08 • 05 • 14

Haddie Mae Turns One

Oh me, oh my, how the time flies! Hadelyn Mae’s first birthday was a very exciting event for our family! She is our very first baby, AND we had recently moved into our very first house, AND this was our very first time hosting a “gathering” there. So, we really wanted it to be a special celebration of love, gratitude, and family, obviously with the focus being on sweet little Haddie Mae’s first year.

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As an interior designer-turned photographer, it’s very important to me that my children’s surroundings make them feel happy and provoke them to think creatively. I can’t wait until the day that Haddie Mae can tell me about her thoughts and dreams. With that said, I knew that I wanted her very first birthday party to reflect that whimsical side of life. After much (too much) deliberation, I settled on the theme of “Time Flies.” Besides the obvious correlation to her birthday, this theme allowed me to subtly incorporate whimsy into the small details. Dishes painted with florals, bugs, birds, and hand-made glittery arrows, as well as an abstract mini hot air balloon (and real balloons) all had to do with the theme in some way. Things that fly, or even just move with the wind—this, to me, really gave the whimsical, flying-through-life vibe that we wanted. The pastel color palette kept things light and airy, and the DIY confetti banners hung on the fireplace provided a nice photo backdrop for some family photos. The invitations, as well as the “Time Flies” banner, the label cards, and the “Hooray” pennants were all supplied by Minted. I found the perfect floral napkins (and birthday outfit for Hadelyn) from H&M, and made her a headband to coordinate with the handmade glittery arrows. There were several small DIY projects (table confetti, confetti banner, arrows, etc), but the most time-consuming one ended up being the hot-air balloon, made out of a candy dish, yarn, ribbon, a pencil wrapped in washi tape, and a balloon. I had a lot of help with getting things ready from a couple visiting friends (Laura Bow, Ryan and Andrea Lorton–Thank you!!), and it took us quite a while to get it just right! As much as I love decorating and photographing, I absolutely loathe cooking. I didn’t want the food to be a let-down after all of the hard work planning and getting the house ready and decorated, so I opted to have the food catered—RIGHT move. Little Chicks Bakery did a fantastic job, and I just adored the simple (and extremely tasty) birthday cake with the arrow shot through it! We decided to keep the food rather light and brunch-like, since the party was at 10 am (usually Hadelyn’s most playful time of the day). We served savory and sweet scones, sausage balls, orange cinnamon rolls, pigs in a blanket, and a few different flavors of mini muffins. The only thing I made myself was Haddie Mae’s pastel-rainbow smashing cake. I may not be a supermom, but I thought I should at least make HER cake! Of course, she barely dug into it, but it was still so much fun to watch! Most of the serve ware was from Anthropologie, with a few BHLDN exceptions, and just one or two family hand-me-down pieces. Also, we used a few objects to help get the vibe across, like the vintage lace tablecloth hung over the window, the BHLDN beaded gloves, Anthropologie framed antelope (he doesn’t fly but he’s whimsical, right?!), and a vintage Ginger Ale wooden box to help give the table texture and height. The one thing I’d tell any other mommies planning a party is don’t be afraid to ask for help, and plan ahead of time—get any DIY projects out of the way EARLY so that they all actually get done, and you aren’t scrambling at the last second. I doubt every birthday party of Haddie Mae’s will be this “done,” but it sure was fun, and definitely worth the effort.

With joy, Lizard.