A Tropical Birthday Surprise + A Nautical Dessert Party

Back in December, my bro-in-law, Jordan called me looking for some help in throwing together a little birthday party for my youngest sister Lanae! Of course, I began thinking of some fun little ideas and after running a few by him, we decided to go with a nautical-inspired dessert party. Jordan really wanted to go out for dinner with my family and somehow surprise Lanae as well. We decided on a restaurant (old, but new to us) called Psycho Suzi's. From what I knew about Psycho Suzi's, the place looked like a rundown VFW or sketchy warehouse, but inside it was a tropical paradise! Jordan left most of the details to me - he planned to meet us for dinner and then "nonchalantly" head back to my parents for a fun little party - little did Lanae know!

"What are you guys doing here?!"

L&J

Mom and the boys (minus Mitch & Jon)

Dad and Vaness

After our fun little birthday dinner, my mom, Vanessa and I rushed back to the house to get the rest of the food put out while the boys and Lanae made a quick stop at Walgreen's for a little 'delay'.. It was all timed quite perfectly. She was SO surprised!

I've thrown a couple nautical/beach-inspired parties in the past, and I really wanted this one to be somewhat original. I decided to go with more "mature" beach elements, focusing on navy and white. I was excited to reuse a few things I had spent hours making for Justin's Surf's Up Birthday Party last March - the mock capiz shell garland, shell pomanders + a couple beachy recipes.

 

 

I love incorporating memories into birthday parties.. Memories are priceless! I gathered a collection of favorites from everyone in the fam and printed them onto flags. This is the first "memory" garland I've made.. I thought it turned out so stinkin' cute!

{Music} 

included a compiled mix of songs by South, Dandy Warhols, JET, Doves, Turin Brakes, Spoon, Alexi Murdoch, Phantom Planet, Eels, The Killers, Nada Surf, Perishers, Keane, Beck, Aqueduct, Imogen Heap and more!

{Menu}

 

Happy Birthday, Nae!

xo

Fonts used: kevinandamanda

A Sweet, Yellow Bridal Shower

My sweet Aunt planned special bridal showers for both Vanessa and I and now it's our little sister's turn to be showered! For a long time now, Lanae has talked about having yellow, black and white as her "wedding colors", and now that wedding plans are in full swing, including invitations sent and designs chosen, I'm totally in love with her scheme. She's always been so funny how she describes her "style" and vision for the wedding, often saying she likes it "cute" and simple/modern. She chose a signature damask pattern for her invites, as well as other wedding decor (which I am in the process of making.. EEP!), but for now.. we come to her latest shower. 

A month or so before the shower, Vanessa and I met with our aunt to talk about ways we could help - especially since I just love parties oh-so-much. We decided to create her shower inspired by lemons. The guest list included relatives and family and we chose to go with a mid-day event. We took on the decor and setup, and also helped with preparing the food. You can see, we really amped up the yellow/black/white to really imitate Lanae's idea of a "perfect party". 

Ice Water & Lemonade

Paper Straws - The Sugar Diva

Corsage my aunt made for Lanae.. Made of measuring spoons, a pizza cutter, a washcloth and  a wine stopper (I think). 

I was able to use a few pieces I had, including my white, Cupcake Liner Poms and Hollow Yarn Balls. Vanessa and I created the rest of the poms new for this shower - Check out the Fabric & Lace Ruffle Pom DIY!

Menu:

Meringue Drops

Lemon Slice Candy

Lemon Tarts

Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

Marshmallow Pops

Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon & Sugar Pita Chips

Veggie Pizza

Cucumber & Tomato Bruschetta

An all-time favorite recipe I received from my dear friend, Jody. Yu-hum!

Vanessa and I took on quite a few projects while deciding on decor. I have always loved Billy Balls and we knew Lanae especially loves them, so we decided to make some ourselves. We followed the DIY at Design*Sponge and found it a little tricky! We thought it would be a little easier, but actually rolling the felted wool without any creases or cracks was definitely a tasks that kept us laughing. I would definitely attempt to make these lovies again someday!

P.S. Love my extended (and still growing) collection of milk glass?? Aside from a few pieces I borrowed from my momma, I started with a piece from my grandma, gained a few pieces from my friend Anne Marie & her mom and I squeak every time I think of the fantastic thrift store I found the rest of them at. Can't wait to go back!

Vanessa and I spent countless hours during our "Sister Craft Days" working on these Q-Tip Flower Poms. I came across an incredible DIY tutorial at Homemade Ginger with my friend Mulder's Garden Party Baby Shower in mind. Since I had already taken on more than enough projects for the baby shower, I grew really determined to create these for Lanae's bridal shower. We made a total of 9 flower heads with 3 different sizes of styrofoam balls. When doing the largest styroballs, I managed to squeeze the q-tips in much tighter - which totally stunk in the end - because the flower heads were way too heavy for their stems. I've considered transferring them to stronger stems in the future, because they are way too amazing to waste.

{Check out my DIY post here.}

For favors, Vanessa and I dipped pretzels in white chocolate (obviously continuing with the yellow/black/white theme!).

I've really grown to love showers that have some sort of "wishing tree" or "advice" for the bride/mom-to-be. I think it's a really sweet way for the guests to share memorable words, while giving the guest of honor something extra special they can have forever. I created this tree at the last minute, using a long, black-painted branch, ribbon, mini clothespins and some round-ended paper. Guests were asked to share advice or words of wisdom for Lanae.

Cute little bride!

In the bathroom.. Vases full of lemons

Credits:
Paper Straws - The Sugar Diva
Fonts used - Fonts for Peas
Paper for flag garland: Michael's
Fabric: JoAnn & Hancock
Q-Tip Flower Pom Tutorial - Homemade Ginger
Billy Ball Tutorial - Design*Sponge


xo