Julian's TMNT 6th Birthday Party

Having a brand new tiny human being to care for and planning a birthday party can be stressful.  So, this year we were thinking of skipping the birthday party trend and just heading to an amusement park for JD's 6th birthday... but JD had other plans!  After having a blast at one of his classmates birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's earlier this year, JD ask if he could have a party there too, and daddy and I thought why the heck not.  When it came to the theme JD decided on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (he loves Leonardo), a fitting choice since they love pizza.  Chuck E. Cheese's made party planning super easy, they did all the hard work, and we had our very own party coordinator to keep the party running smoothly.  This was one of the easiest parties to plan, and JD and his friends had so much fun!

Styling, centerpieces, masks and favors by: Quaintly Garcia
TMNT Digital files: TwoPeanutz & Amanda K Printables
TMNT Paper Lanterns: Target
Cake: VLuna's Cakes
Cookies: available at The Cookie Outlet

AJ's "Henry Hugglemonster" 1st Birthday Party!

This Sunday we celebrated my cutie patootie AJ's 1st birthday in a very "ROARSOME" way with his favorite character Henry Hugglemonster!

A million thanks to Veronica @VLunasCakes for this amazing Henry Hugglemonster cake, she is a true artist!

I have to admit I really enjoyed styling this party, although when my best friend Angie and her husband Alex announced the theme I will admit I was pretty clueless about this famous little monster named Henry (I live in a world of Lego and super heroes at the moment)!  But I am now officially a Henry Hugglemonster fan (I've watched a "few" episodes), It really is a cute show! 

Vendors:
Cakes & Cake Pops: Veronica @VLunasCakes
Props & Styling: Julian & Mommy from Quaintly Garcia
Shirt Designed by: Quaintly Garcia

Bow Tie Baby Shower

My best friend Angie and her husband Alex are expecting the arrival of their first baby boy (they have three wonderful girls) any day now.  A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of hosting a baby shower in their honor!  I definitely wanted a cute boy theme, but I was more interested in using Angie's favorite color, red.  Well I decided on a bow tie theme and used baby blue, red and lots of bow ties. 

My friend and co-host Veronica had the brilliant idea of using a kite in the decor!  This made perfect sense, not only because kites make me think of little boys, but because we would also be able to use bow ties on the kite tail!  I do not sew, but hand me fabric, an iron, wood dowels and a glue gun and I can make you a kite (I can even throw in a few fluffy clouds). Just don't expect it to fly!

We had tons of fun games for the guests to play, thanks to Veronica, and a photo booth with props which everyone tried at least once!

Angie and Alex loved their baby shower and I actually managed to keep all the details a secret until the day of.  We all had a really great time and we can't wait to meet baby AJ!

Vendors:
Cake by Baby Cakes
Cake Pops by Sweet Shop
Bow Tie Cookies by Torrance Bakery
Popcorn by Popcornopolis
Cupcakes by Sams Club
Invitation (not pictured) by Delight Paperie
Striped Bunting Banner by What She's Got
Quilted Table Runner by Veronica Gallo
Kite, Clouds and Decor by Adriana of Quaintly Garcia 

IKEA Tolsby Frames

I love IKEA!  Not only do I love their products, but their prices are just amazing.  When I came across their latest bit of awesomeness, I just had to share.  I couple years ago I used IKEA's TOLSBY frames for my son's Robots and Rockets Birthday Party, and have come across many parties in the last couple years that have also used these versatile and inexpensive frames.
TOLSBY frames where originally only sold in white, but now they come in 4 very cool colors, blue, red, green and orange.  Isn't that awesome?!  They're still only $0.99 per frame, and I have a feeling they'll be popping up as party decor very soon!

Julian's Dinosaur Party at the Natural History Museum

Like most boys his age, JD loves dinosaurs but we can honestly only credit this love for dinosaurs to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles! We began visiting the museum with him in 2010 and became members soon after; we haven’t stopped visiting it since. When the Dinosaur Hall opened last year JD became completely fascinated with dinosaurs and fossils. There isn't a week that goes by that he doesn't ask to go to the “Dino Museum.” So, when the time came to plan his 3rd birthday party we knew dinosaurs would be the theme. When we found out the NHM of Los Angeles had a birthday party program, we didn’t have to think twice about the location.

The Natural History Museum's birthday party program is really great! They provide everything you need to throw an amazing dinosaur party, everything but the food and cake! The program even provides event assistants (really awesome assistants) to help you run your party and direct all the activities and games. All your party guests also get admission to the museum for the day!

Julian had no idea his 3^rd birthday party was going to be at his favorite museum, when he arrived and saw the balloons and decorations, the expression on his face was priceless! JD and his friends had such a great time. They played "Tyrannosaurus Says", Pin the Horn on the Triceratops, they made dinosaur masks and their very own fossils.  I have to admit that this party was amazingly stress free thanks to the help of our very supportive family, the wonderful staff at the Natural History Museum, and especially Kersti Kooiman.  Kersti not only helped me decorate, but she is also the incredible photographer behind these amazing pictures of JD and his dinosaur party!

Photography: Kersti Kooiman
Kraft Bags: Little Horse Bakery
Kraft tags & birthday banner supplies: Retro Rox Vintage
Muslin bags: Urban Homesteaders
Julian's Carnivore Shirt: Vicarious Clothing
Invitations, cupcake stand, cupcake decorations, cake decorations, plant arrangements, gift bags, dinosaur egg bags, fossil cookies &  chocolate dinosaurs: Quaintly Garcia