Finally having a moment to share the photos from the Paper Airplane Birthday Party! This party was for my sweet son who turned two, and like many little boys he’s in love with any type of transportation – especially planes! I wanted the theme to be youthful but still fun for the kids and adults, which is why I combined the idea of “vintage airplanes” with “paper airplanes” for this party – a fun throwback for adults and something the toddlers got a kick out of, too! If you didn’t see the invitations yet, check them out here. Enjoy the photos and as always, all the paper products are available on my Etsy Shop.



A paper airplane garland soared above the main food table, made up of over 100 little paper planes! The blue and red color scheme was incorporated into the food table through the food signs, banner and star confetti. The main food table was home to lots of easy-to-eat brunch food items including quiches, mini-muffins and mini-scones, baked doughnuts, bagel + lox sandwiches, gingerbread shortstacks, fresh fruit – plus star pb+j sandwiches and bunny grahams just for the kids. The theme and free-spirited tone of the invite was carried through all the little signage pieces. The food cards were categorized by “in-flight bites” or “in-flight sweets”, with canny little remarks about the food items.





“Hudson’s Hangar” was the spot for all the beverages and favors – water, hot coffee, milk and of course bloody mary’s and mimosas for the adults. The flags for the red stripey straws and toothpicks said “paper / forces”, “air shark / for life”, “party / party” and “happy / birthday”.




There was a little paper airplane station encouraging the “paper forces to unite”. The station was set-up with pre-cut paper, custom-made star crayons and instructions on how to make their own Model #HJP-1212 DIY Paper Plane. Once the kids (and adults) colored their planes they could take them for a test flight in the Test Flight Zone and try to make it inside the blue and red rings. I loved how the adults and little ones got into this activity, and was very impressed with some of the adults’ paper plane models they remembered making from their childhood!




For sweets we had vanilla and chocolate babycakes, with red and blue stars indicating the flavor, a delicious black and white cake with raspberry filling, and adorable custom-made paper airplane sugar cookies – a paper plane, radar with plane and star – from Sugar Lane Bake Shop (shop is out of New York but ships anywhere in the US).





Given his first birthday party was a much larger affair, I wanted to keep his second birthday a small but special celebration with his closest buddies and family. It was not only much easier to plan and manage, but the birthday boy was comfortable and happy to play with everyone there…which can always be questionable with a two year old!  His fellow little paper forces pilots went home with red suitcases filled with star crayons, paper to make their own DIY Paper Plane at home, a toy tin plane and paper plane themed sugar cookies.





{Resources} :: Cake and Babycakes :: Red and Blue Cupcake Star Toppers :: Star Crayons :: Custom Sugar Cookies :: Invitations and Paper Products

Excited to be able to share with you some photos from a party I helped plan and style for a client in the Palisades. Unfortunately I forgot my camera, but luckily I had my iPhone to snap a few photos (thank goodness for Instagram!). My client is the matron of honor in her dear friend’s wedding, and there were lots of friends flying in from out of town for the bride’s shower the next day. Being the hostess with the mostess, she wanted to have a welcome dinner party for the bride and all her guests…how amazing is she!?! The evening began just before sunset upstairs on her rooftop deck with cocktails and appetizers. It was followed by an al fresco Southern-Inspired dinner served family-style downstairs, which consisted of a Grilled Flank Steak, Southern Fried Chicken, Macaroni and Cheese, Brussel Sprouts Salad and Green Beans. And if all that wasn’t enough, there was an incredible dessert display inside with coffee. Enjoy the photos!

{Vendors} :: Food prepared by Chris Green Catering, Flower Arrangements crafted by OCD Events, Desserts by Sweet E’s Bake Shop, Ruffled Burlap Table Squares by Jen at Shop Snug Haven, Planning + Styling by Le Partie Sugar

I’m excited to share with you these FREE PRINTABLES just in time for Fourth of July next week. There’s a “Fourth of July” Banner, Drink Tags and Menu Cards (blank and with wording featured in photos). Check out the photos for some inspiration on hosting your own picnic-style Fourth of July party. A variety of boxed lunches and pre-made beverages make this an easy get together with friends and family!









Download the Fourth of July Printables by clicking here. Just print, cut and enjoy!

