Saturday, May 11, 2013

Kate's Baby Shower

The day I found out my dear sweet friend Kate was pregnant, I immediately started planning her shower! I wanted something that screamed Kate. She's very earthy and crafty and trendy so I wanted to incorporate all of that into her shower. I came up with a Feather Her Nest theme and just ran with it! I absolutely loved the theme and came to realize that there was so much that I could do with it. I literally spend 6 months planning and preparing for this shower so I think it was my best one yet. I'm not a crafty person so this took me out of my comfort zone to make handmade stuff but it turned out pretty good and boosted up my confidence for all things crafty. I was planning this party and Aiden's first birthday party (both for 50 people) within days of each other while living in Mexico most of the time. I discovered Pinterest and Etsy and they together made this party happen. How did I ever plan a party without those sites?? I seriously had so much fun planning this shower and hope it will be something Kate remembers forever and Finley can look at photo's and see how loved and welcomed she was. Here are some highlights from the party:
The Invite
The entrance
The courtyard
 Me and the mama-to-be. This was my first time wearing that shirt and I now realize that this outfit is not at all flattering. At least Kate looks good!
The dining room
 The table setting. Hand-dipped baby food jars, Jordan almond party favors in their own individual nests. Most people didn't know the nest was part of the favor so I ended up with a lot of those!
 Burlap table cloths, wrapping paper place setting, handmade burlap and lace utensil holder.
Yeah, I came up with my own napkin fold just to fit the card. :)

There's nothing like fresh flowers
Wishes for baby Finley

 Setting up.
Mason Jars with chalk labels and chevron striped straws.


The food display

 Quiche and spinach artichoke cups    


 Veggie shooters and Crescent wraps (Brie, apple, pecans, honey)
Fruit Skewers 
Chocolate covered strawberries, oh yeah!




Fruit Tarts


Caprese Kabobs
Croissant chicken salad sandwiches
.
The cake







The Gifts
The mama
I love this
The excitement
 The friends 
 Thanks to Pinterest, I knew how to cut a round cake. Red velvet is Kates favorite and it was amazing!
 Thanks to my darling husband, if it weren't for his support and help I wouldn't have been able to do any of this. He picked up the cake in the morning, watched our sweet boy during the shower as well as getting Kate a gift, because I totally forgot! Dropped off the gift and stayed to help clean up. Oh yeah, and payed for the whole thing without a single complaint (when I doubled the "budget" Ha!). He's the best!


The Mason jar chalk labels came from Lake Effect Treasury
The straws were from The Bakers Confections
The wishes for baby cards were from Seasonal Delights Baby
The beautiful delicious cake came from CAKE
The amazing mini foods came from Elegant Dessert Designs
The wine barrels, plates, forks, and napkins came from Anar Party Rentals
NR Photography took the beautiful photos
The flowers were from Francos but arraigned by myself
The mini nests were from Factory Direct Craft
The location was at the Bressi Ranch Club House in Calrsbad
the bird cages were borrowed from a friend but the glass birds and the nest around the cake were from Michaels.
The vases and utensil holders were made by yours truly 
Sondra and I made the BABY letters by covering them in moss.
The manzanita branch was just laying in my yard so I plucked off all the leaves and made that a focal point by adding little nests and birdies and sticking it in the door handle hole.

Friday, May 10, 2013

Aiden's 1st Birthday Party

We celebrated Aiden's birthday with a big party on March 30th. It was so great to have so many family members and friends come. Aiden's birthday celebration weekend started with his Aunt McKenna flying in from Utah, shortly followed by the arrival of his grandma and grandpa Turnbull, aunt Bren, and uncles Jamison and Carter. Bren couldn't wait to give him her gift so he got to open one early. I love his 'cheese' face!

For the invite I wanted to make a book since it was a book themed party. Instead of the Very Hungry Caterpillar, I named it The Very Adventurous Aiden and I talked about all of the adventures he went on every month. The kid had a busy first year! It was very time consuming to make but it was so much fun! Check it out!
 Sorry it's fuzzy, I just took these really quick with my phone.




 I chose butterfly stamps because the caterpillar turns into a butterfly at the end of the story.
I tried to get trendy with the washi tape
We held his party at my dear friend Julies house. She also hosted my baby shower.







Please ignore the fact that I hadn't yet floded and placed the food cards in the correct place.















The party favors were peach rings with worms eating through the middle. 

Grandma and Greg Ahola
Aunt Ben
Uncle Carter

Grandma and Grandpa Hayes
He sure does love his grammy!!
A big thanks to my husband for being so supportive of me throwing this party! (and all of the other parties....) :)
He's always admiring aunt Kaytee's beauty
I rented mini table's and colored chairs for the kiddos and bought fun table cloths but they weren't interested. Boo
Grandpa Turnbull, Great grandma and grandpa Turnbull and Great uncle Ryan



McKay and Grandpa DeHart
Great Grandma and Grandpa DeHart
Cake smash time!! He wasn't really into in. It was his first time having anything sugary, you would think that after the first bite he would go for it!































I got a lot of stuff from Etsy! Check out these awesome sites!
I got his shirt on a rush order from Mama Bear's Den
The awesome forks from Sugar Coated Studio
I got the cute address labels from TJK Printables
The Washi Tape was from japanese2please
The darling chocolate bar wrappers were from Creative Party Pixels
The water bottle labels were from Luisa Blanco-Cukro
The paper lanterns came from Just Artifacts
The beautiful delicious cake was from CAKE
The plates, cups, and kid table cloths came from The Eric Carle Museum
The bounce house, tabels, and chairs came from North County Jumpers
Click here for the amazing chicken salad recipe
The food labels were FREE printable downloads from this girls blog
The high chair was from ikea - the one thing I planned on doing but didn't was get more high chairs for my friends with kids. I wish I would have!
His stats poster was made by my wonderful sister-in-law, on short notice!!
The banners, fruit frames, and ONE letters were made by yours truly with help from Hobby Lobby
Basically all of the food was from Costco
I also bought pigs and a blanket for the "sausage" and squeezable fruit pouches for the littles but didn't get either out on the table in time. Bummer. Other than that, it went perfect! Thanks again to my dear friend Julie for opening up her home to my friends and family so we could celebrate my sweet boys big day!