Tucker the Slugger turns One!

I have always been a fan of a good theme and when executing said theme I go all out! When Keith and I found out we were having a little boy and the initial shock wore off (swore up and down it was a girl…LOL) I started planning the nursery. We have always loved baseball and it played a part in how we got together so when I came across a vintage baseball fabric I had used for a friends baby shower I took it and ran.

I loved everything about it from the colors and details to the nostalgic feel it evoked. So of course it was perfect for a little boys room and why not take it a step farther and do it for his 1st Birthday Party too! I did marry an accountant after all and he just loves it when I can get more than one use out of my decor! So when Tucker’s first birthday rolled around we were ready to Play Ball!

Edible decor is always a plus especially when you’re wanting more bang for your buck!

Made these mini bite sized cookies that were perfect cupcake toppers!

Funny story…I was standing in the kitchen with no bra or makeup on right before party time icing this baseball smash cake when my mother-in-law walked in with a handful of presents. Needless to say I “slid into home” just in time for the party!

Baseball Smash cake with Cookie Topper 1!

I definitely wanted to have a concession stand on our back porch for the quests to snack on. My handy friend and realtor made this lemonade stand for one of my Chick-fil-A promotions with the Cow. I was perfect with some decorations and fun snacks I scored from Sam’s Club and the Dollar Tree!

A "Wise" Decision

When my fabulous friend Jen who is a whiz of a math teacher started dating an actuary with the last name Wise… the numbers just added up and I knew it was meant to be! In May of 2013 I woke up to a voicemail (that I later played at their rehearsal dinner) with an excited Jen letting me know that it was finally happening. The guy she had liked for a long time had finally asked her out and they had set an official first date, spent the evening talking and holding hands! (SWOON..I just love how cute they are!)

A year later they were engaged and we were celebrating our way to the big day!

Jen’s mentor and our sweet bible study leader/friend hosted a lovely bridal shower with all the yummy eats and sweet treats!

The bridesmaids got together and hosted a lingerie and dessert shower for the bride to be. We enjoyed homemade desserts and a toilet paper lingerie competition!

Lingerie Cookies for the future Mrs. Wise!

The mother of the groom requested cookie favors for the rehearsal dinner after enjoying them at the shower! She was so sweet. We decided on owls to play off the couples last name!

Owl Cookie Favors for the rehearsal dinner!

“Wise men still seek Him.”

— Matthew 2:1-12

Passing on Gingerbread Traditions

When I was growing up my mom was always involved with school activities in and out of the classroom especially around the holidays. She took room mom to a whole new level. At the beginning of the school year I finally had the opportunity to do the same.

It was meet the teacher night and I was filling out paperwork and signing up for volunteer opportunities while Callen played with his new classmates. I mentioned to the teacher I didn’t want to take up all the slots for every party but to know I’d be happy to bring in anything they needed and of course to count on some holiday appropriate cookies.

FACT: If you teach my kids or do any activity with them you will get cookies! Perks of having a mom that owns a cookie business.

She laughed and said, “If that’s what you are worried about why don’t you be our room mom then you can help with all the parties!”… Thank you Mrs. Meredith. Problem solved and now I have an outlet for all of my party ideas I collect in my mind and on my Pinterest boards.

December arrived and I started checking out all my favorite places for party supplies and inspiration! Target, Walmart, Hobby Lobby, and the Dollar Tree. So many cute options to choose from!

I ended up finding a fun gingerbread cookie table cloth and the cutest peppermint napkins at Hobby Lobby. Then I mixed in my other finds to create the perfect recipe for a gingerbread party!

Once I settled on the theme I started thinking about activities for the kids to do at the party. This takes us back to my mom and one of the traditions she started with us when we were little. At Christmas my family would decorate gingerbread houses together and then deliver them to friends or family who had been ill or lost a loved one during the year. We always loved getting to bring a little extra cheer to someone’s holiday.

When I saw the pre-built house kits at Walmart I sent a picture to Mrs. Meredith and shared my idea. The kids have 3 tables in their classroom so they would decorate 3 houses and then the class would give to someone in the school who needed some holiday cheer.

They had so much fun decorating and spreading the “glue” with the popsicle sticks and putting all the candy and marshmallows on their houses.

I wanted the kiddos to have something to take home too so the felt gingerbread ornament was a perfect end to our party. We left the houses to dry and got all the icing cleaned off of our little friends and they made their ornaments during circle time. This little guy is hanging on Callen’s little tree in his room!

I loved getting to pass on this tradition and making all the sweet memories!

Love and Sugar,

Jessica

"Sweet" Caroline (Part 2-The 1st Birthday)

She’s a Sweet One…A year and a couple months later it was time to celebrate Caroline’s first Birthday! I coordinated with Momma and Grandma to pick out colors, decorations, a sweet little touches to make it a memorable celebration!

