{Friday Finds} Candy Apples & Weekly Round Up

{image via With This Ring}

I am dreaming of fall weather and planning fall get togethers in my head. I love entertaining in the fall and the upcoming holiday season! When I stumbled upon this Candy Apple Bar on Pinterest, I just knew I had to share with with you! How fun would it be to set up a station where guests can make a candy or caramel apple and top the apples with an assortment of yummy toppings?! Granted though, this would probably be a total mess. Sounds like fun though!

Wow...I have still not adjusted to the new schedule of PreK! Nick has adjusted, but poor momma over here is not used to early mornings, no naps for Nick (which mean no afternoon computer time for me) and being so tired at night, I crawl into bed much earlier than I have ever in my life. BUT, I am loving this new school adventure, meeting new friends and most importantly, seeing Nicklaus love his new school!

Weekly Round Up

Kelly Lyden from The Party Dress and WH Hostess had two Amy Atlas moments this week! I am smitten with her cheery sunflower table she created for her mom's 60th birthday celebration!

This clothespin decoupage tutorial on Cake popped up at the right time for me! This is a small project I have been planning to do for an upcoming party and now I have the perfect DIY instructions to follow.

Did you see the adorable Luau party by Anna and Blue Paperie?! You don't want to miss this one! Candy Skewers are becoming increasingly more popular and Stefanie provided a simple tutorial on how to make them at home.

I have always wanted to 'host' a baby shower by mail. This recipe shower (all done through the mail) on Toast and Laurel is chic and fun and is a fab idea if you and your friends and family live in many different cities!

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

{Real Parties} A Pink & Turquoise Mermaid Pool Bash

You know it's going to be an AMAZING party when my friend, Christine, is the hostess. Then, combine her creativity with ladies such as Leslie Gaworecki of Goodlight Photography and Kelly Lyden of WH Hostess along with party goods from Shop Sweet Lulu and Celebration TODAY...the Superchick Way...it's going to be one adorable party!

Little Sadie turned 4 in style at one perfectly coordinated turquoise + hot pink mermaid pool bash!

The kids tables were precious. Christine covered the tables in turquoise linens and draped hot pink cabana striped towels crosswise. The centerpieces were prefect + kid friendly. White galvanized buckets were filled with sand and topped with a small bucket, shovel and pinwheel.

Genevieve of Celebration TODAY made hot pink and turquoise party hats for all of the kiddos. Each little party guests found their own hat at their place setting.

3 ft. polka dotted balloons from Shop Sweet Lulu were great statement pieces!

Sadie LOVES mermaids and often tells her mommy, "When I grow up, I want to be a mermaid." How cute is that?! Christine took that quote and used it throughout the party. Here are the adorable words on water bottles (labels made by WH Hostess) and they also appeared on the stunning cake.

Sweet Sadie with a "mermaid" who just so happens to be the best children's entertainer in Houston!

The gorgeous cake was made by Who Made the Cake and it was divine!

Kelly Lyden of The Party Dress and WH Hostess always creates the most fun designs and she did a great job with the graphics for Sadie's party!

What's a kids party without (fantastic) face painting...

...and balloon twisting! Here is my sweet husband who ended up holding endless balloon art that my kids kept gathering.

Nick had an absolute BLAST!

There was also a fish themed bounce house and inside the kids found an endless amount of pink and white beach balls. Such a great idea! All who wanted, got to take home a beach ball AND a bubble tin favor made by WH Hostess.

Such a great favor and one that is actually used!

Christine and her family...

And one happy birthday girl!

Vendors & Sources

Party styling - Christine Hoffer {Belle of the Ball}

Photography - Goodlight Photography

Invitation + paper goods - WH Hostess

Custom party hats - Celebration TODAY...The Superchick Way

Face painting + balloon twisitng - Curly and Daisy

Balloons + straws + blue and white paper bags - Shop Sweet Lulu

Cake - Who Made the Cake

Towels - Target

{Friday Finds} A Week of Firsts & Weekly Round Up

I have been absent on the blog this week and I apologize! It's been an exciting week around here! My oldest started Pre-K which means he will go to school every day. This has been an adjustment for all of us, but so exciting at the same time. My baby is growing up too fast. Here he is on his first day. He was VERY excited. Another first is that both boys started at a NEW school and we could not be more thrilled!

{PS - a few minutes before we left and before this picture was taken, Nick tripped and cut the top of his eye pretty bad. Story of our lives!}

Here is sweet Conrad with his big brother about to head to school as well.

Weekly Roundup

Oh how I love Burlap! Always have and always will. I used it at our rehearsal dinner almost 7 years ago and I find a way to sneak it into 1 or 2 of my parties each year! I got a little excited when I saw the Burlap Trend post on HGTV which was written by sweet Kim of The TomKat Studio.

Kori Clark from Paper & Pigtails might be one of the sweets and most genuine bloggers around! Did you see the pink flower party she hosted for her daughter, Charlotte?! You do not want to miss this one!

Chris from Celebrations at Home debuted the how to on the pom pom piñata Kori created for the above party. I have to try this one day!

The Wonderlandia event, hosted by Jenn of HWTm, sounded amazing! Did you see the different tables that were created for the event?! You can see them here, here, here , here & here! AMAZING vendors designed the tables!

How to Set a Formal Dinner Table

Happy Monday everyone!

Summer is only just now coming to an end, but the holidays and all of the festivities that it brings, will be here before you know it. Often times, Thanksgiving and Christmas and maybe a dinner party in between call for a formal table. Here are a few diagrams to refer to when setting your table.

{image via Martha Stewart}

How to Set a Formal Table

{image via Martha Stewart}

Setting a proper table can feel daunting. But etiquette consultant, Pamela Hillings, said it best..."Once you realize table setting is based on logic, things become less intimidating". Follow this simple rule: set the silverware on the table in the order that it will be used, from the outside in.

The fork used for the first course will be placed the farthest to the left and the knife for the first course will be the farthest to the right. Place any spoons that will be used before dessert to the right of the knives. Dessert utensils should always be placed horizontally above the dinner plate.

All stemware to be used dinner dinner should be preset. The date glass sits to the right of the plate while, just above the knife. Wineglasses should be set to the right of the water glass.

The Dessert Course

Dessert is enjoyed by all on special occasions, more so than a soup course these days. Here is what a proper dessert setting should look like.

{image via Martha Stewart}

All stemware, besides the water glass, should be removed. The dessert spoon and fork remain from the initial setting. Dessert is presented on a small plate accompanied by a coffee or teacup and a teaspoon.

Happy entertaining! Do you have any fall dinner parties up your sleeve?!

{Real Parties} Super Peter!

It seems that most boys, 3 and older, start recognizing superheroes and want to dress up and be just like one! My oldest, Nicklaus, turns 5 in January and he started asking for a Super Hero party a few months ago. I love seeing all of the different versions creative mommies and talented event planners are turning out these days!

Junita of Kinderplays designed this modern "Super Peter" dessert table for a client and did an amazing job with all of the details. My favorite part is the hanging balloon backdrop and the Super Peter poster!

Sources

Event Styling - Junita of Kinderplays

Photography - Lille Bitte

Paper printables - Babalisme

Cupcakes + Cakepops + Cookies - Sugar High

Cake - Cakes, Etc.