Woodland Animals 2nd Birthday Party

Posted on January 27, 2019 by sara

Leading up to my little one’s birthday we were debating on the party theme; we couldn’t decide on diggers or woodland animals. We went back and forth, but in the end we decided this is probably the last year we would get to decide, and we thought the animal theme would be cuter. So a modern woodland animals theme won out!

My husband worked with a designer on zazzle to customize the invite.

We held the party at the kids’ dance studio, which offered a great background for theming. It’s fairly new, so they were really open to letting us decorate how we wanted. We added trees and animals throughout the 2 room main rooms, the sitting room, and the hallway.

We had 2 tents in the main dance room, that we decorated with pom poms and pillows. My hubby made a fire, which was realistic enough that my daughter wouldn’t let me touch because it was hot!

In the second room we had the food and drinks tables. Somehow I didn’t get fantastic pictures, which is too bad, as there were a lot of fun details! We made the runners– black and white triangles, with a an animal print the other way. We added triangles to the front to add some color. I had some fun triangle banners for behind the tables, and colored balloons, along with balloons with the birthday boys name. Also, we got adorable cups with lids (important with the little ones!) which had animals on the front.

For activities, kids could become animals– they chose ears or crowns, and we had a amazing face painter.

We also asked the dance studio to provide a dance class– which was a lot fun. We asked her to plan something around animals and the kids loved acting out different animal movements- the perfect ending to the embodying of animals.

Ok, now for the food! We had a lot of fun thinking of cute and campfire food.

For the cake, we did a naked cake. I made the toppers by hand.

I rarely do take away gifts, but these were so cute, I couldn’t help it. I put a marshmallow, a chocolate and stickers inside.

All and all, it was great party!

Black and White Kitty Party

Posted on April 9, 2018 by sara

I know this is a year late in posting. I know. But in my defense, shortly after this party we had 2 international moves with 2 kids, 2 and less than 6 months. No easy feat, my friend. So posting this party fell by the way side. But this year’s party was amazing and I HAD to post. Which made me nostalgic… and here we are.

Last year I decided on a black and white cat themed party. My MIL gave me some fun wrapping paper for Christmas, which sparked an idea and the theme bloomed.

We decided with a 4 month old at home, we weren’t up for hosting, so we held the party at a nearby pre-school, which was perfect. We only had the room for so long, so I couldn’t get too crazy with the decorations, I didn’t have to worry too much about the mess, and there would toys. Done and done.

Also, because I had a 4 month old, I made and organized all the decorations, but I left it to my husband and my mother in law to set up. They did a great job.

We had a #2 balloon, which the birthday girl loved.

The table had kitty headbands, cat confetti, and labeled cups.

Let’s just say we still have some of those headbands and they were my halloween costume last year!

The food turned out super cute– swedish fish and fish crackers, cat shaped sandwiches, veggies with hummus, and rainbow fruit.

Of course with cute plates and cups!

And the kitty cat cake! My husband made it (why do I ever doubt him?).

And my very favorite photo ever–

For activities, we had a cat themed story time, and made a cat mask. And toys, of course!

It was one of our best parties– the kids loved it and it wasn’t over complicated. I’ll have to remember that for next year!

Hot Air Balloon 1st Birthday

Posted on April 2, 2018 by sara

Rush turned one back in November, and I’m just now posting the pictures- yikes, sorry! We love you just as much, little boy!

We decided to have the party in our apartment, with his little playgroup friends. Of course I still wanted to make it special– and I was so lucky that some of my daughter’s dance class mom friends really helped us out. It was amazing!

Here’s the invitation:

I had a variety of honeycomb balls and made hot air balloons and decorated them. I strung them up in front of our long window to make them look like they were in the sky, and added clouds in the window to add to the effect.

I decorated the entry way with a new born picture and a recent picture, a banner, and the take away sunshine inflatables. Not to mention the #1 balloon!

We also created a photo opportunity of a hot air balloon, with a basket and balloons.

It’s cuter with kids in it!

For activities we had a thumbprint decoration corner– they decorated their own hot air balloons (on a kids table provided by a dance mom)! We also had a ball pit (provided by another dance mom!), and a hot air balloon themed book for story time.

And… the cake. My husband made it and it turned out really well.

Although Rush got a banana cupcake instead! He seemed to like it (Once we pulled it apart).

Overall, it was a great success! The kids had fun and Rush felt celebrated!

A Moana Luau Party

Posted on March 26, 2018 by sara

I thought I had another couple of years before character themed parties took over. But Moana was one of the first movies my daughter saw and it stuck with her. She started asking for a Moana birthday in October– about 5 months before her actual birthday– so I knew I was stuck. What was a momma to do but acquiesce? She also decided to re-wear her Halloween costume, and come to her party as Moana. Sure, why not?

