a very owlie birthday party

This weekend, we gathered with family and friends to celebrate Allie Brooke’s first birthday. Now I have to admit that planning things like this is very daunting for me. 1) I spend a lot of time worrying if someone is going to get left out, and 2) I am not a natural planner — I’m the girl whose motto is “You plan it and I’ll bring the food.”

I had to stop looking at pinterest ages ago because I knew Allie’s party would never have adorable matching labels or decorations. Luckily, my mom stepped in big and made several decorations for the occasion! Here’s how the day went down:

The Decorations:

my mom made this adorable banner

made these owls with a cricut and affixed them to the party hats

our front door

just FYI: this is what the party would have looked like
if I’d been left to my own devices

The food:

Cooking Light popcorn balls 

 owl cupcakes inspired by Chocolate & Carrots (her post is coming soon!)

pigs in a blanket and Giada’s Macaroni and Cheese Cupcakes 

not pictured: cookies, veggie trays, and strawberries with the best fruit dip ever!

The Smash Cake:

it wasn’t nearly as pretty, but I made The Urban Poser’s grain-free, refined sugar-free smash cake

 

 singing happy birthday

“what’s this cake stuff?”

 ”this tastes kinda good!”

doing work

We were so blessed that day, so grateful for the friends and family members who came to celebrate our baby girl’s life!

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some serious thank you notes to write