“Honey, ah sugar sugar
You are my candy girl
And you’ve got me wanting you
I just can’t believe the loveliness of loving you.”

— The Archies

Sweet One, Cute as a Cupcake, And Candy Girl Caroline!

Found the adorable cupcake tablecloths at TJMaxx. They matched the party theme perfectly and came in assorted shapes and sizes that we used on the food tables and picnic tables in the backyard!

Birthday Cake complete with “Smash Cupcake” on top!

The Sweet Caroline banner made it’s 3rd appearance after the baby shower and a visit to Caroline’s nursery. It added some extra sweetness to the party along with pictures of baby C during her 1st year. Not too bad for my first Cricut project!

Remember this?! Repurposed baby shower decor for the win!

The Candy Bar! To go along with our sweets theme we created a candy buffet that doubled as decor. We combined different shaped glass containers and filled them with assorted treats that guest could scoop out as if they were in a candy shop. Ginny found the cutest picture frame to showcase the birthday girl and the fun cupcake art she added to the candy display. It was a hit with the kids as well as the adults!

Sweets for both the chocolate and fruit flavored lovers!

Love how these candy cookies turned out for the sweets buffet we created. I got the idea from a paper plate Christmas craft…you know the one! White paper plate decorated to look like a peppermint with either construction paper, glitter, crayons, or paint. Then you wrapped it in cellophane tied off the ends with ribbon mimicking a candy wrapper.

I took this same concept and cookiefied it! I cut and baked a dozen circle cookies then decorated them with royal icing in various designs to look like pieces of candy. I used my longer cookies bags to package them placing each cookie in the center to leave room for my raffia ribbon bows. So easy and looks adorable!

Candy shaped cookies for the “Candy Bar” buffet!

I’m pretty sure I had a tummy ache after all that sugar but so glad I was able to help celebrate you C!

"Sweet" Caroline (Part 1-The Baby Shower)

The first party I threw as a married adult was a baby shower for my friend Ginny. She was one of the first in our group of friends from Sunday school to have a baby and I was so excited to help them celebrate the arrival of their baby girl! They decided on the name Caroline which was mommy’s middle name. When brainstorming a theme for the shower I kept coming back to the song “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond which they played at all the Home Carolina Football games…so with the song playing in my head I started to plan.

I wanted to go along with the same color scheme Ginny was using in the nursery so she could reuse the decor if she wanted. She chose a coral pink, aqua, and a pretty bright green. I started scoping out all of my favorite party supply spots. Target, Party City, and TJ Maxx for the napkins, plates, utensils, and cake stands. To jazz the cake stands up a bit I grabbed some coordinating ribbon from Michael’s…because you can never have enough bows when a little girl is involved!

My first set of baby onesies…I was so proud of these!

“Where it began
I can’t begin to knowin’
But then I know it’s growing strong
Was in the spring
And spring became the summer
Who’d have believed you’d come along”

— Neil Diamond

The beginning of something sweet…SugarStripes was just around the corner!

For the floral arrangement I dropped off my white pitcher I found at TJ Maxx with the florist and she put together a fun grouping of painted sticks, hydrangeas, and beautiful pink peonies. When I got home I added in some greenery from our front yard to make the hydrangeas pop a little more.

Had to order flowers from the sweet florist who did the flowers for my wedding! Love me some Peonies!

I loved how my fun find turned into something unexpected! These basic drink cups got an upgrade courtesy of our friend Todd who was tasked with rimming the glasses while we were busy finishing the final party preparations. I think he may have been a bar tender in another life or picked up a few skills as a waiter in college. I found the tube of coral colored sugar at TJ Maxx in the gourmet food section. I originally bought it to use on the cupcakes but at the last minute changed my mind and I’m so glad I did!

Pink sanding sugar to dress up our plastic cups.

We may have gone overboard with the sweets but I had to stay true to the theme! There was some fruit and a few salty things to munch on but the star of the show was the dessert buffet. I made my grandmothers go to special occasion Lemon Icebox Pie and my new favorite pound cake I learned to bake when Keith and I got married. There were chocolate cupcakes, this ridiculous chocolate, caramel deliciousness (is what it should be called) and rice Krispie squares.

Love this cream cheese poundcake…I received the recipe at my kitchen shower from a dear family friend!

The sweets were enjoyed by all as mom and dad to be opened gifts and shared laughs together. The extras were snatched up at the end by the hubbies to eat as a snack later on.

My grandmothers lemon icebox pie topped with cherries and other assorted desserts our friends contributed.

Just in case our guests didn't have enough sugar already I sent them all home with cookie favors wrapped up as pieces of candy. Not long after the shower I heard from the grandmother to be that she had saved a few and they made an excellent companion to her morning cup of coffee!

I was very pleased with how everything turned out and ready to start planning for the next gathering…before I knew it her 1st Birthday rolled around and “Sweet Caroline” made an encore performance that was even sweeter!