Ethan's Patriotic 1st Birthday Party!

This past Saturday, we celebrated Ethan's first birthday by throwing a backyard party at our house.  And though Ethan was {sadly} fighting a fever that day, we thought the party was a total success!  The weather was gorgeous, the company was fantastic, and the food was amazing.  What more could we ask for?  It was the perfect way to reflect on Ethan's first year and celebrate with family and friends.

Get ready for picture overload!

Naturally, we had to showcase Ethan's first year in photos!  The darling tassel garland is by Everylane and the cute sailboat stickers are from Minted.  We printed the Instagram photos from Printstagram and the quality is not only great, but they're super easy to upload and order online. 

I don't think I'll ever take the garland down!  ;)

At the front door we hung some paper lanterns from Pier 1 and I borrowed this cute wreath from my mother-in-law.

Back inside, my awesome photographer, Darcy of Artyard Photography, blew up our favorite photo of Ethan from his newborn shoot.  I plan to put his 3, 6 9 and 12 month photos on either side.  I just love it.  The star garland is from Shapes on a String and the anchor labels are from Harriet Ann Creative.  I got the pails from various stores and filled them with Animal Crackers {in the box of course}, patriotic sunglasses, bubbles, the cutest paper crown from Minted and lots of candy! 

Wilson wanted in on the crown action!  ;)

I made of the cakes for the occasion.  It was my first attempt at a layer cake and though it may not have been the prettiest...it was delish!  And still pretty cute too!

Here it is complete with the pinwheels.

And the inside! 

I also ordered a couple smaller cakes and these berry cupcakes.  The anchor and cupcake holders are from Target.

And here is the backdrop!  I had so much fun putting it together.  The banner is from Minted and the pinwheels are from Party City.

Homemade focaccia bread...yum!

I even made sure to special order the Izze drinks in blue and red for the kiddos!

Also, the gummy sharks and sweedish fish!  The little straw tags are from Minted as well! 

I'm bummed because I thought I got a better picture of the bar area, complete with the #1 that I made out of Instagram photos, but I'm sure you get the idea.

You can see a better picture here!  ;)

Last, I had to go for the red, white and blue goldfish!  

And here's the birthday boy!

Overall, it was a great birthday party!  The kids had a blast playing in the pool and sandbox...and the adults enjoyed being outside and taking it all in!

If I missed any details, feel free to ask in the comments below.  A special thanks to Harriet Ann Creative, Minted, and Shapes on a String for making Ethan's day extra festive and fun.

xo natasha

Tomorrow's the Big Day!!

Sorry for my absence this week...it's been a whirlwind since the wedding last weekend, 4th of July yesterday and of course, Ethan's first birthday party tomorrow!  Woo hoo!

I wanted to give you a sneak peek of some of the decor and also show off his awesome birthday invitations!

As you know from my inspiration post, we wanted to go with a patriotic theme since we decided have Ethan's birthday the weekend of 4th of July.  It's honestly been such a fun theme to plan around.  I've been drawn to everything from red, white & blue decor, to nautical and beach inspired themes, and of course 4th of July decorations.  I'm excited to see how it all comes together and keeping my fingers crossed that tomorrow is a gorgeous Tahoe day!

Of course, a huge part of kick-starting the party theme were Ethan's adorable invitation, custom designed by the talented Kimberly of Harriet Ann Creative.  I must give her a huge shout out because she captured the look and theme perfectly!  She also put together the adorable anchor cards and thank you notes.  If you're looking for a great designer, you must check out her shop.

Hope everyone's having a great 4th of July Weekend so far!!  

xo natasha

The Wedding Recap

We had the most wonderful weekend celebrating Lauren and Ryan this past weekend.  She was such a stunning bride, the location was beyond beautiful, and the decor was spot on.  There were so many touching moments like hand written vows, sentimental details, and of course lots of dancing!  The entire wedding was full of love.  And Ethan was the perfect little ring bearer {though I have no photos to show for it!}.  

Still coming down from all the fun of the weekend...I'll be back soon!

xo natasha

Auntie Lauren is Getting Married!!!

We are so excited for this weekend because Auntie Lauren is getting married tomorrow and Ethan gets to be the ring bearer...cue the cutest pictures ever!  We can't wait.

Lauren is Ryan's sister and Ethan's only aunt...though he has many honorary aunties!  ;)  She is Ethan's biggest fan and he absolutely adores her.  He'll come to love her even more when he realizes she lives minutes away from Sea World, the zoo, and Lego Land...hello favorite aunt ever!!

Lauren is also my only "sister" and I feel so blessed to have her in my life.  She is such a loving, compassionate, intelligent and fun person.  We always have such a blast together and I honestly could not be more excited for her.  Her fiance, Ryan, is such a wonderful guy...they are a perfect couple together and really compliment each other.  And they will also make awesome parents one day too {hopefully soon...Ethan wants a cousin to play with!!}.  ;)

{Pebble Beach circa 2008}

Lauren and Ethan Thanksgiving Weekend 2012

Lauren and Ethan at Christmas 2012

Schue Siblings at Ryan's 30th Birthday

Her wedding will be especially nostalgic because she's getting married at Edgewood...the same place we got married at 4 years ago.  She will make such a stunning bride...I simply cannot wait!!

Love you Lauren!!

xo natasha