Azaleas

Here in glorious Mobile, Alabama, the Azalea City, we are smack in the middle of Azalea season. For most of the year the Azaleas are big, green, bushy plants. And in that big, bushy state they're pretty boring. But then, just at the right time every year...they bloom! Oh my goodness! Unless you live in Mobile or have ever been to Mobile when the Azaleas are in bloom you just simply cannot imagine the magnitude of Azalea season. There is nothing like taking a drive and seeing these beautiful, colorful flowers everywhere you look! Huge clusters of magenta, fuschia, sweet baby pink and white flowers! Simply breathtaking! Now, some people will try to shape them and manicure them but listen to me people! LEAVE THEM ALONE! A typical Mobile Azalea could be as big as a car! All that said, imagine my delight when thrifting recently at the Goodwill store and I ran across this:

It's a scarf that depicts all things for which Mobile is famous. It has the Senior Bowl, Bellingrath Gardens, Oakleigh, Mobile Bay, the U. S. S. Alabama, the Junior Miss program, Mardi Gras and of course the Azalea, and more. When I ran across this scarf it made my heart skip a beat! I knew instantly what I would do with it. I would save it until just at the right moment when the Azaleas bloomed and I would do this:

I paid $2.00 for the scarf. To me it's worth so much more. I found the grapevine candy dish yesterday at an antique consignment shop for $6.00. I could not pass it up! It perfectly matches my grapevine vase that was also thrifted. Here are a few close ups of the scenes:

So long for now!

Happy Easter!

If you take these:

And add this:

You get these:

Or in different light these:

These cupcakes are made with made with Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix, which is my humble opinion, the best cake mix brand on the market! The icing is buttercream. The buttercream paired with the DH cake mix = YUM! The bagged coconut was tinted with green food coloring for the grass effect. Then I topped them with mini jelly beans. Was there some kind of secret jelly bean shortage this year? I had the hardest time finding your average, run of the mill jelly bean. Normally Wally World has gads of them but that was not the case this year. I finally found some at a grocery store this morning and they were already half off! What's up with that? I spent most of my day in the kitchen. I made the cupcakes and my dessert for tomorrow's lunch. I made the coconut cake with sour cream, sugar and coconut filing. It's best if it's allowed to sit a couple of days. I'm hoping 24 hours will do the trick. I've never made one before so I'll be anxious to taste it! It was super easy so depending on how it tastes it may be a keeper!

Our Easter weather should be beautiful! I'll leave you with one of my favorite Easter passages from the Bible:

[1] In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.[2] And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.[3] His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:[4] And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.[5] And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.[6] He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

Matthew 28:1-6.