KJ's 4th Birthday Party

KJ's birthday party was a hit, but I must be honest and state that the idea was NOT all mine. He wanted superhero and as I searched online for ideas I came across this party and KJ was smitten with it. I simply down scaled it quite a bit. This party was on the smaller side and KJ made the guest list. We had fun.

KJ picked all the foods for the dessert table. He wanted a cake, m&m's and twizzlers. I added the oreo truffle pops from bakerella.

The cake that we made was adorned with this print out I found on One Charming Party. I thought it was still superhero-y without being a straight out superhero.

A friend of mine loaned us her bouncy house. It ended up being a cold night so we blew it up in our bedroom. It's still there. Ha.

I made the building out of boxes and a plastic red tablecloth I had. I simply drew on the facade. The shirts the kiddos and I made for all the little guests. They are the same ones we made for Sally's boys.

The water bottle labels and banner I ordered from Anders Ruff on etsy. They were also the inspiration for the whole party which I mentioned before.

I made coloring sheets for all the kiddos. Not sure why I haven't done this before. They were so much fun and gave the all the kiddos something else to do.

Here is the birthday boy happy as can be. Still can't believe he is four. I adore him and I am so happy he felt special.

FOUR

Today my little man turns 4. My baby is not quite so babyish anymore. Bitter sweet. Love seeing his personality shining through, he happens to have a lot of it. Friday we are having his party. He wanted superhero, so these are the invites I came up with. He LOVES them. I LOVE him.

A White Christmas

This year I was able to host Christmas and it could not have been any more fun. We spent the morning watching the kiddos open gifts, relaxing, and cooking the main course. Christmas eve day Ellie and I began the festivities with quite a bit of baking. One of my favorite traditions is baking Jesus a birthday cake and this year we went with the Sprinkles mix, so good. Ellie then was sure to let Jesus know she was going to save the best one for Him, but He would have to multiply it if He wanted to share with everyone in Heaven. I set the table using my late grandmothers dishes and it made my day when my father walked in and said it looked like a table my grandmother would have done. Oh, and the best part? It snowed for the first time on Christmas day since I have lived here.  That's 14 years! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas also.

Table Settings

Today I am over on Mrs. French sharing a few table setting ideas that the ladies and I from the shop put together. We had so much fun although I am sure they pulled out the Lysol after I left, I could not stop coughing to save my life. Hope to see you there. I would love to know which one is your favorite too. For today this one is mine.

Decking the Halls

As I mentioned yesterday I wanted to go for a more simple and rustic theme for this Christmas and this is what I came up with...

Last year we had a Charlie Brown tree, because I was quite under the weather for the season. This year I was determined to get a huge tree, so we did, 10 ft. I could not be any more excited.

Every year I get the kiddos each a new Krinkles ornament. I then label the box with their name and the year. When they grow up and have their own tree I then plan on giving them their ornaments to start them off right.

We were all home sick yesterday so we watched a lot of netflix hence Dora being on. I thought I would just be real. Ellie thinks the Mr. and I have ugly stockings and the nutcrackers were given to me by grandmother when I was just a child. I adore them.

This little display was made from the trimming of the tree. Cost effective and I rather enjoy it. Oh, did I fail to take a pic of the blow up snowman? So sorry, but it was raining, ha!

We already owned most of the decor I used, but I added fresh greenery and a  few other things. The key in keeping it simple for me is to also keep it budget friendly. I am sure I will add a few things here and there though. I also need to do the dining table up all pretty like, but that will be for another day. Did I also mention I am hosting Christmas dinner here this year? I feel so grown up.

Thankful

Every year we have Thanksgiving at my parents home. My kiddos adore them and their house. It has ample amount of running room where they can go wild. Here are a few snippets from my parent's home out in the country and our Thanksgiving dinner...

Of course eating was high on the priority list. Ellie ate so much she got a tummy ache. She is so her mama. By the end of the night I shared in the pain. KJ indulged in rolls and bananas. I think all the choices left him a little overwhelmed.

