I’m not one to shy away from a fully stocked bar cart. I mean check out my growing cocktail section. But this time around I thought it would be fun to take those items typically found on the bar cart and create a Cinco de Mayo chips and salsa bar cart. Especially perfect since the holiday falls on a Thursday…I’m thinking this is just the kind of bar cart y’all can get your boss to sign off on 😉
You know those celebs that sign up to do bikini photo shoots like three months after having a baby as “motivation” to get back in shape? And we all think they’re crazy? I mean they are…let’s all be honest. Well, I kind of had a moment like that when planning a kids Christmas cookie decorating party this year. I had had it in my head for a while and thought, “oh it can’t be that hard!” And then in looking at the dates was like, “ya! Let’s do it super early in December like right after Thanksgiving.” And then it hits me that that means the whole house would also need to be done and decorated before I even started on party prep – mind you we would be gone until the Sunday after Thanksgiving on a two day road trip with a 14 month old and a dog…motivation right? 🙂 But this adorable party was SO WORTH IT! And truly, the party prep was nothing. Especially when you blast Christmas tunes the whole time.
I’m a sucker for a good tablescape. They are so dang fun to create and there’s so many ways to make them special and unique. And you don’t have to be hosting a dinner party to have one! Creating a tablescape is an easy and inexpensive way to add a festive flair to your home. I love how mine came together this year for our Friendsgiving and am still enjoying those gorgeous colors now!
“I get by with a little help from my friends.” This has definitely been my theme song this year. I don’t know about you, but for my husband and I, our friends become our family, or “framily.” It’s taken more effort to keep up with them all once our little girl came along but opportunities like Friendsgiving are a perfect way to get everyone together for great food, good wine and some nice hearty belly laughs. Here’s some of the activities that made our first Friendsgiving a success.
It happened. We raised a child without killing ourselves or said child for a whole year. Actually – I think we did surprisingly well 🙂 And that’s cause for celebration. If you’ve been keeping up with me from the beginning here you’ll know we didn’t find out if we were having a girl or boy (see this post or this one if you want more details on gender-neutral baby world things) and we loved every moment of our beautiful surprise. That being said, I didn’t have any super girly or super boyish baby prep festivities. So for this little girl’s first birthday I decided to make up for it – the theme would be all things GIRLY. Bring on the pink, sparkle, flowers & frill!
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Let’s talk invitations, shall we? You know, those rare occasions you get something in the mail these days that’s not a bill or junk mail? Seriously though, how special does it feel to have something addressed TO YOU meant truly FOR YOU…as in the person who sent it actually knows what color hair you have. Invitations are more than just a piece of paper to me; they set the tone for your whole event. Is it casual, formal, outdoors, etc? All these things are relayed not just through the text but through the design. Now, I know what you’re thinking: ugh, Melissa, I HATE battling the mail setting on my printer…invitations are so expensive…can’t I just do an eVite? Those are totally the new thing Melissa. To that I say “yes” printers are a total pain in the rear…they don’t have to be expensive to look expensive and of course you can do an eVite but some things just feel like they deserve a good ‘ole invitation – don’t they? But I totally get not everyone has the time or enjoys doing these. For those that do or those that think one day they might, enjoy 🙂
Confession: I’ve been meaning to throw a pool party for two years. No lie. My husband and I have seriously been talking about doing it for that long. And finally, we planned to throw a beginning of summer pool party for May 30 about two months ago. I literally sent the eVite out about six weeks in advance so that we would actually do it. And it was such a blast!
Have I mentioned lately that everyone is getting married and having babies? AND I LOVE IT! Seriously, two of life’s most life changing events you’ll ever go through: getting married and having a child. Experiencing these in your life is one thing…having the privilege to watch your friends walk this path too, almost at the same time, is just magical. And of course the fact that it all calls for parties is pretty great too!
As mentioned in my Tea Cup & Martini Glass Flower Centerpieces post, the hubs was having a poker night and I just couldn’t help myself – I needed to cook, bake and entertain! Plus, I justified it all by saying it was practice for a big future game night or casino themed party. I mean, who can resist a theme?
Ah, Spring time in Texas. That special time when it goes from 30 to 80 degrees in a 48 hour period, everyone is sick and the pollen count is at an all time high. But aside from these selling points – Spring is, in all seriousness, a gorgeous time of year and one of my favorites (nothing can beat Fall).
Fun, Yum & Frills 