Amara's 2nd Birthday Party!

Tuesday evening, we celebrated Amara's birthday with some of her closest little friends. I really fought to keep it EXTREMELY small, and mostly family.... those that Amara has spent a lot of time with this year...that have invested SO much into her second year of life.

I opted for an outdoor celebration at Arrington Vineyards. It was perfect!! We were practically the only people there. The sun was setting, and we had an amazing view overlooking the vines. It couldn't have been more beautiful.

 For the first time, I was done setting up and able to relax before guests arrived. NEVER in the history of my party planning has that happened. I would like to think that it is because I have gotten better with planning and timing, but I don't think that is it considering I didn't even have time to shower or wash my hair for the party. Shhhh! However, swinging with my baby sweet toddler, staring at the gorgeous views and just taking it all in with her before the celebration started was a surreal moment for this mama. I needed a stress-free evening....we all did!

The little details......

 ^^ I just put three sheets of watercolor paper together with a crayola kids' art smock and crayola watercolor set. I had custom tags printed at Rock Paper Scissors. ^^

 ^^ I found a great DIY party hat template at Oh Happy Day (such an amazing blog!). I just used Kraft paper sheets, and then hot glued hand dyed/store bought poms on them! ^^

 ^^ These little guys were my favorite! I love a good party favor. I just bought the paint cans at a local craft store ( Michaels and Joanns both carry them), stuffed them with different color tissues to look like "paint", and stuffed them full of goodies! ^^

[ Mini paint set, mini slinky, Ring Pop, swirly straw, bouncy balls, stamps, temporary tattoos and mini bubble containers] I found all of it at craft stores and Target.

 ^^Adult picnic dinners: Sub sandwiches with chips and a pickle! Wooden fruit baskets here ^^

 ^^ Kids' picnic dinners: turkey sandwiches, goldfish/pretzel mix, grapes and a juice box. The boxes were a Martha Stewart find. ^^

 ^^ Found cotton candy at a local candy shop, wrapped it around a stripey straw and voilla! Definitely time consuming, but totally worth it! Who doesn't love cotton candy on a stick!?! ^^

^^ I decided to make an Instagram banner to showcase Amara's year of growth. ^^

Sprinkling a "Fab Mama"

Last Saturday ( yes, I know I should have posted this on Mondayish??), two of my besties, Lori and Lauren, and I threw a baby sprinkle for our dear friend, Leah and baby Max! She is not only an amazing mother to sweet Ari already, but she is such a thoughtful friend to me. The sprinkle had to be special, it was a no brainer to all of us hostesses! 

Leah wanted us to keep it simple ( yeah, okay), so we opted for a restaurant setting in the evening. We chose a Nashville hot spot called Marche, and it was absolutely perfect!! The food, the ambiance, the service.....perfect! We went with some of the colors from Max's fab nursery, and accented it all with gold tones. All of the beautiful paper goods were designed by Lauren at Rock Paper Scissors. Gorgeous, aren't they? We toasted with some Prosecco in hand, and it was just an avalanche of delicious food from that point on.

Here are some pictures from our evening! Disclaimer : forgive some of the blurry pics. Like any great hostess/blogger, I did not charge my camera, so I had 30 secs to snap pics of the table and decor before it shut off. The rest are from my Iphone.

^^ The Fab Mama looking stunning! ^^

^^ If you have not eaten at Nothing Bundt cakes, you are missing out!! Seriously, amazing! ^^

^^ I had so much fun arranging these flowers! Flowers just make me happy! ^^

^^ Tea lights wrapped in gorgeous gold washi tape from Lauren's boutique! ^^

^^ Favor take out boxes for leftover bundt cakes. ^^

We love you Leah!!!! We can't wait to meet baby Max! He is already loved so much!!

- Jenni

Summer Nights at the Vineyard

Some people have a beach nearby, a farm or even a lake to retreat to during the summers. While all of those things aren't all that far from us, Arrington Vineyard is super duper close to us. I have a feeling that is where we will be spending a lot of our summer evenings. Gabe was out of town this past weekend, so I called up my spontaneous bestie and we decided that a picnic filled with Mexican food, leftover birthday cake and wine would bring us much happiness! Simultaneously taking in a beautiful view didn't hurt either.

Off we went! I love how many families had the same idea that night. I enjoy crowds of people ( for the most part). I watched Amara run up and down a hill repeatedly, which brought her a lot of entertainment. I was able to relax on a blanket and eat in peace. Did I mention, we will be spending a lot of summer nights here?

 ^^^ Left over birthday cake with some raspberry dessert wine that the vineyard makes. ^^^

(They have a blackberry that I am dying to try)

^^^ Little hands can't resist cake......who can blame her? ^^^

 ^^^ A little blurry, but I love this picture. ^^^

Zoo day

 We went to the zoo yesterday for the first time this season, and it was an ABSOLUTE PERFECT DAY to be outside. Amara and I met up with our sweet friends, and kicked off our little adventure with a carousel ride. You guys....I have been anxiously awaiting this zoo trip because Amara is starting to really take note of the things around her, especially babies and animals. We made animal sounds in the car on the way to the zoo ( gotta get her prepped, ya know?), and it just made her laugh so hard. I just knew that she would get a kick out of seeing these animals that we mimic day in and day out.

  It is just so much fun watching this little bean that was in my tummy not even two years ago growing into a full -blown little girl. I think that is why the zoo was so fun for me today.... because Amara is starting to interact and enjoy outings like these, and to be honest, there is just nothing that makes me happier than watching her be happy and so amused. Period! Although, a close second would be the watermelon snow cone and soft pretzel that I had today.

Snow cones just make you feel like a kid....in the best way possible. 

I know it is hard to tell my legs apart from the Goat hair, but they ARE two different things.