Hank's party is finally here!

Hank turned 3 last week and his party finally arrived! Here are some details:

Theme: Lego guys
# of small guests: 3 + my 2 boys (5 kids, and 1 baby)
To snack on: cups of cheese and crackers, grapes and blueberries and m&ms and raisins and of course cupcakes!
To drink: Lemonade, limeade, lavender lemondade and water
Colors: all sorts of yellows, golds and oranges- sort of lego guy head colors
Activity: Build your own guy
Favors: Their guys, bubbles, play clay

Sources: boxes for take-home treats and striped favor cups for the guys bought at Packaging Specialties in Seattle
Striped and polka dot treat cups at Sweet Lulu
Plain treat cups at local party store
Lego parts, pick-a-brick at lego.com
Cupcakes from Trophy cupcake in Wallingford
Fringe streamers- handmade using crepe paper, idea from Oh Happy Day. Super easy and super cheap! $6.50 for all my streamers!

Celebrate the Boy!

I totally forgot about the wonderful Celebrate the Boy series from made and made by rae (found this year via Say Yes to Hoboken). I've loved it in past years! There aren't enough craft projects for boys, but my guys really love them. Here are my favorite ideas this time around. It's going to be a busy crafting spring!

Superhero Cape and Powercuff from Southern Institute for Domestic Arts and Crafts. So easy! This would take about 5 minutes to make.

Monster tooth pillow from the Long Thread. Atticus is five. I've got at least a year to make this, right?

I think this cool boys' wallet would be cool for grown up boys, too!

Wouldn't this money cuff from A Lemon Squeezy Home be perfect for Hank to carry around his beloved lego guys?

Perfect for our spring clothes refresh! Spring jacket from I Am Momma Hear Me Roar. (And if you want to feel like you're completely depriving your children of a well-designed playroom, check her's out here. What lucky kids!)

And, I think my favorite. Retro duffel bag from SaltwaterKids. Um, look at the fort kit on the bottom of that post. We're totally making this for a friend's birthday next weekend!

And from the past, the absolutely best, most comprehensive Star Wars roundup.

St. Patrick's Day Fun!

St Patty's day is not exactly my favorite holiday. I'm not Irish, I don't like beer (or corned beef), but I love a party, so I'll play along. Here are some cute ideas I've gathered for this year. We'll see if we get around to any of them! (Um, can we all pretend that we don't notice that these are all food-related...)

Treats from Twig & Thistle (photo from Twig & Thistle)

Cute for the dinner table! From marthastewart.com

Adorable Lephrechaun Breakfast from http://www.onecharmingparty.com/

Rainbow cake at whisk kid via Ohdeedoh

Short break

I took last week off as we said goodbye to my dear grandfather. He was almost 87 (1 week shy) and lived life the fullest of anyone I've known. My fondest memories include our season tickets to the Pacific Northwest Ballet, outings with him and my boys (who adored him), family gatherings at his lovely (mid-century) home and his love of excel spreadsheets. He was even once webmaster for his church's website. Not many octagenarians can claim that status! I feel lucky to have lived near him and to spend such quality time with him in his last few months and that my boys knew their great-grandfather. I loved him very much.

And, of course, he had impeccable style! This photo is of my grandparents at Pike Place market, probably late 1940's. Aren't they adorable?

Wedding Wednesday

Since I've been helping my sister plan her wedding, I've been introduced to the beautiful world of wedding blogs and it's a little addicting. I won't blog about what my sister is deciding on, but I'll try to do a weekly post on some fun wedding ideas. 'Cause, you never know... I could get married again someday!

Duchess Satin Noelle gown from JCrew
Emerald Fields Kisslock clutch and Bow-topped slingbacks from Anthropologies BHLDN
Floral boquet via Martha Stewart
Vera Wang Wedgewood Dinnerware, available here
Ampersand letterpress wedding suite by Mitchell and Dent, available here
Groom's suit from Banana Republic (sorry he's so small, not to say he's not just as important as the bride, just not as pretty with pretty sparkling accessories)

Hank's Party Details

My baby (baby!!) is turning 3 in March. He loves Lego guys. The teeny ones. He carries them around by the handful or in his (brother's) Star Wars lunchbox or puts them in his pockets. So, I thought a guy party would be perfect. Here are my initial ideas:

Refreshments

• Polka Dot Candy Cups  In yellow, of course. Will fill some with fruit and some with snack mix
• Cupcakes will come from Trophy. Yum! And yay Groupon for having the perfect deal at the right time! I'd rather know that the dessert will be superb rather than worry about making it myself.
• I'm going to try to go easy on the drinks- this is where it gets expensive! Lemonade and water are what I'm thinking. Although alcohol for the adults braving the party isn't a horrible idea...

Guy Station

• Lots of legs, heads, hats and bodies to build your own guy (from Lego)
• BrickStix to decorate the guys
• Cute little boxes to carry them home in (from Packaging Specialties, not pictured)

Invites
Invites from Pear Tree Greetings These turned out great. They were about $1 each and are really good quality. I also bought some stickers for the goody boxes and some return address labels with Hank's name on them (it's so confusing having different last names, can't just write from the Smith Family).

Decorations
I'm contemplating using some yellow paper lanterns I already have so as to evoke the round guy heads. I'm sure the 3 year olds will totally get it. No other grand ideas yet. Probably some balloons.

