{I Spy} More Paper Flowers!

Do you remember the stunning paper flowers I showed you that event planner, Jesi Haack, created?! Well, I was sooo excited to see more DIY instructions for gorgeous paper flowers!

You can find the simple instructions and many more beautiful examples over at MADE!

{Real Parties} Circus Bizirrcus

Katie from The Ivory Social sent me pictures from a circus party she planned for her son's birthday. The colors are great and Katie said it best...it was high in color, sunglasses required!

I am loving the trend of the tiny bunting on cakes!

Thank you Katie for sharing this colorful circus party with us! Katie recently hosted a lovely high tea which you must see! My favorite part is the wallpaper backdrop created by Imprintables.

Miss You!

{image via style me pretty}

I have been such a bad blogger lately! I am SO sorry and I truly miss everyone and my daily dose of creativity. I've been reading your blogs though and have seen so many wonderful posts! My in-laws decided to move from Colorado, where they have been for the past 10 years, and come back to Texas. This all happened in about a month, so they have been staying with us while their new house is being remodeled. So, my quiet time during the boys' naps and after they go to bed has been replaced with decorating errands and dinners out. It's been fun though! Anyway....I promise to get back to blogging this week!!

xoxo,

Christi

PS - The above picture has no meaning, besides that I just think it's pretty. =)

{Real Parties} LumberJack & Jill Couple's Shower

I truly L.O.V.E everything about this shower!! Trish of Frilly Milly Events executed the party beautifully and managed to give the couple's shower a masculine and feminine feel by incorporating lots of plaid and wildflowers. If you notice, the table is not full of desserts like you would expect. It's the food table and it contains the cutest spread of BBQ I have ever seen!

Instead of gifts, the happy couple asked their friends to donate to an orphanage. Trish set up a "Giving Tree" for the donation area.

And this could be the cutest photo booth I have ever seen! The props are fantastic!

Did you notice the favor bags too? Trish filled little brown bags with all of the ingredients to make s'mores and sealed them with a label that read "s'more love" and then the couple's wedding date. Adorable!

To see more fun photos from this engagement party, be sure to visit Frilly Milly Events. Thanks so much Trish for sharing this party with us! Trish is clearly a talented event planner, so I can't wait to see what she comes up with next!

{Real Parties} Elephants on Parade

Kelly from WH Hostess and The Party Dress just created the most precious dessert table for an elephant party for a twin boy and girl!! I adore the color combination and it is perfect for a coed celebration. Take a look at all of the adorable elements of the table...

What made the table was the "big top" canopy that Kelly found at Ikea for under $20! She also draped ribbon across the table to give the table a bit of a whimsical feel. My other favorite part is the white background!

Too cute for words baby elephants were placed in various places...also found at Ikea!

Perfect cupcake toppers by WH Hostess paired along with striped paper lined trays to give it that extra pop!

Two Sugar Babies always creates the cutest fondant toppers!

I love the simplicity of the white favor bags with Kelly's new, die-cut elephant stickers! And of course no party can start without a fabulous invitation...

Again, Kelly has given a traditional theme a fun new twist! I always love seeing her parties!

Fabulous Finds

I love reading magazines and looking through decor catalogs. Here is a roundup of my favorite finds lately...

These are gorgeous and I spotted them in the latest House Beautiful! Fill them with pens or even cooking utensils!

I love white plates and this white plate with the bamboo gold rim by Juliska gives makes it truly stand out. A 5 piece place setting is $149.

I adore fall and it is just around the corner! Well, at least the fall months are approaching, but I'm not sure Houston will be getting fall weather any time soon. With fall, comes the rustic look and I love the wicker pedestals, wooden garden stand and wooden wine trough below.

Can't you just picture gorgeous cupcakes, desserts or even appetizers on either of these?!

I think this is a nice break from the galvanized tubs you often see at parties. Don't get me wrong, I love tin, but change is nice from time to time.

See....I told you I like tin. These galvanized pedestals are too cute!

I'm a new fan of Fish Eddy's online shop! I shopped there from time to time when I lived in New York, but I just happened to search their shop the other day and LOVED what I came up with. This blue toile cake plate is so unique and comes in a few more colors! Be sure to check out their online store for other unique finds.

A Swoon Worthy Shower

My mouth dropped a little when I first spotted this beautiful bridal shower on Divine Party Concepts (originally via Green Wedding Shoes) and you will soon see why...

Here are the party details as told by the hostesses...

The decor and vibe was feminine, airy, clean and fresh. We took sherbet colors as our main inspiration and incorporated lace, lockets, vintage milk glass vessels and cameos of Leila’s silhouette to give the shower a girly, yet sophisticated feel. Vintage white milkglass vases were filled with sherbert toned florals in shades of blush, coral and peach…floral varieties consisted of ranunculas, garden roses and parrot tulips. Pink and cream ruffled pillows accented the modern white furniture, adding a soft, feminine touch.The vibe was kinda this urban loft feel but bringing in really pretty, feminine colors and elements (lace, cameos, ruffles, etc.)

