Happy Easter

As my niece said, "It wouldn't be Easter without it being on Aunt Norma's blog".  So here again are shots from her sumptuous feast yesterday, beautifully decorated and artistically arrayed in her charming beach cottage home.

 She decorates the table differently each year.  If it were me, I'd probably do the same thing each year.  If it's a success one year, I'd just do it the same the next year, but she doesn't like to repeat herself. You can't see the centerpiece very well in this shot, but it is fresh tulips, alstromeria, and plastic eggs on picks in a clear glass ice bucket.

Even the children's table was decorated.

The appetizers were artfully arranged and oh, so good.

She also has a different menu each year.  This was the first course salad, consisting of fresh greens with her homemade reduced orange juice dressing with sliced strawberries, rolls of prosciutto, candied pecans and some special Italian cheese (forgot the name)  It was all delicious.

The main course was: salmon rosettes (made by her, of course) on poached pear/saffron puree, individual au-gratin potatoes, purple asparagus and sugar snap peas with a pancetta glaze and topped with pancetta.  It tasted as good as it looked. Dessert was: Roasted strawberry cheesecake, a Martha Stewart recipe made by Lauren (fabulous) and key lime pie made by me (pretty good, too).

Fake-out!  These were candy! Not on the dinner table.


We had two new babies to welcome this year, Lauren's grandchildren.  That makes them my sister's great-grandchildren and my great, great niece and nephew.

Here's Millie, in her beautiful Easter dress, just five weeks old and weighing 7 1/2 pounds, a petite cutie-pie.  I couldn't get over those tiny fingers.

 Leo, at three months, a chubby 13 1/2 pounds chewing on his tie. Check out those adorable panda cheeks.

Millie's big brother, Charlie at 20 months, ever the preppie one with his navy blazer, chinos, oxford cloth shirt with bow-tie, and boat shoes. He is such a cute little boy with an adorable personality, always happy and laughing and soooo busy.  I was so sorry to have not taken pictures of Leo's big, bother , Owen at five years old, another precious little boy and  sweet bigger brother Nico at 10 years old. It seems like they were always running around when my camera was out and hard to capture.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter.  Come back soon for more Hawaii pictures.