I'm really milking this party.

Yeah, I'm just going to keep blogging about this party everyday. I don't really have a lot going on at this current moment, so I'll try to keep you entertained by drawing out this party posting for as long as I can.

So, the table...and the pom chandelier. I feel like this is every one of my Pinterest dreams coming true. I think the pom chandelier was one of my very first pins and I'm so glad I actually did it!

There are a hundred pom tutorials, so I'll spare you details of the tissue paper folding. But here is a photo of the pom skeleton. My light fixture was just begging to be jazzed up with tissue paper, lanterns and balloons...but we turned our table the long way, so I had to extend it because the table was no longer centered. So I duct taped some wire hangers together and wired them to the light fixture to add length in the right direction. And then I just got to wiring on the poms.

And for some color, I added orange polka dotted wrapping paper as the table runner.

But what to do with all that extra wrapping paper??  

Welcome to the party!!

Let's make it a Modg Christmas for everyone!

So my obsession for the past few days: Operation WANA (We Are Not Assholes) from one of my favorite bloggers Modg. You see, Modg is just your average cynical new mom that tells it like it is and swears like a sailor.

She also apparently has a heart.

She started a random little posting trying to help others in need this Christmas season and it has exploded. I was reading on Thursday and there were about 30 comments of people in need and people offering help. Now there are over 1200.

It's pretty amazing. And addicting. The cool thing, these people are actually in NEED for their families, (well besides some ass that wanted an iPod for his wife). But seriously, their stories will humble you and the giving that is already happening will warm your heart.

And while I love me a giving tree and have picked up fun gifts for some children in need this year...I have no idea who they are, what their story is etc. But here, you're able to give knowing exactly what is needed and the whole story of why it's needed.

So please go check it out...pick a commenter in need and GIVE! I know you aren't an asshole.

Operation WANA

(And plenty of people would love hand me downs, so if you can't buy new, find something in your house and pass it on!)

Yep, I'm still talking about the Party.

Alright, more decorations...with glitter!

As always, because I made things more difficult than they had to be and chose party colors that don't really exist for first birthday decor, I had to make my own Happy Birthday sign.

I was asking Alicia if she had letter punches from her classroom for me to borrow, but she suggested something even better. And knowing my love of fonts, I can't believe I didn't think of it myself.

I just printed out letters in size humongous...

traced them, backwards, onto the back side of the glitter paper (I didn't even cut them out first. When I outlined each letter, the black ink just transferred right on to the page.)

And then I cut them out and glued them on to some ribbon. Easy.

Back to the parteeeey

The food.

I love breakfast food, so I'm sure that helped seal the deal on my birthday brunch idea. And who doesn't love a donut hole? And considering their round shape...the perfect addition to the circle party!

I just took a Styrofoam cone, covered it in saran wrap and toothpicked them on (48 to be exact).



And then, there was the french toast bake. Anything we could prepare ahead of time was a winner in our book. So along with the standard eggbake, we added in this french toast bake...and everyone LOVED it. I'm always nervous to try a new recipe so I'm glad this one worked out!

Overnight Blueberry French Toast

12 slices of bread, cut into cubes (I used Texas toast)
1 package cream cheese, cut in cubes
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
12 eggs
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 cups milks

Syrup:
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup blueberries
1 Tablespoon butter

• Arrange 1/2 the bread cubes in the bottom of a greased pan (this was Andy's job and he kinda forgot to grease the pan, and yes this is a crucial step...unless you just want to throw away the french toast caked on pan like we did.)
• Sprinkle cream cheese cubes and blueberries over the bread cubes
• Top with remaining bread cubes
• Mix together eggs, milk and syrup
• Pour over bread cubes and cover with tin foil. Chill in fridge overnight
• Bake covered with tin foil at 350 degrees for 30 minutes
• Remove tin foil and bake for another 30 minutes

Syrup:

• Cook water, sugar and cornstarch until thickened.
• Stir in blueberries and simmer for ten minutes.
• Add butter and stir until melted.
• Serve over french toast.
• (Or you can have your dad come over and do all the syrup part for you while finish getting ready.)

Thursday Tubes

I interrupt this parteeey posting spree to update you on Emmie's day.

This morning Emmie went under the knife to get herself some tubes. Hopefully this will be the answer to the ear agony.

We had to be at the surgery center at 7am this morning...and someone couldn't eat or drink anything after midnight. It went better than expected and Emmie didn't even seem to care where her milk was, she was just stoked to be leaving the house in her jammies. Once we got checked in, spoke with several different nurses and doctors she was on her way. One parent is allowed to go back while she was put under and we all know Andy was on that task...I would've been crying harder than Em.

And then, before we knew it, she was back in our arms and hamming it up for the nurses.

The Parteeeey continues

So I'd love to show you Emmie's first year video...but blogger is being a real pain right now. So you'll have to go check it out here on Facebook.

Back to the party: I should back up and start with the invitation.

My theme, circles. And my colors, I mean Emmie's colors...this party was totally about her...orange, aqua and some pink. Because of course I can't just be normal and use what is actually available. I have to make thing ultra difficult to find, to make etc.

So the invites. I tried to be all cool and trendy and address my envelopes the long way. You know, because Emmie told me all the kids are doing it this way now. Well, epic fail on my part because did you know...that even though it's a standard sized envelope when you put the address a different direction the Post Office spazzes out and wants you to pay extra...yeah...I didn't know that...so everyone owed 44 cents to their local postal delivery person.  Awesome way to start the party.

Moving on.  We all know I'm a cheapass frugal kind of gal. So the thought of buying oodles and oodles of scrapbook paper for my first party project, not all that appealing. So I went the thievery route. Yep, stacks upon stacks of paint chips. I was trying to be all sly at Lowe's and then realized that NO ONE cared. So I just kept grabbing. And did you know paint chips come in really big sizes now? Nice.

And then I got to punching. And punching. Man, I grabbed a lot of paint chips.

And then I took said paint chip circles and glued them to some thread. I just sandwiched the thread between two circles and let the glue stick do the rest.

Oh this is just after my second epic fail took place. My first notion was to sew these strands. You know, just hop on the ol' sewing machine and sew a straight line leaving some length in between each circle. Ha. I tried, I failed. I glued instead.

And then I hung them! A little retro, a lot of like! And for zero dollars and zero cents, even better.

The Parteeeeey

What says happy first birthday like a brunch with friends and family and ceasars and mimosas? I mean, if I were a baby, I know that's the kind of party I'd want.

So just a couple days before Emmie's big birthday, we celebrated.  And because this party has basically been all consuming for the past few weeks, it will be all blog consuming for the next few days. The party details, the how tos, the recipes.

Let's start with the main event. Emmie, duh. The Little Miss took a two hour nap before the party and we had to wake her up to get her party dress on. And she loved it! She played with the tulle and was such a ham all day.

I'm ONE!