Spring Greens and Easter Neutrals

We are finally settling into spring, and with it I'm peeling off the layers that I couldn't get enough of during the winter. 

The house feels lighter and doesn't need much more than a little greenery here and there.

For Easter, I just added a few bunnies and kept them as natural or neutral as possible.  

If it wasn't white or wood, I gave it away.

Less is feeling like more these days.

I have a mix of real plants and faux greenery, which makes it harder to tell the difference.

This old antique desk makes a perfect end table.  The basket holds current magazines while the little DIY sofa arm table holds our morning coffee.

I found this old wooden tray at a barn sale in Maine, and created a permanent sign for above the sofa. There are little hooks so the smaller pieces can be changed for the seasons and holidays.  I have so much fun coming up with new ideas for this sign.

The photos in these frames are frequently changed to match the room.  It is an inexpensive way to add or subtract color. 🌿

The cocoa bottles on the tiered tray have bright red, green and blue labels.  I simply tied some scraps of burlap around them to fit in with our neutral kitchen. 

Spring is in the air, and in the house too.

   The longer days are upon us.  Everything is brown and muddy one day, and then suddenly a bud appears and some green shoots start pushing through the dirt. 

   At first it comes in slowly, and then one morning you wake up to a whole new world. It's like Dorothy waking up to Oz, everything is lush and green and there is the feel of hope in the air and we are brought back to the halcyon spring days of our childhood.

   Once the weather changes, we want to be outside all the time. Now, the inside becomes less of a priority as we take advantage of the short window of time when the temperature outside is ideal. All too soon, the heat and humidity will set in, but for now, the days are perfect.  

  I like to keep the inside as simple as possible. I clean the windows to bring the outside in and draw our eyes to the ever-changing view outside.  I don't want the color or decor to compete, and frankly, I want less to keep clean. 

   I love an ordinary day; coffee on the deck, digging in the dirt, playing with the pups, chatting with neighbors and family, and a light dinner on the grill. I'm a simple girl who loves a simple life.

  This is a year of transitions for our family.  We are now empty-nesters and our kids have very full and busy lives of their own. This will be the first Easter that we are not having a traditional Easter celebration. Usually, either we host our extended family or we go to a big celebration with friends after church, but we've decided to just be with our immediate family this year since it is very rare for us to be together now.  Megan is in the middle of an accelerated Master's in Nursing program and she needs part of the day to study. We won't even be having our traditional ham dinner (Megan is a vegetarian and Dan says ham is boring, but they still want Easter baskets - what??).  So, it's time to let go of some old traditions, maybe for just this year or maybe forever, and embrace something new. New is not bad, it's just different.