Yesterday after church we came home and took a family picture (doesn’t T1 look stylin in his Easter outfit?)
And then I got myself barefroot and aproned and spent the next 6 1/2 hours in the kitchen making a grand feast (no really, we took the above photo at 12:40 and I didn’t take pictures of the completed table-scape until 7:10).
I haven’t shown you my apron yet have I? My mom made it for me and I L-O-V-E it.
My favorite detail is of course the That Wife girl hanging out on the pocket (with a strand of pearls and everything!)
And that she mixed and matched the prints of the ties in back.
After many, many hours of stirring and chopping and kneading (and laughing/crying my way through several programs on The Mormon Channel) it was finally ready to eat!
We dined on:
Black Bean Soup from The Bride and Groom Cookbook. Similar recipe here.
Whole Wheat Rolls from The Laurel’s Kitchen Bread Book. Similar recipe here. Though if you want to do some 100% whole grain cooking I highly recommend the Laurel’s Kitchen book, as a lot of recipes you find are only partial whole wheat. I also really love the King Arthur Whole Grain Baking book, though I’ve only checked it out from the library and haven’t purchased it yet. That’s the one to get if you’re interested in making desserts. 
Asparagus Mimosa from The Bride and Groom Cookbook. Similar recipe here.
Mark Bittman’s Puerto Rican Roast
And we treated ourselves to some sparkling grape juice as well. It was a lot of work and I still have some dishes to work on as soon as I hit publish for this post, but while we were eating That Husband looked at me 3 or 4 different times and thanked me for all the work I had put into the meal and told me it really helped Easter feel extra special.
It was a wonderful weekend and our time overall was a beautiful celebration of Jesus Christ and what He did for us. I hope that my fellow Christian friends are feeling the same way!
April 25th, 2011 on 9:54 am
I love that family picture! You look so beautiful. T1 looks adorable. I love his outfit! Your dinner looks awesome. I wish I had taken pictures of our meal! We had a bunch of people over and it was really fun, but really busy!
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April 25th, 2011 on 10:17 am
What a wonderful meal! Isn’t it such a huge sense of accomplishment to create something so beautiful and tasty? And your family looks so cute. Love the picture!
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April 25th, 2011 on 10:19 am
Nice work on the Easter feast! Happy Husband comments are really all we need after a long day of cooking.
I like how your hair is all wavy too, very pretty.
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April 25th, 2011 on 11:14 am
Salivating! That looks like a delicious meal. And you are really looking skinny and fab. Your face really is noticeably thinner — it’s a striking difference!
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April 25th, 2011 on 11:20 am
Good looking family! Happy late Easter.
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April 25th, 2011 on 11:55 am
You go girl! You put way more effort into your feast than I did into mine (and I felt fantastic — so I can’t imagine how good you must have felt) Oh, and tip: invite some people over! They can bring side dishes. Though there is a sense of accomplishment when you’re putting everything out on the table.
Your hair looks great!
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Jenna Reply:
April 25th, 2011 at 12:31 pm
Oh I know I really should invite people over. I just get nervous that my dishes won’t turn out because I’m always trying new things
. Like with this meal, the meat really didn’t cook the way it should. It was okay, but not that great. I guess I’m always thinking I want to practice more before we have guests over?
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Jackie Reply:
April 25th, 2011 at 1:29 pm
We tried that but everyone already had plans! We were just lonely newlyweds, haha.
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April 25th, 2011 on 12:49 pm
Best family photo yet. I HEART your jacket and your apron … and your hair all curly!! You look as happy as I’ve ever seen. What a beautiful day.
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April 25th, 2011 on 12:50 pm
Pretty outfit! Happy Easter!
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April 25th, 2011 on 1:17 pm
Jenna, you look amazing. You can really see the weight loss in that photo! The meal looks delish as well. Oh and the apron. Love!
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April 25th, 2011 on 1:31 pm
That apron is darling!
I worked all day Saturday cooking/baking and cleaning. We were going to go to the Sunday night vigil, but come 10pm we were still doing laundry! So we just went Sunday morning instead and had brunch when we got home. Then all I had to do was roast a chicken (easier than it sounds, I’ve realized) and do potatoes and asparagus. It was great!
