Real Parties: Super Mario

I love when a great boy party comes my way! Tiffany sent me this creative Super Mario party she hosted for her son. You'll find lots of inspiration from this party...especially since there is not a lot out there for this theme.

Tiffany is a very talented baker (visit her cake site!), so she baked the cake herself and made the fondant accents. I really like the polka dot box she used as the cake stand!

Great find! These Wii remotes came from Walgreen's and function like Pez dispensers.

The sucker stickers say "thanks for playing" and were set in a tray filled with colorful candy.

The kids played Mario bingo.

The goody table sign.

And possibly one of the cutest aspects of the party...pictures of the kids in mustaches a la Super Mario Brothers!

See more pictures of the party HERE!

Headed to Dallas!

I'm headed to Dallas for a much needed girls weekend! I can't wait to spend time with some of my best friends and visit some of my favorite shops and restaurants. On weekends like these, I usually consume thousands of unnecessary calories. This will be sure to include many cookies (maybe multiple trips!) to JD's Chippery and a biscuit and cinnamon roll breakfast fromBubba's on Hillcrest. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Shopping is on the agenda this weekend as well! Today we will hit up Lover's Lane which means I'll probably stop by Drip Coffee Shop and Tart Bakery for an afternoon snack! Then, tomorrow will head to Northpark with the rest of the city.

I am really looking forward to trying out a new restaurant that my friends rave about. It's called Rise and they serve gourmet souffles...isn't that such a cute restaurant name! Javier's is another Dallas favorite of mine, but I don't think we'll be visiting them this time. All this talk about delicious, fattening food is making me also want to stop by Highland Park Pharmacy for a grilled cheese! Festive Kitchen in Snider Plaza is yet another favorite of mine. Hopefully I'll make it by there to grab a few goodies to take back with me to Houston to share with my family. Their Sundried Tomato Basil Pesto Torte is amazing and we always serve that at Dallas showers!

Can you tell I'm looking forward to this trip?! I'm not going to know what to do with myself for 48 hours...KID FREE!!!

Real Parties: A Vintage Circus Birthday

I ADORE this red & aqua vintage circus party that Aly put together for her son's 2nd birthday! All of the details are precious and so easy to recreate for any theme!

The red and white "table runner" was actually wrapping paper which is a fantastic idea...simple, chic and easy to clean up!

Peanuts and animal crackers were available to munch on

Aren't the elephant sandwiches cute?! Cutting sandwiches with cookie cutters in a shape that coordinates with your party theme is such an easy way to add an inexpensive, special touch. I do this often!

How great is it that Aly found popcorn bags with a touch of aqua?!

Aly created this fantastic 3 tiered lucite cake stand!

Homemade cookie favors

Of course a circus party would not be complete without pictures of people wearing clown noses. I'm sure this certainly provided lots of laughter!

Thank you for sharing this party with me, Aly!

All photography was taken by Aly, as she is a professional wedding and portrait photographer

www.laluzphotography.com

A few party details you might be interested in...

* The red and aqua poms came from Etsy seller, Prost to the Host.

* The gorgeous cake came from Seatle-area pastry chef, Liz Slye of Crimson Cane Cakes.

* Cupcake Royale made the cupcakes.

* The straws were purchased from HEY YoYo on Etsy

* The plastic popcorn containers came from Target and the paper popcorn sacks came from HEY YoYo (same vendor for the straws).

* Aly served gourmet popcorn from Popcorn Pavillion.

* Polka dot wrapping paper was found at Paper Source

Real Parties: A Marie Antoinette Party by Kate Landers Events!

Decadence is the word that comes to mind when I see these pictures! Boston-based childrens' event planner, Kate Landers, orchestrated this amazing Marie Antoinette tea party for a group of young girls. But the party can easily be turned into an event for the young-at-heart as well!

The color of these jewels portray the color scheme perfectly - pale peach, soft blush, ice pink, candy pink, fuchsia, raspberry and a splash of light aqua.

These stunning "rococo" hats were HANDMADE by Kate!

Original party activities included making necklaces with gorgeous faux jewels and creating masks to be worn at their "Masquerade Ball". They also played croquette and had their hair and makeup done...corn starch was put in their hair (if they wanted it) to resemble the white wigs of the time!

I adore all of the feminine details of this party! Be sure to read Kate's original post for MANY more beautiful pictures and to learn about more party details.

Great Girlie Party Favors!

Melanie from Scout, A Mom's Guide to Stylish Living (whose blog I LOVE & read daily!) is now designing the cutest bows...and you can buy them as party favor packs to match your party theme! This is such a great idea and a very special treat for the young ladies!

The pink and red bows above were made for an Olivia themed birthday and the following bows were created for the ever-so-popular cupcake theme.

Melanie is one stylish and talented momma and I know her bows will sell well! The prices are great and if you order 10 or more, she will throw in a special bow for the birthday girl at no charge!

Visit Melanie HERE or contact her at melbellesbows@gmail.com