holland, Michigan looks like during the Tulip Festival ~ which I am also dying to visit! (And even more so now!) I'm just so glad I found somewhere closer to home to visit!

If you live in the Fort Wayne area get over to Foster Park as soon as possible to check out all the gorgeous scenery and flowers before the blooms fade!

Foster Park is located off Old Mill Road near a bevy of beautiful old homes, not far from downtown Fort Wayne. You can see some of the huge lilac bushes behind the sign.

The park entrance. Everywhere you look there is something beautiful.

Red and pink are one of my favorite color combos!

I'd live in this house! What a great view!

I sooo love this bed! These colors together are perfection!

This is a replica of Abe Lincoln's cabin. Look at all those trees! And flowers! Gorgeous!

This area just looks so magical! I love the shape of the trees, it's like a set of tree tunnels.

Girls were getting their prom pictures taken and families were taking pictures everywhere. This park is such a gorgeous backdrop this time of year!

These people were getting their wedding pictures taken. They may have even just gotten married here. After seeing this, I was rethinking my decision to have gotten married at the Botanical Gardens.

These giant clusters of lilacs looked like grapes!

I think this is a dogwood tree. Possibly. Whatever it is, I love it!

Ok, so I am definitely going to do this combo in my garden! I just love the colors! I already have the muscari!

This is a tulip! Not quite what you imagine when you think of a tulip. It looks like a peony. In fact, I think it may be a peony tulip! One thing I think I would add to the park is a description of the different tulips.

Purple and red! So many different varieties!

These look like flames!

Very springy colors!

I generally prefer a more rigid color scheme, but all these different colors together have me rethinking that. I think I could live with a bed of all different colors. You never know, something like this might turn up in my yard next spring!

Late Easter Wrap Up

I have been having internet issues here lately, so please excuse the lateness of this Easter post, but I wanted to share a few things!

Last Sunday was a great day! One of our family get-togethers actually got cancelled and after we went to church, my husband and I were left to our own devices for the day. It was the best holiday ever!

We ended up going to a Mexican restaurant and having brunch. (We are always down for Mexican food ~ even in the morning!) After stuffing our bellies we went home and crashed on the couch and watched movies! I wish all holidays could be that low-key and relaxing!

If you follow my Instagram, you may have already seen some of these pictures. If you don't follow me, you should! I am obsessed with Instagram right now! It's like a mini blog and I usually post things once or twice a day. I love it!

Anyways...back to this blog!

I decided way back in January while watching an episode of Martha Bakes on PBS to make her Carrot-Ginger Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting for Easter. It looked delicious wrapped in candied strips of carrots, but I had seen some super cute bunny and carrot sugar decorations at Country Kitchen that I wanted to put on it instead. I love putting my own spin on things and making it my own! It turned out so good! (And saved a few steps too!)

Getting ready to go in the oven. It was a very easy recipe ~ even for a beginner! This was my first "from scratch" cake I had ever made. And yes, I am a very messy baker. Ask my husband!

Soooo cute!!! I was very happy with the way everything turned out! A lot of times in life things don't go as planned, but this actually did! Thanks Martha!

It was delicious as well! I definitely will be making this again! I highly recommend it! Adding the ginger and the orange to this cake just takes it to a whole other level!

Another shot of my nephew's Easter basket I put together!

And this is my "Easter Basket" from my husband! I mean the Easter Bunny! He always does such a good job! I can't wait to plant it in the ground and have it come up year after year!

On an Indiana backroad heading for church! It was a beautiful day!

I really liked this stained glass at the church. I had seen it before, but on Easter it just really struck me. Maybe it was the sun shining in. I love stained glass.

We went to my husband's parent's church because his dad was in a play. He was the angel that told everyone that Jesus had risen from the tomb.

My Easter meal! It felt a bit like A Christmas Story, going to an ethnic restaurant on a holiday and all. It was delicious and I think I have found a new favorite kind of omelet ~ pico de gallo and cheese with sour cream and a squirt of lime juice! Delicious!

  Hope you all had a wonderful Easter!
 

Homemade Chocolate Easter Bunnies!

 

Every year for Easter, my husband and I typically give flowers as gifts to our family members. This was a tradition that started with my husband's family long before I came along. I love it! We give flowers, we get flowers!

This year I decided I wanted to do something a little different, and a little more special. I made my own chocolate Easter bunnies!

