Sophia's OTHER birthday party - Peppa Pig Party

Thank you for all your birthday greetings and comments on my daughter's birthday party! I hope you won't mind me sharing her "other" party today too!

We celebrated her Birthday party on Sept.30 so that a lot of our friends and family can come and join. But we also had a mini-celebration on her actual birthday a few days before! And since this little girl is into everything right now, her other favorite gang of characters is Peppa Pig, so I thought of putting up just that for her special day!

Ordinary store-bought cake which I decorated with her toys

Used some of the paper flowers on this day too!

Early morning surprise for the birthday girl

Used a lot of her toys for decoration

Sophia's favorite - chocolate pancake and strawberries!

I set it up for breakfast and lunch. As you can see, she was still in her nightgown when we sang her birthday song!

At lunch we had a few friends over....

With her friends

It truly was a a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY for our special girl!

Have a Great Week!

VEL

 Would love to hear your thoughts! Please share away...

New Year's Eve Celebration - Filipino Way

Hello again Friends!!!!

I am so glad to be back - back to blogging, back in the country! Yes, we spent our holidays abroad, in London and Paris in fact, our very first time there, and I cannot wait to tell you all about it!

Anyway, to start the new year, after we arrived at Dec. 31 midnight, I had to rush and prepare for a party at our house to start off the year with a bang!

I have tried to continue the traditions we have done ever since I could remember, here in the states. As the new year comes, we always make sure we do the following:

1) Making sure the entire house is CLEAN  ( so that the entire house will be clean the whole year)
2) Having coins on all the window sills and doorway  ( for luck and money for the coming year)
3) Having all the lights in the house open ( To drive evil away and making sure the year is Bright)
4) Having LOTS of ROUND FRUITS  on the table ( for luck and money)
5) Having all the condiment holders full to the brim ( so that the rest of the year will be filled with abundance)
6) Having LOTS OF FOOD - preferably ROUND food on the table (abundance for the year)
7) Jumping on midnight for the kids (So you can grow taller)
8) Jiggling coins in your pockets at midnight ( for more money for the coming year)
9) Lots of noise ( drive away evil spirits/vibes)
10) Wearing Polka dot clothing ( for luck and money)

Hew! Lots of cultural stuff huh?! But these are all harmless and though I know these are just 'traditional things', it's still a lot of fun! So as you see our celebration for this year, you'll understand why.

Had Cheese Spread for appetizers before midnight - since we only eat the food on the table  after midnight

It's my first time doing this kind of spread and I don't think I did bad since it was a huge HIT!

My homage to Paris!

A must for a long night

Our table for the Midnight feast

Lots of fruits of course

My friends brought lots of food since they knew I just got back from a trip! ;-)

We had games from Charades to Head Bandz before the stroke of midnight, then feasted afterwards.

I hope you guys had a great New Years as well and even better and more blessed 2017!

I ordered Personalized Cokes for us and our guests as a souvenir for the night!

VEL

 Would love to hear your thoughts! Please share away...

40th Birthday Party - Aged to Perfection

I knew that I was going to throw a big party for my husband's 40th birthday, but I wasn't really sure how to go about it since it was for my "best friend and one true love", someone who I know don't want a big fuss when he is celebrating something, and of course, in general, A GUY!

Simple invite I chose from VISTAPRINT

I was lucky to get the perfect venue that was still available in our town for Homecoming weekend, and luckily they had a bar and also catered too. So I thought all I had to think of were the decorations, which I really didn't know how to go about, since like I said, he was a guy. ;-) Also, since I would be spending a pretty penny already on venue, food and drinks, I didn't have a big budget for decorations!

So about 1 week before the party,  I stumbled upon this on ETSY...

I'D RATHER DOODLE

I knew immediately I wanted this milestone birthday poster for my hubs birthday, and after browsing for some more stuff on I'D RATHER DOODLE page, I found everything I needed to get into my decorating swing (Thank you Natalie)!!!!!

LINK HERE

See? And all for a very, very reasonable price! I went ahead and started printing away, after all, this was my venue...

The Diamond Club at our local Baseball Park

And here was how it looked at 11:30 am the same day of the party...

 Party was at 6 pm, and I only started decorating with my son's help and another friend, the same morning! I knew balloons would be out, because it just felt 'young' for me after my daughter's balloon-filled birthday party!

