The Party People.

Apparently the majority of our little friends were born in the month of March. So far we've been to four parties in two weekends and it's been a wild and fun time. It's so fun to see how our friends put together parties for their kids. It ranges from a casual meet up to a jump palace to a mini rock show with dad and grandpa performing for the birthday girl. No matter how you put it, our little ones are lucky to have good friends to celebrate with. Above and below is what taking a photo of 18 kids kids looks like. Check out my little guy's face in the second photo, he's not into it anymore.

Let's not forget the new ones! How cute are these dads with their new boys??

We had a variety of cupcakes including minion cupcakes, a Superman cake, and a donut cake. No matter the form, it seems consistent that O eats it frosting side down and is over it once the frosting is gone and we are left to discard of the stump.

At the fourth party O discovered that this cool fire engine moves when his cheap-o parents agree to put quarters in! There was an excavator too and his was over the moon.

I love this sweet picture of the last birthday girl. She was so gracious in welcoming everyone to her party. This is what we've been up to and it's been a lot of fun. I'll share some of the fun gifts that I made for the kids next! Happy Wednesday!

Quick Paper Garland

If you have a sewing machine and some paper than you can make this super simple and fun garland in a flash!

Materials

Colorful or patterned paper

Rulers

Scissors

Pencil

Sewing machine, thread

Using a straight edge draw faint lines on your paper to mark out the triangles and cut them out. I probably would use more colorful paper next time but this is what I had on hand. The machine was threaded with white and I didn't really want it to pop so it was perfect. Leave a four to five inch tail at the beginning of your first triangle. Then simply run the paper through, you can keep the shapes close like I did or spread them out a bit. Leave the same length tail at the end and you are done!

Thomas and Diesel totally approved so I hung it up on the mantle and was ready to party! I know I talk about garland a lot but it really makes for a festive look. What's your favorite party detail?

Happy Birthday Little Love.

This joyful little love of ours is two years old today! It's hard to imagine that it has already been that many days since we first held him in the hospital. I'm not one for sugar coating, we've hard long hard days over these last two years but those days have become less and less and are far out shined by the days of pure joy and laughter. He's a gentle little soul with a hell of a sense of humor. He's an actor, a chef, and the most hilarious boy we've ever known. Three cheers to you, my son! And now a few details from the train party!

Thomas the Tank Engine is by far his favorite character these days and I've mentioned before his love of trains in general so the theme was simple. I got the glass milk jars from this etsy site and they were simple and cute. I printed out an image of a train that we liked and tied them on with baking twine. Paper straws are everywhere these days but we got ours in Denver last September. 

I have been a long time fan of Geronimo Balloons but it didn't seem reasonable to get an official one for a two year old so we just got them from the party store and added a little frill. These giant balloons seriously made my day when I found them! The day of I whipped up this very easy paper garland for the mantle (check back tomorrow for a DIY).

My ever impressive husband (and fellow birthday boy) made this amazing Thomas cake and loaded up the cargo cars with all sorts of treats! We welcomed the sugar rush with open arms...well kind of. O was so excited that he just stared at it for ten minutes to make sure nothing happened to it! And the grand finale was this awesome train set from Grandma and Grandpa. We are lucky to have so many wonderful friends willing to cram into this little apartment and let a gang of sugar crazed toddlers run amok. Yay for parties!

Cleveland Weddings

Hey all you wedding people! This Sunday from 12-4 at the 78th Street Studios there will be a really amazing  Boutique Bridal Bazaar and tickets are still available here! Come out and see local wedding vendors to help you plan your perfect day! I'll be sharing a booth with my friend from Grey Cardigan and it's bound to be an amazing event. To make things even more fun, there will be a bridal fashion show at 2:00 and the ring bearers will be wearing my bow ties! Please come and say hello! Have a very Happy Friday!

Happy Birthday WSM!

                                


Today is the official 100th birthday of Cleveland's West Side Market! What an exciting day for our city's landmark! I have memories of heading there with my family as a child, seeing all the vendors, feeling very squeamish about the pig heads, and being amazed by the crowds! It always felt like such a foreign place to me. Even now, it's an exciting trip and makes for a fun morning adventure. Today at 2:00 join the crowd and sing Happy Birthday to the Market and grab a piece of cake too! I hope you have a very happy Friday, friends!

Images: WSM100