{Real Parties} A Gingham Inspired Easter Party

This Gingham Easter table created by Christine of Pure Joy Events is full of cuteness and DIY details! If you are hosting a get together this weekend, you still have time to incorporate a few of these adorable details. The gingham theme was carried throughout the party with subtle Japanese touches here and there.

Christine used her daughter's gingham shower curtain from Pottery Barn as the dessert table backdrop! How wonderful that she did not have to spend money on fabric for a backdrop!

The topiaries are beautiful! Between each topiary was a handmade cherry blossom centerpiece. Christine shares the how to here.

The banner was another pretty element of the table. Printable cards from Monkey Moo Moo were edged with gingham Japanese washi tape, sprinkled with glitter, then strung together with pink ribbon.

How cute are these lollipop flowers with tissue petals and paper leaves?! Christine promised to share a tutorial soon!

Peepshi (Peeps sushi) was one of the treats on the dessert table. CUTENESS!

A friend of Christine's made the beautiful cake and the cherry blossom pinwheels were made by Decorate This!

Of course the little guests participated in an Easter egg hunt. While the eggs were being hidden, the kids decorated their eggs and baskets with little gems, washi tape and stickers. See how to make the washi tape eggs here.

An egg toss with another activity which is fun for many ages!

Thank you Christine for sharing this cheerful Easter party with us!

Sources

Photography: Rebecca Watkins and Pure Joy Events

Printables: Monkey Moo Moo

Sugar Cookies: Sugar Cookie Creations

Macarons: Pastry Xpo

Cake bites: Kerry Dangerfield

Pinwheels: Decorate This!

A Few Party Ideas for Me

My birthday will be here before I know it, so I need to figure out a little fun way to to celebrate! I'm still on the fence on whether it is ok to plan your own party (more worried what others think than me), but my favorite thing in the world is to plan parties, so my birthday is really just another excuse!

{image via Martha Stewart}

A few of my favorite things are cookies (all kinds!), fresh flowers and a night out with my best girlfriends. So, I have a few themes in mind...

Cookies & Cocktails

I have a sweet tooth like no other, so an evening centered around all types of cookies would be perfect! This is an easy party that could be hosted at home. I'd either like to create a cookie table with lots of varieties or build a tiered cookie stand with several selections which would serve as the cake. Throw in a few of my favorite drinks and gorgeous centerpieces and I would be one happy birthday girl!

{source unknown}

{image via Rebecca Thuss}

Champagne & Cookies

This would be just like the Cookies & Cocktails party at home, but with the addition of a champagne bar!

{image via Todd Events}

{Image via The Party Dress}

Flower Arranging Party

with good friends, fun sips and yummy goodies

This is a theme I have been itching to do ever since I saw this party idea on Modern Eve. I'd love to set up a flower stand like you would see in a flower market and let the girls select their favorites. Then, someone would be on hand to teach us how to arrange simple, yet beautiful, arrangements for our homes. The girls would take home the arrangements they created as their favor. This theme could work at any time during the day...breakfast, brunch, dinner or just appetizers and drinks! It's always the theme I am leaning towards because I could incorporate all of my favorite things I listed above.

{image via Modern Eve}

{image via The Party Dress}

Now I just need to settle on a color scheme! I have so many favorites right now! What colors are you crushing on currently??

PB&J Sticks

How is it that everything is cuter when it's miniature?! I love this simple kid friendly snack idea from Sweet Paul...PB&J Sticks! This bite size treat not only looks adorable and party worthy, but is simple and inexpensive to make. If you are worried about peanut allergies, try replacing the peanut butter with cream cheese instead!

{Designer Crush} Munger Interiors

P is for Party is a place for all things party related, but I know so many of us that have a love for entertaining, have a love for interior design as well. So, I wanted to take a moment and introduce you to one of the finest interior design firms out there, Munger Interiors. Lucky for me, the firm is based in Houston AND the founder, Elizabeth Munger, is a dear friend of mine.

