It is that time of year

When I have to semi abandon my Halloween visions of grandeur and delusion and focus on the annual Birthday party for me wee lass who isn't so "wee" any longer... She has informed me that she will be "double digits" this year.. yes 10.. when did that happen? TEN?

Over the past 4 months is has been quite apparent as she has had one massive growth spurt from a size 6x to a 12... and has grown over 12 inches... I put her to bed one evening a shoe size 1 and she woke up a 3.. no kidding.. thank goodness I buy clothing in advance when I find it cute and irresistible in larger sizes or she would have gone to school in a Halloween Costume that day.

So I started perusing the web this am, in search of the perfect "theme" party ideas.. which I might add is slightly difficult when I have been given the bullet point list of everything that needs to be included as...

1. lime green
2. sonic the hedgehog
3. chocolate covered pretzels
4. Lemonade
5. dragonflies
6. tootsie rolls
7. Marshmallows
8. balloons
9. mint chocolate chip ice cream
10. a transforming eve

Not exactly what I had in mind when I asked her for a list of 10 things that would make her Birthday the best ever...I should have been more specific, after all, she isn't exactly 10 yet..
what was I thinking?

So on my relentless search to figure it all out I had a light bulb moment.. WAIT a minute...
MY birthday is so 2 weeks before hers.. why am I not focusing on the things that would make MY birthday rock out? So I have thought about it in my antibiotic altered mind..
and these are a few of my favorite things I would like on my wishlist....

1. A totally rocked out Desert table featuring these little

Tootsie Roll Steam punk cupcakes featured on Bakingdom

and a fabulous cake like one of these.

2. Someone else mixing the spirits all night long other than me and the list would include: A vodka martini with blue curacao pearls, Bleeding Heart Martini's and some kind of punch served in a really terrific punch bowl.

Recipe featured on Martha Stewart Serves 4

• 2 ounces dry vermouth
• 8 ounces premium gin
• Ice cubes
• 4 Pickled Baby Beets Recipe

Directions

1. Chill 4 martini glasses in the freezer or fill with ice water and let sit until frosty, about 5 minutes (pour out water). Add the vermouth, dividing evenly; swirl to coat the glasses, then pour out. Add gin to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously until chilled; divide among chilled glasses. Garnish each with a skewered pickled baby beet, and serve immediately.

3. A fun container of masks and mustaches provided for guest keepsakes and would be perfect for photo props during the evening.

4. of course this means I would have a Live Photo Booth because it is virtually impossible for anyone that I know to attend one of my parties and be able to remember to actually take photos of the event... including ME.

5. PERFECT weather so we could be inside and outside maybe even have a nice fire in the evening. Of course with a February 17th birthday living in North East Ohio the only way I am actually going to get that wish is if I transport my party out of state and somewhere south or out West. But oh what a lovely wish.

6. Decorations that would include Air Dimensional Designs
and preferably from the tentacle collection!

and last but not least, my guests leaving with a feeling of total party satisfaction.

Crystal Head Vodka

This past weekend we had Peanut's Birthday party at a locally restored Bowling Alley "Ghost Alley & Scooter's Club". The place is known to be home to at least two spirits one Charles who was crushed to death in 1948 at the lanes at the tender age of 25, and another of a woman. Of course we were not lucky enough to encounter any "spirits" while we were there, but the guests sure did have a lot of fun.

Sue & Gary Williams owners of Ghost Alley

Even with the beer and wine only sales on Sunday rule, the club side was opened up as well for adult guests that just needed a moment to sneak in and find a little distraction from the squeals of 30 chocolate induced excited 7-9 year olds. I popped in to check on them and I happened to spot clear right away a gorgeous little glass skull bottle nestled in the middle of their vodka shelf... I LOVE IT... Crystal Head Vodka I need a whole collection of these little treasures... while I could not sample it at the party due to the no sales on Sunday rule, I have managed to research and find a local market about 30 minutes away that distribute. I plan on making a trip over later in the week. I love the story behind the manufacturing of the vodka. almost as much as I love the history of the Bowling Alley.

Thank you to the Williams family for helping to make Peanut's 9th Birthday a huge success!

Time keeps on ticking....

The past few weeks have come and gone so quickly that I can hardly believe that my wee lass will be embarking upon our last "single" digit year in just a few days... even harder to believe her older brother will be graduating from High School in just under 3 months... where has the time gone? I feel like I have been catapulted from Halloween into straight Chaos.From Christmas, New Years, School fundraisers, a complete school change for Elaina (into a much better Autistic program I might add), to planning her birthday, a baby shower, wedding, bridal shower, Easter and graduation all within the next 9 weeks... urgh

As I have shared before sweet Peanut has chosen a discontinued birthday theme Disney/Pixar's "Wall-E". So, aside from the internet we had to get a little creative this year with the lack of available trinkets in the store. The party will take place at a local bowling alley this year. They will dim the lights, turn on the black lights and the kids will have a "cosmic" event. It is actually one of the oldest bowling lanes in our area. Instead of the balls popping back up from under the floor, you can watch as they come speeding back down towards you. Personally I am a little biased to the name "Ghost Alley" where else would a Halloween Fanatic like myself book a 9 yer old's birthday party???

So the party favor boxes are complete. Two different sets, one for the little girls (white box) and one for the little boys (blue box). All of the boxes have the same items in them all inspired from the movie itself. We have a Wall-E puzzle that I completely fell into by accident to a local visit to the Dollar Store in my area, a bottle of bubbles that have been renamed "Elaina's Galactic Bubble Liquid- for out of this world fun", a magic cube, flower pot with seeds, a Twinkie with fake Hank roach, ring pop ( to simulate the diamond ring Wall-E tosses over his shoulder in the movie), Wall-E pencil, a couple of silly straws (because the humans drink out of straws on the Axiom) and a mini pinwheel, a copy of the movie soundtrack with a custom CD label thanking party guest for coming, and a custom bookmark. Each box has a mask, EVE for the girls, Wall-E glasses for the boys, and the girls also get a little custom made bracelet.

I had intended on tucking all of the party loot into those little disposable white Styrofoam bait coolers, but I just couldn't find them reasonably priced in my area yet. It would have been a play on the little red and white igloo style cooler Wall-E carries around on his back. Instead we ended up with plastic over sized oriental carryout containers, not a bad second choice since I am quite sure there are literally millions of them in landfills across the world.

Lastly, a photo or two of the wee Birthday Lass herself. We had a professional photo shoot last weekend to mark her Birthday... Thank you to Jessica's Magical Memories
and PlayPatch
for the fantastic custom outfits for the event.

We interrupt your Halloween Party planning....

To announce the upcoming birthday festivities in our home... My sweet Elaina Mae, aka "Peanut" will be 9 in just a few weeks, and once again she has chosen a discontinued party theme Disney's Wall-e. I spent last weekend trolling the web for ideas and finally settled on a scrapbook type design. about 6 hours later, the invites are done... step one down... now to work on party favors.

Invites are a 4 layer cardstock consisting of a heavy burlap look, black glitter, yellow polk a dot, and white shiny, stuck together in the corner with brads... (after making 40 of these invites can I say I NEVER want to see another brad as long as I live). An accent of star garland, some washers and a 3 dimensional Wall-e sticker or two and they are complete. Postage $2.11 each.... sigh... what can I say I heart this little girl.