Real Party: 40th Birthday Dinner

My friend Adrienne recently hosted a dinner for her boyfriend Patrick's 40th birthday, and I helped with a little styling. 

She chose one of their favorite restaurants for the party, and it did not disappoint. 

The party was in a cozy private room upstairs.  Adrienne had some simple flower arrangements done by a local florist and I made some small fabric squares to go under them.  We sprinkled the tables with confetti & the restaurant provided custom menus at each place. 

Patrick is a chocolate lover (which is putting it mildly), so Adrienne asked me to make an all-chocolate dessert table.  It was a hit, especially with the birthday boy. :) 

I made almost exclusively chocolate desserts. 

I made chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes.  These were really easy and people loved them. 

The recipe is from The Larson Lingo. 

 Patrick goes crazy for my salted oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, so I had to include some.

He also loves cake pops, so I made some purely chocolate ones (just the way he likes them).  

Patrick often receives my cake pops "mess-ups", so this time he had some that actually looked nice. :)

I also made some lollipops with a "40" on them.  The were displayed in buckets to match the flowers.  

Happy 40th Birthday Patrick! 

And thanks for the fun party Adrienne!

Real Party: Red Egg & Ginger Party

We attended a Reg Egg & Ginger Party for a friend's baby last weekend.  This is a traditional Chinese celebration where parents introduce their new baby to family and friends.  

 {You can read more about this tradition here.}

They used this invite from Tiny Prints.  Isn't it sweet? 

My friend Lindsay and I made a small dessert table for the party.  They ordered cupcakes from Cupcake Man, and Lindsay and I made cake pops and then set up the display at the restaurant. 

They requested the colors of the table be red & yellow.  We made a little ribbon-trimmed runner. 

 Our cake pops were, of course, shaped like red eggs.  The guest of honor's traditional Chinese name was printed on little flags on the sticks.  Lindsay covered low boxes in fabric and ribbon, and we used some clear glass vase filler to cover floral foam. 

 Cupcake Man made some beautiful cupcakes: Ginger & Red Velvet flavored. 

We painted some eggs red and decoupaged others in yellow paper to hang from tree branches in the background. 

I've never seen desserts devoured so quickly at an event. 

What a fun little display to put together!

Real Party: Cute as a Button Dessert Table

Yesterday I shared all the details of a baby shower that I recently helped to throw. 

I saved the best for last: the dessert table! 

 This was such a fun one to create. As I mentioned yesterday, we used thread, yarn, doilies, and lots of buttons in our decor. I tried to continue all this with the dessert table. 

Lindsay's grandma handmade the quilt the desserts sat on.  And believe it or not, that's part of fence from our garden hanging in the back. 

One of my favorite parts of the table were the two flower arrangements. I did one with spools of thread as the vase filler, and another with buttons. My friend Morgan arranged the flowers for me (as I've said before, I'm flower-challenged!). I was so happy with how they turned out!

Cute, cute! 

I spread a few of my yarn balls around.  And Lindsay and I made the risers holding the desserts...did you recognize what they are? Giant spools of thread! I'll share how we made them later.  

We kept the desserts pretty simple. 

 My cake pops (on giant spool risers). We used some of the leftover paper straws that I mentioned yesterday as the sticks.  I was nervous they would fall apart, but they did just fine.  Aren't the stripes cute?

Lindsay's mini cupcakes

 Frosted Animal crackers.  I was so excited when I remembered these cookies as I was trying to come up with one more pink item for the table.  I love them, and they are pink, and they don't require any special ordering or shipping. Easy-peasy!

 Chocolate dipped fortune cookies. These were such a hit at the Chinese New Year birthday party that Lindsay and I had thrown earlier, we decided to bring them back.  

 Lemon drops. 

Meringues.  I love the way these look! They might be the prettiest cookie. 

What an amazing day!

Real Party: Glamorous Urban Wedding

via

Earlier this week, I told you about all the fabulous paper items from this wedding. 

The wedding was held at this iconic San Francisco hotel, which just happens to be celebrating it's 100 year anniversary.  Every detail was incredible. 

The ceremony took place under this stunning glass ceiling.  Quite a setting, huh? A nice personal touch to the ceremony: the couple were married by the groom's father. 

Mr. and Mrs.!

The cocktail hour followed the ceremony.  The space was literally covered with candles.

Guests milled about, as appetizers were passed. 

When the main reception hall was opened, it literally took my breath away.

There were both short...

...and tall centerpieces.  And both were stunning. 

The happy couple made their grand entrance, and then shortly after dinner of salmon or prime rib was served. 

Table settings were glammed-up with gold linens, custom menus, satin napkins, and placecards, handwritten by the groom's mother. 

After dinner, guests were invited to visit the candy bar. 

Custom labels were on each candy vessel.

This was one of the most amazing cakes I have ever seen. 

In case any guest's sweet tooth wasn't satisfied, these little treats were also served after dinner.

A highlight of this party was the photobooth.  Guests had a blast cramming into the booth throughout the reception to pose with friends and family.  Aren't the bride and her brothers cute?

Congratulations Leslie & Pavel! 

P.S. Check out the detail on that cake!