Bear's Country Fair

 

Bear's 2nd Birthday was held last Sunday in Old Town Spring, and turned out to be such a special day. Family and friends traveled from afar and braved the rain to celebrate our little man, and we couldn't be more thankful. We are so grateful Bear is loved by such precious people!

 

A little background to the birthday party:

My sister-in-law, Scarlett, gave us the idea for "Bear's Country Fair". We knew we wanted something themed around Bear's love for ponies and farm animals in general, so it was the perfect fit for his celebration. Zach started building booths several months ago, and the original plan was to have the party at our house with the "fair" in our backyard. The week of the party, Houston's chance of rain was at 80% for Sunday. Knowing we couldn't fit 80+ guests in our home, we set out to find a larger indoor location. Old Town Spring is less than 2 miles from our house, and it worked out that we could rent a charming dance hall with a large courtyard for the pony rides and games. It did end up raining during the party, but Zach set up a large tent for guests to stand under while they played the games. It was also such a light rain that no-one (even the ponies!) really seemed to mind.
The only downside to the dance hall was that we were only allowed 45 minutes inside to decorate before the party. That was hard for my perfectionist self, because it wasn't enough time to get everything inside exactly how I envisioned it. But, Bear didn't seem to mind a bit what the décor looked like ;). He was all about those ponies!
Enough words...here's the afternoon in pictures.

 

 

 

A huge thank you to Zach, who worked tirelessly for months to bring this "country fair" to life. Another huge thank you to my Mom for all of her hard work over the entire weekend. Thank you to Katy Bliss for taking pictures, and to Lisa for face-painting. Love you all!


Happy Birthday, Bear Clayton! You are our world and we love you so.

 

 

DIY Tassel Garland & Paper Straw Flags

I'm both honored and thrilled to be matron-of-honor in two of my best friends upcoming weddings this fall. With the weddings being less than a month apart, it's been very busy in the shower & party planning department (which I love)! Throw in planning a sweet friend's baby shower and Bear's upcoming birthday and let's just say one of our guest bedrooms is party planning central. And I've kind of turned into a crazy person. Anyway.

I'm loving getting to actually decorate with pink & gold for once! For months I've looked longingly at all of the pink & gold parties on Pinterest; now I'm getting to actually create with girly colors! There are so many details I want to share with you all but I'm waiting until after the bachelorette party next weekend :). Just in case the bride is reading!

 

 

First up, simple gold glitter paper straw flags. I thought about doing an actual picture tutorial but then decided it isn't necessary. Just grab some washi tape (this gold glitter tape came from Target), cut a strip about 3 inches long, wrap it around the straw, and cut a "triangle" out of the end to give it a flag shape. That's it! Really simple and a fun way to pretty up a drink. These polka dot paper straws are from Michael's; couldn't pass them up!

 

I've had my eye on this tassel garland tutorial for awhile and I'm so glad I finally got the chance to make some. No need for me to share a how-to; Linen, Lace, & Love did a great job of explaining. Now I want to hang some in every room of the house. That cool, Zach? Yeah, didn't think so. Worth a try.

 

I'm so excited for these upcoming parties & weddings! Any excuse to change out of my "momiform" and I'm down. :)


Hope you're having a wonderful week! It's almost Friday...reason to celebrate!

Cinco de Mayo Sombrero Cookies

Growing up in Texas, Cinco de Mayo has always been celebrated at large. I'm a sucker for any holiday with crazy bright colors & an excuse to eat Lupe Tortilla's! :)

Bear & I are attending a Cinco de Mayo party on Monday and I wanted to throw together a quick treat to take. I've been extremely lazy in the baking department lately, though I blame it on the fact that Bear is always at my heels and I'm so afraid he's going to come in contact with the oven. Anyone else have this fear?

I saw these sombrero cookies & decided to whip up our own version. They are so easy to make & perfectly festive for a Cinco de Mayo celebration!

You'll need:
-sprinkles
-1 can of frosting
-Dots
-store bought cookies (sugar or snickerdoodle probably look best)

Start by emptying a large amount of sprinkles into a plate or dish.

Take your frosting and heat it in the microwave for about 15 seconds. Not too long, as you don't want it too runny to stay on the cookies. You just want it warm enough that it's easy to work with. Put a few spoonfuls in a Ziploc and cut a small hole at the end for piping.

Add a thin line of frosting (this one was a little too thick!) around the edge of the cookie.

Dip the cookie in sprinkles. A sprinkle bath sounds nice, huh?

Add a small dot of frosting in the center of the cookie.

Place a Dot on top and add a few sprinkles in the icing that shows around it.

All done, amigas!

 

We're ready to fiesta like there's no manana!
Okay, not really. We're going to the beach manana and we're really excited about it. But come Monday, we'll be ready to fiesta!

Have a great weekend! Adios! :)

 

Bear's Birthday Bash (part 3)

As promised, this is the last recap from Bear's birthday party. I just can't let go! It's such a struggle to accept the fact that one's baby is turning into a toddler. You'll always be our baby, Bear Clayton!

 

A few more pictures...

 

Party Details:
Smash Cake/Cupcakes- HEB Market Street Bakery
Photobooth Chalkboard- Ikea
Pinata- Amazon (here)

Bear's "1" Onesie- Etsy (here)
"Once Upon a Time" Wooden Utensils- Etsy (here)
Meal- Rudy's BBQ

All other details (cake stands, invites, cupcake toppers, banners, etc.) were made by Zach and me.

 

 

We hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, full of pumpkin pie and the joys of family and friends!