Boy Baby Shower!

This weekend some friends and I threw a shower to celebrate one of my favorite people and her soon to arrive baby boy.

It was two hours that I wish could have lasted the entire weekend.

Bite size caramel apple favors. Don't let appearances fool you, these were a labor of love and not as easy to whip out as we'd anticipated. If you decide to try them, email me for tips.

There was a point in time where we almost abandoned ship, but I am so glad we didn't. They turned out really cute and were definitely worth it.

Wishes for Baby.. I loved this idea. Lauren talked about how in the original sleeping beauty there were 12 fairies who each gave a wish for the baby as we handed them out. We thought these would be perfect for the baby book and a great way to document all the people that were there and are so excited for his arrival.

We made this crepe paper. Super easy and although the pictures don't show it well it added a dramatic effect!  I loved it.

Setting up and arranging :)

Pom Pom/Lantern cluster hanging above the main food table

We did a yogurt bar (Vanilla, Strawberry and Mango yogurt with multiple toppings and suggestion ideas)

The menu board/parfait suggestions

mini pumpkin muffins and cinnamon cream cheese frosting

chocolate dipped strawberries… someone's very favorite..

baked brie and crackers (and not pictured because they disappeared so fast were the blt bites and also mini quiches that I missed getting a picture of)

mock mimosas or orange juice and ginger ale

'

I couldn't resist. Scarly bug in her hang out spot for the shower. She was an angel baby.

Some of the party planning crew and the guest of honor.

The aftermath. Look at all those beautiful dishes. 

Thanks to everyone who brought food, donated dishes and helped to make this shower one we won't soon forget!

"Egg"stravaganza Birthday!

Lily's party started with the tablescape

We decorated balloons and hung them upside down to make them look like easter eggs

We decked out the entry way with Easter decor

The beginnings of the crepe bar (we didn't get a picture of it all the way done… oops). Unfortunately with the 7 year olds the good toppings went to waste and the whip cream, nutella and sprinkles were well used and liked.

Making their own crepes

A guest appearance from the Easter Bunny who read "The Country Bunny and The Little Gold Shoes"

Once the story was over, we handed out personalized buckets and bunny ears for the big hunt. The girls were so excited, it was really cute. There was a gold egg and a silver egg hidden that would win them a prize, the girls wanted to find them so bad that some of them weren't even picking up the regular eggs.

Ryan ended up in serious trouble for giving hints to girls as they walked passed him about the placement of the golden egg, because not everyone received a hint before it was found.

Lesson learned: Don't mess with competitive 7 year olds!

The games: We had some different egg relays, bunny sack hop and crack the egg

All the girls with the Easter Bunny

The cupcakes

and my attempt at the Martha Stewart ruffle cake

The cute birthday girl. She loved her party and spending time with so many of her friends. This was the first party I've ever thrown where we ran out of time, she didn't even get to open her presents before the guests left. Crazy!

I don't have a picture of the cute washcloth bunnies we made, but I think overall the girls had fun and Lily thought it was "the best day ever" and that sure does make it worth all the effort!

Wizard of Oz Party!

The wonderful wizard of ...

Stella's birthday party was Saturday. I don't know what I was thinking when I scheduled it, our house is torn to shreds (literally) there is a fine layer of dust covering everything.. it's awesome. I was banking on nice weather but we woke up to SNOW on Saturday morning and by the time the party started it was a balmy 39 degrees. In the end, it all worked out, and Stella was happy, which is what is most important.

We decorated everything green, to look like the Emerald City.

My mom painted a mural on our mirror, it was quite a hit!

On the menu, Stella's choice of macaroni (to look like the yellow brick road) pb&j on WHITE bread, rainbow jell-o. She wanted rainbow chip cupcakes.. I tried to doctor them a bit, but they still tasted like rainbow chip. Oh well.

Here's Dorothy, pre - having her hair done (thanks Jenni for loaning the dress!)

Grandma read the Wizard of Oz to the girls so they knew the story before we started the games and favors.

Pin the heart on the tinman (this is the only game we have a picture of, we also did freeze dances, memory quiz, we made rainbow bracelets out of twizzlers, etc).

We had Dorothy baskets for all the girls. After each game they collected something that represented a different character in the Wizard of Oz.

The basket was for Toto, the napkin was for Dorothy

The courage medal was for the Lion, the diploma for the Scarecrow, the Lollipops for the Munchkins, the green ring pop for the Wizard, bubbles for Glinda, and the heart necklace for the Tinman.

I didn't get everything done, that I'd wanted to, but considering all the circumstances, and all the help from multiple people I think it turned out really well!

Happy Birthday to the best five year old I know!

*idea originally seen on One Charming Party.

30th Old Man Party!

This might have been the greatest party ever. Only because of some friends, who put everything they had into making this a birthday to remember.

8:00 AM: Some grumpy old men show up at the door to welcome Ryan into his life as an old man. (I have clothes ready and waiting for him, but he doesn't know it)

These grumpy old men are not so great at taking pictures, but they sweep Ryan off to breakfast at the Village Inn, and then to a round of golf.

Yes, they really golfed dressed in their old man gear.

For dinner the wives dress up as old women, and we head off to where else but…

The Country Buffet, where these hot old women are waiting for us.

(how could you not love these two? thank you girls for your efforts in making this a night to remember.)

Some of our friends were so smart and reserved the banquet room, because there is no where better to celebrate, and a feast we had. mmm mmm good. I'm sure it was Ryans' idea of the perfect birthday dinner.

(Pictured above was the crowd favorite at the Country Buffet with her sponge curlers)

We finally finished off the night, with BINGO of course...

Yes, we even had a real bingo cage and it was awesome. I wish you could have seen the prizes. We didn't take pictures of those. (denture cream, lysol, depends, personal hair trimmer, jumbo crosswords, kleenex..)

The cake was amazing. The pictures don't even do it justice, check out those layers of pure deliciousness.

Such a fun night! I'm pretty sure it made entering his 30's a day he'll never forget.