Since discovering how easy it is to make your own chocolates with my Valentine's Day Raspberry Hearts, I have been obsessed. Country Kitchen had several cool rabbit molds and the second I saw them, I knew this was happening.

These homemade chocolate bunnies are super easy! Just three steps:

1. Melt the chocolate

2. Pour the chocolate

3. Freeze the chocolate

Done! That's it!

I wanted to make them extra special and package them up all fancy too, so I got edible grass and candy coated chocolate eggs to put in the bag. I also found some cute bunny ribbon at Walmart to tie it up with!

This is also my nephew's first Easter, so I wanted to make a little Easter basket for him. Even though he can't eat the chocolate bunny, I put one in his basket (for his mom and dad!) along with a plush little Peep and a book about the first Easter when Jesus rose from the tomb. I am his Godmother after all!

 Here's how I made the chocolate bunnies:

The supplies: chocolate candy coating wafers and rabbit molds!

Pour some of the chocolate wafers into a microwavable glass bowl and microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring in between. I like to work in smaller batches, it's easier to handle and just in case you mess something up, less is wasted!

After about a minute it will look like this.

It usually takes about 3 times to get all the chocolate melted.

Then all you do is pour the melted chocolate into your mold! Freeze it for about an hour, keeping it level at all times.

Take it out of the freezer and turn it upside down to release!

There you have it! A perfect chocolate bunny! It looks just like a store-bought one!

 The edible grass and candy covered eggs I got to put into the treat bag.

I love the ribbon, it looks like peeps!

My nephew's first Easter basket!

Now that I know exactly how easy these bunnies are, next time I think I may jazz it up even more and make filled rabbits or even flavored ones! The possibilities are endless!

Happy Easter!!!

Easter around my house!

I'm totally loving that I don't have to host Easter at my house this year! It's just nice to have a year off! But that doesn't mean I don't decorate. Decorating for the holidays is my favorite! And I especially love Easter with all it's fresh, pretty colors. Dare I say, it may be edging out Halloween as my favorite holiday?

I like to add at least one new item to my holiday decor per year. Honestly, let's put it this way - I try to limit myself to only one new item per year! As soon as the stores start putting out rabbits and eggs I get really excited and have to reign myself in! I could go crazy on Easter decor. And Halloween. And Christmas.

This year I couldn't resist the larger Peep pillow on my rocking chair. That kicked off Easter for me early this year and I started decorating in early March. My husband always wants me to put things away the day after the holiday, so I figured I'd just put it out sooner this year! 
 

Here's a little tour of some of my favorite Easter decor this year.

These are the famous Williams-Sonoma alabaster Easter eggs! I had wanted these for years, but they are a little pricey. Luckily, I found them for more than half off a few years ago right after Easter! They are my absolute favorite Easter decoration!

I like the way they look in this basket. I got that little bunny at Hobby Lobby for less than a dollar last year! He's so cute!

This ceramic rabbit from Pier 1 is probably my second favorite Easter decoration! They had a cute smaller bunny with a yellow flower this year that I may still get.

These peachy little flowers (Hobby Lobby!) stay out pretty much all spring and summer.

Here's a close up. I love them! They are so springy!

Another little rabbit from Hobby Lobby. It's actually a place card holder for your table, but my tablescape is not that formal. I like to get small knick knacks and just place them all over the house like this. It's a cheap way to decorate and adds a pop here and there!

Here's another rabbit that's actually a salt shaker (you can't tell unless you were inspecting it.) I got these pink flowers and the green vase from Ikea! I can't wait until they open the one by Indy!

Speaking of Ikea...I added these plastic "painted" eggs my mom gave me to my Ikea greenhouse. This was impossible to get a good shot of since it's so reflective, so sorry for the glare!

Hydrangeas are one of my favorite flowers. These ones look really good for faux flowers!

Hanging with my Peeps!

As everyone knows, I love my wreaths! I like to hang them on the inside of my door as well as on the outside.

I just love gel clings on windows! These bunnies and eggs are too cute! My front door has the perfect windows to display them!

On the outside of the front door is my homemade plastic Easter egg wreath!

I love these giant plastic Easter eggs in my front yard! I had them inside last year, which looked nice too.

I just planted these purple and yellow Celestial Nights Violas and I am loving them! My front porch is now ready for Easter!

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Happy Easter!