My sweet girl's birthday party sort of exploded. I had a good idea most of our close friends would be coming, but what I didn't expect was all of my family that I invited to come. Remember I'm an only child, but have a ton of aunts, uncles, and cousins and almost all of them showed up, which rarely happens at family functions. I try to manage the flow of traffic in my house and since my yard is small the party flowed from the front yard to my side yard to my backyard and I had different stations setup to help manage the traffic.
Vintage quilts were provided for those who wanted to have a real picnic (they ended up being used to keep little babies warm once the sun went down).
I made these little pouches to hold flatware and napkins.
The play station
A place to eat
The drink station. I like to use potted plants more than cut flowers, especially for an outdoor party. They are cheaper and I like that they can stick around for a while. Also, I bought those galvanized drink holders under the table for $20 from Home Depot. They are way bigger than what you can get at Pottery Barn and way cheaper!
I taped up large strips of paper to my garage for kids to color on.
The food station
The best orzo pasta salad ( my friend Ashley will be sharing the recipe on her blog soon!)
A few of my family members
I took about 50 shots of this and as you can imagine they are all very funny. I wish I knew how to animate my pictures because that would be pretty cute!
As promised, the kids got homemade ice cream sandwiches for participating in the chalkboard picture. I'm not a huge cake fan, so I made chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches. They were a little messy but I was able to make them a few days ahead and I didn't have to fuss with slicing cake and dishing up ice cream. I like to enjoy myself at parties so I try to plan the food accordingly.
Moms did flips in the jumpy!
Moms took their picture with chalkboard signs!
This is a party on wheels right here!
My girl got some amazing, personal gifts.
A good time was had by all!
Amber! Everything looks great! The food and drink stations, the tables with checked cloths, your galvanized drink holders...with oranges and ice. The kids and babies holding their blackboards is darling...I can just imagine...I would love to hear the sound with that photo. Sutton is going to rock those red sparkly vans. Love your outfit too! And that last shot of Sutton with her even her eyes smiling lets you know she had a happy happy 5th birthday!
ReplyDeletexo
annie
We all had a really fun time, Annie! Despite the fact that some of my guests arrived 2hrs early!
DeleteWhat a pretty party - could it look any better - I don't think so!!!
ReplyDeleteI loved all the plants/flowers in the cans. Lovin' the pouches you made - so inventive!! The play station, the drink area, the blackboards - so cool!
Is the orzo salad the Ina Garten one? It is my fave and everyone wolfs it down over here.
I bet your girlie had the best day! xo Ashlyn
No, the orzo salad is a recipe from a restaurant in the Pasadena area. I'm going to google the Ina orzo recipe though, love her recipes.
DeleteWhat a lovely party! I was hoping all weekend you'd put some teasers on instagram :) You did a great job of making it special while still keeping it fun and simple. And I showed J the pictures and he loved your outfit!
ReplyDeleteGotta love Pink Floyd! Was my first concert... with my parents!
DeleteI so, so love how you used vintage containers and baskets...those beautiful picnic baskets look amazing!
ReplyDeleteThe picture with all the kids and chalkboards is priceless though! Bronson, I can't see your face buddy! But I have to say Brighton is my girl, with that funny look on her face and the name upside-down. That would be me. Kudos on throwing a party that looked great, but looked like even more fun (the most important thing!)
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Deletewhat did I just do up there? me email?? really???
ReplyDeleteYou crazy!
DeleteI think I had more fun than Sutton. Your pictures are fantastic, but te party was even better. You did such a great job, and the food was killer!
ReplyDeleteNo, I had more fun than Sutton! I think everyone had fun! We've been eating leftovers all week, kinda burnt out on it now!
DeleteLOVELY PICS:) I really like your blog and I want to follow, do you have twitter or FB??
ReplyDeleteIf you want some swedish decor inspiration, you can check out my blog:)
Have a great week.
LOVE Maria at inredningsvis.se
(Sweden)
A great time was had by all! Beautifully done, as always. Congrats mama!
ReplyDeleteSuch an incredibly AWESOME party!!! Darling kids and parents...and I love the drink station.
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