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Monday, November 12, 2012

Hollin's 1st Birthday - A Princess and Costume Party

Hollin's 1st birthday party went off without a hitch! I think everyone had a great time even though it was a bit chilly out. Hollin sure loved the attention :)

I planned this party for months and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little proud of how everything came together. I am definitely relieved that I can sit back and relax now, but I had so much fun coming up with a concept and buying things as I went along.

Since Hollin is a Halloween baby, the natural choice was a costume party! Just ordering the invitations got me excited. HollinInvite_zps51449ea3

I wasn't sure if I wanted the party to be decorated for Halloween, or for her costume. She was a Princess this year, so I just went for full-on pink girlyness!!


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The curtain rod that everything is hanging from was left behind by the old owners when we bought the house. I hung on to it because I knew I would find a use for it someday! The curtains panels were a Lowe's clearance find at $5 per panel. The canopy was also found at Lowe's for around $20 and I bought that knowing that she could use it in her room later on.


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I had heard through the grapevine that the cupcakes from Wal Mart are delicious, so that is where they came from. They were really good! I borrowed the tables, tableclothes, cupcake stand and already had the pictures and old pageant crown on hand :) I borrowed the pumpkin/crown idea from Pinterest.





We bought the little white pumpkins on our Pumpkin Patch day and my dad cut out holes for tealight candles.


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The cupcake toppers were from Etsy!

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This little table was so fun to put together. All of the pennant banners, I made myself. I bought heavy cardstock and large stickers, then had hubby cut a nice cardboard triangle to use as my template. I hot glued them to the ribbon and it was a little time consuming, but I enjoyed it.


This sweet little frame was from Michael's. It was unpainted, so I handpainted both sides. It didn't take as long as I thought it would, but now I need to figure out where to hang it!
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I wanted to put all of the food on one table, but this one just wasn't big enough. DSC_0326_zps362cf600


II borrowed this idea from Pinterest :)
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These little crown sandwiches were not easy to make, but fun to eat!

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The mason jars were a big hit and we've enjoyed using them since the party :) We had gallons of good ol' McDonald's sweet tea, pink lemonade and of course, soda. DSC_0299_zps4bc15b84

I wanted to keep all of the food light and dainty. I forgot to take a picture, but we also had a Chic-Fil-A chicken nugget platter. DSC_0316_zps615b0f72

The little cups were filled with my mom's famous potato salad. Yum..

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For favors, I bought tiny princess and cupcake themed gift bags from the Target Dollar Spot this past Summer. My Mother and Father-in-law made these awesome chocolate covered caramel apples. They were so delicious.

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We had some sweet costumes!


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(This one is so funny because his daddy is a Police Officer :) DSC_0340_zpsa556d8e8

This sweet lady and I have been friends since Kindergarten. Her little pumpkin has the cutest dimples I've ever seen.

Then, there was knight Harper without his Knight hat.
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These next two are brothers! The littlest one is an ECU fan. DSC_0349_zps83bd471f

And Luigi!

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 This is my little flower girl. She was three when she was in our wedding. She is getting so big! DSC_0423_zps7fe9e655

There were some that I didn't get a picture of :(


Now, the guest of honor. My sweet Princess Hollin. DSC_0339_zpsd490aeec


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The most time-consuming project of this whole party, was her high chair tutu, believe it or not. I found a really simple online tutorial and worked on it every night after work for about a week and a half, but I LOVED the result! I didn't measure each piece of tulle individually. Some were longer than others, but it turned out really fluffy.

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 Her smash cake was my favorite part of the whole day. DSC_0387_zps502bcdf7

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Loved getting a picture of most of the special people in Hollin's life :) DSC_0396_zps2769329d

After cake came gifts and Hollin stayed with me for a little while. DSC_0419_zpsf577f96f

But then, it was naptime. DSC_0422_zps730858d3

I headed upstairs to put her down, then came back to mingle a little. The day of the party was my brother-in-laws birthday! I didn't get to talk to him very much with everything going on, but Jimmy got him a card and a Storm Trooper cupcake. Photobucket 
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When the Princess woke up, we ran out really quick to get some pictures with the sign we rented. My friend started her own business and rents these adorable signs to put in your yard. You get to keep the little personalized sign! DSC_0428_zpscbfe44a2

Jimmy and I were so excited to celebrate our little girl's first year of life with so many special people.