Each project that Elizabeth and her sister and partner Amy work on is phenomenal, but I was blown away by the following Bay House project and I know you will be too!

I could look at this room for hours. The Kelly Wearstler "Bengal Bazaar" pillows in pink are perfect for the beach and I ADORE the striped chairs! I am drooling over the coffee table as well. This table is to the trade, but you can find a similar version at Restoration Hardware.

Elizabeth accessorized this room to perfection!

What a perfectly modern, yet quaint bay house kitchen. I cannot tell you how much I love the acrylic bar stools! I am a big fan of stained concrete countertops too!

The table is gorgeous and I really like how Elizabeth mixed Koobo chairs with smaller wooden chairs. And I love the print on the chair cushions!

Now on to the bunkroom! This is my favorite style....upholstered headboards with matching bedskirts and pillows paired with crisp white linens. I'm a huge fan of seagrass too (I have it in many areas of my home)! And I loooove the white lacquered nightstand!

How cute are the bunk beds?!

Clearly this was a small room to work with, but oh how cute are the three beds instead of just two?! I love the simplicity of the fabrics, yet the pink provides the perfect amount of color.

The master bedroom is beautiful in shades of white and blue. The skirted nightstands with glass top are just what I have been wanting for our guest room!

I could gush about each room in this house all day long! This is the master bathroom...

How gorgeous is the deck?! I believe some of the graphic turquoise fabric is from Trina Turk's new line which you can find at Layla Grace.

Not only do Elizabeth and Amy design beautiful rooms, they all know how to accessorize and pay close attention to detail...something we party girls appreciate!

The custom fabric lamp shade is dainty and looks so good on the mirrored bedside table.

This turquoise box was purchased to hide remotes in the living room.

I am slightly obsessed with monograms and monogram all of our towels. I really like how they chose a more of a tone on tone embossed look for the bathroom hand towels.

Drinks and limes ready to go!

The home owners have 4 children, so Elizabeth and Amy designated a spot for beach towels and painted beach buckets for each child.

Another gorgeous fabric choice for a white chair!

My style is always changing, but I typically lean towards the transitional, but I still feel like my roots are traditional. For those of you who love traditional decor with classic fabrics, you will really enjoy the following rooms by Munger Interiors.

{Party Tip} Invest in Sturdy Containers

{Some of the party tips I write about might sound like I am stating the obvious. But you never know who might not have thought of it or who needs a little nudge in the right direction. So many times I read simple ideas and think "ah-hah! I can't believe I never thought of that before!"}

I consider myself an organized person and clutter control freak, but with kids, I have definitely had to learn to let some of that go. I don't know about you, but the week or two before a party, my dining room becomes the control center and everything gets stacked on the table and the surrounding areas. This drives me crazy, because it is one of the first rooms you see when you walk into our house. The unorganized piles of party goods were driving me crazy and a few months ago, I vented on Facebook. A reader wrote back and said she likes to store everything in categorized bins. Umm, of course...why in the world had I not thought of that before?!

So, last week, while I was prepping for the cutest Little Blue Car party, I went to The Container Store and stocked up on 5 of these heavy duty storage containers in various sizes. I could not be more happy with my purchases! I was able to sort through everything in my dining room and place it in a coordinating bin. This felt sooo good! PLUS, everything was packed away and I wasn't panicking that my two young and very active boys were grabbing things off the dining room table!

I bought one, 33 gallon clear storage tote , 3, 22.75 gallon clear storage totes and one other size that I do not see listed online. On a side note, The Container Store is currently having a storage sale and these large totes are included!

Here is a quick picture I took of some of the totes packed and ready to go. I can't tell you how much easier this made my life on the morning of the party! I packed all of the transportable desserts in one bin, the containers for the dessert table in another and so on.

Thank you dear reader for turning on a light bulb in my head!