Parties – Page 2 – Snapshots & My Thoughts by Ailee Petrovic

Events June 3, 2018

Isla’s Royal 4th Birthday Princess Party

Yesterday, we celebrated Isla’s fourth birthday with a small(ish) princess party with eight of her closest friends. There were faux floral arrangements being made, cheese and cucumber sandwiches being eaten, a castle piñata being (lightly) whacked at, but most importantly, Cinderella, leading these nine girls in songs, dances and etiquette lessons. With some sprinkling of princess dust, they took an oath, turned around in a circle, and each became real princesses. Isla believes it all, and I’m sticking with it.

Isla had the best time at the party, and I wish I had just told her it was her actual birthday, because I feel like tomorrow would be a disappointment were it not for yoga camp starting! Lucky me – saved by the bell.

I had lots of help from my friend, Monica, and her daughter, Riley, who made the cake, signage, a silhouette cutout, and a balloon arch. They’re the best! I tried to narrow down the photos that I took, but like always, I failed at being selective. If you want to be nostalgic (like me), you can go and see Isla’s last three birthday parties:

Confetti-Themed First Birthday Party | Tea for Two Second Birthday Party | Unicorn-Themed Third Birthday Party

Party Sources: Cake, Floral Shop Signage, Balloon Arch Table and Isla Princess Silhouette from Monica and Riley of Paper Flour Ink | Custom cartoon by Juan Charles on Fiverr | Custom Crowns Monogramed at The Monogram Shop | Cinderella is a part of Fairytale Headquarters | Table and chairs rented from Aztec | White Tablecloth and Pink/Gold Tray from Target | Mint Chargers from Michaels | Gold plasticware from Amazon | Pink Coupe Glasses and Gold & White Napkins from Sugar & Cloth | Honeycomb Poufs from Debra Party Corp | Florals from Mi Bella Rosa | Crown Cookies from Memorial Bakery | Gold Frame for Silhouette from ForeverLoveNotes on Etsy | Smaller Gold Frames from Nice Price Favors | Floral Teapot Favor Boxes and Floral Plates from MoonlightWeddings on Etsy | Castle Piñata from Pinatas, Etc.

Events April 19, 2018

Milly’s Bubbly First Birthday Bash

On Sunday, we celebrated my niece’s first birthday (which is today!) with the best and brightest bubbly bash. The weather was in the 70s and the sun was out – you couldn’t have asked for a better day. There were ponies and prosecco, cookies, cakepops, cupcakes and the most beautiful bubble cake in the world, a moonwalk and sensory bins, tons and tons of balloons, and bubble machines working for hours on end. Milly actually smashed the cake (typical first kid, with little sugar intake previously! Ha!). She rocked her cuteheads romper – aptly named AFTER HER, no big deal (check it out here!).

Monica, again, dominated the cake. It was absolutely incredible. Those bubbles were made with gelatin and balloons – she was preparing for weeks! She’s next level. Plus, she designed the invitation, which is one of our favorite ever. Jessie’s cookies were unbelievable. The bubble wands and the champagne were my favorite! My mom made the cupcakes and bunting (thanks, Mum!). It always takes an army to pull these things off, right? Other sources below!

Sweet Milly Moo! I can’t believe she’s one. She is truly such a joyful, happy baby and we love her so much. I will be sharing more of her first birthday photo session photos very soon.

Events January 30, 2018

Emilia’s Sweet Shop: A Dylan’s Candy Bar Themed First Birthday Party

I had a “What a One-derful World!” themed first birthday party fully planned out for sweet Emi, but when Meredith muttered the words, “What about a candy party?” then texted a photo of what she had in mind, I was sold. Alas, a Dylan’s Candy Bar-themed party sprouted out of my crazy brain – it involved 193,249 texts between Meredith and Monica, both of whom Sasha thinks have a bad influence on me! Ha.

I sent Monica a very rough draft of an invitation design, which she, of course, ran with and instantly delivered a paper mock-up, which looked way better than I could have imagined. From there, vinyl backdrops were designed, custom fabrics and wallpaper was printed, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

The real MVPs of this party were Monica, for making lots of designs (signs, vinyls, invitations – you name it) and obviously THAT CAKE. It is so amazing! I was so sad that people had to eat it. Even Emi’s egg-free smash cake (love/hate her for that!) was gorgeous and delicious too. And of course, my mom, who baked and iced 60 cupcakes, sewed bunting for Emi’s high chair, made a table runner, and sewed 45 favor bags for people to take candy home in. What would I do without these two?

