forty days: inspiration and preparation

day seventeen

Preparing for Easter is both an interior and exterior exercise. In addition to sacrifices and additinal giving, there is the custom of Spring Cleaning and there are actual preparations for Easter itself. Our Spring Cleaning will include the completion of several projected started once upon a time. There is so much to choose from, but this week I will complete the pantry and Firstborn's room.

In the pantry, I am transferring foods from plastic to these heavy duty glass jars from IKEA and labelling them with these pretty labels from Martha Stewart.

And, of course, there is the nitty gritty wiping down of shelves, tossing outdated ingredients and restocking in time for spring cooking and baking.

Secondly, I am placing orders and shopping for the materials we will need for our Easter celebrations. Inspired by Amy's Valentine's lollipops, I have decided to give hard candy a go. I just ordered some Easter-Spring themed lollipop molds and we'll be on the hunt for a local source for the all-natural food colorings and flavorings before ordering online. Fun! I've also been hunting around for some eggy ideas at Martha Stewart's website. There is a lot there, but I'll share more detail later. In the meantime, I did purchase new Easter baskets for everyone this weekend! And now I am thinking about what children might like to find in those baskets Easter morning.

Lastly, for this week, I am determined to finish a job that has been dragging on for months now: the completion of Firstborn's room. Although curtain making will likely wait until Spring break, the painting, return of furniture, hanging of shelves and treasured items and general clean-up, I hope to finish this week. I am eager to get this cool baseball poster FB received for Christmas, framed and up on the wall (a gift inspired by his own essay on pitching):

The interior and exterior are so connected, that I know it will do my soul good to get domestic affairs in order and back on track and my daily tasks are always so much more a joy when the soul feels uplifted and well-fed.