6.30.2013

crown fountain

I've been wanting to take Max downtown to see the Art Institute of Chicago lions with their Blackhawks helmets on for a while, and we finally made it this week.  Go Hawks!  He liked seeing them, but the Crown Fountain in Millennium Park was really the highlight for both kids.  They were running, splashing, laughing and just didn't want to leave.  Good, good thing I remembered to pack a change of clothes...

6.19.2013

memory game party favors

As party favors for all the kids at Lola's party, I made a little memory matching game using some leftover giftwrap that went along with the color scheme.  I bought some unfinished wood discs from Amazon and simply mod podged circles of the paper on to one side.  I finally broke down and bought a circle punch, that definitely made my life easier.  I just tried to find two spots on the gift wrap that looked the same and punched the circles out.  I put six circles (three matching discs) into each party favor bag, and tied them with gift tags.  I think they turned out so cute, but I'm pretty sure the kids might have liked some fruit snacks and a little toy instead... Someday they will appreciate these!

6.13.2013

lola turns one!

We celebrated Lola's first birthday this past weekend.  I can not believe she is one already!  I am so in love with her.  She is very strong willed- with a silly sense of humor.  Walking at 9 months, eating entire granola bars at 12 months.  What will she do this year- learn to drive?

The party was inspired by her corner of the bedroom.  That heart print is by Anna Bond of Rifle Paper Co.  I love the pinks- from light to orangey.  I asked the super talented Oana Befort to design the invitations and they really ended up setting the tone- warm colors with a vintage/girlie flair.  I am a huge fan of her blog and her watercolors.  I so wish I could draw and paint like that.

We had pink lemonade and pasties for dinner along with a couple beautiful salads.  John's family has a cabin in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and we always get pasties when we go there.  For those who don't know, a pasty is crust filled with meat and vegetables.  Pasties were popular with the miners in the UP because they could stick them in their pockets and take them into the mines for lunch.  I thought it would be fun to make mini pasties- a traditional Cornish pasty with meat, and an all veggie pasty.  I could make them ahead of time and they aren't too messy.

I cut out paper dolls and clothes for the kids to work on if they were bored, and made a small matching game as the favors.  I'll post more on those later.

I made three small cakes which I think turned out pretty cute.  The best part was the cake topper- Lola written in sugar script letters from Signe Sugar.  So cute!

We projected Lola's birthday video (a tradition my talented sister started), which was fun- but it was so bright that you couldn't see it all that well so we all ended up moving inside for the screening.

A special thank you to my moms- Mimi and Grammie- who were totally willing to make whatever Pinterest recipe I sent them, as well as my dad- Bobo- who didn't even raise an eyebrow when I called and said, "Will you make a 14 foot long table for Lola's party?"

The day ended up being so perfect.  The weather was beautiful, the kids took naps and were happy, the food turned out (it's probably not smart to make a recipe you've never tried before for a party).  I love my sweet girl and can't wait until she's big enough to start planning her parties with me!


little mr moo.
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