The Iowan Woman?

First of all, if you haven't heard of the pioneer woman or her blog, immediately stop reading this and explore her Website. She is amazingly creative, hilarious and makes yummy food. Don't go there if you are counting calories, but if you are seeking deliciousness, she's your gal! I love just reading her stories and recipes as she gives you each step along with a picture for all of her how-to recipes. Seriously, devote some time and fall in love with her as I have.

Anyway, as some of you Facebook stalkers already know, I was in need of a little arts and crafts time last Friday and thought Hobby Lobby would be a great place to start. With all of their Easter merchandise already 50% off (I know, what store would put their holiday items on sale before the holiday??) it was fun, and inexpensive, to be creative. Inspired my my dear friend MaryGene's Easter family traditions, I know an Easter Egg tree centerpiece was definitely one of my goals. After searching my apartment for items I already had, all I could come up with was some random fake moss that I had saved from that horrible Drama Scene Design class I took senior year thinking it would be a great opportunity for an easy "A" and my creativity to flourish! Well, I must say, my creativity was forced on a daily basis as I learned how to build a whole set on a small scale for multiple plays. Many all-nighters of gluing 4-poster mahogany beds together for Polly Pocket later, all I have left to say for it is a bag of moss I used on a set that had a magic tree. It's amazing the things we do to gain a Liberal Arts degree.

Welp, one trip to Hobby Lobby later, I gathered a bag of Easter themed peanut M&M's, 6 tiny chicks made of feathers, a metal watering can to house my tree, twine and little wreaths made for dollhouse door wreaths I would later change into nests for my chickees. As MaryGene has already provided you with the steps to make an adorable tree, I will show you my commitment to her ideas. Of course, it had to be snowing the one day I wanted to go gather sticks from our non-existent trees in Iowa. Graham just happened to think this was hilarious and snapped a couple of pictures from our deck. Can you see me??

Now I will show you how to make my little chick place card holders you can use for Easter! I thought these would be the perfect addition to my "tablescape" when the day rolls around and Graham's family is here! Yay! We are so close!

Step one: Unpack Chicks, M&M's, and wreaths. You'll also need to heat the hot glue gun. Mason jar not required.

Step 2: Hot glue Peanut M&M's together to cover the circumference of each "nest". It's amazing how much these things look like eggs :).

Step 3: Hot glue the Peanut M&M cluster to the top of the nest.

Step 4: Hot glue the chick towards the back of the nest to provide a spot for the place card when the day comes! That's all! You're done! (Doesn't hot glue just make your day because it dries so fast.) BEWARE: Cracking may occur in M&M's because of the heat--you must be gentle.

Here's the final product! Hope you think they are as adorable as I do :).

When you put the tree together, hang the eggs and add moss to branches and around top of watering can) here's what you get:

All craftiness aside, I just realized that I hadn't posted any pictures from Graham's birthday! For tradition's sake, I made him his favorite cheesecake his mom usually makes (mine wasn't nearly as good...I guess I don't have the mom touch yet) and some cupcakes! (Which, if I'm being honest, were a little overdone.) They were in soccer themed cupcake cups, don't worry. Here are a couple pictures for you to enjoy.

We are also heading back to St. Louis this weekend for a little UNI action! As I'm sure you heard, UNI picked off the OVERALL number one seed, Kansas this weekend! What amazing win for our program. No one knew who we were before this weekend, and at least a few more are paying attention! We have tickets for the next two games, so let's hope that we can win them both! Go Panthers! What a great story.

Hoppy Early Easter from Joanna and Graham!!