Easter Bunny Brunch

 

Yesterday we hosted an Easter Bunny Brunch- turned "Breakfast for Dinner" (due to rainy weather on Saturday morning) for our sweet friends. I've wanted to host an Easter gathering at our home the last two years and decided to make it happen. I love planning events that we would love to attend....festive celebrations!! Fun was had by the kiddos and the adults alike! Here are a few details of our afternoon.

Where to begin? Let's be honest. It ALL starts with the food...

Brunch Menu

• Glazed Ham Biscuits
• with Homemade Honey Butter, or
• Garlic Chive Butter
• Hash-brown Casserole
• Scrambled Eggs
• Cinnamon Rolls
• Fresh Fruit
• Juices & Sweet Tea

Not too long ago I saw a biscuit bar recipe for Ham Biscuits with Garlic Chive Butter that looked absolutely AMAZING. So amazing that I screenshot it and saved it to my phone. I love trying new recipes so I tried my hand at making two whipped butters for the biscuits.

SHUT THE FRONT DOOR.

WHY HAVEN'T I TRIED WHIPPED BUTTERS BEFORE?!?!

Seriously, homemade honey butter or garlic chive butter on HOT biscuits fresh from the oven. STOP. This was hands down my favorite item I've ever served guests in the history of.... EVER! Everyone raved about them and went back for (dare I say) three biscuits?! Shhhh. Don't tell the trainers.

For the kids table I found the cutest bunny plates and napkins at TJ MAXX (my favorite spot for inexpensive paper goods) and built a festive table around them. I wanted it to be colorful to coordinate with the happy Easter eggs- so I pulled out a Spring scrapbook book I scored at Michael's after Christmas for $3 (for the entire book of 100 sheets) and used the pages as place-mats. After setting the table I decided to cut simple bunny ears from the same paper for cute little bunny headbands!! Totally on the cheap- and LOOK how cute!!!

We had an Easter Egg hunt and then the kids played baseball in the street and in the backyard. It was such a laid-back, fun gathering. Exactly what I'd hoped it would be!!

And my own two two chicks!? IN HEAVEN. 

Jonah asked me about 25 times throughout the day "when does my Easter party start?! and Sutton Claire kept sneaking over to the table to grab the chocolate. She's no dummy!!

It is my greatest JOY to create and host celebrations like this. They make the the happiest memories and are worth any time and effort I put into them.

I can't wait to celebrate Easter and our RISEN Savior this week with my little family.
Happy Easter!!

Jonah Knox is Four

My baby is officially four years old. And I promise I feel the same way each year. 

How is this possible my head thinks??

Ohhh, slow down time, my heart yells!

But time goes on, y'all. And he is really four years old. Jonah asked for a space party (he is TOTALLY into all things space these days. Harry and Horsie is still his favorite book!) and Houston...we have a space party:

I made the invites again this year, ordered a NASA space jump house and we had a PARRRRTAY. The kids had loads of fun, and it completely wore me out. Sign of a good party, I think. 

Parties for people I love are my love language. They aren't a chore for me. It comes naturally. I don't try to out-pinterest anyone. I truly, truly love to throw parties, craft for parties, and do little things to make them special. It is my gifting, I suppose and I am owning it from here on out!!

My little guy felt so loved, and honestly had the very best day of his little life. I feel like I say that every year. 

Happy 4th Birthday, Jonah. I remember this day four years ago so vividly. It was the best day of my life. You brought a JOY I could never have imagined. I am proud of you- and love you so.

Here is the link to Jonah's birth story, and his blog. I made this for him over the first year of his life.

I love you, baby Badger!!!

Cookie Monster turns TWO {Party Planning Essentials}

It was inevitable, y'all. This Cookie birthday party has been a long time coming. Jonah totes his little blue friend to breakfast, to school, to the mailbox, to restaurants, the park, he goes shopping with us, and even into the bathroom for bath time (where I have a strict little talk about Cookie not liking the water) so he waits for Jonah to finish up on the bathroom counter. And, of course, he goes to sleep with Jonah.

They're the very best of friends. Jonah and his "took-ie".

I love to plan and list, so I thought it would be fun to share how I plan his parties and allow you follow along with all of the birthday planning fun. 

Step 1: Determine your color scheme. 

Cookie is blue. Duh. So naturally we're going with Cookie Royal Blue, and I've decided to add Navy, Turquoise and Kelly green. I added additional colors to make it feel more festive and summery (and not as Cookie cutesy!!).

Step 2: Find a style of party decor that you're inspired by. Focus on patterns you like and an overall feel.

I intentionally choose a preppy color scheme for this Cookie party. A plain Cookie party isn't really my style, so I had to make it feel more "me", if that makes sense? There's nothing more classic than Kelly Green and Navy, right? So I was intentional about that because I know I want to use classic canopy stripes and polka dots throughout the party decor. 

Here are a few photos I was inspired by + the details I like about each:

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I made Jonah a fabric ribbon garland last year, and really like the one above with chunky strips. The table decor is not my favorite.

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Stripes and polka dots. Preppy colors. I'm using this photo to get an idea of what our colors look like together. It makes planning simple when you can find an image that has the color scheme you're planning around. 

via

This is an adorable idea for an outdoor drink station!

via

Jonah loves fruit- I like this colorful fruit pizza. It would be super easy to make and these are always a party hit!

