So it’s Easter Sunday, and we are here to say “Happy Easter!” to everyone who loves Easter, and loves holidays, and loves Whimsies, and (most of all) loves any occasion for dressing up.
We Whimsies have seized this opportunity to put on our “Sunday Best,” which, we sadly realized, is not as “best” as it could be. For Christmas we have lots of fancy frills and velvets and satins, but when we went through our wardrobe, we discovered that though we have many cute and comfortable dresses, none of them are extremely fancy.
Well, that’s just fine with us, actually. Whimsies are by nature extremely innovative and resourceful, and who wants to be stifled in tight, stiff uncomfortable clothing, anyway?
So, in true Whimsie fashion, we have taken our somewhat plain Springtime dresses and dressed them up with bows and shoes and socks and hats, and when all is said and done, I believe our Easter Portrait is most becoming.
But let’s take a moment to break it all down and see what each one of us is doing to celebrate this season.
I’ll go first, and as you can see, I’m reworking an old favorite, our zebra striped dress. Who doesn’t feel simply fine in an animal print? So lively, so much fun! But you’ll notice I enhance my look with a pretty pair of patent leather shoes, and how could anyone possibly resist the lace trim on these fancy white socks?
It’s been so very cold here in Whimsieville for so very long this Winter, but now that the weather is warming up to Springtime temps, I’m perfectly willing to have my long unruly locks confined in a rather untamed high ponytail. The other Whimsies sometimes tell me that they envy my long and plentiful hair, and I can see how those who don’t have to deal with this crazy mane might think it a blessing. Well, to tell the truth, most of the time I do indeed consider my hair a blessing, but when the weather gets warm, getting it off my neck feels like heaven. So I complete my Easter look with a high crazy ponytail. I am ready to go!!
Now we look at Tootsie, who I must admit, took a bit of coaxing to get her back into a dress. You’ll remember that Toots has spent literally decades in the same dress, when what she really wanted more than anything was to wear her dungarees and run barefoot and climb trees. So asking her to put on a dress again for this portrait took some doing…until she saw this pretty pink shift, with the whimsical detail of several colorful ruffles.
As soon as she put on this dress, Tootsie declared that it was just as comfortable as any pair of dungarees she had ever worn! And not only that, but it paired so perfectly with this charming little pink hat, the closest thing to an “Easter Bonnet” that we could find in our collection of hats.
And hasn’t our new friend Tootsie so quickly learned how to work a hat? Look at that adorably shy expression, with just the slightest smile. It’s almost hard to believe that Tootsie has not spent the last several decades practicing her modeling looks in front of a mirror.
And oh! Did I happen to mention those sparkly pink sneakers? Now, sneakers are not usually though of as Easter finery, but with this outfit, don’t they look so perfect? If you ask me, this outfit says “Why can’t I be fancy, feminine and ready for fun and play, all at the same time?” Well, looking at Tootsie, I’m certain that anyone can clearly see that the answer to that question is a resounding: “Yes! You can!”
Tootsie wears the pink dress at Trixie’s suggestion. Yes, Trixie is being generous and kind to her new friend, but there is also a method to her madness. She has given the privledge of pink to Toots in exchange for permission to wear the creamy satin dress which Tootsie wore when she first came to us, several months ago now.
Actually, there was never a question that Tootsie would let any of us wear her old dress. She is only too happy to be out of it! And Trixie is only too happy to be in it! Here Trixie keeps it simple with the cream colored dress, a simple green bow, and golden ballerina slipper-type shoes. Bold Trixie has even opted to wear her shoes without socks, claiming the look is that much more elegant. Today, Trixie is our Pale Princess.
Finally, let’s look at Tessie, who revives the old classic of a Summer dress with a floppy, fringy bonnett. Not exactly an “Easter Bonnet,” but it works so well with this simple white dress. 
