celebrating: easter

i just found out, i get to host easter (or, as it should be called, 'the greatest day in history') this year! my parents are coming in from san diego and some dear friends are going to join us for the day. super excited.

i have a lot to live up to. last year, said friends were the hosts, and it was amazing. as hostesses go, it doesn't get any better than stephanie hickox. (remember her?) i just had to share a few moments from the celebration she put together.

this incredible tablescape greeted us when we arrived. (peek behind it at her beautiful dining room!)

to make the centerpiece, steph cut branches from her backyard and put them in a pitcher. the eggs are from hobby lobby. a tiny dollop of hot glue secured fishing line to the tops of the eggs, and she hung them on the branches. so simple! but it made a huge impact.

these larger eggs were also purchased from hobby lobby, and steph used this tutorial to make the nests. like the branches, the grass was free from the backyard. luckily, grass in chicago is still brown in april. :)

(by the way, those darling cake stands holding the nests are an easy diy as well. pretty plates are simply glued to dollar store candle stick "bases").

coffee filters were turned into these beautiful watercolored flowers, used to hold placecards. eggs were sharpied with names and then placed in a small white cup (you know the kind you catch ketchup in at fast food restaurants?) atop the flower.

steph's desserts are kind of a big deal. to make these chocolate covered strawberries into mini-carrots, she just added a little orange food coloring to white chocolate, dipped them, then added a little more orange food coloring to the chocolate and piped it on top.

the kids were entertained after dinner decorating eggs with bingo-dot markers. what a fun, simple (and relatively mess free!) craft for little ones. even my uber-bald one year old could enjoy it.

they were also spoiled rotten with individual easter baskets and butterfly nets. thankfully, all of it was from the dollar tree so the spoiling didn't put too big of a dent in steph's budget! seriously, that store is an amazing resource. if you haven't shopped it yet, get there. you'll be pleasantly surprised.

no easter celebration is complete without an egg hunt. and any chance i get to post a picture of my little lovie in a fancy dress, i will do it.

huge thanks go to stephanie, and her husband travis, for hosting a delightful afternoon, and for letting me share it with all of you!!

like i said, a lot to live up to. but no matter what i can (or can't) pull off when it's my turn to host, with friends like these, the company is the best part anyways.