Due to a variety of reasons, my niece Gracie never ended up having a birthday party last year. I wasn’t about to allow that to happen again, so I started planning well in advance this year. She requested a tall order – a pink zebra print diva party. No really, that’s exactly how she described what she wanted. But being the awesome aunt that I am, I made it happen!
Boas and hair fascinators were supplied for the party guests and a peace sign zebra cake was served.
To keep with the theme, the black cherry pop bottles and the birthday banner got the pink zebra treatment.
I think treats are more fun on a stick, so the star cookies stood tall.
And the birthday girl beamed as the crowd sang “Happy Birthday” to her…
For their 40th anniversary, my parents booked a gorgeous vacation house for the weekend. Deep in the woods of northern Michigan, we gathered together at Au Sable View Lodge for food, fun and games.
To get to the lodge, it was a long and winding drive along the snow covered roads in the evergreen forest – it was truly a winter wonderland.
As you can see, our rag tag bunch of misfits is ready to PARTY!
I couldn’t wait to get inside and start exploring. One of the first things I found was a guest book that records the names and stories of everyone who has stayed at the house. I had a great time looking through it and reading the adventures other people had shared.
The house had lots of unique decorating elements, from the snow shoe light fixtures to the historical picture books.
Some of the animals mounted on the walls had a story to tell. We learned that Dolly the buffalo lived a long and happy life on a ranch in northern Michigan. She had a very sweet temperament and was her owner’s favorite buffalo. When she died, they had her stuffed and gave her to the owners of the lodge. Now she greets all the guests who stay at the house.
This weekend was all about having fun, so we brought several games to keep us entertained. My sister, Sarah, was so pleased (insert sarcasm here) that Justin and I taught Kaden how to play Zombie Dice. For the record, Kaden was really good!
After relaxing for a while, we decided to bundle up and explore outside. The incredible views from the balcony of the lodge made it feel like we were in a treehouse!
We took Gracie for a walk along the snowy paths through the woods.
As evening set in, Justin and I got to work on a surprise for my parents. Four hours and two bottles of wine later, we called them over and presented their anniversary cake.
This year, my nephew Kaden was very specific about what he wanted for his birthday party – Batman! As his birthday approached, the poor boy was a bit under the weather, so my sister asked me to take it easy this time on the party planning. But of course, I couldn’t resist having a little fun, especially with a theme like Batman! Hey, sick or not, you only turn five once!
Though I don’t pretend to be any good at it, I enjoy baking and I love to attempt the fancy decorating I see on TV cake shows. I enlisted Justin to help with the fondant for the Batman cake and since neither one of us has really worked with it before, it was extremely challenging. We used sugar sheets for the buildings and logo. They were delicate and melted much easier than expected (which caused some unanticipated problems). But being the novices that we are, we’re pretty happy with how the cake turned out.
I created the “superhero suckers” from a template I found online and modified it to fit the Batman theme. They were adorable!
And a simple banner completed the celebration setting.
After a quiet New Year’s Eve in Laguna Beach, we got up early to spend a full day in Long Beach. Our first stop was the Aquarium of the Pacific to see their astonishing collection of sea creatures.
The seahorses were helplessly cute!
There were numerous species of jellyfish on display. I could have stayed and photographed their graceful dances for the rest of my life.
They had a touch pool with sea anemones, sea urchins and starfish, so Justin made some new friends.
The sea otters put on a delightful show with their adorable antics!
From above the water, the sawfish looked intimidating. But from the underwater viewing station, he looked like such a friendly chap.
The sand tiger shark, however, did not.
After the Aquarium, we walked over to the Queen Mary to tour the elegant ocean liner.
It felt like we had stepped back in time as we walked the decks of the grand ship.
tresamusantephoto.com 