Other Ideas
I'm also looking for a Craigslist Train Table I can turn in to a Lego table for Hank's present and an activity at the party.
Invites to family and family friends have gone out, but I have no clue which "friends" to invite! Poor second child has never had a play date set up solely for him (he tags along on all of Atticus's). He loves his big brother so much that I've never looked further than the top bunk for a playmate! I don't want to invite the whole class (19), so I think I'll pick 5 or so kids he talks about the most.

Party is March 20. Look for details soon after! Hopefully, my brand new camera will function perfectly after last year's infamous photo failure. Hank's 2nd Birthday.

Happy Presidents Day!

photo credit

Of course, my favorite president, stylistically speaking, is the iconic JFK. Does Jackie just look lovely? But when didn't she?

If you like... you'll love... and you'll really love...

If you like this rug by Inigo Elizalde. Wool, handmade in Phillippines and $2,520.

Then you'll love...

This rug from homedecorators.com. Wool, handmade in India and under $500.


And you'll really love...

This rug from Overstock.com. Wool, handmade in New Zealand and under $200. A steal!

Tangled Party!

It's no secret that my boys are all-boy. There's no way I can talk Hank in to this party. BUT. It is lovely, adorable and perfect for a little girl. I love it when moms actually plan a party that their kids love. I always ask my kids what party they'd like and then build around that. It's actually very easy to throw a classy Disney-themed party without a licensed item in sight! (Hank got Nemo last year and it was really adorable.)

This Tangled theme party is very inventive, not too matchy, matchy and really lovely to look at. Will someone throw me one? Details here, here and invite here. The invite was recently featured on Martha Stewart!

Where the heck have I been?

Last week I was too busy to post. My sister is GETTING MARRIED! And she's letting me help plan! I haven't had a lot of excuse to search through wedding blogs. Until now. And the flood gates are open. I'll try to control myself, but I'm very excited! I just love this engagement ring. Lovely etsy seller. Conflict-free diamonds. Very romantic and unique.

Posts this week will (hopefully) be decidedly un-wedding-like. I will keep the details under wraps until the big day! Look forward to:

- A really amazing little girl birthday party (When does Katie turn 4?)
- A $50 living room makeover (mine!)
- If you love...
- Valentine's ideas  oops. Guess I'm a little too late on this one!

Happy Monday!

Wow! This is gorgeous and perfect and lovely...

If I had tons of money and tons of time, I would style tables like this and invite friends over to eat. This Snow White table is genius, via Sweet Tooth (a dessert/design blog!!).

There's so much to love here. The wallpaper. The candied apples with sticks. The heart button on the cake. Buy my favorite is the tiny reindeer. If I ever have a little girl, I'm going to secretly foster a deep love of snow white in her from birth and then suggest a party like this when she's about 5.



While we're talking about Hank...

For his birthday I'd love to make him a dollhouse for all his beloved Lego Guys. There might even be a head-changing station!

Cruising Craigslist I found this...

Adorable! 1979 vintage. Comes with furniture. But they're asking $200 and I was thinking more of a DIY sort of project.

This one would be cool to redecorate...

But it's five feet tall. Might not fit so well in my midcentury house (generously 850 square feet).

This one is way cool, but $150

This one is perfect and manly and everything...

but is in Bremerton.

Oh, but wouldn't his little guys be happiest in this?

Of course, it's $329.

I'll keep looking, but stay tuned for a project! I hope I can make this happen...

Next Party: Henry turns 3

My baby is turning 3! Three is huge- he'll be a real person who has to pay to get in to movies and everything!

Last year I had an elaborate Nemo-themed party for him. The invitations were all hand cut. There was a giant Nemo on the wall. I did a lot of work. (and then lost all the pictures- stupid camera card!)

So this year I thought I might take it easy and just do something small. I announced this at a football party last weekend and people were shocked! These same people who witnessed me cutting out all the Nemo invitations and they couldn't believe I wouldn't be doing anything.

March is actually a great time to throw a party because there's not much else going on (versus Atticus's birthday in mid-December). And I've thrown Atticus a party every year. Hank has gotten the short end of the stick as the second child does- huh? baby book? And I really love throwing parties.

Ok, I've talked myself in to it.

Now, what to plan?

Working ideas:
-Star Wars at the Pacific Science Center, then cake at home
-Lego guy party. This kid is crazy for lego guys. He loves them! This might involve a trip to the lego store, or perhaps just something here at home
-Superhero party (though this has been a bit overdone lately)

I just promise that this time I won't go over budget, over board or over crazy. No, really, I promise! Stay tuned.

Yum!

The hot chocolate sticks here are 1) adorable 2) look delicious 3) the personalized silver spoons are perfect for the following occasions:

Valentine's Day

Get well soon

Congratulations

Baby gender reveal

If you like... you'll love... and you'll really love...

If you like this lovely sofa from Design Within Reach...

Florence Knoll Sofa from Design Within Reach- $8,824

You'll love this sofa from Room and Board...

Wells Sofa from Room and Board- $2,200

And you'll really love this sofa from Urban Outfitters...

Night and Day Convertible Sofa by Urban Outfitters- $589

Can you tell I'm still in a Mad Men missing haze? I would watch that show for the sofas alone, even if everything else wasn't absolutely perfect (and it is). If I EVER have an office big enough for a sofa (hey, I'm happy to have an office with a door and a window- I shouldn't hope), it will be something lovely like this.