Since she didn’t see much of the invite (it was sent out via What’s App by mommy) I was able to use the more stylised Moana.

We decided to hold the party by the pool, as it offered a beautiful back drop. Sadly, the function room was not in fantastic shape (from many past parties, taping decorations to the walls) so we had to be creative about how we could make the room look inviting, in theme, and cover the mess.

I knew I wanted to make Tifiti– I had an example on Etsy, and we figured it out. We painted a green sheet, added a balloon and leaf crown, vines and flowers. This was on the back wall, in front of the food, so you couldn’t miss it! I added foil balloons to the side, to add more coverage.

We also found rolls of brown butcher paper and painted tiki mask faces to cover the side walls. There were 7 different designs.

And in front of the drinks and present table, I used Happy Birthday Banners (bought on Etsy). And I also added a picture of East when she was born and one from her recent photoshoot. She’s grown so much!

We also replicated Moana’s boat, for the kids to sit in, like a photo booth. We had a little kids boat, made it bigger with card board boxes and covered it with the brown butcher paper. My husband made the sail with muslin and dow rods. The boat was flanked by blow up palm trees, which didn’t make an appearance in the pictures. We, naturally, had to include Heihei!

For activities we had a coloring table, a cornhole game in the shape of Tomatoha (I didn’t get a great shot of him, despite all of my work! You can see another glimpse of him here) and Hulu dancers who taught the kids and performed.

For the drinks for the kids, we found these great coconuts and pineapple cups– with lids! The flower straw added a lot of fun. (We also had Moana playing in the corner, in case kids needed a breather.)

And for food we had pork sliders, hawaiian pizza, fish crackers, ‘driftwood’ pretzels, fruit salad and veggies.

And.. the cake! Here I had to use the traditional Moana, or I’d be in trouble. I bought the sign on Etsy. My husband made the cake– can you believe it? I asked for the wooden cake stand for our anniversary — it all turned out really well.

Instead of a giving away bags at the end, we incorporated the take homes into the theme– flower crowns and clips, fans (it’s really hot in Singapore!) , and the cups.

All and all the party was pretty epic– and not just because we had over 20 kids running around! My daughter hasn’t stopped talking about it — and is already talking about her next Dino birthday! Sigh! Give Mommy some time to recover, eh?

Modern Animal Nursery

Posted on February 4, 2017 by sara

I know I promised this blog wouldn’t become a kids blog– but this is my life currently (along with spit up and sleepless nights). I am working on my daughter’s second birthday coming up in March, so hopefully there will be some party updates coming soon.

Anyhoo, if you follow my on instagram you know that our baby boy was born in November. He’s a sweet little boy, our Rush Elias.

As they say, we weren’t quite as organized with the second baby. For our daughter, her nursery was ready a month early. Rush’s nursery has just come together, 2.5 months after he was born.

When we found out we were having a boy, I figured the new baby would take over East’s room, so I brainstormed on how to use her arrow linens. In the middle of the night (when all the best ideas come) I decided on Woodland Animals. Turns out woodlands animals are out and safari animals are what’s trendy right now, so I had to be a bit flexible with my animal choices. It still turned out cute, I think!

Don’t these animals look like these popular (and expensive) heads? I looked all over for something that wouldn’t cost tons for shipping to HK and was able to find these on TaoBao (the Mainland China Amazon/Ebay). The site is only in Chinese, so my husband’s work colleague had to assist us– in return she saw them before I did! But we were able to save hundreds of dollars (and who knows– they could be the Chinese supplier of the fancy brand!).

Hong Kong isn’t always the most stroller friendly place, so we have tried nearly every baby carrier. We have quite the collection and I need somewhere to keep them organized and accessible. I loved this arrow hook panel from Target.

Aren’t those little animals cute? I did get some woodland creatures in, with this cute bowling set from Etsy. That sweet picture of my hubby as a chubby little babe, with his favorite bunny kills me every time. And who can resist an inspirational sign (also from Target)?

Even though the room has built in closets, I needed additional storage, particularly drawers. So we got IKEA dresssers (not our first choice– ah, the joys of living in a big city!) so I thought I’d customize them a bit with some washi tape. The blocks on top are from my baby shower with sweet messages from friends.

When we moved, my first purchase was a rocking chair for nursing. I used it a lot when I was pregnant due to being so uncomfortable, so we moved it to the living room. So now we have 2, one in each room. And who’s that sitting in the chair?! Right under a picture of himself, the cutie pie! (By the stuffed animal basket is a mat I use to lay him on for stretching and tummy time).

And finally, here’s a pulled back picture of the room. I’m pretty happy with how it came together. What do you think?

(It was a rainy dark day, so please forgive the dark pictures!)