A couple things happened recently, culminating in this inspiration board…first my Serena and Lily catalog arrived last week, and second I came across the adorable Lobster Sugar Cookies from Sugar Lane Bake Shop on Etsy and immediately fell in love! So after dreaming of a Summer Lobster Bake Party all night, I put together this party inspiration board. The bold red, aqua and navy color theme give a nod to the nautical nature of this bash, complimented with neutral touches of natural wood and burlap. Eating lobster is notoriously messy, so use the nautical-stamped burlap bags {2} to store the “lobster bib” and toilettes and place on each person’s plate (or in a basket if keeping it casual). And how cute are those mason jar lidded cups {6}…yes, please! If you’re feeling inspired, check out the resource links below – fun ideas for a wedding shower, rehearsal dinner or just-because dinner party!



Resources | {1} Piazza Outdoor String Lights, serena & lily | {2} Hand-Stenciled Burlap Bags, etsy | {3} Lobster Sugar Cookies, etsy | {4} Lobster Napkins, caspari | {5} Fresco Beverage Bowl, serena & lily | {6} Mason Jar Tumbler, etsy | {7} Riviera Arm Chair, serena & lily | {8} Poppy Awning Stripe Throw, serena & lily | {9} Woven Rattan Lanterns, serena & lily |

I’m home for the holidays and was planning to take break on posts for a few days, but couldn’t resist snapping some photos of my mother-in-law’s festive table for the kid’s this Christmas Eve. With three boys all under 8 years old, it’s no easy task to get them seated at the dinner table. But not this year…Nana has a red and white candy-themed table just for the kiddos complete with gumdrops, gingerbread houses, peppermint candies, taffy, poppers filled with toys and more! And if they’re good little boys they get to fill up treat bags with all the candy they can fit – a multi-purpose table that’s sure to be a hit come Saturday. Merry Christmas and enjoy the photos!

Today I’m starting the party breakdown for the Kitschy Little Man party I threw for my son’s first birthday. You may remember the “Happy Birthday Handsome” invitations from last month, if not you can check them out here. I’m starting with the party overview and inspiration today, tomorrow I’ll share the food and drink details, followed by decor and favors and last but not least, the photobooth pictures and candid party shots. Let’s get started!



Every party begins with some inspiration, and this one started with none else than the birthday boy himself. He doubled his birth weight in two months, quickly outgrowing his infant stage and at one year stands 32” and weighs in at over 26 pounds. This coupled with the fact that you’ll find him in cardigans and button downs instead of onesies, made it the perfect way to celebrate his one year milestone! So I took the Little Man idea and made it my own by incorporating some kitschy elements and boyish charm, so it was fitting for his first birthday celebration.







Come back tomorrow for all the food and drink details, including a delicious Hot Cocoa Bar some “Pocket Square” Pies, Mustache Drink Toppers and more!

On Monday I shared with you the Christmas Partie Kit, and today I’m thrilled to share this New Year’s Eve kit – which happens to be featured on Daily Candy today (along with the Christmas Partie Kit and Hanukkah Partie Kit)! What a thrill to have such a great feature, and I really hope these kits can help with your party planning and truly let you be the hostess with the mostess! So without further ado, here is the NYE Partie Kit channeling a bit of a hollywood regency style in a classic black, white and gold color scheme. Say hello to 2012 in style with these invitations and a partie kit that contains plenty of signs and labels for all your festivities. Party styling tips and suggestions for hosting a NYE bash are below the pictures!

And here are some tips for hosting your New Year’s Eve Party this year using this partie kit:

• Bubbly Bottle Swap – Have your guests each bring a bottle of their favorite bubbly to the party. Upon arriving, guests will sign their bottle and on the way out they’ll take someone else’s favorite for celebrating a milestone or event in 2012.
• Countdown Station – Have a countdown station set up with lots of New Year’s Eve party accessories like noise makers, party poppers, sparklers and confetti for the 2012 countdown at midnight.
• Food and Drink – Since this party will be going past midnight it’s a good idea to start this party around 8:00pm, after dinner time. Have plenty of hors d’oeuvres and beverages around for guests to mingle, nibble and sip their way to midnight!
• Favors – Send your guests off with breakfast for the morning. I suggest packing oatmeal to-go in these cute muslin bags. Fill your bags first with sliced almonds, cranberries and golden raisin, then the oatmeal (this way when your guest pours it out the next morning the oatmeal will be on the bottom).

