Spring at Home, in My Kitchen, and Closet

Willow branches, a spring table, green minestrone, and updating an outfit for spring with a bandana.

Well, we made it. It’s officially spring!

How are you all feeling about that? I am full of optimism. You might know that I’m not generally a fan of spring here on the Maine coast. It often feels like a continuation of winter — cold, gray, and brown.

This year, though, our winter was snowy. I loved it, but now that the snow has melted, even though it is still chilly, I can feel the shift.

Monday we had a classic storm — wet, gusty, and gray. It hadn’t rained like that since last fall. And as strange as it might sound, it felt like spring to me.

As the rain washed away the last vestiges of snow, I was inspired to clean, purge, and lighten — and then fill in with a few small spring additions.

Today on the blog I’m sharing branches, bunnies, and bandanas. A spring table that will transition easily to Easter, plus a fresh but cozy soup.

I’m ready for all of it.

At Home: Willow Branches, Bunnies, and a Spring Table

After days, weeks, and months spent inside during the winter, the house can start to feel stale. Stuff accumulates. Dust and pet hair settle into the corners of every surface. What started out as “cozy” in the fall starts to feel stuffy. And somehow, a few remnants of holiday decor still linger.

On Monday all of a sudden I was done with it all. So I got to work cleaning, purging, and putting things away. I dusted, vacuumed, and swept. Wiped the pot rack with Goo Gone, pared down my large collection of wooden cooking utensils, and packed away the remaining winter layers — fur throws, decorative wooden skis, and, yes, two tiny Christmas trees.

And then I added back a few select elements for spring.

Living Room

The changes to the living room were small. I am still loving the bright blues of the floral pillow covers I sewed in January (you can read more about them here). I kept the plaid wool throw for still-chilly days. It contrasts nicely with the florals.

On the coffee table, I swapped in a candle with a fresher scent, turned to a new page in the design book I have displayed there, and added a glass vase of faux white roses.

Even though the artificial snowdrops were a recent addition to the mantel, I am done with anything that has “snow” in the name. In their place, I filled a bright blue Pewabic pottery vase (a Christmas gift from my son and daughter-in-law) with wild willow branches. The large fuzzy buds on gnarled stems are the first sign of spring here.

Dining Area

In the dining area, I used a similarly light hand.

More willow branches in two of the antique blue-and-white jugs on the mantel — their untamed shape a perfect reflection of our wild spring here on the coast. And since Easter is only a few weeks away, I couldn’t resist adding a few of my vintage flocked bunnies. They are cute without being overly sweet and always bring a smile to my face.

Over in the hutch, I tucked some more traditional pussy willow branches into Tobey’s hat. That’s all that was needed to usher spring into this corner.

On the dining table, though, I went for more of a statement with a brightly patterned floral block print cloth in shades of pale blue and yellow, with deep brown and indigo accents to ground the palette while it still doesn’t quite look or feel like spring outside. I placed yellow pillar candles in the glass hurricanes. My trusty stack of wooden bowls continues to keep watch in the center of the table.

This table can easily transition to Easter with the addition of some spring blooms and a pretty place setting. My daughter Leah is coming for a visit that weekend, and I can’t wait to spend some one-on-one time together.

I made reservations for brunch at the acclaimed Alna Store on Easter Sunday, but I couldn’t resist setting an easy, festive table to share with all of you. Who knows, maybe we will use it for dinner.

The Spode Queen’s Bird plates were our “good” dishes when I was growing up. The antique pressed glass goblets were my mom’s. I have had the artificial flowers in the centerpiece for years. You can see that it doesn’t take much to set a nice table.

On a similar note, you don’t have to make big changes to your home for them to be meaningful. Swapping one thing for another, adding a few branches here, turning the page in a book there — that is often all you need to do to make your spaces feel fresh as you move through the year.

From My Closet: The Bandana Trend for Spring

A single accessory can transition an outfit to spring too.

Have you noticed that this seems to be the season of the bandana? They are showing up all over social media and on retail websites. I, for one, am more than ready to purchase my ticket and jump on the bandana train.

Of course, bandanas have been around forever, but this year there are so many great options to choose from — traditional prints in fresh colors, pretty florals, block prints, and even some quirky designs.

How to style them? Tie one around your neck — folded and crisply knotted or loose and casual. It’s an easy way to create a new look with a sweater, denim shirt, or white tee you’ve had in your closet for years. And I read once that a pop of color and pattern near your face can brighten your complexion. After a long, dark winter, I can certainly use all the brightening I can get.

You can also tie a bandana around the strap of your purse or bag, or wear one as a headband. My vintage Bean bag has been hanging in the entry holding mittens and gloves all winter. I knotted a classic silk navy-and-white bandana to the strap, and now she’s gussied up and ready to be put back into rotation for summer.

For this post, I did a bit of “bandana research” (aka online shopping) and found a number of fun ones to link for you. I ended up ordering a Liberty floral and a set of three cheery block prints.

You can embrace the bandana trend by shopping the links below.

These two small business websites have many unique designs: Handker and Heading

In the Kitchen: A Spring Green Minestrone

When it comes to cooking this time of year, I look for foods that are both warming and fresh. Pastas with spring veggies. Soups that come together quickly instead of simmering on the stove all day. And recipes that include bright notes like lemon, ginger, and fresh herbs.

This week I made a NYT Cooking Spring Minestrone soup that ticks all the boxes — seasonal asparagus and peas, baby kale or spinach added at the last minute, and chopped fresh ginger for a bit of a kick.

I added cannellini beans for extra substance and protein, along with a squeeze of lemon juice to sharpen the flavors.

NYT Cooking is generally my go-to for recipes. The annual subscription fee is well worth it for me, but I know that not all of you can access the recipes I share. So I am also linking two green minestrone versions I found on Pinterest:

Spring Green Minestrone from Defined Dish

Spring Green Minestrone from Lavender & MacaronsSpring Green Minestrone from Lavender & Macarons

These both have some similarities to and differences from the NYT Cooking version. The first recipe includes cannellini beans and lemon, like I added, but no asparagus. Instead of ginger, it uses miso and dill, which gives it a different underlying flavor. The second has fennel, carrots, potatoes, asparagus, peas, and cannellini beans, but lacks the brighter elements of lemon and ginger.

And this brings me to my philosophy of cooking — sometimes I follow a recipe to a tee, and other times I use it as a starting point, adapting it to suit my own tastes. Cooking, like decorating, is a creative process. Don’t be afraid to make a recipe (or your home, for that matter) your own.

Bon appétit!

This Week Into Next

The efforts of transitioning to spring made for another productive week — in a fun way.

Not so fun: as part of my cleaning and purging, I said farewell to a few houseplants. Despite my best efforts, they just weren’t doing well. Another schefflera succumbed to brown scale, sigh. Getting rid of plants is always hard for me, but sometimes you have to accept that they don’t all thrive.

On to a sweeter subject, this weekend is Maine Maple Syrup Sunday Weekend, an annual rite of early spring here in Maine. Sugar shacks across the state open to the public with tastings, demos, and tours. It’s always a fun day, driving the back roads and tromping through mud in search of sweet liquid amber. You can read all about my experience a few years ago here (including some delicious maple syrup recipes).

And then next week I am off to Florida for a short visit. I’m looking forward to warmer temps, breaking in some of my new spring clothes, and, of course, precious time spent with old friends. Wish me luck with my airport travels. I’m flying out of small airports on both ends, so hopefully I won’t encounter the TSA issues that have been all over the news.

You likely won’t hear from me again until the first Saturday in April. (April already?!)

Until then, be well, friends!