I just spent the long Easter weekend visiting my friend Clarabella in Mississippi, and a grand time was had indeed. I’m a Christmas Eve Catholic at best, so normally I forget to remember that Easter even exists. I only tend to remember it when someone asks what my plans are for the holiday and I’m left fumbling, all like, “Um, when is Easter again?” Talk about egg on your face!
(Sorry. I had to.)
I secretly think religious folks use this question as a way to try to find out whether someone they don’t know well is also religious. Sinful, childless, atheist sluts never have plans for Easter; righteous and wholesome people always do. Well, I was happy to have plans this year so I could thwart any such conversations. Of course, mostly I was excited to head out of town and see Clarabella and family. Her son is almost 5 now, and I hadn’t seen him in almost a year. As of now, The Dude is able to educate me on the names of dinosaurs I’d never even heard of (do YOU know what a quetzlcoatlus is?) and is bringing home addition and subtraction worksheets from his preschool. Crazy, right? The Dude is also newly obsessed with Star Wars and received an AWESOME light saber from Nana and the Easter Bunny — a situation I found to be super entertaining. It’s just cool that something his parents loved at his age is something he loves now. This gives me hope that, should I ever reproduce, if I have a sarcastic and cantankerous teenager, he or she may still wind up falling in love with Harold and Maude just like I did.
Anyway, C and I had big plans to enjoy the weekend, and it started off by buying The Big One. We finally decided to spring for the giant bottle of Bulleit Bourbon, which, at a whopping 1.75L, is more than double the normal sized bottle. While we did put a hurt on it, we came nowhere near finishing the thing. Not for lack of trying.
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.![[97/366] Snackbar](https://i0.wp.com/farm6.staticflickr.com/5072/7052456141_60d85744f3_z.jpg)
On Friday night, we merrily ate and drank our way through town. I tried some amazing (and amazingly spicy) green Thai curry that was so hot it made my entire face and neck red. Every now and then I think that’s good for the constitution! I also finally got to go to one of their favorite bars/restaurants, Snackbar, which has wonderful, creative cocktails on the menu with ingredients like jalapeño, elder flower, and bacon bitters. (I avoided the latter, of course.) It’s definitely the kind of place that caters to people who like their beverages to offer a little something more. Oh, and the truffle oil fries were amazing. You know how I feel about fries.
![[98/366] Three](https://i0.wp.com/farm8.staticflickr.com/7106/6909419228_90f10396de_z.jpg)
Throughout the weekend, we also sat around making friendship bracelets just like it was middle school all over again. I’m pretty confident these things are coming back in style, you guys, so you’re going to want to hop on the trend as soon as possible. Not only is it a fairly zen, focused kind of activity, but it’s also so much easier to do these days! You can finally learn how to make the fancy chevron and diamond patterned bracelets, thanks to the magic of the internet. When I was growing up, I didn’t know anyone who could make the chevron bracelets, and now I can. I’m perhaps inordinately proud of this.
Some friends in the neighborhood were taking care of the most adorable little baby bunny for a couple of days, so he could visit the Easter party and hang out with the kids before moving on to his new home. Needless to say, the grownups had plenty of fun snorgling this cute little guy, too. If I didn’t already have my hands full with a dog and a cat who can’t get along, I might have tried to smuggle him back to Alabama with me.
![[99/366] Easter Champagne Cocktail](https://i0.wp.com/farm8.staticflickr.com/7116/6911530684_993500b875_z.jpg)
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Sunday involved an absolutely lovely Easter party at another friend’s house, where I got inspired by the amazing food and drinks — flower cocktail garnishes and an asparagus tart will be coming to a party near me sometime very soon, people. (Many of these photos stolen from Clarabella — thank you!)
The kids were running around goofing off and searching for Easter eggs, while the parents enjoyed a fantastic lunch, champagne coctails, and amusing conversations. And everybody snuck in a few cuddles with the bunny rabbit, too. So, secular Easter turned out to be pretty great after all. I suppose we just have to go back to its original roots so that we don’t forget the real reason for the season: spring, flowers, baby animals, and champagne cocktails. Am I right?
