Lilly Pulitzer inspired first birthday

March 27, 2012

I’ve been meaning to post about this party for quite some while. It’s full of preppy and turned out to be extra cute! Caroline was the lucky birthday girl and when her mom contacted me, she said she already had a theme, along with an invitation and some decor. She just needed me to help pull it all together. When she told me the theme was Lilly Pulitzer, I nearly squealed. I love me some Lilly!

The adorable turtle cupcake toppers and mini boxes filled with animal crackers was inspired by Paper & Pigtails preppy turtle party.

Guests definitely knew where the party was with the fun balloons!

This wreath was made of real flowers and absolutely gorgeous! I wanted to take it home with me.

A close up…….

Almost every party I have done, Phil has had some small part of making things come together. For this party, he made these elephants (thank you Amy Knox for the template!) out of wood and I painted them to look “Lilly”.
We used them on each of the tables too.

Lemonade and sangria for the adults was served in these Lilly cups.

Party favors for the guests……

Vendors:

Cake, cookies, macrons: Martine’s Pastries

Catered lunch: Heirloom (a Kentucky favorite!)

Cupcake toppers: Two Sugar Babies

Balloons, cupcake liners, stripe straws: The Sugar Diva

Tables, chairs and linens: Bryant’s Rent-All

Photography: Erica Lee Photography

(Images 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 12 were taken by Erica. All other images I took)

Flower wreath: Stems, Lexington KY 859-252-5601

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Susan Sidoriak - March 28, 2012 - 8:14 am

Simply adorable. Great job!

Danielle - March 28, 2012 - 10:41 am

How adorable! I love that wreath and what kid wouldn’t love those fun balloons?! I didn’t know Heirloom catered! Now that would be my favorite part of the party!

Christy - March 28, 2012 - 12:13 pm

Love this! So cute, and different too.

Amy Knox Wolf - March 28, 2012 - 10:25 pm

Elizabeth! I admire your site and often take a peek! I’ve been waiting for the right time to comment and this was it! Love it! You are so welcome and happy to share. Maybe one of these days we will finally meet.
LOL- AKW

Amber Housley - March 28, 2012 - 10:40 pm

This is stunning! I LOVE Lily Pulitzer!! What gorgeous details! :)

tessa - March 29, 2012 - 7:28 pm

love this theme!! original, girly, fun, just enough preppy + thoughtful details without going overboard. the flowered C on the front door is amazing! i bet the birthday girl was tickled pink {and green!}
xo, tessa

Marcia - March 29, 2012 - 8:02 pm

Love the colours!!

Lemon Drop Shop - March 30, 2012 - 10:59 pm

love the door wreath and the sidewalk balloons the best! But it’s all great!!!!

Elizabeth - April 3, 2012 - 9:14 am

Isn’t that wreath the best?! Thanks for stopping by!

Friday Miscellaneous

March 16, 2012

Yay, it’s Friday! Is anybody else having difficulty adjusting to the time change except me? This week I combined a couple of ideas I’ve seen on Pinterest. One, are these adorable mini cakes baked in a tin can. Second, are the rainbow cakes popping up everywhere. I especially love this one that Eddie Ross made using an ombre effect. My idea was mini cakes for St. Patrick’s Day. I attempted the ombre effect, but it didn’t turn out as well as I hoped. Don’t look too closely. The perfectionist in me is wanting to fix that icing, but I’m trying to just let it go and just let be. If you decide to make these “can cakes”, note a couple of things – make sure to grease and flour the can, and for the icing, try piping it instead of spreading with a knife. I think they would’ve been less messier looking if I’d used a piping bag. Regardless, they taste good and they’re pretty cute too!

Other things I must share and discuss this week:

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Michelle - March 16, 2012 - 4:12 pm

Every time I visit your blog I swear I have to pick my jaw up off the floor!!! Everything is stunning and you and Ella are both cute as a button!
xo,
Michelle

tessa - March 19, 2012 - 4:45 pm

very cute little cakes, but ADORABLE green gingham dress!! that pregnancy announcement?! what can I say, it’s like her life is a magazine! she is adorable!! hope you have a lovely week!! xo

kelly in georgia - March 19, 2012 - 5:30 pm

I loved Something Blue- thought it would make a much better movie than Something Borrowed….don’t know if it did well enough at the theaters to give a go-ahead for the sequel though..boo hoo. Would have liked it so much better.
My daughter has absolutely loved Hunger Games (she read all 3 in the series – and she normally hates reading so that says alot about those books!)

