Happy Cyber Monday everyone! I might be a little late to the game, but I’m hoping to help everyone out this week with some gift guides for the favorite people in your life. Starting today out with a few top picks for the ladies. If you’re anything like me, you’ll appreciate the coziness of this round-up. Give me all the softness this winter. So without further adieu…
Hey everyone! Man, has it been a crazy start to fall! To thread this lengthy post together, we had Serena Rose Photography take some family pictures of us the other day! She did a great job and these will give you something pretty to look at as I rant on and on with news and updates!
This week’s feature of My Favorite Home Styles Series is an American favorite, the Farmhouse. Like the craftsman, the farmhouse style has tons of story and character built into it. More basic than Victorian homes, but with a lot of the same structure, the farmhouse style is one with which I have recently become smitten. What sets these homes apart from the rest as you’re driving down the street? Here are a few tell-tale features that make a farmhouse stand out (even when there’s not a farm attached to it).
My little Lo Lo turned ONE this week! I literally cannot believe it!! The first year is seriously the craziest, constantly-changing 12 months that you barely even remember. I tried to take pictures, but I think it’s also safe to say Logan has way less baby pictures than her big sister.
Still scarred from Riley’s first birthday five years ago (she literally cried the ENTIRE time and I invited wayyyyy more people than my little house could hold), I opted for a smaller get-together for Logan’s first. She doesn’t seem to have the same social anxiety that Riley had when she was younger, but you just never know. I didn’t want put work into a party and get all excited about it and then have the birthday girl be miserable. Well, she certainly exceeded my expectations!!
We had a Unicorn theme, because, well, unicorns are the deal. They are awesome and girly and you can literally get unicorn stuff EVERYWHERE!
Logan took an AWESOME nap and woke up about a half hour before people arrived. She didn’t cry ONCE throughout the whole party. She showed off all her tricks (clapping, walking, babbling) and let everyone make a fuss over her without getting embarrassed or shy. And we all sang “Happy Birthday” to a happy, smiley baby girl…who then ate every bit of her first cupcake!!
She was a rockstar. And her big sister was a fantastic co-host! Riley loves people, as long as she’s not the center-of-attention. Having Logan has seriously been such a game-changer for her. She really hates when people make a fuss over her, but she loves fussing over her little baby sister.
Speaking of fuss, I really tried to make this party as fuss-free as possible. I wanted to be all set up and out of the kitchen to be able to enjoy the party, and all of my party prep paid off! I made a bunch of meatballs the day before and put them in the crockpot. I made a huge pan of baked ziti the morning of the party and that was ready-to-go when people started arriving. My mom made a big salad, and we just had lemonade (pink lemonade, of course) and ice water for drinks. I also made my famous beer bread and spinach dip- which people die for, and we had chips and guac for appetizer munchies.
For desserts, I made cupcakes for the kiddos, my mom made brownies, and I made a homemade apple pie for my husband and mother-in-law, whose birthdays we were also celebrating.
Choosing a menu that I don’t have to be in the kitchen for during the party is key. It took a lot of work beforehand, but being able to enjoy our guests and relax with everyone makes it all worth it. Everyone else is able to relax as well when the hostess is relaxed. It makes a huge difference in the feel of the party.
I think the theme of her decorations (other than Unicorns) was garland and banners. They were hanging everywhere. I opted for paper decorations instead of balloons like I used for Riley’s last birthday. It’s a lot of prep to have parties at your home, but I love how pretty and clean the house looks when we do. When everyone leaves, we have yummy leftovers and a clean house to enjoy, at least until the next day when the girls make a mess again!
