My Easter Weekend

Well I can honestly say that was the nicest Easter Bank Holiday i've had in many years! I was quite happy pottering around the garden on the Saturday, swapping eggs with the family on Sunday, followed by the Easter Feast and sleepily settling down to watch David Copperfield. It was a shame to have such soggy weather on Sunday, but then again, I was too busy in the kitchen to have gone outside!

For me, Easter is all about family, flowers and of course, food. I gave into my inner child and whipped up the classic chocolate nest cakes (luckily. narrowly avoiding the UK Mini Eggs shortage!) and cooked traditional Lamb for the dinner, recipe from the Yeo Valley Farmhouse Cookbook that I would highly recommend, it was a winner! 

I did try and get some seasonal easter decorations throughout the house, I was very pleased to spot the Victorian Easter Card at my local antiques centre, I used to have a rabbit just like that! I was sad to see the last bunches of daffodils until next year, but I'm very glad it's now bluebell season instead. My local woodland has wild english bluebells....but I'm afraid I have naughty spanish ones in my garden - they weren't planted on purpose I promise, but whilst they're here, I will enjoy them! 

Mum&I had a rule not to buy each other easter eggs, so I was very excited to receive my first cup of tea in my 'Insead-Of' easter present, a new Emma Bridgewater indeed! I did brave the rain to pick fresh chard and kale for the Sunday Lunch, after chopping back the kale to the bare stems after the butterfly massacre of '13, it's bounced back to life and very tasty it is too!

Hope your weekend was a good one! Let's try and carry that Springtime Easter joy in our hearts through to the end of the week, roll on the weekend!

Katie

Hej Hej Gothenburg! (Swedish Easter Part 1)

For the last week I have been in Sweden with Bruce whilst he was setting up his solo show 'Cold Air Rising' at Box Gallery, Gothenburg. We were lucky enough to stay with our good friend Thom, who was a fantastic guide around the city (as well as a fantastic help with Bruces show!) and we had a really lovely Easter weekend! Momentously, it was my first ever plane journey - so needless to say I was a little nervous, but I did just fine, and I even flew home on my own, so it's another New Years Resolution crossed off the list!

Gothenburg is the second largest city in Sweden, but has a very relaxed and friendly feel, with lots of interesting streets to find coffee, secondhand goods and general nice things! (I blew the budget and came back with a very heavy suitcase!) One of the first landmarks to greet us after arriving was the famous Universeum Dinosaur, quite striking against the city skyline to say the least!

Easter was a great time to visit Sweden (even if it was a bit quiet for the first few days!) as they have some super traditions at this time of year which were lovely to see! These birch twigs decorated with feathers were all around town, in many windows and shops. This tradition dates back to the 19th century and is thought to encourage the arrival of spring as the twigs magically sprout their new colours!

There were plenty of gorgeous flowers around the city, I found it difficult not to return with a bunch of blooms everyday, there were so many lovely florists en-route. The Antique shops in Haga had some fantastic window displays of Easter themed items, I returned with lots of handmade items to bring out every year for Easter decorations, hooray!

There was more coffee and cinnamon baked goods on offer than I could have ever imagined, but I must admit I didn't take part in Fika every day, I can't take that amount of caffeine and sugar, my loss entirely! I did bring home a fantastic Nordic cookbook, I fully intend with cracking on with 'the classics', rye bread, beetroot salad and cinnamon buns ASAP!

I know holiday snaps can be rather tiresome, so i'll leave with a very beautiful Swedish sunset! I hope you enjoyed a very happy Easter too!

Monthly Wish List - March

I fully admit to being a truly lazy blogger this month! I celebrated my 24th Birthday last weekend, and was quite unprepared to accept it was even March! 2013 is certainly flying by, as I now have a part time job again, the week is zooming by without me getting much done at home, I believe they call that 'the real world', so no complaints, just need to get myself organised better!

As I am spending the next week in Sweden, I thought the Wish List should have a decidedly Easter theme, as I have been embracing it in the home all month, even though i won't be here for the weekend itself!

First up, an absolutely beautiful Tiffany & Co letter opener, with easter rabbits hiding in the grass, c1890. It went for £376 on Ebay and I can definitely see why, anything delicate, silver and animal themed will always be popular, but this is a particularly lovely example, It would bring a smile every time you used at it, although I would save it for special pen pal letters only, not waste it on boring old bank statements!

Continuing on the Mad March Hare/Easter Bunny theme, this Art Deco toy teapot would sit perfectly on your easter table, the painted design is simple, but that strong deco shape ensures it would make an impact, even if it was child-size! Just a shame it wasn't the whole set, I would imagine that would be snapped up even quicker!

