food for thought*

Since I'm not doing much for Easter (I haven't managed to get out of my pajamas today), my Sunday involved no chocolate bunnies or egg hunts, so I got to thinking about this holiday. For me, I associate Easter with my mom's garlic and parsley lamb and a new Easter dress, which I would get so hyped for back in the day. But as I got older and the egg hunts went out the window, I'm just now realizing how odd the idea of Easter egg hunting is. 

Here's my thinking: Bunnies don't lay eggs, let alone bright magenta spotted or striped blue ones. What do eggs have to do with bunnies? or Jesus? or the day in general? We dye hardboiled eggs, paint them, and then hide them in our backyards. I guess I've heard of weirder things and it's just all in good fun for the little nuggets running around your backyard, but just thought I'd share with you  – does anyone know where this tradition comes from? 

Hope you all had a terrific weekend, egg hunting/dyeing included, or not! 

xx  

(*disclaimer: I really dislike that phrase, but since we're talking animals/eggs, it'll slide)

Barcelona

For Easter weekend, Kelsey and I hopped over to Barcelona to meet Brigid and Jaclyn for a weekend full of sunshine, sangria, and stupidity (in the greatest way possible). We found ourselves laying on the beach, hitting up the main tourist spots including La Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, and Casa Batllò. While the outside facades (yes plural) may seem a bit confused and not in sync with one another, the interior of La Sagrada Familia is by far one of the most overwhelmingly amazing spaces I’ve ever visited. Inspired by the natural world, especially by trees, Gaudi created a space welcoming to all faiths. The craziest part? This bad boy isn’t finished yet! Overall, an incredible weekend with the best company one could ask for. 

xx

Easter Appetizers & Desserts

 Stuffed mushrooms: simple, delicious, and always a crowd pleaser 

stuffed with parsley, parmesan, garlic, and the mushroom stems 

stuffed peppers with mozzarella 

 what to do with five pounds of chocolate? 

make bunny chocopops! 

what to do with extra Cadbury eggs lying around?

use them for decorating carrot cake cupcakes! 

Preheat your oven to 350° F. Mix your dry ingredients together: 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 tsp. of baking soda, 1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, 1 1/4 tsp. baking power, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, 1/8 tsp. ground cloves, 1/2 tsp. salt

Using a food processor, shred about 4 large carrots or however many it takes to get about three cups. In a separate bowl, mix four large eggs,  1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar, and 1 1/2 cups sugar together. Add in 1 1/2 cups of vegetable oil and then stir in the carrots and your dry mixture. Pour in to liners and bake for about 22 minutes. If you aren't a fan of cream cheese frosting, you can ice them with your favorite vanilla icing, but we went with a simple cream cheese frosting. 

For the frosting you'll need: 12 0z cream cheese, 8 tsp. of butter (room temp), 1 tbsp. vanilla extract, and 3 3/4 cups of powdered sugar 

Mix cream cheese + butter, then add vanilla. Gradually add in your powdered sugar and ice the cupcakes once they are cooled.

To make our cute little nests, we added three Cadbury eggs to the frosting and shreds of the extra chocolate we had lying around.

xx