Surprise! let's have a party

I was home last weekend to help host two parties - both for my sisters. One sister is due with her first baby in January - the other was hitting the big 3-0 milestone. We decided to have a surprise party for her...because we knew that she'd love nothing more then all her friends in one place. Keeping it a secret was a challenge and we were worried that my mom might slip up. But wouldn't you know it was me that kept saying things? (that's what you get when you plan two parties days apart!) Overall I would say she was definitely surprised and enjoyed hanging out with folks.

We started with a banner. Sister #3 and I went back and forth about what kind of banner to get and settled on this one....because we knew that every single year it will be hung up - and it will make her laugh!

Given that we bought a banner with primary colors that set the tone for the rest of the decor. I saw a pretty cool use of streamers on pinterest and thought I'd put my own spin on it. Could it have been fuller? Sure - but my aunts and I sure did have fun makin this a 3 person job..we were efficient!

My mom picked out all the pictures for her display and sister #3 borrow some frames from work. Everyone enjoyed the pictures and commented on how the picture on the left looked just like my niece (the poor kid thought it WAS a picture of her when we showed it to her!).

We didn't have a lot of food as this was a Sunday afternoon party and we knew that most of the folks there would have just hand lunch (I actually had to leave my family lunch to get all the decorations going!). We had some of her favorites: chips & cheese and cupcakes and then some salad and vegetable platters thrown in for good measure.

This is my niece - and she very clearly likes cake! (or at least icing...)

Comments

Labor of Love (Part 1 of 3)

I love lace. I love the delicacy with which it presents itself to the world. That being said, I dont really use it very much. I do have some family doilies, and my wedding dress has some lace, but I dont go too crazy. I like to be able to clean things, and not have dust mites clinging to every available piece of cloth (they cling to everything else anyway.) So, I decided to try a painting technique. Why not paint the lace on the object? Easy to clean, lovely design, what could be better? We got this child's vanity in an old attic pick. Yes, we went into someone's hot and muggy attic for several hours. Yes, they let us jsut dig through things (can you believe it?!?!) unsupervised. Yes, we had to take our own flashlights. And yes, there was mouse droppings and dead birds up there. It was gross, but worth it. My boy LOVED it! American Pickers is his favorite tv show. So this school bus yellow vanity sat there looking at us. Begging for new life! I knew if we left ...

Me and my shadow!

Please feel free to listen (or watch!) this song while reading this post. :-) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyEf1Lp7Byk I have always thought silhouettes were such lovely and understated works of art. I would be fascinated by the people who did it at Disney World, Kings Island, or Central Park. They could cut your silhouette out in minutes! I decided I thought it would be fun art to hang in our humble bedroom. Our bedroom is a work in progress. These silhouettes are only the second thing I have hung on the wall, so I am taking my time with it. We did get around to painting in over the summer. It went from drab and boring, to vibrant and living. It was amazing to me how the paint actually made the room look much bigger! In a house cursed with small rooms, that is indeed a blessing. I started out with some frames and material. The frames were fine as they were, but several accent things in our bedroom are white, so I opted to paint them. The material...well, I want to use it behin...

What's Cookin Wednesday - Sweet Potato & pinto bean tacos

SWEET POTATO AND PINTO BEAN TACOS adapted from thugkitchen.com ....but there is offensive language on the site (and in the recipes) - so you've been warned! 3 cups of cooked pinto beans (about 2-15 ounce cans) 1 teaspoons of coconut or olive oil (Olive oil is what I had) ½ cup veggie broth or water (water....) 2 teaspoons smoked paprika or chili powder (I went chili powder) 2 teaspoons blackstrap molasses (I used what I had in the cabinet) 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice (I have both of these at home usually, went with lemon juice this time around) 2-3 garlic cloves 1 pound of sweet potatoes (this should be about 2 cups when you chop it all up) ½ of a yellow onion 1 teaspoon coconut or olive oil salt to taste soft corn tortillas standard taco toppings that you like to add. Warm the first teaspoon of oil in a medium pot. Add the beans, water, chili powder, molasses, vinegar, and garlic. Get it to start bubbling slowly for about 5 m...

Strikes my fancy

Search This Blog