Happy 1st Birthday Princess Hollin!!!

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Sunday, November 11, 2012

Hollin's 1st Birthday Party

I will have the full post up tomorrow morning. In in the mean time, here's a sneak peek!


:)

Monday, November 5, 2012

Happy 1st Birthday Hollin

(Mommy wrote this post on your birthday, 10-31-2012.)

Sweet girl,

I can't believe that a year has passed since your daddy and I were waiting patiently in the Pre-Op room for my C-section.  Mommy was so nervous, but she couldn't wait to see your precious face.
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At 11:52am, daddy and I heard your sweet cry and were so thankful for your easy arrival into the world.

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You were our special little Halloween gift
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You have blessed our family in more ways than I can count. Your sweet smile and spirit are truly undeniable. You are headstrong and affectionate and we love this about you.
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Your personality gets bigger by the day.  There isn't a day that goes by that you don't do something to make us laugh.
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You absolutely adore your big brother and you have from the beginning. In the rare moments that he will pay you attention, you are like a little sponge.  I hope that you and Harper are always best friends.
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We are so, SO grateful and proud to call you ours.
 
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I hope you always know how much we love and adore you and your brother.

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Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Saturday, October 27, 2012

This Week and Hurricane Sandy Saturday


I have missed blogging this week! Hubby is taking some online courses and is on the laptop for hours each night after work. I'm SO proud of him for taking these classes, however it does affect my blog-time :(


This week has been very busy. The weather has been all over the place. We are in the time of year where we have to run the AC during the day and the heat at night. I rocked my first scarf of the season to work one morning. Oh how I love a scarf.

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On Wednesday morning, we woke up to quite a mess spilling out of our downstairs toilet. Just use your imagination. We weren't sure what to do. My dad was nice enough to offer to fix it when he came to town on Thursday. He didn't work on it until Friday morning and well, it was an even bigger mess once he got into it. The lovely toilet water ran out of the toilet, onto the floor, out into the hallway and almost into our Pantry.

This was on Friday morning while Hollin was eating breakfast. The stench was so horrible, we ended up leaving and buying their costumes just to get some fresh air.
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Harper enjoyed the quick visit to the toy store.
 
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After awhile, we finally had to call a plumber. All is good and clean now.
 
 

Hurricane Sandy arrived this morning and really messed with my party-planning! Jimmy is working this weekend and I had (and still have) tons of errands to run. Going to Target and Wal-Mart in the wind gusts and rain has been so much fun! I have most of what I need, but as always, I forgot a few things and will have to go back :(

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We went to Panera for lunch (again) today and Harper got his usual Pumpkin cookie and nothing else. His eating habits are another post for another time. We are really struggling in this department.

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Once we got home, it was a cozy, rainy day. I played on the floor with my little ones and just soaked up the day and the time with them. Rainy weekends can also be good for the soul.

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Harper has had a lot of ipad time today since we couldn't go out. And can I just say he looks WAY too grown here?

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Miss Hollin went to bed super early, as usual, and Harper and I like to hang out in my bedroom while we wait for daddy to come home. I have been crafting while Harper watches his ipad shows. It's one of my most favorite, relaxing moments of the day.

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Tomorrow is supposed to be another wash-out. I guess it's a good day to keep crafting!



Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Jimmy's Family Spaghetti Recipe

I wanted to share a super quick and easy recipe that has been a staple in our home for years!

I don't have any pics, but trust me. You'll love it.

You'll need :

1lb of hamburger
1 lb of spaghetti noodles
1 large onion
1 can of tomato sauce
2 cans condensed tomato soup
1 can beef consomme
1 can diced tomatoes
3 beef boullion cubes
salt and pepper

Directions: Brown the hamburger and onions together. Add 1/2 the can of beef consomme just before the hamburger is done. Cook for a few minutes.

Add the rest of the consomme, and the rest of the ingredients except for the spaghetti. Simmer on low heat.

While the sauce is simmering, cook the noodles.

Drain and add to the sauce. Let simmer for about 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

(Makes awesome leftovers :)

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