madi no 16

i have been a huge fan of sharnel for years ~ she recently styled a sweet sixteen chanel-themed party and it was fabulous! 

elegant and classy in black, white and pink perfection! 

for further details and more photos, visit here

images source

pink and green

the other day, a dear friend reached out to me to help her get inspiration for a preppy pink, green and white baby shower she is planning. starting with this perfect trellis-patterned preppy invites, it set the tone for all the pink and green decor for the shower.

i'm thinking topiaries, pink or green table linens, lots of pink tulips or hydrangeas, polkadot pink and green balloons just to start decor ideas rolling. it'll be cute especially for a springtime baby shower! 

images : top 1, 2, 3, 4

bottom 1, 2, 3, 4

early february here and there

geez, it's monday again! and it is february! 

are you ready for a new week? i hope you all recovered from last night's super bowl game. can't lie, i cued in just for the half time concert and awesome commercials. it did not disappoint! 

i've got lots to share from last week. i quietly turned older last month. i refused to celebrate but was treated to a fun lunch with girlfriends last thursday. thanks so much to friends who greeted on my birthday and for all the generous gifts. can't thank you all enough! 

we also celebrated chinese new year last friday. all week, my husband got our home ready for 2014, the year of the wooden horse. i don't know the rhyme and reason of feng shui but trust me, it never hurts to follow directions and remedies.

over the weekend, instagram exploded with a new app #waterlogue that got us all obssessed. it turns plain images to watercolor art sketches that really looks like real paintings. your plain images turn into these beautiful paintings and i can't get enough of it!

and also, i'm inviting you all to join KELLY LYDEN, of THE PARTY DRESS and WH HOSTESS and author of the latest STYLISH KIDS' PARTIES book and some of the most talented party stylists and bloggers whom i'll be joining in a PINTEREST and BOOK LAUNCH PARTY this coming Thursday, Feb 6th 8-9 PM CST.

we will be pinning and sharing creative kids party ideas to this PINTEREST BOARD so make sure to follow this board. i will see you there thursday for sure!

thanksgiving dinner

i finally got my act together and made a trip to the grocery last sunday to buy ingredients for thanksgiving dinner. we do enjoy having family and relatives around this special time of the year. we are so blessed and we are grateful that we can celebrate thanksgiving year after year with family. we have a lot to be grateful for. 

so here's a look at a thanksgiving dinner table i am trying to recreate. golds and browns for a traditional thansgiving tablescape is always lovely. are you ready for thanksgiving? 

gold flatware similar here (rose gold option here) // gold trimmed plates // cake stand // napkin set // gravy boat // glass bowl (similar) // cocktail shaker // serving set (similar) // pumpkin dutch oven

a pirate-themed swimming party

it's party time!

i hope everyone had a great weekend. we surely did and we totally enjoyed the beautiful weather. it was perfect to dine al fresco and to even do late night walks in the neighborhood and that's exactly what we did. 

today's party feature is on little david's  pirate-themed swimming birthday party from a few weeks ago. we shared david's  1st birthday here and his 2nd here. with cooler weather, the indoor swimming pool at aqua tots was the perfect venue for little swimmers. 

the cutest pirate decor details were everywhere! 

 

 

 

 

love the custom cake topper!  

 

 

 

 

happy birthday david! we were so glad to celebrate with you!


all images by ailynne abarado-remigio and anne-marie abarado-do

party sources :

cake topper : angies designz
birthday boy custom shirt : b unique designz 
big brother custom shirt : ooe and auti
birthday cake : cakes by channon
party venue : aqua tots

a wicked cute halloween party

halloween is just a few days away and i've got an amazing halloween party feature for you!

this wicked cute halloween party is just perfect for celebrating halloween with the wee ones. no scary decor or props but an all out focus on sweet treats. lots of glittered pumpkins, adorable owls, bats and spiders for fun DIY centerpieces to add height to the dessert table.

maggie and cristina of via blossom did an incredible job styling this kid-friendly halloween party. the crafty and creative duo DIYed the orange petal lanterns that beautifully anchored the colorful dessert display. i love the color scheme of bright purple, orange and lime green that played along with different patterns - chevron and gingham. that gave an added texture and dimension to every corner of the display.

 

cristina's daughter who will be a princess this halloween inspired the glitter and glam aspect of this dessert display. there's a witch's hat and glittered pumpkins as decor. they served white chocolate covered apples sprinkled with orange sugar sprinkles, lemon petit fours, jello petite glasses with ghost marshmallows, cake pops and more!

huge thanks to cristina and maggie for sharing this halloween celebration with us! hope you all enjoyed it - and if you want to recreate this party, visit their online party site to shop for most of the party details featured here!

party styling : VIA BLOSSOM
wooden halloween picks + petite cups + square mini glasses + black petite blossom cups + cupcake gingham wrappers : VIA BLOSSOM

halloween party plans

 if you are planning a halloween party with friends, look no further and just hop over to pottery barn theme party tips for all your party needs. whether you'll be hosting an adult costume party or a fun gathering of little kiddos, they have a variety of halloween themes to choose from that outlines every party details for you. from decor, recipes, playlists and even free printable invitations, placecards, menu labels and more!

all images from pottery barn 

shop for your party essentials here :

breakfast in october

i have a friend who will be hosting an early morning seminar/conference in october and she reached out to me for some ideas that will give this meeting a little bit of pizzazz. 

she told me that it was going to be a breakfast seminar with guest speakers and several attendees. i immediately thought of a fun breakfast buffet that will consist of a cereal, granola and yogurt bar. i also toyed with the idea of serving miniature breakfast treats such as mini pancakes, fruit or donut hole kebobs, milk and yogurt shooters!

for decor, a simple floral arrangement using coffee mugs or empty starbucks bottles as vases will serve as table centerpieces and it will tie up the whole "breakfast" theme! 

image sources : 
donut kebobs, mini pancakes, floral arrangement, donuts on milk, juice bar, donut topiary 

back to school party

for most of you, school must have started this week if not next week. if you have time to squeeze a last minute back-to-school party for the kids and their friends, find inspiration in these images for some cute party details! 

here's what you need to recreate a fun back-to-school soiree : 

shop for them here

~ images : 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

a cruise birthday celebration

today's party feature is on my niece's fabulous 35th birthday cruise celebration. on a beautiful saturday a couple weeks ago, we all went aboard star spirit to celebrate and honor anne-marie  on her 35th birthday. her wonderful and generous husband, cal  organized and put together an amazing party on board the cruise. he even managed to make chocolate pops as well! 

 

 

happy birthday anne-marie ! not too long ago, we featured her 33th birthday here as well.

 

 

  

 

we all had a great time (except i had the most embarassing case of seasickness - i'll spare you the details)!

ailynne  with daniel! 

the incredible dessert table and the best tres leches cake i've ever tasted (not too soggy, not too sweet) - it does taste good as it looks! 

 

thanks for a memorable day, anne-marie  and cal ! thanks for having us!


party sources :

photos from ailynne and anne-marie
cake by cakes by gina
cookies by cakes by gina
cruise celebration on board star fleet yachts

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