Just one more bunny for the road! A mashup of two very British designers, Emma Bridgewater (Love-it-or-hate-it!) and Mark Hearld, who is always on my 'Wish List', I thought his last book was absolutely stunning and I will save up to buy one of his prints soon! The image of the Hare is common in Folk Art, and thats what really springs to mind with this simple design, I like it a lot!

Finally (it's a short Wish List this month!) a little taster of Swedish Easter. If you read my blog post from last year HERE about my beautiful easter book 'Lotta's Easter Suprise by Astrid Lindgren', you'll see that dressing girls as Witches is a Swedish tradition at Easter to mark the story of witches travelling to Blåkulla- a legendary meadow - where the devil would hold court during the sabbath. So think of it as trick or treating for Easter eggs! This postcard is an excellent example of this tradition, if I spot any such postcard on my trip, I will be a very happy bunny!

 I am very much looking forward to the Easter Break, I hope it's a lovely one for you too! Just having no more snow would be a start!!

Just one more Eastertide idea from the super Miranda Hart - TOAST SPOONS!! A true necessity.

Thanks for reading!

Katie

Easter Weekend 2012

My vintage Easter card this year was found on Ebay quite a while ago, lets just say i was too excited for it to become seasonal! In real life (my screen is growing ever poorer and editing is hit and miss!) the design is just so delicate, the border of eggs is the real highlight! It was posted 29/03/1918.

23/03/1918 Easter Card

I am away by the sea in Lymington this Easter weekend, I hope you are also enjoying yourselves!

Maybe just one more, as i can only indulge these once a year!

Lotta's Easter Suprise - Astrid Lindgren

Now, this post is slightly off-theme for Long May She Rain, I don't usually offer up vintage children's books on this blog, HOWEVER, this one is special.

As you might of guessed from my recent posts, i love Easter. It's springtime, the plants are growing, the birds are singing - whats not to like? But a particular highlight for my Easter's has been missing for about a decade. It became nothing but a distant memory, blurred around the edges, I even began to think I'd imagined its existence (as none of my family could remember it either!) A few weeks ago I found myself in the attic, and guess what?

Turns out my memory was actually by a very famous Swedish author Astrid Lindgren who's mostly known for her Pippi-Longstocking books. The beautiful illustrations are by Ilon Wikland, and its these nostalgic yet characterful images that spring into my mind when thinking of "Easter".

Granted, i have never experienced a Swedish Easter myself (I am planning to go for the first time in summer to visit my dear friend Thom Bridge, so only slightly late!! Hopefully next year!) I must also add; it's in Swedish tradition to dress girls as witches at Easter to mark the story of witches travelling to Blåkulla- a legendary meadow - where the devil would hold court during the sabbath. So think of it as trick or treating for Easter eggs!

It's a very short story based around Lotta, a usually grumpy and strong minded little girl who, when discovering the towns only chocolate shop is closing down, rescues Easter for her family without the Easter Bunny's help, proving that she can be thoughtful and happy after all!

It's a simple story, but obviously very effective. My Nan brought this book for me when i was quite little, and despite the fact it was my favourite book and I loved it, it was also the only book i ever chewed?! The front cover is missing a little bit around the bottom corner, I thought a mouse in the attic had been nibbling it, but no, my Mum distinctly remembered me doing it! How odd...

I have decided to blog about this book in case anyone else out there is searching for it too, as I couldn't find anything related to it in my hunt before, so enjoy! 

Hope you enjoyed these wonderful illustrations, that's it for Easter until next year!

Katie

First Easter Blog! Vintage Finds.

Today is the first in quite a few Easter - related posts I have planned for the holidays. My collection of photographs usually relate to "People In Gardens" but i like to branch off into springtime/easter themes too, as it's my favourite time of the year (probably because it usually falls around my Birthday!)

The first of these photo's was found on Ebay, I still smile every time i look at it! These two just seem so proud of their pets they wanted to present them on a nice fluffy rug...which hopefully ISN'T made out of past rabbits! But a great example of an obscure Easter picture eh?

The second charming photograph was discovered in a book shop in Tunbridge Wells, I'm not usually fussed about childrens portraits BUT this one really caught me unaware! His little handmade outfit, wonky socks and cheeky smile make him an excellent Easter-gram! The daisies and flowers are the perfect springtime setting! Well done that photographer!

Just thought these two would brighten up a Wednesday! Plenty more vintage treats to come!

Hope you're having a good week!

Katie