This Easter is one for the literal history books as we all celebrated this holiday in a way we have never done before! With a shelter-in-place order throughout the US, we gathered around our tables with our immediate families and around our computer screens with our extended families and friends. Wanting to make the day extra special, we scoured our homes for ways to set our tables without a lot of the extras that we might have added under more normal circumstances. For me, it was nice to make the table look festive and happy- and our family of four seemed to appreciate the change of pace from the everyday.

The first thing I did was to “shop my house” and find colorful items that I thought would work well together and look like Easter. At first, I thought the table would end up looking more formal. It ended up being playful and whimsical. It was perfect for us- my kids seemed to enjoy it that it wasn’t “stuffy” but that I mixed in some of our nicer pieces (with a reminder to “go easy” on them).

I did not originally plan to use the plaid plates, but decided that it was the perfect way to break up the solid colors on the other plates. I also used glass bread plates and glass bowls on the tables for color and contrast.

Last year, I bought a hand-painted ostrich egg from Pippa Goetz and loved her Easter artwork so much. I decided to add another one this year and pre-ordered in January or February. The egg arrived and I unpacked it for Easter after I had “quarantined” the package for a while. This year’s egg is also a stunner…the chinoiserie scene that Pippa painted is so beautiful and happy. The colors are so vibrant- I kind of don’t want to put the eggs away after Easter. Notice the different pagodas on the different sides of the egg…

Other pieces that I love to use on tablescapes are the 2 matching artichoke bowls with lids. I use those a lot in place of flowers because the colors are so pretty and the design is so artistic. I also put my hydrangea arrangement in the center of the table. My son is allergic to flowers and could not have real flowers in our house for several years. I invested in a few beautiful arrangements from Boxwoods in Atlanta to mimic real ones as closely as I could.

After playing around with different plates and place settings, I finally decided on this one…cheerful, bright and whimsical.

I made each place setting a little different~ and I loved using my moss bunnies on the table. I bought the 2 larger ones several years ago at Appointments at Five in Athens, and the small moss bunny was a gift from PKL, The Cellar. They are perfect for adding in a feel of nature especially because I didn’t have flowers.

We have a chandelier that hangs over our breakfast table and I love to add decorations to it (here you can see New Year’s Eve ideas for hanging decorations). For Easter, I hung gingham fabric carrots on green ribbon and suspended them from the chandelier.

It all came together- imperfectly perfect for us for this different type of Easter. Although it was different, it was a sweet and simple day. It is an Easter I hope my kids always remember. They slept late and ate breakfast just before we watched our preacher live stream his sermon. He was alone inside the sanctuary of our church and stood on the stairs in the front. He preached his sermon and sent a message that we all learned from~ all 1000 viewers, I would bet. My daughter mentioned that if 1000 people were showing as watching the live stream, there could be 4 people per computer like we were. We were amazed at the number of us all together while we were all separated by this virus.

I look forward to celebrating in person with our community next year, but I am also grateful for the slow morning, the captive audience that our preacher had at our home while he spoke, and the feeling of togetherness that can’t accurately be described.

Our table was set to be served a simple meal while our hearts and minds were re-set to be mindful and grateful for all that we have.

We ended our day with a Zoom call with my parents, sister, and nieces. My oldest niece was heading into work as a physician’s’ assistant in a hospital in NYC. We ended up talking less about Corona and laughing more about the silly backgrounds that they were all putting on their screens. My parents were trying to keep up with it all and enjoyed every second of the silliness. I did, too. What an unusual way to celebrate Easter, but what a beautiful way to celebrate Easter.

I’m grateful.

Much love,

Lydia xo