the essence

All things Princessy

(For more photos go HERE)

For the record, this is not a birthday theme I ever dreamed of having as a little girl. I was never much into the doll/princess thing but this party was for my girls & they love the princess thing. Especially Addison. So, I did it up as best I could on a budget. I worked with what I already had. My favorite was the bed canopy! We haven't had it hanging up in several years & it's just been shoved under our bed. I thought it was perfect for the dining room decor.

Also, notice the ornaments hanging from the light fixture? I love them! My parents showed up in the morning & my mom brought them with her & put them up, I think they're so pretty.



In my "party dreams" this table would be decked out. But that would require more money & I didn't think it would be most advantageous to spend money on decorations that would most likely be destroyed by the mostly four and under crowd. Instead, the money towards food.



Shoved away in my buffet table (because that's what a dining room buffet is for, right?) I found sewer cloth from previous years of decorating. It's not my absolute favorite, it's not as light & airy as tulle, but it worked to make "curtains" in our hallway.



For me, food is very important for an event. If there's no food, lackluster food, etc....I'll disappointed. Think what you will of me, but it's true. In all honestly, the food for the party wasn't extravagant but, it was 10:00 in the morning & I was looking for snacky foods that were also gluten & yeast free (for a guest allergy). We ended up with homemade hummus, fritos, cheese, grapes & sweet potato keilbasa bites (thanks, Sarah!). I was very happy to even find yeast & msg free keilbasa!



And, my favorite, the dessert table. Marshmallows, jellie bellies, popcorn, twizzlers, hershey kisses, chocolate dipped pretzels & cupcakes (the two things that weren't wheat free).



To make things smoother we had the girls' friends over for a little get together at 10:00 & then family over at noon. It definitely seemed to make things easier & much more calm.

Actually, it was incredibly mellow when the friends were here, these were all very well-behaved little girls! I really wish I had a picture of all of them together in their princess dresses but, yeah...didn't happen. They were cuties, though!





Cousins! Addison, Bella & Kate (doesn't Bella look like such a sweet princess?!?)



One day we'll have a family photo where we all look decent/look at the camera/eyes are open etc. Today was not that day.



One HUGE gift the girls received was the seven pack of princess dolls from Ray's mom & Mike! They loved them - Addison was always asking for them at Target. I think the girls were a bit overwhelmed by the gifts, plus, Addison is the same way I was as a kid & hides her excitement about things



Overall, it was a good day & a nice party!