Yule Decorations
Our holiday decorations are simple this year, reusing a few items I had collected last year and revamping our terrariums for winter. They took about 10 minutes to make with a few supplies from the craft store and some vintage deer.
No tree again this year, though we debated for days on a pink or silver or some other fantastical one. Maybe next year. I’m quite happy with our little garland in its place. Nearly all the ornaments were gifts last year. Possibly my favorite is the handmade green glass witch’s globe.
We also have some flickering candles in the window. I love seeing these on the East Coast but they don’t show up often in California. If only I could find our twinkle lights we would be set.
easter brunch
Well, we managed to pull everything together and put together a lovely Easter brunch. We even managed to snag an amazing dining set, including a beautiful hutch and a buffet, from Craigslist and pick it up on Saturday. There was a lot of cooking and moving of furniture and cleaning (as we still haven’t quite moved in 100%) but I’m proud to say it went off without a hitch.
We reused the wonderful moss centerpieces from our rehearsal party along with a few pieces we have in our china collection. I am totally in love with this bunny.
We also used the cloth napkins that we got for our wedding (which you’ll be seeing in action, in the next few days). Clearly I have a thing for bunnies. While we do have a lovely set of spring themed dishes, we were one setting short. This mismatched mushroom plate fit in nicely though.
I even tried my hand at flower arranging for the occasion. I obviously chose a vase that was much too large, for my flower selection, but I was really happy with the extra color.
I had to get a little fancy and make these french toasts with asparagus and orange beurre blanc that I found on Martha Stewart. Of course, with a few simple substitutions, I was able to veganize the entire recipe. They were a lovely addition to the brunch, slightly decadent, but not too sweet or overwhelming of the other dishes.
I’ve never had a beurre blanc sauce before so I’m not sure if I made it quite right but it was extremely tasty.
Cooking in our new kitchen is a dream. For the first time, I have sunlight in the kitchen. It’s an amazing thing.
Shawn’s one request was a deep dish quiche filled vegan bacon and daiya cheese. I used the broccoli quiche recipe as the base from Vegan Brunch
Alicia brought some delicious roasted Brussels sprouts and a carrot ginger soup with cashew pesto. So good. I also made some roasted spring vegetables but forgot to photograph them. Oops!
My mom made an orange quinoa salad. Definitely an orange theme this year.
Nine of us fit at our new table! I still can’t believe we found it.
With so many different dishes, we had to fill our plates many times with small servings. Here’s round one with the french toast, quiche, soup and veggies.
Mochi really wanted to be part of the party.
I made some molasses candies as a treat. Having never made them before, I’m pretty pleased with how they came out. I think I could take another crack at it though. I used blackstrap molasses so they were particularly strong. Ideally I’d prefer them to be a bit more subtle and less chewy. Of course, they should also be coated in chocolate. Making candy is like making magic.
Luckily my mom brought an assortment of chocolates from Xan confectioners.
It was a wonderful day filled with family and friends. It definitely showed me how much it takes to host a good party. Thank goodness I had help with the dishes. Now I’m just glad I have the rest of my Sunday to relax.
Animal friends
Every year, Best Friends Animal Society puts on a huge adoption event at the La Brea Tar Pits. They fill the whole park with tents and bring as many adoptable pets out to find homes. We’ve been going for the past few years just to check it out and it’s really hard not to leave with one of these sweet animals.
Actually two years ago, before we had Meeme and Mochi, we tried to adopt a few cats from the event, but they were adopted before we made up our minds. It was very sad for me, but I’m so happy they found a home.
This year we had the extra incentive of visiting the C’est la V Bakeshop booth which was set up with a ton of vegan goodies.
So I totally fell for this cat Zara. She was rescued from a hoarder’s house who had 200 cats and 100 dogs. Insane. She was so quiet and calm. She shared her cage with two kittens who were rambunctiously jumping around, all over, even on top of her, but she just hung out. Gosh I hope she found a home; she deserves a home.
Shawn liked these sweet little kittens, Zoey and Zelda.
I thought these white brother and sister cats were so pretty.
They had lots of darling dogs as well. Like this adorable Pomeranian. I didn’t get as many photos of dogs because they were a lot more wiggly than the cats and hard to photograph.
As I may have mentioned before, I’m kind of obsessed with animals who are a little weird. Which is why I loved the little wheelie guy up top. He was just carting around, happy as a clam.
They also had a few bunnies and some ducks visiting from a duck sanctuary.
This is Kingsley. I love Kingsley. I wish I could have brought him home. I don’t think it would have gone over so well. I wish we had a bigger place! He was so curious and friendly and adorable. Bunnies need homes too!
Anyway, if any of you are considering bringing a furry (or feathered, or scaled) friend into your home, please adopt. There are so many animals that desperately need homes and deserve happy lives. These aren’t damaged goods, they are just animals who were dealt a bad hand in life. They’re just looking for someone to look out and care for them. Check out your local animal shelter or one of the many adoption sites like Petfinder.
Go save a life!