Wait! Did I say “simple”? Not so fast, my friend! You’ll notice that Tessies pretty little dress features tiny red polka dots, and more importantly, a jaunty gingham flower and bumble bee. Or is that a ladybug? Either way, this outfit screams, “Hello, Springtime! Hello and Good-Bye, because guess what? Already…I’m ready for Summer!”
And once again, how can I be forgetting to mention the shoes? Oh, the shoes! So cute, white patent leather with those huge festive white ribbon bows! If there was any doubt that this is a holiday outfit, you can put away all those doubts when you see the size of the bows on these shoes!
So that’s what it’s like to be a Whimsie at Easter—all dressed up and nowhere to go…except into the beautifully green fields of Whimsieville, where the bees are just now beginning to buzz (on more than just Tessie’s dress!) and the flowers are beginning to bloom, and the sun is shining so warmly today, that we will probably spend a good deal of our afternoon just running around and enjoying the outdoors.
Later today, I’m sure Tootsie will kick of her sparkly sneakers to run around in the grass, and start looking for trees to climb. The rest of us will take the dinosaurs out for a walk, so they can enjoy the fresh grass, and their favorite delicacy–-weeds. Mr. Squee will most likely spend a good deal of time with us outdoors as well, since he too loves to eat grass and weeds (even though he is not a dinosaur.) Here you can see how already, as we are attempting to have our Easter Portrait perfected, Mr. Squee can’t help but try to get himself in on the action!
By the end of the day, surely we will all be so tired, we’ll be glad to come in with the setting sun, and settle down to a treat of chocolate covered marshmallow eggs, and jellybeans and peeps. And if we’re very lucky, Miss Chrissy will save us some root beer to wash it all down with! How could Easter possibly get any better than that?
We’ve all had a wonderful Christmas here in Whimsieville, but now it’s almost the New Year, so yesterday I decided to sit down with the Whimsies to discuss the time-honored tradition of New Year’s Resolutions. The Whims know all about Resolutions, of course, just like the rest of us, but are usually so carefree, they don’t always feel compelled to make them. However, this year, because of our long conversation over steaming cups of hot chocolate stirred with candy canes, they got all hyped up about making some New Year’s Resolutions. After careful consideration, each has come up with a single idea about what they would like to do better in the new year. I could go ahead and tell you all about it, but I think it would be much better if I let them tell you in their own words.
TILLIE: READ MORE BOOKS!
Whimsieville itself is such a magical place, but it is not the only magical place in this wonderful world. Books can send us to so many wonderful and magical places, if only we let them. All it takes is that first quiet moment when you take the book down from the shelf, open its spine, and jump right in. Then you’re hooked.
TESSIE: MORE TIME WITH DINOSAURS
Now, having said all that, I don’t want to give anyone the impression that I’m a slob! Because I’m not! It’s just that sometimes I get so wrapped up in what I’m doing that I just keep going, and keep doing, and 
don’t really take a moment to think about the trail of stuff I’m leaving behind myself. I always go back eventually and clean up and “put away my toys,” so to speak, but I realize I don’t always do it as quickly and as considerately as I should, in view of the fact that there are many other people and Whimsies and dinosaurs that live here with me in Whimsieville—to say nothing of Mr. Squee, who is always so proper and clean, a “well-groomed gentleman,” as Miss Chrissy is always calling him. (And by the way, in case you’re wondering, Mr. Squee’s Resolution is to “Get More Rest” in the coming year.) Now it’s not that Mr. Squee would ever say anything to me about my mess—like the others do. But I know it must bother him as much as it bothers everyone else.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. The point is that once again it is time for Putting on Thinking Caps and coming up with some wonderful foods to both impress and delight the other members of their family. As we Whimsies hear them talking about what they should bring, we couldn’t care less if they decide on Tuna-Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes or Pigs in a Blanket. But when it comes to the matter of SWEETS, our whimsical ears perk up, and we are all about trying to help them decide. Not only because we want their family members to be both impressed and delighted by their wonderful choices, but also because we know that if by any chance they happen to make just a wee bit more than will actually fit on the serving platter, some of it will stay home, and we’ll get to try a few bites.
