In last year’s Easter posting I highlighted wonderful Easter eggs (actually eggs in general, including my collection) I’m featuring our hopping friend the Easter Bunny this year in many guises. When I was visiting Council Oak Antiques last week I found a treasure trove of Easter items that I wanted to share with you. Above is a wonderful painting of two charming rabbits sharing a cabbage leaf.
A little boy with his pet bunnies in this delightful Victorian print. Love the nostalgia.
Always peek into corners and shelves where you will discover hidden treasures and look offseason as well you will find adds to your collections year round.
Oops…do I see a lamb by a basket of eggs…well this post is celebrating Easter and the arrival of Spring after all!! And I love the cart of carrots. The vignettes of each vendor is lovingly executed.
I do have a couple of bunnies….one a Royal Crown Derby, I was lucky to visit and tour the factory on several occasions, (an upcoming post for sure!) that was given to me by a dear English friend who happened to live in Derbyshire. One of my fondest objects. Isn’t he a beauty.
Here is a cutie pie holding on to her duckie, she is a handpainted wooden fierce young lady that I acquired, many years ago, at the Randolph Street Market the March Market is this Saturday and Sunday, March 24 and 25 from 10 to 5 always the place to spend a fun day browsing the extensive collections, gaining knowledge from the vendors, sipping a delicious Bloody Mary that Candy superbly prepares for you and snacking on Artesian food. Bring your friends and make a day of it.
A Sabino piece from my collection 
A reminder to read Paisley Rabbit and the Treehouse Contest yourself and to every child, you can find. Read my review on nenasnotes posted on February 27th ,
What would Easter be without candy? Nothing, in my opinion, I give up sweets for Lent and usually stuff myself with goodies Easter Sunday I don’t see this year as being different (FYI as a child we celebrated Russian Easter as well…I thought that very, very cool and Daddy did the most incredible eggs for both Easters….again, lucky me!)
I don’t eat Peeps but they are a part of any full Easter basket, to be sure, along with rich chocolate bunnies. Yum, yum! Photos from Pinterest photo credit unknown
It seems live bunnies are wonderful pets as you can see Mike Hines, the deliciously creative florist of epochfloral, (profiled on nenasnotes on December 5, 2016) has had Murray Sparkles for eight years since he was a baby bunny, now a big boy!! The young Mike is pictured with his childhood friend, Mr. McCloud. In Mike’s words ”I’ve always been a sucker for a bunny.” Photos courtesy of Mike Hines
I found these precious plates, along with other pieces in the set, on the Williams Sonoma site, love them!!!!!
How are you celebrating Spring, Easter, Passover…..do share your traditions and perhaps a recipe or two. I think I will do a leg of lamb this year and have leftovers to do the lamb curry that I shared with you a couple of weeks ago. Easter dinner followed by lots and lots of sweets!!!!!!
All photos unless otherwise noted taken by me with my iPhone.
A week after we learned of the death of the last of the great couturiers I feel everything has been written about this extraordinary creator by those who knew him, wrote about him and treasured his memory. His creativity was unparalleled not only in the world of fashion but also in his homes and his magnificent gardens.
This photo, now in the Nena Ivon Archives at Columbia College Chicago, hung on my office wall was from the first launch. Unfortunately, like several other designer photos, the salutation has faded into oblivion over the years.
A print found at 
A beautiful sleek American Robin, I do see them occasionally. Image from Pinterest credit unknown.
A basket of Robin’s eggs photo found on Pinterest credit unknown.
A charming watercolor (one of two) of an English Robin given to me by a dear English friend who is no longer with us….I have it close to where I can constantly see it to remind me of her and our weekly Sunday chats! I found the hand carved destressed white wood frame at RSM and feel it compliments it perfectly. I love the difference between our Robins…ours sleek and their British cousins, short and stout!!!! I love both. (My photo)
One of my vignettes, I try to group like items together, here you see several variations on the bird theme, a book of poems given to me by another dear friend, two already framed pictures…the larger a lithograph print with metal frame, the small round carved wooden Italian frame surrounding a delightful miniature watercolor of a bird’s nest. The concrete bird is the lone element left from my Evanston garden (and Mom’s over two hundred English roses plus other cutting flowers!) part of the birdbath shell with a cherub (which now reside in a friend’s country estate). I used one of my iPhone filters to distress the image, I think makes it a bit moody!
Silver plated Woodcock mounted on a wooden disk.
I’ve been fascinated with paisley forever and in my very eclectic home it works perfectly in many ways from draping the back of a chair, to pillows, to the layering of authentic vintage pieces, Ralph Lauren textiles, and modern fashion shawls on my day bed (I’ll feature the “made” bed in another post, it is a pillow explosion!!!!) to many other renditions of the paisley pattern.
One of my window ledges with vintage bamboo shelves (mostly holding novels and to be read books) collectibles (of course, many treasures found at 
The elements of the top of my painted antique French daybed one of my first purchases for my room when I was in high school. One piece I would always keep. The upper right you can see a peek of the base which is a fitted sheet from a long ago Ralph Lauren linen collection (I have several just in case one wears out) the stripe is a mix of pattern (I often use it as a table cloth especially for Christmas time dinners) on the bottom left the tradition paisley pattern which layers over the stripe and the black banded piece is a challis shawl from a Gloria Sachs outfit (worked with her on many personal appearance trunk shows at Saks Fifth Avenue, Chicago). The outfit was three pieces, jacket, slim skirt and this shawl each a different paisley coordinating pattern, loved it, wore it, wish I had it now…more to the point wish I could fit into it now! At least I can enjoy, and wear the shawl!
This pillow sham is at the head of my bed and holds my guest bed pillow love the combination of paisley patterns 
Interesting assortment….actually three paisleys the base is yet another vintage fragment that I used to “upholster” a love seat in the library area of my apartment, a few of my vintage pillows and two bolsters one more vintage paisley and the smaller piece made from a watered velvet paisley that I found in a remnant bin that I also had upholstered on my antique dining chairs (my point here is don’t walk away if there are holes, tears, small amount yardage, think of how you can use them in your decor…use your imagination and creativity). The lily of the valley rug drapped over the caned settee is one of my many needlepoint projects. Most of my pieces I do from charts rather than painted pieces. I will do a story on my needlework later (of course I will!!!!!)
I showed you this pillow in another post it was a gift from my friend and former boss, Michael Hawley (you can check the nenasnotes archives on his profile) he had it made for an Antiquity piece when he was at Gumps in San Francisco, yet another of my treasures. At the moment it resides on one of aforementioned watered velvet dining chairs.