Raveling Out 
This is my favorite story EVER. I’m so glad you came. I’m so glad we had such a good time. All I can think to say is..YAY! And when do we do it again?
YES! How awesome would it be if we could do this, like, monthly? Better yet, y’all should get jobs in Auburn/Birmingham/Atlanta JUST A FRIENDLY SUGGESTION 🙂
It was SO great having you at the house on Easter.
Thanks! I had a fantastic time!
I laughed so hard I snorted at this: “Sinful, childless, atheist sluts never have plans for Easter; righteous and wholesome people always do.” It’s so true! People kept asking me what I was doing for Easter, and I was like, umm, laundry? I did end up driving down to my parents’ house that night to spend a couple of days with them while my husband is on a forever-long business trip, but it didn’t have a whole lot to do with Easter. Even when I was a kid, it just wasn’t one of the bigger holidays for us, only partly because the idea of eating a chocolate bunny made me cry. What if he could FEEEEEL you biting his ears off?
Once again, shocking that I became a vegetarian, I know.
See, I knew I was on to something there! I think Easter is a good holiday to do if you have kids (case in point: the kids at this party had a blast) or if it’s of religious significance to you, but otherwise it’s an easily forgettable holiday. I am liking the new emphasis on candy and champagne, though. But I can make that happen year round, right?
Take comfort fellow heathen in knowing that you are not alone in using Easter as an excuse for a decent holiday and an opportunity to eat and drink (drinking is permitted during Easter, isn’t it?). I have to say that I’ve never really tried bourbon. I’m a scotch whiskey guy who is an unrepentant adherent to Highland Park scotch whiskey. My family is from Deerness, Orkney so I was born with a genetic predisposition to Scotch. What can you advise about a decent bourbon? The only one I know is Southern Comfort, but I’m not even sure that’s a true bourbon…so I’m a true bourbon novice.
In my younger days, I also rocked the Star Wars toys market. I have the Millennium Falcon, AT-AT, Taunton etc… etc… and all the action figures you could ever imagine. I wonder sometimes if the collection is worth anything. Perhaps I’m sitting on a gold mine!
I have a tip for you regarding your cherry tomato plant. If you want awesome tasting tomatoes, fertilize that plant every two weeks with a tomato specific liquid fertilizer. The real secret, however, is to dissolve a tablespoon of epsom salts in 1/2 a litre of water and apply that to the tomato plant every three weeks once it starts producing flowers. You will, afterwards, have awesome tasting tomatoes. Also, every month, apply about 1 inch of compost to the pot. I think you should also re-pot that plant. Purchase a nice 12 inch diameter pot (or larger) and replant with some good earth.
Happy growing!
Oh, Easter drinking is most definitely permitted!
Here are my Bourbon recommendations:
In the mid-price range (for me, $20-25 US for 0.75 L, the standard size bottle):
1) Bulleit Bourbon as seen above. This is smooth drinking with a slightly rye-like bite to it. It’s my standard purchase when I don’t want to splurge.
2) Four Roses Small Batch. This is a sentimental favorite because I toured the distillery and went on a tasting with some friends. The small batch was my favorite variety there: it was smooth and warm and easy to sip, with the bonus of being made with the K and O strains of yeast (my initials). You can read about my visit to the brewery, too!
In the pricier range (for me, $35 and up for 0.75 L)
1) Basil Hayden. This is my personal favorite and I’d love to be able to spend this much on the regular, but I can’t. It’s about $40 here. Anyway, it’s super smooth and warm, with a bit of spice to it, and very easy-sipping.
2) Maker’s Mark. The classic high-end stuff, available everywhere and always a great pick. If I want something “fancy” and can’t get BH where I am, I’ll get this. BUT, if either of my low-end picks is available, I’ll get them instead. This is always good, though.
Thanks for the tomato tips! I’ve bought a bigger pot for it and will see if I see any tomato fertilizer next time I’m in the garden store. I’ve heard epsom salts are great. Time to get some!