Easter 2016

I know Easter was a week ago already (how did that happen?), but I'm going to share some snippets from my Easter weekend today anyway. I would've blogged about it sooner, but the weekend tired me out so much I've only just found some energy to finish editing my photos. 

A cute Forever Friends Easter card I sent to my best friend, and her family.

On Good Friday, I spent a couple of hours putting together a box full of Easter chocolates to send up to my best friend and her son, and gathered together the Easter eggs ready to give to my family on Easter Sunday.

I dug out last year's Easter-egg shaped honeycomb decorations, and decided to hang them up on my bedroom wall under my rainbow garland, where I could see them, instead of hanging them downstairs where I spend little time. They're so colourful and cheerful, and really brightened up my bedroom.

Last Saturday, I got out of the house for a few hours for the first time in over two months, and tagged along to Bicester Village with my sister, Marie, who fancied a little Kate Spade spree. The weather was crap, but it could've been hailing boulders for all I cared; it was just so good to get out of the house for a while for something other than an appointment or a quick trip to the supermarket. The change of scenery definitely did me some good.

The outlet village was dressed up for Spring, with pretty pink and white silk flowers hung everywhere from lamp posts to window displays. My favourite was this silk cherry blossom tree, that was decorating the back of a little wooden building. I couldn't resist taking a few photos of because it looked so beautiful and realistic. Isn't it gorgeous? 

On the way home from Bicester, I treated myself to a big bunch of colourful tulips from the supermarket, and gave half of them to my Mum, as there were so many. I love tulips, especially yellow ones, and it wouldn't be Easter without a vase or two of colourful Spring flowers brightening up the joint. I was a little gutted that this bunch only lasted three days, though.

On Easter Sunday, I spent the morning watching my all time favourite Easter film- Steel Magnolias! I've watched it every Easter for as long as I can remember, so it wouldn't be Easter without it now. I have to watch it every year- not that I ever need an excuse to curl up with this movie for a couple of hours. I've seen it roughly a gazillion times but it never fails to make me smile like I'm Sheldon Cooper gazing contently at a koala bear. Everything about it is awesome from the characters to the fashion and the one-liners to the God-awful armadillo groom's cake!

While I watched Steel Magnolias, I made up little paper bags of Guylian mini eggs, and Lindor chocolates to surprise my family with during Easter dinner. 

I then went downstairs to make some cornflake cake Easter nests, although the dog was so excited to see me, my Mum ended up taking over and did most of the work while I got mauled and dive bombed by Rosie. 

My Easter loot, from the family. Is there anything better than Cadbury Easter eggs? If there is, I haven't heard of it.

I had hoped to spend the afternoon working my way through a few of these films before sitting down to Easter dinner, but things got a little chaotic, and movies soon became the last thing on my mind. Dinner was pushed back until the evening while my Dad and brother-in-law went to rescue my eighteen year old cousin from her controlling, abusive twat of a boyfriend, a two hour drive away, while we quickly straightened up the house. Thankfully, she was rescued in one piece (the boyfriend had legged it before my Dad and brother-in-law arrived! Ha!), although she was very fragile by the time she got to us, and it was heart breaking to see her so low. She'd moved hours from home to live with him earlier in the year, but he and his parents had been treating her like shit the entire time. He was so controlling he stopped her from visiting her parents, and talked her out of visiting us a few weeks ago, even though she'd bought the train tickets. I don't even want to think about what would've happened if she'd stayed with that pathetic piece of shit much longer, but I know we'd be looking at a very different outcome. I'm so proud of her for finally walking away and asking us for help.

I think we were able to keep her mind off of the break up, for a little while, at least, with a chatty family meal (a big turkey and beef roast with all the trimmings, Christmas-style), cake, chocolate, crazy puppy cuddles, and just being our usual daft selves. Easter Sunday is a good day for comfort food in our house- we only have a meal like it about three times a year, so it was well-timed. She stayed at my sister's for the night, as they had a spare room, and my parents drove her home to her Mam in Sunderland the next morning. I think she's doing a little better now she's back with her parents and her friends, but she isn't in great shape. He's completely chipped away at what little remained of her confidence and self-esteem. I hope this guy gets what's coming to him! Scum of the Earth.

And, I spent Easter Monday on puppy duties while the parents took my cousin home. I could barely move for the pain after a full-on weekend (I'd used up all of my spoons by Saturday am) but I had to work through it and somehow I managed it. I popped The Sound of Music on, ate some left over trifle, and thankfully got this little terror down for a two hour nap, so I put my feet up for a while, too. I was so shattered I was struggling to keep my eyes open by noon, so when the parents got home in the afternoon, I crawled straight up to bed and ended up napping on and off for the rest of the day.

And that is how I spent my Easter weekend!

How did you spend Easter this year? I hope you had a good one.