* 2nd Birthday Party [the Details]

Even though I am SO SO SOOOO far behind in blogging I will continue with birthday recap posting, then I will get caught up with the rest of life! ;) I want start with breaking up Avrie's party recap into two posts (so that it won't get too long). The first part being all about the details; the invite, her birthday outfit, indoor/outdoor decor, food & a simple Thank You favor.
  
{Party Invite} I browsed Pinterest for some inspiration finding THIS and I then created her Mickey invite with Picmonkey. Avrie loves Minnie Mouse and in order to keep things simple(r) I went with a red, black & white w/ polka dots as the overall "theme". I was happy with the result that I came up with for her invite- to get them printed only cost me $7 before mailing. I wasn't sure about putting a "nakey" pic on her invite but I figured it was OK, but next year yeah, probs NOT SO MUCH! ;)

{Birthday Party Outfit} Again I browsed Pinterest and came up with two great options. For her top I found a few ideas and sent them on to one of my MOST fav blogger buddies in California. She recently started taking orders for custom appliques and I KNEW I had to have her make something special for Avrie. Tami with Sweet T Kids did such a great job in working with me to make exactly what I was picturing. I loved it and it fit perfect! Thank you SO much Tami! talk to her the next time when you are in need of something INCREDIBILITY adorable!

For the bottom I found THIS easy skirt and went in search of the perfect material. I came home from Joann's with more than I set out for and I love how it turned out. I spent a morning in my MIL's sewing room and it proved to be just as easy as the tutorial promised it would be. I loved that the top layer of fabric had the flowy black dots all over- it was just like a bunch of little Mickey ears! To complete Avrie's outfit, I had her wearing white bloomers under the skirt, her rhinestone summer sandals and a Goodie brand black headband with a flower & rhinestone, found at Target.

{Outdoor & Flowers} Anytime we have had company over for an outdoor party, I feel SO MUCH pressure to make the outside of our "ugly" house have great curb appeal! HA... if you have been to my house you know what I mean. We are in TERRIBLE need of new windows, siding & a roof for this 1977 split level! Anywho, I am NOT a green thumb at all {like I forget to water flowers and they die HECK they die even if I DO water them, I am just not good at it} HOWEVER I enjoy the process of picking out pretty flowers and arranging them- SO... I went with red & white flowers of a couple different varieties. My favorite being the little black pails with red/white pansies and a spike plant at the base of the mini shepard hook. They turned out so cute and I was pretty proud of myself- currently they are all STILL alive and thriving! Aaron also spread fresh gravel on the entire driveway- this made a HUGE difference and we love the result as well. 

{Party Decor} I had it in my head to make these cute pom pom streamers and with how EASY and simply adorable they turned out... I can see myself making them for EVERY holiday! HA I had them all throughout the house and some hanging in the garage as well. I also used streamers, twisting them for effect and had them as the food table backdrop. For the rest of the decor I relied on red, black, white and a little bit of yellow for utensils, napkins, plates, food labels etc. Mickey's silhouette was found all throughout the party. On the tables I used 1 large black plate with two small plates to create a Mickey ears plate for snack. I also used sticky black felt in a few places as well. My niece Hannah was over the night before the party and helped me with a lot of the last minute details- that was SO helpful & and we had a lot of fun giggling the night away!

{Party Food} We invited Avrie's guests over for a BBQ so Aaorn loaded up the giant smoker with a TON of meat; giant turkey legs, ribs, brats and hotdogs. It was all SO SO good and smelled DELICIOUS cooking all morning long. For sides we had your basic BBQ foods; baked beans, potato salad, coleslaw, veggies and dip, fruit and dip & chips. We wanted sweet corn as well, but due to excessive rainfall the local crop was delayed, bummer! For dessert Hannah and I made mini cheesecakes the night before, plain with mini chocolate chips and plain with red coloring and white chocolate chips.
 
  [the above mentioned Mickey snack plates]
{Cake/Cupcakes} My sister with Mann They're Tasty Cupcakes worked with me to create an exact (but better) idea I found on the internet for some simple Chocolate Minnie Mouse cupcakes! They were SO SO good. She also, out of the kindness of her heart, made Avrie her very own Mickey Birthday cake. It was ADORABLE- but more on that in the party recap.
[chocolate with buttercream frosting inside and on top w/ mini oreo ears and red sugar sprinkles]
{Thank You Favors} I went with large circle lollipops with a little Thank You tag tied to them. Simple and perfect for the ride home. I was afraid I would have a bunch left over, but they were a hit and I only had two left over.

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And that, my friends, were all the party details! Now that THATS out of the way, I can share fun highlights from Avrie's 2nd Birthday Party; guests, gifts, cake & the birthday girl! Avrie had such a great time soaking up A LOT of attention & time with some of her most favorite people all weekend long.