emma's gold class party

today my little niece turned 9... and we celebrated in style with a "gold class" party at our place in our theatre room. it was so easy to do, but looked amazing and made the girls feel so, so chic.

decorations were simple, this e (for emma!) that i found at big w and gave to emma as part of her birthday present...

a 3 pack of confetti balloons from our local "cheap shop" for $3, and my kmart light box with a birthday wish for miss emma

on arrival, the girls got to collect their lemonade spider ([for those of you who have never heard of these... are you living under a rock?] which is a scoop of vanilla icecream, then fill to the top with lemonade... gives a kind of tangy milkshake) a bag of popcorn and a little dish of lollies.

half way through our feature, the waiters arrived with spring rolls and wedges with sour cream and sweet chili sauce...

and at the end, we enjoyed this gorgeous (and delicious!) woolworths mini cake in red velvet. these are in my opinion, one of the greatest things woolworths has ever started stocking. one cake cuts into 4 cupcake size servings and they are so good! ($7 for the fancy ones and $3.50 for the less designer options like orange and poppyseed or chocolate) emma was so chuffed to have such a fancy cake, and really it was at zero effort to her mother and i.

maddie and cousin emma

birthday girl enjoying her lit up cake

and making a wish! ♥

i love being an aunty... and especially being able to help with birthday parties. it's so much fun. happy birthday miss emma kate!

jen's baby shower

my bestie is having a baby!! yes that's right, i am going to be an "aunty" in 6 short weeks. wahoo! how exciting for me. today jen and mat had their unisex baby shower, affectionately referred to as a "babyq" perfect!

mat's friend felix was on hand and maybe slightly unwillingly assisted me with my decorating... especially the hanging of the teacups from the veranda rafters... quite conveniently he didn't even require a ladder... didn't take us long at all.

we were rather proud of ourselves, decorating away, still fulfilling our bestman and maid of honour duties, 5 years later. til death do we part and all that haha.

i was loving the water fountain... put to good use yet again. i have definitely gotten my $19 worth.

jen is having a turn with my bassinet, which my brothers and i all slept in, then madeline and joseph slept in... i am so glad to see it being used once again... and it made an awesomely cute place to pop all the gifts.

and of course because we couldn't (or should i say wouldn't) play games - we had a book for advice to jen and mat. i persish to think about what is written in there haha.

the kids had a great time, with lots of room to run around and mat's nieces and nephew to play with... it was just a great casual setting - and i think everyone really enjoyed themselves.

and of course, mat was in fine form... working his magic at the bbq. some things will never change.

there was enough food for an army... or lots of hungry people... and it was enjoyed by all

jen and her mum amanda ♥

not long to go now, jen is still looking good and happy!

parents to be, looking thrilled i see.

and i love this shot. i am so excited and can hardly wait! yay! a baby is on it's way!

hayleys backyard bday ❤

my friend hayley and i were born three days apart - and all through school we would whine and moan about how we had so much longer to wait than everyone else because our birthdays are in december (yeah i know, i know, that made no sense at all - we still get one every year, at the same time...) only this year we are turning 30 and hayley decided to throw a party in her backyard, complete with games (twister spray painted into the grass - which i am kicking myself for not getting a picture of, elastics, badminton with bunting for a net...) a candy bar, chocolate fondue, a cotton candy machine - a punch fountain and a slushy machine!! it was supercute and old school cool and we had a blast - especially miss maddie who was spoilt rotten with sugar overload from everyone at the party.

hayley's funky cotton candy machine, which i of course couldn't leave alone until i had worked it out...

ta-dah!!!! :) the only one that worked all night - perhaps i just need more practice...

and the choc fondue, which as you can see, jen clearly decided that the biscuit didn't already have enough sugar on it. 

backyard parties are the bomb and this one was no exception, hayley did a great job!

happy birthday bebe!

thomas loves jo - engagement party

photo shamelessly stolen from jo's ipad: 

taken by lara gilbert photography

this gorgeous couple are going to get married!! jo was one of my young women back when i first got called to serve in the dianella young womens program and now (even though it seems like that was only a week ago) she's old enough to be someones wife! crazy...

last night was her engagement party and i had the time of my life decorating, baking & styling with my friend pippa and her friend kyelee who loaned us some of the awesome glassware you're about to lay your eyes on.

paper hearts made from an old dictionary -
torn in half and stapled...
hanging on fishing line from the roof of the patio at kafarelas vineyard, where we had the party. everything looked amazing and it made all the time and effort we put in well worthwhile when we saw the final result.

drink dispensers full of (l to r)
frozen berries & sage with water
pink lemonade koolaid with lemon wedges
pineapple slices & mint leaves

dessert table with brownies... blueberry & vanilla macarons from maison saint-honore and confetti vanilla & s'more chocolate cupcakes from pippaskye followed not too long after.
yum yum!

i love pics from parties before any one arrives... always better than the during and after shots - cause everything is still perfect! ;)

lolly jars, milk bottles & paper straws...
such funky additions to a beautifully styled party

paper lanterns, tissue paper ruffle balls, lights and vintage paper...
effortless classic, timeless charm.

lolly jars from pips friend kyelee complete with a note on my vintage tray blackboard....

'please take a lolly bag as you leave...' 

with all of us working hard together, everything looked amazing -

can't wait for our next event!

(event photos - dominique kendall)

jen's kitchen tea

just in case i haven't mentioned it...

(although i know i have about twenty-six thousand times...)

but my bestfriend is getting married!!

in just 17 days!!

so on saturday we had her kitchen tea party in the "cottage" at clackline, complete with games, "floaty, floral and feminine" outfits and lots of girly food and fancy china.

extra special thanks to my mummy for the hours of cooking and preparations she put in - as well as the loan of all her beautiful things for the day. it was a great time had by all...

17 more days... can't wait!!