Reflections on Clara's 3rd Birthday

 Before too much time goes by, I wanted to capture some of my favorite details from Clara's tiny little birthday celebration.  My general rule for birthday parties is to invite the number of children equivalent to my child's age plus one (I've only broken this rule once and boy do I ever regret that ~ it was a DISASTER!).  So Clara had four friends over along with my parents, my cousin and her boyfriend.

In the past, I've thrown down plenty of time and money on the birthday cake.  We've had some stunning cakes over the years (mostly, thanks to my talented friend, Elizabeth!).  This year, because Clara is on a gluten-free (GF) diet, I purchased some GF cupcakes from Trader Joe's (quite good, I might add!).  Yet Clara kept mentioning that she really wanted a cake.  I headed out to the grocery, picked up some GF cake mix and baked a simple cake.  Since I'm a rookie GF Mom, I had no idea that a $5-6 box of cake mix only makes one level (just in case you're wondering why my cake if so short!).  The very day before the party I saw this pin and couldn't get it out of my head.  I raided the girls' massive animal collection, chose a few friends and created the below.  And, I'm not even lying to you, it is my favorite cake we've ever had. I love the whimsy, imagination, sweetness and childhood magic of this cake. Alain and my Dad know how much time I spent laboring over those miniature party hats..... and I'm telling you, it was worth EVERY second.  They were a BIG HIT!

Each year I try to incorporate some birthday wrapping paper that I saved from Tio Iggy's last birthday present.  Last year I was able to wrap a couple of presents in it.  This year a small scrap made up the chimpanzee's party hat!

  

Mom & Dad blew up all the balloons, around 30 of them in all.  Thank you, Mom & Dad!

Clara's Abu and Nonno Carlo sent this lovely dress from Switzerland.  It is so adorable and was perfect for the party!

The little message board got filled during the party and I've saved all the notes for Clara to read when she gets bigger.

The party was held at brunch time so we had bagels and bubblies.

There was no theme for the party but a strong color theme and loads of yarn pom poms.  I LOVED making the pom poms (use this tool if you ever need to make them ~ it's AWESOME!).  They appeared on the favor boxes, on flower vases and in various other places around the party.

When I sent Alain out to buy champagne, he found this one.  Couldn't be any more perfect!

We had frozen blueberries to keep our drinks cold.....a tip I picked up from a club in New York City!

  

As I looked back at the photos of Clara unwrapping her presents, I was overcome by how much she has my mannerisms.  Considering the amount of time we spend together, it's not surprising.  Still, it warms my heart.  (Have I mentioned lately how happy I am to have daughters?)

Big Sis was just as excited about all the presents as Clara!

  

Alain and I gave Clara this tiny little bike as our main gift.  She'd been asking for a bike with training wheels for many months.  Well, she was ecstatic and has probably taken a ride on it every day since.

All in all it was a beautiful day/party.  There's no question that Clara enjoyed it immensely! 

A Big Thanks to Mom & Dad, as always, for making the drive and helping out with all the party prep!

4th of July Party

On Saturday night we enjoyed the company of my family and a whole bunch of our friends & neighbors at our annual 4th of July party! We had a blast and hope everyone else did too....

As usual, I had great intentions to take loads of pictures to capture all the work that was put into the party. As usual, I didn't. The only real shots I got were of the dessert table and that was only because my grandmother reminded me (thanks!). I am disappointed not to have taken more pictures but I wanted to at least share the few that I have.....

A close-up of the ribbon topiaries and paper chains I made.

A collage of the desserts. The only one missing is the deliciously delectable banana pudding that Alain made. I couldn't believe it but most of the desserts were finished. Thank goodness because I wouldn't want them hanging around the house!!! A big thank you to Leslie for bringing the grill brownie cupcakes (wish I had a closer shot of those because they were so cute!) and a big thank you to my grandmother for helping me with the fruit kabobs. You made a tough job a very fun one! I'd been wanting to make the flag cake for years and I'm so glad I finally did. It was a little stressful (because I had to get the lines perfect) but so worth it. I very much appreciate all the compliments on the cake ~ so happy everyone enjoyed it!

I did take a bunch of pictures of our guests taking turns dressing up for the "photo booth". However, I feel strongly about not posting pictures of people without their permission. I know that I despise when folks post my pictures without asking. So while I won't post those, I will say that the photo booth was possibly my favorite part of the party!!!

PS - Sending a big thank you and shout out to Alain and my parents for all their help with the party. If my Mom had not been entertaining Sophie, there is simply no way we could've pulled everything together on Saturday. She's a saint like that! Thank you, Mom.

A Sneak Peek....

Less than 24 hours to go. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.......

Happy Weekend, everyone, and Happy 4th of July!!!

All day I dream about.....

.....Party Planning!!!

Our July 4th Party is only two weeks away. Even though I've been thinking about it and planning it for months, I still feel nervous anticipation. So today, since it's at the front of my mind, I wanted to share an image I found months ago that served as the inspiration for this little soiree that we are having.

I love the clean, simple, country, rustic, Americana feel of this table setting. Amazing how this one little image can inspire an entire party.

(Since I discovered this image on one of my very early trips out into the blogosphere, I don't remember where I found it. I was thinking House Beautiful, via someone's blog, but now I can't find it anywhere. And there are a gazillion places to look. Sorry!)