{real parties} Lady Bug 1st Birthday - Melissa

Party Girl: Melissa
Celebration Type: 1st Birthday Party
Theme: Lady Bug
Color Palette: Red, Green, Black & White with an unexpected splash of blue

I have to say, when Melissa first contacted me about creating a ladybug birthday invitation for her daughter's 1st birthday,
I had a mix of emotions.
One: Her request reminded me of when I hosted my own ladybug themed birthday party for my daughter Clara...
twelve years ago. Wow!!
Two: With the market saturated with lady bug themed parties and invitations, we both knew we wanted something a little different.

For starters, we strayed away from the standard 5x7 and designed a 5x5 invitation.
We then created a color palette using "grown-up colors" with a splash of vintage blue.
I think the whimsy of the invitation mixed with the color palette we chose
manages to bridge the gap between baby and "little lady" perfectly.

This 5x5 invitation has been a favorite of mine eversince...

Taking the adorable collection of coordinating printables we created...

Melissa focused primarily on the food and dessert tables and carried the theme throughout both just beautifully!!

The dessert table is perfection with some darling desserts and an adorable birthday cake.

That smash cake looks SO cute sitting up on top of that 

"too cute" birthday cake...surrounded by a garden of sweet little treats.

The wall of photos depicting Katie's first year were strategically placed
for guests to linger and enjoy while sampling sweets...

Love how the oreo cookie pops include katie's name along with the blue flower to match the invitation.
And I don't know if you can tell, but some of the cellophane wrappers have white polka dots - SO cute!!

The savory table looks just as inviting...

Love what she did with the polka dot paper flowers used on the table.

The cute toothpicks in the jar along with the labels used in the sandwiches serve an important purpose AND happen to be  cute too!!

Matching favor boxes were ready for guests to fill with goodies...

Introducing the guest of honor...the gorgeous birthday girl...."little lady" Katie!

And although Katie isn't too sure about the smash cake concept...

I know I'm sure of the fact Melissa put her heart into Katie's 1st birthday...
It's evident through all of the sweet details...

Thanks for coming back to share pictures Melissa...
You really did a wonderful job - I love how it all turned out!!

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This party should've REALLY gotten you in the mood for Spring...
it's just around the corner you know!
I've already been pleasantly suprised seeing blooms in my yard...how about you?

Be sure to check out the "promise ME" updates...

I've marked a couple if them DONE...
I've added a couple of recipes for Promise #1
And I've done lots of updating.
I hope you "promise Me" peeps are enjoying the process!!

I've also just joined Rhonna in her 6 week shape-up...
Jump on in if you are interested...it's just getting started! *wink*

KEEPING IT REAL
How I'm managing to juggle everything right now is beyond my understanding at this point.

I'm keeping it together despite a whole host of various projects going on.

On top of that...

a lot of the projects are EXCITING!

I'm just bursting at the seams to share everything with you and can't right now.

That only adds to my inner chaos. *wink*

I hope you will continue to shower me with your patience as I "slowly" get to 

the party posts that have been idly sitting in my "Stay glued to your monitor" sidebar.

You really want to know what I believe my saving grace has been?

• "Jalking"/"Wogging" on the treadmill (I'm up to 2 miles in 30 minutes baby!) *wink*

AND...

• Having assigned cooking & dish nights on Mondays & Tuesdays for Clara and Ema. 

This has been SO nice. 

Since the girls have been cooking here and there for awhile now...

they hardly even need my help now when it's their night to cook a meal. 

This frees up a HUGE block of my time. 

These meals are NOT "boxed mac & cheese" either.

At age 14, Clara's done everything from Quiche Lorraine to Taco Salad.

Ema, who is almost 12, actually thoroughly enjoys the art of cooking.

She has just about mastered the art of grilling chicken! Impressive.

She also just created one of our favorite meals all on her own lastnight:

Cranberry Chicken

Mashed Potatoes (we don't do boxed around here)

& steamed green beans.

Aside from a couple of questions, she did that completely without my help.

I was impressed!!

They both have been FABULOUS!! I'm so grateful.

Seriously, you've no idea!!!