An Elmo & Firetruck Birthday

This past Sunday was my son's second birthday party! It was a LOT of work, but I started MONTHS ago with making the decorations....I was so pleased at how it all came together. It was very special having my grandma & Mom here to celebrate with us! Here's a sneek peek of the party & I promise to post more in detail of all the decorations & goodies I made.

My 36th Birthday Party!

36.....now, I'm closer to 40 than 30! Unbelievable! So to make this passing of time more bearable....gotta throw a party! I went with a pink, black & white damask & zebra print decorations. I invited only seven friends for an intimate gathering of 8. I set up two tables outside & set a formal dinner place setting. Each setting had a cute little "Swag Bag" with each guest's name on it. Inside was a personalized zebra print necklace for each guest. I used pink roses in a glass vase as a centerpiece and little damask pails filled with pink carnations on the outer centers of the table, filling in lots of simple white candles everywhere.
The menu:
Hors d'oeuvres-toasted sliced baget with bruschetta & a love dip (cream cheese type spread)
Appetizer-shrimp green curry with jasmine rice
Main-grilled steak with chimmicurri sauce & garlic rosemary mashed potatoes, (grilled tilapia for non-meat eaters)
Dessert-Birthday cake! It came out pretty cute, a big pink bow with a zebra print....it was even pink inside by making a strawberry cake.
Also had chocolate strawberry swirl cupcakes as well.

Lots of red wine varieties! It was fun seeing what my guests selected...yummy zins, merlots, pinot noirs and a funny one called "kicking ass" ....

It was a very special night! Thanks you to my friends who drove MILES to get here....one friend drove over 7 hours & another got pulled over for speeding on her way over, what love!

A Cowboy Woody Birthday

Wow, what a fun theme to do! With Toy Story being sooooo popular now, I focused more Cowboy Woody than Buzz.

I made my first tiered & fondant cake, I think it came out pretty good for my first try. It was a lot of pressure on this cake as I wanted it extra cute & was learning as I went along.

The tables were covered in bandana & cow print fabrics. His banner was made using jute & knotted bandanas with cut out Western fonted letters for his name.

The kiddos all had cute cowboys hats to wear & a little denim goodie bag to take home. The bags were made from cuting up an old pair of jeans , sewing them into sacks, tied with a bandana print ribbon & a hot glued sherif star on top (loaded with Toy Story items).

Finishing touches included a real hail bay with a saddle, a stick horse, a rocking horse, red & white balloons & a few toy Woody dolls thrown in. Happy 2nd Birthday Little Caleb, I hope you had a rootin tootin day!

C-U-P-C-A-K-E-S!!!

Today I wanted to make an assortment of cupcakes that showed off my new skills of fondant & gum paste designs. I'm currently taking a Wilton cake decorating class & all the flowers you see here I learned how to make out of SUGAR! Yes, you could eat them! I now know how to make roses, carnations, calla lilies, mums, daisies & leaves....so cool! I'm hoping to start a little cupcake biz on the side soon, just for friends, family, etc.....hope these pics get people interested in wanting CUPCAKES at their next event!

Hosting Playgroup

My little guy has been involved in a local play-group since he was 3 months old...it's so great to see how fast our little ones have grown & how great it is to chat with other SAHMs!!! I can't believe now our little ones are coming up on their second birthdays already!!

We meet every Wednesday at someone's home. The host provides the snack/lunch... it's fun to catch up & watch our little ones interactive with their buddies! Well...today was my turn to host.

I went with a little circus theme...based on these cute paper plates & napkins I found on sale at TJ MAX. I rounded up a few of my son's "circus" animals to help display the food & make them hold little banners that titled all the food.

We had chicken & spinach quesadillas with homemade salsa, guacamole plus sour cream.....also had veggie pasta salad, animal crackers to munch on, as well as grapes & mandarin oranges. The little guys were so funny they would run up & help themselves to the grapes!

To end the lunch we had Hummingbird Cake....SOOOOO rich! The cake itself is spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger root, pineapple bits & bananas.....topped with homemade cream cheese frosting (that have 3 freakin sticks of butter & a pound of each powered sugar & cream cheese.....YIKES)


I think everyone went home full & worn out from all the playing!

TGIF!

I was in a cooking mood tonight....so dinner was SUPER Yummy! But it was the baked pears with BlueBell ice cream that make it extra special!

Or was it the Chambord Margaritas???? Have a great weekend everyone!

Party Planning Mode

I've been a bit absent for awhile ...but party planning going strong! Got a Western themed Birthday at the end of the month for a little guy named Caleb, he'll be TWO! I'm getting soooo excited how adorable everything is turning out! Hope his Mommy & the little cowboy love the big day! Stay tuned for pics :)

My birthday is NEXT month...yes, a Virgo through & though! I'm planning a small gathering of my bestest girlfriends & guy pal, Brad....I'm so EXCITED! Theme is "Chick Flicks" minus any movies.....it's going to be a dinner party with LOTS of cocktails & yummy wine! My head is buzzing with ideas for this tablescape! Invites are going out tomorrow but I've included a sneek peek!

A Classic Pooh 1st Birthday

I wanted to create the most special Birthday for my little guy...so I basically made everything decorating "The Hundred Acre Woods" for his bash. The colors were orange, lime green & blue throughout. Classic Pooh party supplies are basically nonexistent so using cut outs of Pooh book illustrations, Pooh plush toys & lots of fabric & ribbons, I think fun was had by all at "Pooh Corner"...

Playroom Design

Not a party but when Cameron woke up yesterday morning to see all his toys moved into our formal dining room....it became a party! I had so much fun choosing the organization and theme of this room. Thanks to IKEA and a few frilly touches, his playroom has a bright Frog Prince theme. It is still a work in progress & I'll post the final design as soon as I find it!

I changed out the ribbon & painted over "pink" dots to become orange on this wall frog.

The archway into the kitchen became a bit fun with this circus tent.

It's so fun to see him discover all his toys now they they are all organized and in ONE place....for the time being...lol!

Can't wait to have his little buddies over for a playdate in his new room!

Playdate Christmas Party

In December, I hosted our Mommies & babies Christmas Party...it's my MOST favorite season & the house just sparkled with all the Holiday decor. We had cranberry/champagne cocktails for the Mommies & lots of food for all! Even a special visitor arrived from the North Pole to bring bags of homemade holiday breads I made a few days before.

Easter

Easter was a small gathering of just our little fam & my brothers. I set the dining room a little formal for our sit down dinner of spiral honey ham & all the sides! We stuffed ourselves & watched Cameron hunt for eggs in the backyard...

4th of July continued...

I frilled up the buffet table with a sparker centerpiece and festive plastic-wear packs!

The kiddos enjoyed all the snacks, Bar-B-Q as well as festive popsicles....it was a great Independence Day!

4th of July

This event started as a simple Bar-B- Q but once I started adding a few decorations, it got more frilly!

I made a kiddy table with smores & cookies as well as a basket of poppers & bubbles.

Another table displayed my cupcakes and a few other goodies.

Happy Independence Day!