Zebra Party Complete

Decorations are down, food is all eaten, and memories have been made.  My niece Krysta's 21st birthday party is over.  I had such a joy planning this event with my sister-in-law Melissa.

The challenge of having a budget for the party was the best party.  I love doing a party on budget.  We started with ordering the invitations from www.vistaprints.com, my favorite place for invitations.  We also ordered stickers to make cupcake toppers.  They were all under $15 dollars.  Flowers were complements of Costco.  We only had 2 bunches of flowers and turned them into 4 table top decorations.

We then purchase many items from the Party Barn and Fabric Barn in Long Beach.  We used zebra print wrapping paper as table runners, zebra gift bags as center pieces along with signs made from my computer to put into the bags. All under $40.  That also included plates and table clothes. 

After searching for ideas online, we found at www.marthastewert.com, these adorable tissue paper pompoms.  The hours that were spent on these really made the party sparkle.  My nephew's girlfriend is now quite the expert on pompom making. 

When guests arrived, they were asked to guess how old Krysta was on the tree of pictures. It was a cute way to get the guest involved in the party.

Found this adorable zebra dress at Sugar Plum Craft Show.  Couldn't pass it up. Party decoration amount totaled around $100.  Food was the majority of our budget. 


Food was wonderful.  Pasta for dinner and a decadent dessert bar for dessert.  Decadent it was! Everything was homemade expect the birthday cake.  We had to stop somewhere.

Devils food cupcakes with marshmallow creme filling.

 Lemon curd and blueberry trifle 

 Cinnamon and vanilla popcorn

 Cookie dough cake balls

 We also had a fondue station which for some reason didn't get its picture taken.  That was the hit of the party. 

Garden Vegetable and Garlic Chicken Alfredo Pasta

 One last decoration, a 21 made out of picture of Krysta.

The party's over but the memories will last forever.  I have found by doing this that I really would love to pursue party planning.  I loved every minute of doing this.  My niece was concerned that I was put out by it all.  Not one bit.  It was a joy to do this for such a wonderful young lady.  
Happy 21st Birthday Krysta :)

Party Planning in The Making

A while ago my niece asked if we could host her 21st birthday and help her plan it.  I was so honored that she wanted me to help.  Her theme.... Zebra print.  I couldn't wait to start shopping for it.  Today my sister-in-law and I started the process at a place called the Party Barn in Long Beach and I fell in love! It had everything a party planner could ask for.  And then next door..... the Fabric, more like ribbon, Barn.  HEAVEN! 
    I thought I would give you a taste of what we bought today to make the decorations.  So many ideas are flooding my brain!  I can't wait to post the final products.  

Recycling Jars

A new use for apple sauce jars.  The boys have all these little green men, army men, and no place to put them.  I have been collecting Trader Joe's apple sauce jars for awhile now so I had some to spear.  They each have their own jar next to their bed. Blue ribbon gives a little mommy touch.

  Their army men and little bugs go in them and not on the floor.   

It's a good thing:) 

Family Treasures

It is so hard to update a blog when you don't have a computer during the day.  One day I will have my own computer  :)

This past week, I came across something my great.great, grandmother made, a very cool blanket. When I was young, I actually had it as my bedspread.  I didn't know what had happened to it since.  I mentioned something to my mom about it, and here she had it in her closet! I fell in love with it again when I saw it.  I just didn't know exactly what I was going to do with it.  It definitely has the country cottage look that I love.  I have in a basket in our living room now so that I can enjoy the wonderful stitch that was done so long ago.   I was wondering if any of you had one of these in your family.  My great aunt said that these were pretty popular to make back in the day.

Easter

In honor of our Risen Lord, we celebrated with many yummy desserts and brunch dishes like a creamy potato casserole, mushroom risotto, and an egg omelet roll. Easter Egg cake pops, didn't come out like the picture, Key Lime mini cheesecake, these were delicious, and mini Monkey Bread bites were on the dessert menu.  It was wonderful enjoying the morning with great food, family, and a bit of sunshine at the end. We were also able to enjoy the wonderful table and benches Corey made for me on our patio. 
Now off to Easter dinner with my side of the family.

Happy Easter Everyone!

A Bit of Nature

Came across these gorgeous flowering branches at Trader Joe's.  Could not pass them up.

I was told that they could bloom for up to 1 1/2 months! Not bad

for $5.99.  A great addition to Spring decorating. 

Spring Fever

This week I started getting Spring Fever again.  There were so many things I wanted to do.  With the boys sick, I had time to just hang around the house and dream up projects.  Here are a few things I did.

 I saw many blogs I follow show mantles decorated for spring.  Well, we don't have a mantle, so I decided to us our piano as our seasonal display piece.  

I forgot to add the picture with the bunny behind the plate.  I already do this for fall and Christmas but think I am going to come up with some neat ideas for summer. I already have some brewing.  

 The second thing that came to be was our patio table.  Corey started it Saturday and is probably going to finish is by the end of this week.  

It's suppose to be warm on Saturday, so can you saw BBQ time?? Can't wait to post the picture!

The last thing was monograming our chairs out front.  I saw this on one of my favorite blogs, http://theletteredcottage.net, and I can't wait to do it.  Found the stencils at Michael's and stenciled away today.  I loved the way it turned out. 

My Idea, Corey's Handywork

  Another one of my idea's came to be this weekend.  I wanted some kind of bar outside on our patio so I would have a place to set up drinks for parties.  I told my wonderful handy husband Corey  I wanted it to match the benches and future farmhouse style table that we will be having outside.  This is what he came up with.

He made it in less than 3 hours.  I was so surprised when he said he was done. I love it.  This picture doesn't give it justice.  You have to see it in person. We still need to center the iron piece, if we keep it.  I would like a more beach cottage look outside.  I am open for some ideas on what to put above the bar that would fit that style.  

I can't wait to host our first party with our newly decorated patio this summer :) 

BBQ's here we come!