whoosh

Whatta week. We are not usually the most social people, but this week has been an exception. So many fun Halloween events coupled with our little A’s 2nd birthday celebration and we are officially beat! Thanks for hanging with me.

A small recap, in case you’re looking for some last-minute Halloween inspiration…

We went to a small Halloween crafts party earlier in the week. I think it’s so hard to find cute crafts that are doable for the younger kid set, but this mom managed to find just the right activities for the under 4 crowd. One of my favorite things we made were these owl cupcakes (she spotted them on )… 2 oreos, a couple of m+m’s, some chocolate cupcakes and they’re done. The kids loved making these and they were super easy!

Later in the week we headed to Gen’s house for a black+white-themed Halloween bash. I’m so glad Gen took some pictures but I wish I had taken my own camera, since she still doesn’t do the party justice! I loved it so much I’m going to post more on the kid party section of the blog asap.

Then we got ready for Adah’s 2nd birthday. After a couple of weeks of 70-degree sunny days we were sure we were set for an outdoor fiesta at the park. Wrong! The day turned out to be the coldest and wettest it had been in awhile, so we had to move it inside to our house. I was a bit bummed at first, but logistically, I think it worked better for this size crowd and age group. We ended up having a great time and the birthday girl was thrilled (though she didn’t sleep a wink that night). To see more of our daughter’s 2nd birthday, click here).

Today we had a Halloween carnival at school and our little raccoons got dressed up in their full attire. The tails only lasted a few minutes before they ditched them, but I was happy to at least get a few pictures!

I’ll post more of A’s party soon- hope you are having a great Halloween weekend!

sponsor: eric carle museum (!)

I am SO excited to tell you that the Eric Carle museum is the newest sponsor of Sara’s Party Perfect. It’s a match made in heaven! I simply can’t get enough of their new Very Hungry Caterpillar party line- the ‘party bowls’, garlands, bubbles, and loot bags are divine. Most themed partyware, in my opinon, gets cheesy or gunked up with ugly type, but this stuff stays true to the spirit of the book. I love that the items are simple but bold with large features of our favorite illustrations.

I’m seriously in love with those bowls (featured at top)- they would work for any number of parties! More of this awesome partyware line right here.

happy mother’s day

I hope you all are having a wonderful mother’s day weekend!

I’m definitely appreciative of my mom, and definitely more so now that I’m a mom myself. Amazing when I think back to what she has done with her life- married at 21, became a teacher shortly thereafter, had kids at 30 and 34, divorced and started all over again at 38, became a single mom to a 7 and 11 year old, started a new career, rose to the top of her field, moved to two big cities by herself (D.C. and NYC), then remarried at 59, moved back to our hometown and is now a busy, busy grandma with all of her traveling and volunteer commitments. Her passion for knowledge, travel, people and the world around her is an inspiration.

Growing up I would often get asked, ‘do you know how great your mom is?’

Yes, I do. Happy Mother’s Day to you, mom! xoxo

(pictures of my mom as a child)

thankful for…you!

I’m really feeling the love, people. Thank you for all of your kind comments and emails. I’ve just come back from the urgent care center after coming down with a nasty viral infection. I’m actually happy about that since it means I have officially made it through the dreaded ’3′s’…1) oscar dying  2) gave my car a flat tire after running into stone wall thinking about oscar and now 3) infection. I’m on the up and up from here on out!

We have moved the dog beds and water bowls to a new location, rearranged the playroom (where they slept), done some toy organizing, had a huge playdate (8 little ones came over today), and are trying to inject the house with as much good ju-ju as possible. I think it’s starting to work.

In the midst of all the Oscar chaos we had Gram’s 3rd birthday party- which I will share with you next. Thanks again for all of the uplifting comments. You’re the best.

reader question of the week #2

“I was elated when my 4 year old son chose a camping + s’mores theme for his upcoming birthday.  I have seen so many marvelous woodland themed parties, my mind was swirling with grand ideas of squirrels and owls and deer, oh my! But then I became completely lost when he informed me, this camping birthday was to be at the beach!  Out with the woodland fantasy.  H E L P !  What fabulous beach, camping + s’more birthday party ideas can you suggest?  Utterly grateful for your consideration. -Jennifer”

thomas the train party

If you rolled your eyes just a little bit when you heard ‘Thomas the Train’, I’m right there with you. It’s the love of every toddler boy out there, but ugh!, not exactly the love of every parent. I was SO thrilled, however, to see this beautiful take on a Thomas-themed party from Kelly - so many ideas to inspire!

Activities at the party included bubble fun (mini bottles of bubbles with custom stickers) and a trackless train that rolled thru their neighborhood. The kids were each given an engineer hat and train whistles as they boarded Austin’s party train. Party favors included Thomas tattoos, coloring paper, and homemade train-shaped crayons.

owl baby shower

recently hosted a sweet owl-inspired baby shower. Love the non-pastel blue!

owl always love this party

An owl-inspired first birthday for Tova, with so many sweet details. (I’m loving that custom pinata via !). Much more from Kallie right here.

girl bowling party

Mom Megan threw her daughter for her birthday. She mailed bright colored knee-high socks with the invitations. All of the guests wore outfits inspired by their crazy-colored socks…too cute! It looks like the girls really got into the spirit of things. Check out more of this party .

gram’s party: the wrap-up

Oftentimes while planning a party, I will ask myself…why am I doing this?…putting the time, effort and expense into a party sometimes doesn’t seem like the best use of resources. But just about every time I am so happy with the end result, that I forget about the hassles of party planning.

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