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Cookie Monster party hat. I mean. Is that not the cutest ever?!

Step 3: Party Venue/Location & Time

We are having a morning park party for Jonah's second birthday. He loves to slide and play. A park does make decorating a little tricky so I'm sticking with easy party decor, nothing over the top or complicated. Just sweet and simple. I'll probably have one food table (with his cake) that looks cute and cover the rest with plain Kraft paper. 

I went back and forth debating a party time for Jonah's park party. I ultimately decided on a 10AM time because I think it will be cooler outside than a mid-day or afternoon party. Nobody likes to be hot and cranky. Texas heat is just brutal, y'all.

As far as food goes, I'm still thinking about that one. 10 AM is really brunch-ish so I'm going to brainstorm a few ideas and see what I can find that's filling and also appropriate for the time.

Step 4: Invitations

Choose an invite that gives guest an idea of what the party will be like. Fun, whimsical, themed, etc.. Honestly, I could be the pickiest person ever about party invites. I like them to be special, unique and printed on high quality paper. I have an insane love of paper goods, so I will be designing Jonah's invite (although Etsy has TONS of great options).

This year I printed Jonah's invites from a new source I found- Overnight Prints. I am so pleased with the quality of the paper and printing! Check them out if you want to print your own (also, their prices are really reasonable!).

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How do you plan your parties? Any special tips? Let's dish.

Also, I'll be sharing the party crafts over the next couple of weeks, so check back often!

Fabric Garland Tutorial {Crafternoon Delight}

I love banners/garland. Fabric banners. Felt garland. Tissue banners. Something about a strand of garland that just screams FESTIVE to me. Loud and clear. I have different types of banners/garland throughout our home. A pom-pom garland in Jonah's nursery as well as a plaid pennant banner. A burlap banner in our living room. They're easy to make + cheap. What's not to love about that?!

Today we're discussing the cute fabric banners I made for Jonah's First Birthday Party. You can't go wrong with this garland. You just cut + tie. That's it!!

I used the following items for Jonah's garland:
1. Various ribbon (purchased at Hobby Lobby at 50% off)
2. One yard of fabric
3. Scrap of Burlap I had laying around
3. Twine
4. Hot glue (only used this to glue the number "1" onto the burlap, and to glue the burlap 1 accent piece to the twine)

Tips + Details:
Play around with your knots. I tied my strands onto the twine at the top and let the ends of my knots stick up. You really can't mess this up. The more strands you have squished together, the fuller/better it looks!

Happy Birthday Balloon Wreath {Crafternoon Delight}

I saw this idea on Pinterest. I mean, how many of you guys can relate to THAT statement. What do we not see on Pinterest?!?  Exactly.  Anyhow, months and months ago (like six or seven months ago) when I started planning Jonah's birthday party I came across a balloon wreath and fell in love. I already knew I wanted his first birthday to include balloons. Somehow. Someway. Balloons just equal happiness in my book. So, I set out to make it on my own.

(Go here to see Jonah's Party)

Balloon Wreath Tutorial

1. Lots of balloons (I bought mine at the dollar store in bulk. Probably 10 packages would do it.)
2. Floral pins (I purchased these at Wal-Mart for $1 per pack. I needed 4 packs)
3. Straw wreath form (Hobby Lobby, use your 50% off coupon!)

This is seriously the easiest wreath to make. There is only one step- push the floral pins into the wreath form. Keep going. And going. Until your wreath is positively BURSTING from happy. Rearrange as you see fit.

Delight in it.

Details+ Tips: 

-I left the plastic on my wreath form. Just less messy. 

-I straddled the balloons rather than puncture them. No reason for this, just what I ended up doing.

There are ENDLESS variations of this. You could make a July 4th Balloon wreath with red + white + blue balloons. A halloween wreath. Ohhh, goodness. Get to pinning (literally. get it?! ack, I made myself laugh with that one.) those wreaths!!

Jonah's Big ONE

Three short weeks ago my Jonah Knox turned ONE. Insanely hard to believe because I feel like we just brought him home from the hospital yesterday. Everyone told me that time flies when you have a baby, but I didn't really understand until now. Time is measured by Jonah's growth. He's literally turning into a toddler in front of my eyes. It's truly one of the most bittersweet feelings. I miss the infant Jonah so much, but I'm delighted to see the toddler Jonah emerging. He is such a sweet little scamp. Rotten mess.

I thought it would be fun to show photos of his party and then do an additional post later in the week with the details and a few DIY craft tutorials. I crafted most of his decor in the months leading up to his party. I had a really hard time deciding on a "theme" because I didn't want it to have a "themey" feeling. Just a happy, cheerful party that celebrated our little man turning a year old.

Once I decided on the paper goods, everything was a breeze. They were the starting point for the overall design. We hosted the part at our local Children's Museum (best idea ever, hardly any clean up- and the kids got to play!). It was a wonderful Saturday afternoon affair. Cheerful. Happy. Fun. Joyful. I will cherish the fun memories!

Party details, sources, DIY tutorials (I made the balloon wreath, all garlands, the large pom number one, and the favorite things poster & table runner) to come later in the week. Happy Monday, bloggity peeps!