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April 25th, 2011 on 1:36 pm
I love love your apron. Do you think your mom would be willing to share where she got the pattern? I’d love to do something similar. I hate the one we have at home.
The food looks great. It is indeed a lot of work but it looks totally worth it. Happy (belate) Eater.
Mu husband was working all day so we didn’t really do anything.
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Jenna Reply:
April 25th, 2011 at 9:11 pm
Knowing my mom its probably several patterns pieced together
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Gwen Reply:
September 18th, 2011 at 11:14 am
My mom made me a similar apron by combining two simplicity patterns together…and it really is very simple to put together! I’m going to make a couple more with her help!
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April 25th, 2011 on 2:06 pm
Wow - your dinner looks amazing. I had to click that asparagus mimosa recipe, because as far as I knew a mimosa was orange juice and champagne, and asparagus didn’t quite fit in to that equation!
Also, that apron is ADORABLE!
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April 25th, 2011 on 2:33 pm
These are such great pictures! I love those shoes and I really love that apron. SO cute!! What a yummy feast!
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April 25th, 2011 on 3:48 pm
Hi!
So I think this is the first time I commented on your blog, but today I just had to for two reasons:
1. T1′s outfit is so, so cute! What an adorable son you have!
2. How did you get your hair all tousled like that? I need to know your secret. It looks great!
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Jenna Reply:
April 25th, 2011 at 7:04 pm
I curled it by wrapping strands of hair around the barrel instead of clamping them to the barrel and spinning it around. Does that make sense? There is a scene on Little Women where Amy (I think) is curling Jo’s hair and did it the way I did. Haha, I don’t know if that helps
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Lea Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 9:07 am
Ahh! I love LW! The scene where she burns the hair? I think that was Jo curling Meg’s hair. It’s so funny, I totally do that too and because of that very scene. (Wrap curl, not frying my hair…)
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April 25th, 2011 on 3:56 pm
I’m back. Question - is the LDS church service any different on Easter?
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Jenna Reply:
April 25th, 2011 at 7:02 pm
It’s still 3 hours as always, but the third hour was devoted to Easter and the man and woman from our congregation who were assigned to speak did a beautiful job!
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April 25th, 2011 on 5:53 pm
Gah! I love the apron! (I’m a sucker for cute aprons. Luckily, I have a Grandma that feed my addiction.) And you look fantabulous.
As a Catholic, Easter is a huge deal. I went to the Vigil Mass, which started at 9pm, and didn’t get home until 2:30am! The Mass ended after midnight, but there was a huge party with tons of food at the parish hall afterwords. It was such a joyous celebration. Perfect.
Happy Easter Season, Jenna!
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April 25th, 2011 on 7:49 pm
You look beautiful, T1 looks like such a little hottie, and your hubs scruffy look is HOT! You guys are a great looking family!
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April 25th, 2011 on 7:58 pm
Lovely!
Where is your dress from?
Was that wine you had with dinner?
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Jenna Reply:
April 25th, 2011 at 9:13 pm
Not wine, though we had a fun time joking that it was
. It’s Welch’s sparkling grape juice.
I’m a bit embarrassed to say that the dress is Badgley Mishka. It’s one of my few purchases from sites like Rue La La and Gilt and I’m not used to quoting designer names when people ask where I bought things from!
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April 25th, 2011 on 8:19 pm
Do you SEE you in that first photo? Your legs are so strong and your face is so slim! I am totally impressed with your dinner. We had a lovely Mexican brunch
Maybe next year!
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April 25th, 2011 on 9:28 pm
Great job Jenna!
I thought it was terribly sweet that your hubby thanked you
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April 26th, 2011 on 6:20 am
Helllllllo! You look fabulous!! Wow!
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April 26th, 2011 on 11:23 am
Wow, Jenna, the weight loss is SHOWING. Your face, your arms, your waist-you look really different!! I’m so proud of you!!
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May 13th, 2011 on 7:22 am
you look awesome! i seriously took a double take thinking you were nicole richie. amazing. i’m totally inspired by you!
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