Centerpiece

Centerpiece was very simple, placemat, plant and votive candle holders from IKEA, plus my printed sign, and viola, a simple, elegant centerpiece for MY GUY!

Gift table

I added Kraft paper on top of the gift table so guests can write wishes and notes and then I took a photo of them afterwards for us to keep and remember!

Yup, the birthday Poster went here as well as extra photos from here...

My favorite decor

 I stole this idea from Martha Stewart, saw this I think on her website or magazine years ago and thought this would be perfect. So I printed them the night before to fill this huge black wall by the buffet table.

Cake Table

For the cake table, I brought in my fiddle leaf fig trees from home and just added the same ikea place mats and stars behind.

Pumpkin and smores cupcakes

Cake was a yummy buttercream mocha

Overall the party was a huge success, everyone loved everything and though there were kids in the vicinity and we had to share the dance floor with them, I think it was what my husband exactly wanted - a "no-fuss' party that EVERYONE including, his own kids, enjoyed!

Have  A Great Halloween Weekend!

VEL



 Would love to hear your thoughts! Please share away...

Teddy Bear Picnic Birthday Party

Yes it's true, last weekend we celebrated my little Sophia's 2nd birthday party! Saying that "time flies" is a bit redundant for me now, but the fact is, it is so true!

I am both happy and sad that she is growing up so fast and I know you know what I mean since I have been sharing her with you ever since she was inside my belly (Sniff, sniff)!

Anyway, since I finished with her Flamingle Birthday Party last year (which you can btw, check out HERE), I have already decided on this year's theme. I know you must be thinking, 'why must mommy decide?'. Well, I know that somehow I can only get to decide the first 2 or 3 years of her birthday themes and then SHE will be making the decisions, so why not right?!

And as with any party, it all starts with the right invitation, which I am happy to find again on ETSY!

Creative Lime from ETSY

I edited the photo thru Picmonkey and added all the roses, since I thought the white was just too plain.

Ok, so on with the show!

Let's start with the BEVERAGE STATION..

Since the weather was sunny and warm, I thought a SLUSHIE MACHINE & lots of water was perfect for the day, and I was right since it was a Huge hit!

Got the water bottle labels form etsy too

I also had a red cooler filled with soda at the bottom of the table and coffee for the grown-ups (who made up majority of the guests).

And now for the TENT..

We bought this tent last year and knew it was more practical to buy than rent since we were gonna use it at least once a year !  I added the window walls on one side to block out the sun  and hung inflatable teddy bear heads, Gingham flower fans, string lights and gingham pennants all around .

Red Gingham Table Covers are a must!

Table centerpiece that doubles as giveaways to the kiddos

I filled the basket with a Bear M&M apple, a sunflower and of course, a small Teddy Bear!

Cake Table minus the cake on this shot

I decided to have a TRAILER MIX BAR for the party! I think it was a cute and perfect idea instead of the usual candies only on the cake table, and I am glad I did this! The kids went crazy for them!

My helper Teddy held out the sign for the Trailer Mix Bar

I had bear M & M's and butterfly stickers all around as well as real apples to add for the festive display... oh, and Pinwheels too!

Got the Chalkboard Banner from Walmart and I just wrote away!

The Celebrant with her cake - my friends made and gave this beautiful and yummy cake

I also added this "welcome committee"...

Bears on a picnic!

Welcome poster from Printaposters on ETSY about our celebrant

I also rented a huge inflatable double slide! Sophia loves slides and absolutely had a blast, with or without us on this one!

Gift table

And for the Food. We had a small separate Dessert Table ....

Notice my food labels? Chalkboard too from Party City

Aside from the Strawberry Shortcakes, and Watermelon Macaroons, we also had Watermelon pops, leche flan and Buko Pandan ( A sweet Filipino coconut salad with jelly)

The main food table was on the outside of the tent ...

We had Siopao ( Dumplings inside white fluffy bread), Beef & Chicken Wanton Soup, Baked Spaghetti, Mashed potatoes, Buttered Corn, Fried Chicken, Palabok (Filipino-style thin noodles in mushroom sauce), Honey bakers Hot rolls and a lot more brought in by my friends!

And in the midst of all these details we prepared for, is this sweet little girls who had fun with the bubbles and the slides. We hope she will know how much we love her!

Happy 2nd birthday little one!

VEL

 Would love to hear your thoughts! Please share away...



As featured in...





Linking back to...

Tuesdays at our home, Show & Share, Julie's creative lifestyle