1st Birthday Party

When my client contacted me to discuss her son's first birthday party and described her vision for his party, it was slightly intimidating.  She wanted a very classy, upscale party for the adults and a fun-filled entertaining time for the children.  I believe both goals were accomplished in this sweet 1st birthday party.

The venue was gorgeous and fun to decorate.  I loved working with the teal and black color scheme and added a pop of orange with bright orange gerber daisies and tulips to liven things up a bit.

There was a children's craft and food station we called Dinner, Crafts, Dessert and Laughs. Upon arrival, children were asked to pick a seat and enjoyed coloring a picture for their personalized sippy cup, made a farm animal balloon or just snacked on great kid-friendly food including chicken nuggets, fruit and pretzels.

For the adults, there were plenty of beverage choices, snacks, dinner buffet and a great dj playing fantastic music. 

Besides the birthday boy, there were a couple of well-dressed guests. Pinkie Bee and Groovy kept the little guests entertained and happy for quite a while. The balloon twisting and jokes kept the smiles and  laughter flowing among the younger and older crowd.

Each child received a packet of crayons, a decorative cookie, a fantastic chocolate lollipop, a tasty cake pop and a sippy cup along with their cute decorated balloon animal. The favor bags were decorated with ribbons, cupcake liners and nametags designed by Lauren McKinsey. 









The gorgeous cake and cupcakes were created by Edgewood Bakery. 

I most enjoyed watching the grandparents feed the birthday boy his first bites of cake, which is a tradition among the indian culture.



I know that for many years to come, the family will be able to look back at the pictures and remember the fun evening they had celebrating their little one's first birthday!  I don't know what they will do to celebrate two...because turning one will be a hard act to follow!

Vendors:
Printables- Lauren McKinsey
Photographs- Renee Alicia Photography and SPR Photography
Cake and Cupcakes- Edgewood Bakery
Clown Entertainment- Fun Faces
Cake Pops- Cuter than Cake
Chocolate Lollipops- Suckers by Steph
Balloon Design- Balloon Construction Company
Crafts (sippy cups and balloon face stickers) - Oriental Trading

*In the interest of privacy, due to the high visibility professional positions of the parents of the birthday boy, photographs have been selected to show decor and details and not faces of guests.

Operation Shower- Ponte Vedra Beach

I am so excited about a couple of fantastic parties coming up.  They are both the same weekend, so I am thinking super hero and golf baby shower for the next few weeks.  The golf baby shower is an Operation Shower event held in Ponte Vedra in conjunction with the The Players Championship.

 I am helping a few talented event designers to set up for the party and collecting a few items for the 41 expectant mommies who are attending. 

I'm also drafting a few ideas for a small part of the table design.  I'm very a little excited about it and have some rough drafts in the works.  I love this event because it makes such a difference for the military moms-to-be who attend.  I have a friend who is a military mom to three gorgeous kids whose husband is deployed.  It is a very difficult time and such a sacrifice for their family.  She makes the most of it and is mom and dad for a bit longer, but when I am dealing with my ONE child and have a helpful husband... well I think of her often during rough days. She is amazing!

Check out Operation Shower's website.  If you are interested in donating, let me know!  One of my friends is donating 41 pairs of infant socks.  It doesn't have to be a major donation, but every little bit helps these families who are sacrificing in major ways every day so that we can live free each and every day!

Spring, Easter and a picture of things to come!

Have you finished all of your Easter projects?  If not, here's a cute, easy one I did last year for the Spring Picnic Party  that was featured on Amy Atlas. Of course, it went perfectly with all the cute Lauren McKinsey printables! They are such a cute addition to Easter baskets. And you can personalize them however you want, eyelashes, bowtie, flowers... tons of ideas!

I found the project on Oopsey Daisy which includes a great tutorial.  Go check it out!

Also, I can't wait to share with you the 1st birthday party I did not long ago.  Here's a peek of it...

Happy FRIDAY~!

Baby Shower (continued)

So I told you I would share a dessert I tasted at the "Oh Baby" Baby Shower I coordinated last weekend. My client raved over this dessert and let me taste one while I was setting up. 

I love that, besides the fact that it is to die for yummy, you can serve it in little cups (or Mason Jars!)with cute spoons.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Parfait

Ingredients

Graham crackers, crumbled
1 cup peanut butter
1 (8 ounce) block cream cheese, softened
4 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 (8 ounce) tub of whipped topping
1 (12 ounce) bag milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk

Directions

Combine the peanut butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar in a large bowl. Mix together until combined. Stir in the whipped topping. You can save a little to use on top as garnish. In a separate bowl add the milk and chocolate chips. Microwave in 30 second intervals stirring after each cycle until it's melted. Mine is usually melted and ready to go after 3 cycles.

  It's time to assemble! You can use a pie plate, large bowl, glass pan, small bowls, etc. Start with a layer of crumbled graham crackers. Then add some of the peanut butter mixture, then chocolate ganache, then whipped topping.  Then keep going with the crumbled graham crackers, peanut butter mixture and chocolate ganache until you run out of the peanut butter filling.

Top with whipped topping and a graham cracker (I think crumbled peanut butter cups would look yummy on top too!) and you're done!

Cover with plastic wrap, store in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.

After some research, I found the blog (Cooking with Carrie) that first posted this recipe! Looks like I'll be able to find some more yummy stuff there too!  Check it out!

Here's a sweet picture of the mommy-to-be at the "Oh Baby" Baby Shower.

I hope all her wishes come true for her and her new little one!