For food, we kept it light and simple with some delicious offerings from Contemporary Catering. Finger food options included a spread of assorted cheeses, breads, dates, berries and figs, Ahi Tuna Tartar, and Smoked Duck with Mascarpone and Fig Jam on Petite Bellini. Salads were also served, including a Cous Cous, Sundried Tomato and Basil creation, along with a Pear and Gorgonzola Salad and a tasty Potato salad.

The cupcake spread was incredible! Not only did they taste amazing, but were gorgeously detailed as well. Flavors included champagne mimosa, red velvet, strawberry shortcake, 24 karat ginger, vanilla bean with white chocolate shavings, Cinnamon cake with brown sugar frosting and meyer lemon with raspberry jam. The dessert backdrop was made up of over 50 strands of 6 theme colored laces and 3 theme colored satin ribbons…all shades of blush, coral, peach, apricot etc.

Throughout the planning, we wanted to incorporate a phrase or series of phrases to give the shower a unique and personal feel. At some point, someone on the planning team suggested an “L is for ____” theme and we loved it! We included phrases such as “L is for Leila”, “L is for Love”, “L is for Lewis (Leila’s soon to be married name)”, “L is for Life”, “L is for Laughter”, and “L is for Lucky” on tags attached to paper straws, enlarged in frames and in other signs throughout the shower. The labels on the mini perfume bottles guests took as favors read “L is for Lovely”. The bar even had a sign that said, “L is for Libations”.

The scent bar was set up by a friend of the bride to be and was a huge hit! Guests could create their own perfume to take home, using a combination of over twenty scents. Each guest left with their signature scent in a glass roll on bottle. I love the scent I created – and seriously such a fun activity and favor!

Seriously, can a bridal shower get any prettier?! Two of the hostesses happen to be favorites of mine in the event planning world...Carissa of JL Designs & Courtney of Joyful Weddings and Events.

An Upcoming Monkey Soiree!

I wanted to share with you the inspiration board that Kelly, from The Party Dress, created for an upcoming party I am styling. A precious little girl is turning one and she is celebrating in a big way with an adorable monkey party in the cheery colors of pink, hot pink, mint green and yellow. WH Hostess has created the paper goods and I so look forward to sharing the party details with you in September!

{Recipes} Coca Cola Cake

{image via Bakerella}

Whew...busy, busy last few weeks! It's good to be back! Tomorrow is my hubby's birthday and he has requested my famous Coca Cola Cake. We have not had it in such a long time, so I am super excited about diving into it.

Christi's Coca Cola Cake

Cake Ingredients

1 cup Coke

2 sticks margarine

2 tbsp cocoa

2 cups sugar

2 cups flour, unsifted

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups small marshmallows

Icing

6 tbsp Coke

2 tbsp cocoa

1 stick margarine

1 box powdered sugar

Directions:

Combine Coke, cocoa and margarine and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add marshmallows - stir to melt. Mix flour and sugar. Pour hot mixture over them and mix well. Add baking soda to buttermilk and then add buttermilk, eggs, vanilla and salt to mixture. Pour into greased 13x9 pan. Bake 30-45 minutes at 325 degrees.

For icing: Combine Coke, cocoa and margarine and bring to a boil. Pour over powdered sugar and mix well. Pour over hot cake. {You can half the recipe if you do not want it too sweet}

{photo from our recent trip to Round Hill in Jamaica}

Happy birthday to my sweet husband!!! We will be eating lots of cake tomorrow!

{Real Parties} Scooby Doo...Done Right!

Here is another character party done right by a mom with serious character aversion like me...and like most of you too! But Rachel shows us how we can turn a commercialized theme into a stylish soiree...similar to the recent Yo Gabba Gabba party I posted.

Homemade party poms!

The "Scooby Snacks" station!

The kids grabbed a bag and filled it up with candy to their hearts delight. It was fun to hear that Rachel learned how to make the table backdrop after reading one of my posts!

How cute that Rachel used dog bowls (channeling Scooby) to serve some of the goodies! She bought inexpensive dog bowls at the dollar store and spray painted them in the party colors!

The party set up at a local pizza restaurant. See, it's not hard to turn a restaurant space into something special and memorable!

The "Decorate Your Scooby Snack" table. The kids decorated sugar cookies in the shape of dog bones...precious!

Rachel made the table runners that were perfect for the theme! The orange pom pom trim screams 70's in the best way.

I know I have mentioned this many times before, but I just love to see how people take a commercialized theme and give it their own twist! Thanks so much Rachel for sharing your adorable party pictures with us!