Jules is ONE / camping picnic party

 when a year goes by this fast it's scary! i cannot believe my baby is 1! 

to celebrate, we had a picnic at a neighborhood park.

the fenced in area kept the babies contained, the playground entertained the older siblings and the coffee entertained the adults.

decorations were simple, i painted these cardboard trees inspired by [roxy marj] who made his bear blanket that he was photographed in for the [monthly milestones] which you can see are printed out and used as a banner. seeing the growth from 1 month to 12 months is amazing.

lincoln had the same monthly banner at his [carnival themed first birthday]

the felt fire was sewn and put into this awesome metal container i thrifted.

balloons become more spunky with a little [tissue paper tassel]

you also cant go wrong with a donut tree and [mini s'mores]

this tent is pretty much part of the family. also seen at [lincolns lego batman party] 

the only change i make from party to party is the garland.

adopt / make your own [a-frame tent] with this easy diy post.

 the spread was easy, inspired by autumn. since the party was in the morning, we had: 

- coffee [thanks heritage!]

- bagels

- pumpkin muffins

- apples and caramel dipping sauce

- fruit

- mini s'mores

- donut tree

- apple cinnamon sticks

 this adorable smash cake (and the "goodie bag" cookies below) 

were baked and created by the beautiful and talented [@amandajanebakes]

 our 1 balloon decided to take off a little early.

i always try to personalize as much as i can, without going overboard.

i found this [mountain bodysuit] and sewed a plaid 1 on it.

 Jules was the cleanest smash cake baby. took one lick and decided he's good. 

luckily we had a ton of kids to share with.

LINC IS 3 !

that feeling you get when you are so proud of someone it hurts.

this little boy has a glowing aura that draws people in.

he loves to make everyone laugh, and will put on a show at the drop of a hat.

he is sweet as sugar and has a sour little attitude with a punch.

this little leo is honestly my soul mate.

we have this connection that is unmatched.

i want this boy to have the world.

he has taught me what love is and what love means.

i will continue to teach him to love, create, explore.

happy 3rd birthday to my first born, my best friend, and the cutest lego batman i've ever seen.

party planning 101

something i am super passionate about is party planning. i hear from my other half, "what happened to the good ol' simple birthdays".. but i love creating too much to do "simple". party planning has become part of my creative outlet.
i am planning my guys 2nd birthday, and thought i would share my process with you. its nothing special but when your organized it helps ease the stress of entertaining all your friends and family.

the one issue with party planning is, everything doesn't always go smoothly, and you have to be okay with that. our one hiccup so far was that we planned this party around having it at the beach by our house (lagoon with sand) and it did not open this year and will be undergoing renovations. so location change was difficult, especially with a bunch already planned. but you cant get too wrapped up in every little thing being perfect. as long as the kids enjoy themselves and the parents can relax, its a successful party.

inspiration
i always pick a "theme" sometimes random or i might start on pinterest. i see what others have already done, what works and doesn't work, i pull colors from my inspiration.. usually it will start with one image, or one idea, and build from there. this year i am inspired by [wes anderson's] movie [the life aquatic with steve zissou]

i chose two elements and three colors. the "theme" has morphed into submarines and sharks; red, yellow, light blue colors.

design
this is where i work on the invitation. if your comfortable with illustrator or photoshop, i highly suggest you design your own invite. i save tons by using [vista print] to print my final design and they include the envelope for free. for this theme, i decided to draw my own version of the submarine and jaguar shark, and put that on the invitation, as well as including the quote from the movie "this is an adventure." to make these images, i drew them with a thin marker, scanned them, and colored them in on photoshop. they are the party "logos"

party book
to keep my thoughts organized (they are always bouncing around or coming after me right before i go to bed), i keep this "party book" filled with things i think of. some ideas sound great in my head but maybe don't make sense financially, or its just too much.
i have different sections...
- food list thoughts and ideas about food / dessert etc.
- guest list get an idea of how many kids there will be and get addresses
- make/ to do list things i need to make before the party or the list of things i need to buy.
- check list i like to write down everything i need to bring with me when i head to the party destination. forgetting things is the worst feeling, but if i have a giant list, i can make sure i bring all the goods.

right now the party book lives in the party room aka guest bedroom. i like to lay everything out to get an idea of what we have / need. i subscribe to different party websites or companies i like and want to use, and wait for those coupons! you'd be amazed how much you can save if you space it out and shop smartly.

cant wait to see my 2 year old running around with his friends. 

celebrate the good times, because we are all moving and growing too fast.

monday munchies / 1st birthday smash cake & cupcakes

cake cake cake cake cake...

ingredients

• -3 cups flour
• -1 tsp baking soda
• -1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (3-4 bananas)
• -1 tsp lemon juice
• -1/2 cup butter, softened
• -1/4 cup canola oil
• -1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• -1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• -3 eggs
• -1 tsp vanilla extract
• -1 1/2 cups buttermilk

extras: animal crackers, sprinkles, cream cheese frosting (2; 16 oz tubs), cupcake pans, liners, 3 mini cake pans 

side note: i am a terrible frosting maker, its either too thick or too runny. i didn't have the patience to test it out for lincoln's party, so i bought some. if you think your a rad frosting maker.. you should totally go for it! recipe found on [cooking classy]

1. preheat oven to 350, and grease cake pans, fill cupcake trays with liners. 2. mix liquid ingredients (bananas, eggs, vanilla, buttermilk, oil, butter, lemon juice, and sugar) in first. 3. add baking soda and flour. 4. bake for 20 min and test with toothpick. my cupcakes cooked in about 25 min and my mini cakes took about 30-35 min. 5. cool on drying rack. 

- for cupcakes, wait until cool, frost, sprinkle, decorate.

- for mini cakes, with a bread knife, cut off pointed top on two of the three to make flat. leave one for the top of the cake. frost in between each layer. and around the entire cake. sprinkle, decorate. 

sorry for the lack of step by step photos. i was a whirlwind prepping for this party. i was mostly happy these were made in time. so happy because...  someone enjoyed his cake...