Tillie has chosen this dessert—but don’t ask me to say it, because it’s spelled P F E FF E R N U SS E. Actually, don’t ask me to spell it—or say it! The book tells us that this is a German version of “pepper nut” cookies, so we’re guessing that word must be German, and we don’t know how to speak German. At first I was not altogether sure “pepper nut” cookies sounded like a good idea, but Tillie persuaded me when she read the recipe, which includes cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and firmly packed brown sugar. MMMMMmmmm…….Of course, the recipe also includes a half a teaspoon of ground black pepper, which seems very strange in something that is supposed to be a SWEET. But I guess I would be willing to try it. Who says us Whimsies are not adventuresome spirits??
As for Trixie, she’s campaigning for these Mexican Wedding Cakes. Hey, wait! Are those some Pfeffernusse nestled there in between the Wedding Cakes? Sure looks like it to me! But if you read this recipe, you’ll see that in addition to your usual flour and butter, these sweets also call for masa harina which is some kind of flour made from CORN. Yep. Corn. I’m not so sure about that. I would really have to wonder what these little cakes would taste like, with corn in the mixture. I think perhaps when Trixie chose this recipe above all the others in the book, she was trying to outdo Tillie’s international sense of adventure in choosing Pfeffernusse. I think Trixie must be thinking more along the lines of “impressing” the other Christmas Eve guests, rather than “delighting” them. Though you have to admit, those little cakes dipped in chocolate and covered in sprinkles do in fact look mighty delightful! So! I might be willing to give the Mexican Wedding Cakes a go, as well…
Except for this! My favorite recipe from this book of Holiday Baking is Raspberry Linzer Heart Cookies. Oh, don’t they look so adorable! I’m not really sure what “Linzer” is all about (another German cookie term?) but I certainly understand Rasberries and Hearts! If Miss Chrissy and The Man were to bring these cookies to the Christmas Eve noshing, the cookies may not scream “Merry Christmas!” the same way candy canes and cordial cherries do, but they would certainly say, “Baked with LOVE.” Holiday or not, there is never a time when raspberries are not appropriate. And delicious. These cookies also contain a good deal of walnuts, which are not a favorite Whimsie food when eaten on their own, but in a recipe with lots of sugar and butter and raspberry jam, I imagine they would compliment all the other flavors very nicely, thank you very much!
Of course the very best of all these recipes, we all heartily agree, is the basketful of Gingerbread Men on the cover of the book. All of them (except one) are smiling so happily, as if they have no idea they are about to be consumed in a flurry of holiday happiness! Well, it’s happy for the people who get to EAT these Gingerbread men, I guess…but NOT so much for the Gingerbread Men themselves! But then, maybe (I wonder…) if you happen to be a Gingerbread man (or woman), do you begin your short but happy life, understanding that your very highest purpose is simply to provide joy to others? Do all these Gingerpeople instinctively understand that,,,except for Mr. Startled Bowtie?
When I first saw this Whimsie, her appearance was so intriguing, I knew I just had to write about her. She has a fresh, bright, beautiful look, which makes you sit up and take notice. I’m calling her The Christmas Peppermint Fairy Angel, because, to me, every one of those words fits her just perfectly. 
First of all, as you know, we are now getting very much closer to Christmas, and there’s something about this outfit which strikes me as so festive. True, there is nothing about her that absolutely screams “Christmas!” but still, she makes me think of the holidays. Maybe it’s all those red and white stripes. Red and white are good Christmas colors, they are the colors of candy canes, and if you close your eyes for a moment, you may not be entirely sure if this Whimsie is holding a lollipop or a candy candy. It could easily be either!
So I love her white hair. It reminds me of an Angel. (I always imagine angels have ethereal, white hair.) That’s why I call her an Angel. But I also call her a 