It’s official, this time next week we’ll be carving into our Thanksgiving turkey, passing the mashed potatoes and raising our glasses to all our blessings. With the one week countdown clock ticking, get inspired by this rustic Thanksgiving spread by Jeni of Found Vintage Rentals and friends. It was just featured on Design*Sponge, and full of great ideas you can pull into your Thanksgiving table. The best part is everyone contributed to this Thanksgiving spread, whether bringing the repurposed table runner, mashed potatoes or a homemade pie, the planning and preparation was shared – making it a collaborative effort by all the guests. I love the spray-painted wine goblets filled with dahlias, the vintage china and the elegant simplicity of it all!

{Source: Design Sponge | Photo Credit: Braedon Flynn}

This Halloween party styled by Pottery Barn took its cue from the frightful American classic, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”. I love how they brought this traditional tale to life, and how easy it is to recreate this at home for a party this weekend. You can use most of the basic entertaining pieces you already have, add some burlap and buy a couple skeleton and raven scare-worthy pieces and you’ve got yourself a great Halloween tablescape.  Step-by-step styling instructions and recipes are  available on their website, enjoy the inspiration!

All images copyright of Pottery Barn 2011.

Alright, here we go with Part 2 of the Backyard Baby-Q Bash breakdown! Today I’m focusing on the decor, favors and games. I’ll share the menu cards and food displays in tomorrow’s “Food + Drink” post, even though it’s kinda all part of the decor. If you missed it, be sure to check out the invitations and party overview! click on the But back to the breakdown…the shower was in the backyard, with the best way to get there through the front door. So we had paper luminaries lining the walkway up to the door and a sign directing people to the back.

There were about 60 people attending the couples shower, and there were three spaces for the guests to gather. I had three round tables with 12 chairs each for people who wanted to grab a seat, there were two cocktail tables for the standers and in the very back there was a heated white tent with lounge seating which was perfect for the loving grandparents who attended. It was pretty chilly that day, and a family friend was sweet to set it up the tent for us earlier in the day. I had a few different pieces pulled together for the shower (vintage pieces for serving tables and rented pieces for seating), so to tie it all together I used lots of burlap.

I used one of their baby gifts (the navy crib) to house all their other baby gifts. It was a fun way for the guests to see where the baby would be sleeping, and everyone was totally in love with the idea of a navy crib.

Next to the gift “table” was the antique writing desk holding the party favors and one of the games. The party favors were “S’more Kits for Two”, inside each box there were four graham crackers wrapped in bag sealed with a navy sticker and delicious dark chocolate squares and marshmallows in a bag tied with jute. The special part of these favors was the instruction card for heating the s’mores in the oven WITH the a note about giving “s’more love to baby” by signing up to bring the dreary-eyed new parents a meal via MealBaby.com. I love MealBaby and knew the people they loved were at the shower and would be the ones interested in bringing them some food once baby arrived!

My sister and brother-in-law preferred no “traditional” baby shower games, so I designed a Mad Libs style advice card for guests to complete. It was a great way for guests to be involved (the guys even liked it!) and we had a blast reading them back the next day!

Since it was a couples shower I wanted to make sure there was an activity for the men who attended, so off to the side we had a game of cornhole. If you’re not from the Indiana, it’s a Midwest lawn game staple where players take turns throwing cornhole bags (bags filled with feed corn) at a raised platform with a hole in the far end. I promise it’s way more fun that it sounds…and it wasn’t just the men getting in on the cornhole action!

In addition to vintage furniture pieces, lots and lots of burlap and tons of heating lamps, we used lots of mood lighting for after sunset hours. There were globe lights strung around the party area, lots of mason jars filled with candles on the tables and even handmade mason jar lanterns hanging from the trees (thanks to my sweet dad who hung the lights and even made the lanterns).

That’s it for today. Hard to believe I still have more to talk about for this party…but I do! Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post on the Food + Drink.