Overall, the party was so much fun. Emi was uncertain how to deal with all of the attention at first, but she was really feeling the cake smash, which I was most worried about. We definitely were left with lots of candy afterwards, but I bagged it up and gave it to my sister to take to her office! After the sugar high wore off, sweet Emilia slept well that night and woke up in the best mood for her actual birthday yesterday. I want the birthday festivities to live on, but am so ready for a break in party planning! Ha. I sourced all of the items in the party below, except some DIYs, like the ‘Watch Emi Grow’ planter, which was something I had in my mind then went to Home Depot and made it work (with Sasha’s help). Email me if you have any questions! And now, for 100-or-something party pics!

Sources: Vinyl backdrops from Signs.com, designed by Monica of Paper Flour Ink // Invitations created by Monica of Paper Flour Ink // Calligraphy by Nancy of nancyb. creative // Cake by Monica of Paper Flour Ink // Balloon arch by Lili of Lili’s Balloon Decorations // Cookies by Jessie of Miss J’s Bakeshop // Florals by Flower Vibes // Candy containers from Shindigz // Custom water bottle labels from Amazon // Pink Chivari chairs, blue tablecloth, kids table from Aztec Party Rentals // Custom caricature coloring sheets by Juan on Fiverr.com // Cupcakes by my mom (with toppers from Party City, cupcake liners from Amazon) // Cupcake stands from Amazon // Pink sequined tablecloth on Amazon // Favor bags, bunting, and table runner by my mom // Instax polaroid camera on Amazon // Custom Shutterfly photo book // BabyBjorn highchair on Amazon // Custom stamps from Mi nted // Candy stand DIYed, but storage unit from IKEA with customized removable wallpaper from Spoonflower // Custom jigsaw puzzle from CreateJigsawPuzzles.com // White frames for signs from Target // White serving platter for cookies from Target // Moonwalk from Sky High Party Rentals // Front door sign printed from VistaPrint.com // My red dress from Nordstrom // Clear kids ghost chairs from Amazon // White kids Eames chairs from Amazon

Events November 30, 2017

Cake & Confetti Colorful Kid’s Christmas Party

A few weeks ago, Meredith of Cake & Confetti planned the most ahhhdorable Christmas party that Isla was invited to attend (may have helped that I was photographing it, ha!). I am obsessed with every bright, pretty detail – she is definitely the best of the best when it comes to party planning (and overall, in life). Esther & Jenny’s girls are the other two adorable little party goers! Their cuteheads dresses are to-die for!!

You can find all of the details and a ton of fun photos on her blog here. We took these at Nancy Aidee’s new studio – it’s AMAZING! Thank you, Nancy, for letting us shoot there!

Events September 14, 2017

Emi’s Serbian Orthodox Christening Ceremony

On July 21, Emilia was Christened in a Serbian Orthodox ceremony at St. Basil the Great Greek Orthodox Church, officiated by Father Serge Veselinovich. Her Godparents, Kirby and Brett, came into town and played an integral part of the ceremony. I’ve been best friends with Kirby for over 12 years now, and we are so glad that they’ll play a key role in our daughter’s life forever. Emi is a lucky girl! Isla’s Godmother, McKenzie, flew into Houston from Chicago to celebrate with us! I have the best best friends.

While we attend a Baptist church, Bayou City Fellowship, we wanted to follow Sasha’s Serbian traditions for the Christening, which is very closely aligned to the Greek Orthodox faith (in which Kirby was raised). I did research about the ceremony prior to Isla’s Christening, and wrote about it in her blog post (which is linked at the bottom of this post!).

Although we didn’t know it at the time, sweet Emi had an ear infection on July 21st (now obvious in some of the photos, since she is pulling on her ear!). Needless to say, she was not a super happy camper during the 45 minute ceremony. Kirby was Godmother-extraordinaire, rocking her, giving her a bottle, soothing her, letting her play with her face and hair, etc.