Birthday Party Planning

My husband's 30th birthday is coming up on October 24th and we will be celebrating early with a combined birthday party to honor Michael and his mom (her birthday is on October 16th). With extended family far away and everyone's schedule so busy these days, a combined party for the October birthdays is a great way to get everyone together and celebrate these two very special people. I am also relieved that we are celebrating in early October to avoid any possible early delivery surprises towards the end of the month.

With any party, my planning and creative mind goes into overdrive and I start thinking of fabulous ways to craft, create, cook, and bake for a special occasion. All parties should start with a fantastic invite, which I designed using TinyPrints.com. Here it is:

We are going with a soup and chili bar for the menu including four different varieties including all of the fixings, bread bowls, cornbread, veggie trays, and fruit salad. I will be posting the chili and soup recipes next week that I will be making for the party... both are delish!

We are having my best friend Laura's famous cake pops in red velvet and chocolate flavors with matching blue and green icing to coordinate with the party invite colors. These cake pops are sure to be a huge hit with everyone and they are so much easier to serve than trying to slice cake and serving ice cream. And with any party, I hope for leftover cake pops for the hostess to take home :) 

I am looking forward to a great party for my husband and mother in law and lots of great food, plenty of laughs, and spending time with the people we love!

Baby Shower Inspiration

I have posted many times about my love of the website Pinterest and the amazing ideas you can find there. I have started an inspiration board for the bumble bee baby shower in March and have been posting some adorable ideas. I love planning parties and this one is extra special because it will be for one of my dearest friends, Laura. She is truly the most kind, beautiful, and amazing woman that I could have for a friend and I can't wait to spoil her for her upcoming baby shower. Over the next few weeks I will be ordering some fabulous party supplies and tying together the details for the shower. Here are just a few ideas that I will be adding to the party:

• Yellow Striped Straws - perfect in mason jars full of homemade lemonade

• Banana Cream Pie Cupcakes - so adorable in these yellow polka dot cups

• Lemondrop Twine from The Twinery - perfect for tying around bags of treats

This baby shower is going to be adorable and I love how the yellow details are going to match the invitation perfectly! I will be posting ideas and pictures over the next few weeks as the planning details come together... oh how I love to plan a great party!

Bumble Bee Baby Shower

One of my best friends Laura is expecting her second baby on April 25th and I am thrilled to be able to host her baby shower! She is having a baby boy and the theme for the shower will be bumble bees with the colors yellow, black, and grey. I designed the adorable invitation on Tiny Prints and just love how they turned out!

The shower will be on March 31st, so I still have a few months to plan all of the adorable details. I am finding some really cute ideas on the website Pinterest and can't wait to spoil the mom to bee! I will be posting ideas for the shower over the next few weeks and of course will post a full recap and pictures after the shower.... can't wait!

Fabulous Party Supplies!

Planning and hosting parties is one of my favorite things to do! I love planning all of the details for a party and making sure each detail ties into an adorable party theme. There are so many great finds on the internet to go with your next themed party, and here are just a few of my favorites:

• Magic Milk Straws - perfect to serve at a party with cookies and glasses of milk and they come in so many great colors and flavors (would pair perfect with the 'Cookies and Milk Party' featured on the blog Sweet Designs)

• Pink Striped Candy Bags - great for filling with candy at a party or tucking a birthday card into instead of an envelope (the perfect treat bag for a candy bar and would match perfectly to this 'Lemonade Stand Dessert Table' from the blog Sweet Designs)

• Kraft Ripple Cups - adorable cups from the website Garnish that you can fill with coffee or hot chocolate (would be perfect for serving hot chocolate at a holiday party or used in a Cup of Cheer gift, featured on Garnish's blog)

There are so many great party supply options online and affordable ways to add detail and the extra finishing touch to every party you plan. For additional party ideas, be sure to check out any of the blogs listed to the right (on my favorite blogs list) and enjoy planning your next great party!

Tie Dye Success!

The tie dye party on Friday turned out to be a great success! It was so fun to get together with everyone at my office and enjoy a relaxing afternoon including a delicious potluck and tie dye time. I ended up dying two tee shirts and a pillowcase and they all turned out great. I would post pictures but my camera won't connect to the computer for some reason :( This was my first time tie dying and it was super easy and really not that messy (as long as you wear rubber gloves). The favors were a huge success... who knew so many people loved salt water taffy?! I love the feeling after a party when everything went perfectly and the afternoon was a great way to start the weekend! If you are wanting to throw a tie dye party for your family and friends, these are my suggestions: buy the kits from Hobby Lobby (only $7 after using a 40% off coupon from online), buy the tee shirts from Wal-Mart (only $4 each), use rubber gloves no matter what, and make sure to rinse out the clothing and then wash by itself in the washer for two full loads. Hope you have the chance to make your own tie dye shirts before the summer is over! :)

Picked Up the Party Supplies

I just got back to my office after picking up all of the party supplies for the tie dye party on Friday and I scored a sweet deal! One of my co-workers and I went to Hobby Lobby with our 40% off coupon and bought the entire tie dye kits for only $13 each. The kits make it so easy because they already come with the dye in the bottles, the rubber gloves, the rubber bands, and helpful instructions. We then went to Wal-Mart and picked up super cheap cotton t-shirts for only $4 each. I couldn't resist and bought two of them, a scoop-neck and a v-neck style. We are all set for the party on Friday and I just finished putting together the favors last night, can't wait to share these adorable bags of tie dye colored taffy with the group!

Tie Dye Party Favors

The tie dye party is a week from tomorrow and it's been a blast planning! I am excited to get together with my co-workers and have a potluck lunch and tie dye for the afternoon. I am a big believer that you can't have a great party without some adorable favors. I went to our local candy store and picked up a fun selection of salt water taffy in colors that matched the invite and most of them have a tie dye look to them. The favors will be a cellophane bag filled with about a dozen pieces of taffy with the attached favor card and some bright ribbon to tie it all together. So sweet!

I love handing out adorable and edible favors at the end of a party and I hope the office guys and gals will enjoy it too! I can't wait to post about how the party turns out!

Tie Dye Party

It's time to throw another party and this time it will be for my co-workers. We often do potlucks in the office on Friday since we only work till noon and this time I decided a tie dye party would be a great summer get together. Check out the adorable invite below that I designed on tinyprints.com. Love it! Since the menu will be potluck, I plan on putting together some adorable tie dye treats for people to take home with them (stay tuned for more on this). I can't wait to get together on a Friday afternoon and hopefully make some adorable tie dye clothes!