bubbles and bowties baby shower

this sweetest baby shower was hosted and styled by super talented florist, event stylist and interior designer therese of Therese Jacinto Designs for her dear friend. the cute bubbles and bowtie theme got a preppy look with the striped and dotted bowties as party favors, customized bubble wrappers and simple yet stunning mums as floral arrangements!

therese created the mini flags and cake toppers and she even baked cupcakes herself! 

a cute teddy bear for the honoree's little "coco bear" ~ eagerly anticipating his arrival!

the dreamy images are just lovely and that's why i'm so eager to share. 

all photos are by therese as well. more on the shower here. 

ninjago lego party

i am planning a ninjago lego inspiration party board for a very special boy named cooper. see, cooper is a brave and tough little guy fighting leukemia at a very young age. he will turn 4 next week and his talented photographer mom jenny has been very busy taking care of him attending to his daily medical needs that the party planning was pushed aside at the moment. that's where i come in and make things a bit easier for her so she can focus on more important things such as making sure that cooper is well and recovering through rounds of chemotherapy.  

per cooper mom's request, we are sticking to the traditional red, black and white ninja colors. 

decor : homemade paper bunting using outline of a lego man in alternating red, white and black paper spelling out "happy birthday cooper". that same paper cutout of a lego man can also be used as garlands over the food buffet or dessert tables. table centerpieces or accents for the dessert table are tall glass vases filled with legos in black, white and red. 

desserts : a store-bought cake can be dressed with cooper's own non-edible ninjago lego set as topper and decorated with lego cookies. ninja cake pops are so perfect for the dessert display and cupcakes can also be topped with lego cookies or with adorable ninja paper cupcake topper! 

party favors : red sandwich bags with lego man head tags filled with goodies and treats

food : japanese sushi rolls, vegetable tempura, edamame snacks

activities :  create "lego" stations in the party venue where guests can work on their favorite lego project. another great idea is to have cooper's dad (or an uncle or friend) act as the party leader and he conducts a workshop on "how to become a ninja" complete with face mask and swords made out of cardboards! 

photo credits : 

ninja printable

ninjago lego cake pops 

favor bag, garlands, bunting and vases filled with lego 

lego man cookie

to read more about cooper's daily ordeal with leukemia and his story of hope and courage, 

visit his facebook page.

mod bowling bash

this past easter weekend we had my in-laws in town for the holidays and we couldn't help but throw a bowling  party as it was my dear hubby's birthday two weeks ago too. he wished to downplay his actual birthday celebration and focused this bash as a little family reunion and invited both mine and his relatives and our closest friends. we had a grand time, to say the least! 

here are a few shots from the bowling bash held at the fabulous houston 300.

a few shots from the party can be seen here too!

we hope you all had a grand time this past weekend celebrating Easter with your loved ones!

easy easter treats

cake pops bouquet

as inspired by my insanely creative and talented blogger friend christine of pure joy events, i tackled this easy cake pops bouquet project for the easter weekend festivities. simple and easy as 1, 2, 3! 

all you need are cakepops (i used cakepops from starbucks $2.50/2)

 tulip cupcake liners (mine was from lulu's cupcake etsy boutique)

 styrofoam and a vase (i used my ikea pots) 

just make a slit using a pair of scissors at the bottom of the cupcake liner enough to fit the cakepop stick. finally, arrange them accordingly by piercing each cakepop in the styrofoam inside the vase.     

that's it ~ now you have your own cakepop blooms! 

happy easter ! 


linky parties : 

TATERTOTS AND JELLO

keenan's first birthday

my good friend shelly, emailed me her son's first birthday party pictures and i was thrilled to receive them in my inbox. it was a pleasant surprise as not too long ago we were both pregnant with our first borns and now her second baby boy just turned 1! 

the easter/spring-themed party is so cute, i just have to share. getting cue from the anders ruff printables, shelly decided on a fresh light blue and orange party colors. she did most of the party decor and i simply love some of her great finds!

she found these bunnies on sticks at a local gift shop and planted them on terracotta pots, covered with moss and adorned them with ribbons. they are perfect party decor but then they will be transformed as home easter decor that can be displayed year after year! 

shelly served french macarons, bunny-shaped sandwiches and she even tackled on making cakepops with a resounding success - kudos to you, shelly! the bunny decorated cake was baked by a local baker.

they planned on an egg hunting activity for the guests but due to unfavorable weather, the kids get to play pinning the bunny tail indoors that i'm sure they all enjoyed!

the little birthday boy, keenan pictured here and big brother dryden trying his luck with pinning the bunny tail!

thanks for sharing these priceless photos, shelly! it was surely memorable and fantastic!

cute as a button [a pink and gray birthday]

joy of cobblestone rue is one amazing creative mom with a very special blog that i'm a big fan of. recently her sweet adorable daughter campbell turned two and celebrated with a very lovely pink and gray cute-as-a-button party that i am drooling over. pink and gray is one of my favorite color palette and the soft hue was translated to most of the party elements. 

the sweetest letterpressed custom invite featured a button accessory perfect for the theme. garlands of pink buttons were a festive touch to the party as well as the pink and gray poms. i also love the use of gray dotted tablecloths. 

the pink and gray cake with pink and white fondant buttons is a new cake design favorite of mine! so darling!

joy also made pink button chocolate pops which were arranged on mason jars. beautiful ranunculus in mason jars and oversized pink balloons were pretty additions to the party decorations. another favorite of mine? the pink burlap used as tablecloths as well! 

another great option to serve for parties : build-your-own burger bar (in this case, veggie burgers), a fruit bar and a juice bar with multiple juice flavor options for drinks! yummy!

to coordinate with the party color palette, joy covered the juice boxes with custom paper labels to match the theme!

as if that's not enough, joy also baked button cookies perfect for the theme! delish!

and what about these super cute party favor packaging? i'm simply in love with this party! 

if you still can't tell from the amazing party pictures, joy and her husband are incredible professional photographers. visit their facebook page here. 

all photos by garrett, the celebrant's dad.

for more party photos, visit joy's blog!

e-magazines [must-reads]

i have compiled here some of my online magazine must-reads. i have read them over and over. there's page after page of endless inspirations, easy fun tutorials, seasonal yummy recipes, gorgeous party pictures and entertaining tips. features on kids' parties, weddings, bridal and baby showers have colorful spreads within the magazine boasting bright new creative ideas to inspire every hostess out there! 

so, grab a cup of coffee (or a glass of bubbly) and read on (for awhile).......

the party dress

celebrations deconstructed

bird's party 

styled 

nonpareil magazine issue 08

sweet paul kids issue