We also had the pleasure of playing my sister's wii. We had a blast and I couldn't believe how sore I was the next day. The other two days of vacation were pure bliss. Kellen was home and we lazed around and decorated for Christmas. It truly was a time where I felt overwhelmingly blessed. Oh, yes I sat there and cried with pure joy. I am such a nut. How was your Thanksgiving holiday?

*also a huge thank you to Sharon who placed me in the the top 20 of design blogs. Love being placed by all my favorites and many who inspired me to start blogging over 2 years ago.

Harvest to Holiday

Mrs. French is hosting a rather lovely event. Hope you will join me! Should be fun.

Gray + Green

Last night I attended a blogger party at the home of Doug from Tracery Interiors. It was so fun getting to meet new people and spend time with the ones I already know and love. Doug's home is absolutely stunning, so stunning that many of us were ready to go home and do a bit of rearranging ourselves. I will be sure to post more on the party soon, but for now I will leave you with what I wore and huge thank you to Doug for opening up his home to us. Tracery also announced some pretty big and exciting news today!

Jacket: J.Crew
Dress: Target
Shoes: Nine West
Necklace: a gift

A Little Bit of This and That

I realized I never posted my invites to my 30th birthday party so I thought I would share. I think they would have been lovely to make in this gorgeous office. I bought the paper with the flower at a local shop that was going out of business for an extreme discount I simply added the rest.

Also, more importantly, have you heard of Gilt the online discount shop? They carry everything from clothing to home wares not to mention shoes, accessories, and more. Well they also have a facebook page and for every like they will donate a dollar to Stand Up To Cancer. We have until Monday at 11:59 EST. I hate cancer and this is a great and easy way to give it a swift kick in the behind.

{first image via me, second via Martha Stewart}

Party In Review

My thirtieth birthday was a smashing success. We got all dolled up and made it quite an affair. I wore this Cynthia Steffe dress, although I found mine on a greater sale. A bib necklace which was a gift from a dear friend and my favorite seychelle heels. Ellie wore a former flower girl dress and thought she had to carry around flowers, makes sense. KJ wore a rather dapper suit and made sure everyone new how handsome he was.


The wreath was laced with fresh herbs from my garden and made for a rather pleasant smell when you walked in the door.


We had the most wonderful coconut cake topped with a bunting from kiki la ru. There was also my very favorite strawberry pie that my dearest friend made, but they were not out yet. The two topiary's along with too other arrangements were a surprise from my Mister. They are simply stunning and so perfectly me. He did well, really well.


If you know me you also know I love to use real plates, napkins, and silverware. It does make for a lengthy clean up, but so well worth it in my opinion. The dishes to the left used to be my grandmothers and the others are from our wedding registry. I believe in using what you love so we also use these on a daily basis.


I set up the drinks in the dining room with an assortment of soda's. The gray and white striped straws I found on etsy.


Here are the other arrangement's from my Mr. Aren't they just gorgeous?


We had lights set up from Ellie's party and we loved them so much we decided to keep them up year round. The two pots are filled with mint from my garden and have since moved there way into the house. No one actually sat outside because of the heat, but I thought it was pretty anyways.


Now these are my girlfriends that I have had since college. Some older and some younger, but I will not reveal who is who. Oh, the husbands did come along, but my home is small so a group pic is simply out of the question.


My husband played chef and we had filets with his most amazing twice baked potaotes. Here are a few more details of the night.


The night would not have been so perfect if it weren't for this man. I am ecstatic to grow old with him. And yes, he had the cutest bow tie to wear, but we couldn't figure out how to tie it. Oh well, I am sure he will wear it another day. I simply adore him.

The Weekend

I had the most wonderful birthday weekend. Thank you all for your kind birthday wishes. Here are a couple of snap shots from the party. More to come tomorrow with full details. My husband truly spoiled me rotten. For today I am in recoup mode and getting Ellie ready for her first day of school on Wednesday. Talk about a big week.