Happy Easter With the Peeps!

Easter Break With the Grandgirls

Easter in Germany

Last year we were in Germany for Easter and it is so hard not to think back to all the decorations and celebrations we saw while we were there.  Every town, shop and neighborhood gave us a reason to want to celebrate the season. 

We especially enjoyed reading that this town square requested we avoid touching any of the 3,000 hand-blown eggs that were part of this display. 

Look at the woman's head to the left of this egg...this thing was HUGE!!!

  Every evening as the sun went down we would observe the hillsides covered with Easter bonfires.  You can learn more about the tradition of the bonfires here.   I've done some decorating but nothing that compares to the Easter celebrations I was able to observe last year.  Meanwhile I'm looking forward to Easter fun with the grandgirls. 

Nesting

You Know It Is Spring When You Look Look Out the Window. . .

And see this.

Blend Custom Parfum Studio

In an earlier post I mentioned that my friend is getting married and I've been searching for the perfect wedding gift.  Finally this week I decided on the gift and it was so exciting because I got to be a part of the process.

This month, Jezebel Magazine named Blend Custom Parfum Studio one of the "ten things that people in Atlanta are buzzing about."   I met the owner of the shop, Susan Sexton, at an event last fall that was held at the Alliance Française.  Recently I reached out to her for help with an event I'm helping with at work and while meeting with Susan the thought occurred that every bride needs a special fragrance on their wedding day!   With that thought in mind, Heather and I headed out to Blend yesterday at lunch and I sat in on the session as Heather created her own wedding day fragrance.

Blend is part of a co-op and is one of several shops in this lovely cottage.  The bridal lovelies inside are custom designs so everything is unique.   From jewelry, shoes, invitations, wedding dresses, to fragrance, everything can be designed and custom-made at Paisley Umbrella. 

The process began in Susan's studio where she and Heather went straight to work, smelling bottle after bottle of scents.   We took several "nose" breaks during the process so it took a little longer than expected but at the end of the session, Heather walked away with a beautiful ivory-colored silk pouch containing a bottle of perfume that is absolutely unique.  Heather named the fragrance Monsura.  Isn't that a beautiful name?  Somehow it smells similar to how it sounds - rich and exotic.

If you live in Atlanta and your are looking for a fun and unique thing to do with a small group of friends, call Susan.  She will do small group parties and how much fun would it be to have your own spring fragrance!!  Be sure to call first - shopping is by appointment only.

Shoes

This morning as I got on the train I headed for the first vacant seat only to encounter these.  

All day I've been wondering about the story of the shoes left behind. 

March, On the Move

It's hard to believe that it's April and I'm still wondering what happened to March.  I spent nearly a week in D.C., another in Denver and last week included a quick trip to Charlotte.  March was fast-paced and exciting so I thought it might be fun to share a few of the highlights.  While in D.C. I attended a conference and during a reception attendees were honored to hear a presentation by Justice Ginsburg.

A few days after my trip, disaster struck Japan and I spent a weekend considering what our firm could do to help.   Rather than hold casual days I thought it would be nice if volunteers made paper cranes.  For a donation of a dollar or more, donations would be made to Japanese Red Cross Society with a goal of making 1000 paper cranes.   

 The cranes or Senbadsuru  will be delivered to an elementary school in the next month or so. 

During my trip to Denver I did managed to see snow-capped mountains from my hotel room in the early morning but most of my time was spent in the hotel conference center.  It was inspiring to hear Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.   Zappos provided all of the attendees a copy of Tony's book, Delivering Happiness and I can't wait to read it.  One evening we did step out of the hotel just to walk outside and I loved running into this young man.  

    He wouldn't share his styling secrets but he was kind enough to pose in a picture for me!

This weekend was beautiful and it felt so good to be outside.  We live just minutes from the Georgia State Farmers Market and this weekend seemed like the perfect weekend for fresh produce.   They've already gotten in their first shipment of watermelon!!

This week is Spring Break for most schools so everyone is here. 

I'm going to be happy just to be in my home town with the sun shining! 
It's been about two weeks since I had time to read some of my favorite blogs but I'm hoping to catch up this week.  I miss my blog reading!!!