March Madness has definitely begun around here….

melanie mauer - March 20, 2012 - 8:08 am

what darling little cakes!! xoxo, -melanie-

Ella’s ballerina birthday

March 15, 2012

I’m finally posting about Ella’s birthday! Here it is…… We signed Ella up for ballet in early fall and she instantly loved it, so it only seemed appropriate to have her fourth birthday centered around what she loves to do. In the past, we have had her parties at home, but this year we decided to have it at her dance studio so we could have plenty of room to dance and twirl.
These push pops were a hit and so easy to make!I loved how the cake topper turned out that Jadestone Studio crafted. It’s now a keepsake displayed in Ella’s room.Coloring sheets and crayons were set up at the children’s table as kids arrived. I like to do a simple activity like this at the beginning of the party in case anybody is running late.Favors were felt hair clips from this Etsy store . I thought they turned out so cute!We were so lucky to have our friends and family to celebrate the day with us. My cousin and her daughter, Grace, came from North Carolina and stayed the weekend with us. We had so much fun!!Four generation shot:)Mi familiaThis picture just makes my heart swell. I love the emotion on her face….happy. Happy child = happy mama.My parents (Mimi and Poppy) got Ella a nutcracker, painted it white and decorated it with pink and green. They wrote a sweet message on the bottom and gave her tickets to see the Nutcracker, along with a beautifully illustrated book.  Our family went the next day and had so much fun. Hopefully it’ll be a new tradition for the holidays!

Location: Bluegrass Dance Studio

Invitations: Lalissa Designs

Cake and cookies: Martine’s Pastries

Cake topper: Jadestone Studio

Scalloped paper cups, stripe straws, plates and cups: Shop Sweet Lulu

Photography: Melanie Mauer

Linens for children’s table: Ella’s grandmother, Mimi

Push pops: Made by myself and my cousin, push pop containers from Garnish

Felted hair clips: Peanut Feet

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Boo Bear - March 15, 2012 - 12:20 pm

Could you possibly become more amazing????

Danielle - March 15, 2012 - 12:58 pm

How adorable?! I love all the pink, since I never get to see it (: Ella’s face says it all!

Misty - March 15, 2012 - 2:06 pm

Aww…. How perfect!! I love it.

Lili - March 15, 2012 - 2:52 pm

everything is sooo adorable!

Danielle - March 15, 2012 - 3:03 pm

I totally forgot to solicit your vote for a recipe contest I entered. I’d really appreciate your vote! Thank you (:

Here’s the post:
http://www.danielledeskins.blogspot.com/2012/03/black-and-white-dulce-de-leche-bars.html

tessa - March 15, 2012 - 8:24 pm

what a sweet party, with such thoughtful and beautiful little details. those hairclips! and the cake topper!! oh my! the pictures are stunning too. my favorite is the 4 generations shot. how lucky you are to have family close to enjoy these big milestones and celebrations. can’t believe ella is 4! xo

for the love of a house - March 22, 2012 - 3:52 pm

Wow Elizabeth!! What a dream party- every little detail was just stunning!

best,
joan

Tiffany from HOLIDAY - March 29, 2012 - 11:47 pm

What a darling theme – what little girl doesn’t love pink and tutus? I esp adore the cake topper! When my little one is off to dance, I call her Stellarina Ballerina…not too far off from your little one (my grandmother’s name is Ella, too). xoxo

Elizabeth - April 3, 2012 - 9:15 am

The cake topper was the best! And it’s something we now use to decorate her room :)

Kim @ vintagepretties - April 14, 2012 - 8:26 pm

Where did you get those huge balloons? I don’t think that I’ve ever seen balloons that big!

Elizabeth - April 16, 2012 - 9:25 am

They are from Shop Sweet LuLu

elizabeth - April 20, 2012 - 2:09 am

Where did you get those hairclips?!?!? So cute!

Elizabeth - April 24, 2012 - 8:20 am

They are from an Etsy store called Peanut Feet. I thought I had the source listed. It is now updated. Thank you!
http://www.etsy.com/people/peanutfeet

pretty packaging

March 14, 2012

Everyone knows that good things come in pretty packages.  Any type of gift giving should be about showing your love and appreciation for someone and I think putting extra thought into the presentation really takes gift-giving over the top. I especially love to use brown craft paper, then fancy it up with pretty embellishments. These are a few of my favorites I’ve pinned

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fifty two letters

March 12, 2012

 

Today I want to encourage you to do something I’ve challenged myself to do. Send out a hand-written letter to someone once a week for the next year. You know, a real piece of mail? Not a facebook or twitter message, or text message, but actually sit down, be in the moment and write. It can be a thank you note, a post card, a letter, a care package, or even a handmade piece of art. Sitting down and taking the time to do this forces you to slow down. Be focused. In the moment. No multi-tasking.

Hand-written letters seem to be almost non-existent and replaced with social media. Think about how many postal offices have closed this year. This makes me sad. I admit, I love sitting behind my computer “connecting” with others, but there’s nothing that makes a smile come across my face more than receiving a real piece of mail, especially when it contains a hand written sentiment.

So who can you write to? Anybody. A friend, family member, someone in the military, your kids, a teacher, the President, someone you admire, a local business owner, your boss, etc. I could go on, but the point is to take time out of your day to make someone feel special. It doesn’t have to be on fancy paper with fancy writing. Just connect with someone!

Who will join me in this challenge?

 

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Kirsten - March 12, 2012 - 7:56 am

What a fabulous idea! I’m in :)

Kim I. - March 13, 2012 - 10:50 am

Oh, doesn’t a little treat in the mail just make your day?? I love having something colorful, fun, and most un-bill-like show up in my mail box!

I do believe I will join your challenge :0)

Friday Miscellaneous » Lovely Little Parties Kentucky - March 16, 2012 - 7:35 am

[...] many of you are doing the 52 letters challenge with [...]