Sprinkle Party (Part 2)

Today I…wanted to share with you pictures of some of the details from my daughter’s 1st SPRINKLE THEMED birthday party. Just a little background…my husband originally told me that if we had a big baptism party than her first birthday will be small. BUT…I couldn’t do it! He was SO mad! He gave me (somewhat jokingly) a budget of $200 for her 1st birthday party. I was like… $200? !! I can’t even buy food with that. So..nonetheless, I had to be creative! DIY party for sure!

I decided to make it a SPRINKLE party/breakfast theme…it was a little cheaper bc breakfast foods are typically cheaper..and I already had a bunch of colorful paper and such so I could just reuse all of that. It was held in my parents backyard which we cleaned the weekend before. (so much work!) I love it though because it’s spacious and has an amazing view! Thank you mom and dad for allowing us to host her party at the house!

Okay, first the food… since that was the highlight to me!!

We had a waffle/pancake station where guests could “sprinkle” whatever toppings they wanted (berries, bananas, whipped cream, etc.) We also had a scrambled egg station with various toppings such as bacon, sausage, spinach, cheese, etc.

Also, thank you Sylvie for the amazing egg quiches! People actually came up to me asking if there was anymore!

Then…for the diabetics..we had a “SWEETS” table with..well, more sweets than I could even handle!

Special thanks to my cousin Lauren, Risha, Yvette, and Johanna for making all the goodies! (Thank God for the bakers in my life!)

Then, my husband approved a mimosa bar (per a special request from my friend Jenelee). I know..I know.. a mimosa bar at a 1st birthday party!?! Don’t judge! It only costed $6/bottle at Sam’s club so it’s hard to pass up!
Are you tired of all the polka dots yet??

We also threw together a quick “Kids Zone” bc I didn’t want to be in charge of any games so just decided to have some stuff for kids to do. In my opinion, it was a success!

Oh! And I totes almost forgot about the cereal bar we had! Duh! Who doesn’t love cereal!

And..last minute idea..we threw in a Headband making station so the older kids and adults could have something to do! Such a success! So glad we decided to have it. (Thank you Holly for setting this one up..literally at the same time the party was starting!)
And…the cake (Thank you to my cousin Yvette!), party hats, and the goodie bags!

Oh..and by the way..the budget didn’t actually stay within the one my husband gave me! (impossible!) However, I was able to keep a lot of costs down by asking people to make things. Thank goodness for the amazing people in my life!!!

My Daughter’s First Birthday (Part 1)

Today I…compiled all of my pictures (finally) to share with you my lovely readers. It was an amazing birthday party, so much fun to plan and I had so much fun throwing it!

First..a couple pictures from her ACTUAL birthday. We celebrated with just us 3, an intimate family dinner and some macarons. (Mmm!) We were really adamant on keeping her away from any desserts until her 1st birthday. I was pretty shocked how disciplined we were. Nonetheless, she was IN LOVE with the macaron (vanilla flavored) we gave her.

Check out her cutsie outfit her DAD picked out! Good job babe! (And, he even combed her hair for the photos!)

We sang Happy Birthday and tried to teach her how to blow out her candles..haha..that was unsuccessful. She likes blowing fake candles though!

And then…it got messy!

Then we let her crawl around outside while we set up for her party.

 

 

What I’ve been up to lately…

Today I… Finally caught up on some rest! My life felt like a whirlwind these past 2 weeks. I randomly started teaching again which really couldn’t have come at a better time (yay, for saving money for a house!), but it’s been tough transitioning from being a stay-at-home mom for a year to a working mom. All you working moms out there.. I give you PROPS. So, I pretty much cried the first 3 days.. But getting used to the routine now. Here’s some pictures from the last couple weeks:
1) My classroom

Btw, teaching kinder is no joke! These kids have had 3 different teachers throughout the year so no sense of structure. It’s been rough, but amazing how comfortable they become with you.
2) Completed a seating chart for a good friend of mine

3) Witnessed 2 of my friends get married

I didn’t get a final picture of the seating chart (still hitting myself for that one), but found this pic on my friends Instagram! So proud of it. Congrats Mike and Arle once again!!
4) Party prepping was super fun, but exhausting!

More pics of my daughters first birthday to come! Honestly, I love party planning. I wish it could be my full time job!
5) Watched my husband’s softball team win the championship! (2 in a row baby!)

An aerial training circus party!

TodayI… Had the pleasure of attending an aerial party! What is that you may ask?? Well… Ever been to a circus? Basically it’s the artistic endeavors of an aerialist, a trapeze artist of sorts who performs various flying tricks in the air.
And.. The cool part was.. We got to learn some of their tricks! Boy oh boy was it difficult! It requires a lot of strength and agility!

First, we started out with some stretches…


Then, we all just went for it!

Such a fun party!! Thank you Tracy for inviting me! Happy Belated Birthday!!!

Santa Monica sunset

Today I… Experienced a beautiful sunset in Santa Monica. I wish there was more to say, but staring at the photos just gives me so much peace.

I <3 La!

Sparkle Fete Bridal Shower!

Today I.. Attended a bridal shower for my BFF and the theme was “Sparkle Fete!” I was a little hesitant about the theme at first.. But it was so fun!

So this party was so fabulous! First of all, my BFF has a beautiful house in Irvine that looks like something out of Pinterest.. Especially her kitchen! (Swoon!) Anyway.. I think even though the theme was awesome.. It was all about the food!! All individually prepared and home cooked by her friend Jina. She did our wedding shower awhile back. She needs to start a business!
What I realized at that party was that party planning has evolved soo much bc of Pinterest and the Internet and the DIY/Michaels industry. We spend a lot of time ( probably more time than we need to) planning and making things for events and parties (I am guilty of this!)… that we sometimes lose ourselves in all the details. Remember back in the day when it was all about the food.. And MAYBE if you were feeling extra inspired you would go to your local party city and buy the matching utensils, plastics are, some random wall decor or centerpiece and call it a day! Good bye to those days!! But.. I can’t help myself. I love decorations!! They are just so fun and add so much to the party. The important thing is balance though. Hopefully I can keep myself grounded when it comes to planning my daughter’s 1st birthday. Hehe. But if not, don’t judge me! Lol.

Seriously, can’t wait until Italy for this girl’s wedding!!

Hiking in SF

Today I… Couldn’t help but share some photos from a hike we did up in SF this past weekend. So gorgeous!! The trail we went on was called Lands Ends in the presidio area. At first it was a little foggy, but then.. It was as if the heavens opened up and a beam of sunshine pointed down on us and we all sang, “Aahhhhh!!” Just kidding, but it really became the perfect weather.

Baby girl did so well in the hike too!!

Can you see how the weather improved throughout the hike?? It was so beautiful! Ugh.. I want to go back now.