Charlotte's First Birthday!

 

I LOVE any excuse for a party! Nothing is better to me than to celebrate with my family, no matter how big or small the occasion.  I know everyone says the stuff doesn't matter-and they would be right.  Who you celebrate with is obviously more important that what you eat, ect.  That being said I love planning the details of a party.  The food, the cake, decorations, favors...oh it's so much fun!  I got on a roll early with Charlotte's party (like, in April...early even for me!)  I settled on kind of a "shabby chic" theme with lots of pink with a little rustic mixed in, and I think it turned out so cute!

 

I wanted some rustic elements to balance out all the pink: burlap, hay bales, and tree branches to the rescue!

 

In order to accommodate our large extended family, we had to use our garage.  But...I didn't want it to feel like a garage.  So we covered it up!  We covered the walls with pale pink party tablecloths.  They didn't photograph well (for some reason you can see through them a little in the pictures-you couldn't in person)but they did a great job of transforming the space.  To do this we strung cloths line between beams and then used binder clips to hang the tablecloths.  To keep them from separating, I taped them together from behind.  For the ceiling, I was inspired by this picture:

 

I knew I could find some branches (our property includes about 20 wooded acres)  and due to my small ahem Christmas obsession, I had plenty of white lights.  This would basically be a free decoration and have a huge impact. It was a little tricky to get them hung and positioned from the rafters, but I was so happy with how they turned out.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any great pictures of them, but here they are in the background:

 

 

We served pulled pork, mac and cheese, baked beans, and crescent dogs for the kiddos on this side.

And Seven Layer Salad and Corn Salad on this side.

We had lemonade, strawberry crush, and cream soda to drink.

With a camp fire going in our fire pit, s'mores were the perfect party favor!  Each bag included the makings for two s'mores.

Because you can't eat your first birthday cake in just any highchair; I found this antique high chair in a local shop and spray painted it pink.

 

 

 

Cake is good!

Presents are exciting-sometimes you have just got to clap your hands!

 

 

It was a wonderful day; so hard to believe that my baby is ONE!  I'm so happy to get to know the little girl she is growing into, but sometimes I want to hold my sweet newborn again!