I made a backdrop of leaves for the buffet table out of the branches I trimmed off our incredibly overgrown forsythia bushes the day before. I secured them with tacks and wove them into one another. Naptimes are great for weaving buffet backdrops. 🙂
I was only expecting between seven and eight women so it was fairly easy to do cute little food items without feeling too overwhelmed. Although, tell me… how in the world do you make sure your food is perfectly hot or cold (depending on the item) and have it set, and photographed, when guests arrive without still being in our jeans (which I was :))?
I focused so much energy on the kitchen and the party that the living room still had beach chair drying out in there from our ridiculous amounts of rain, two jogging strollers and drywall on the floor from Drew’s car board that he and AJ made. Opps. Thank goodness we stayed at the kitchen table. 🙂
I set up the bar on our little hutch and had cute little curly straws I picked up at Joann’s for regular drinks…
… and then let guests help themselves to the wine glasses for homemade Mimosas made from Trader Joe’s Sparkling Clementine juice and Champagne. That juice is amazing, even without Champagne.
I didn’t go overboard with flowers since I really wanted leaves and grasses to be the focus because isn’t that what giraffes eat? I’m no giraffe expert though…
I did want to use some of my mom’s hydrangeas on the table for a low centerpiece. They weren’t even in water, I just cut them super low before the party and put them in a wooden large silverware tray that was in the buffet when I found it on the side of the road. Call me cheap.
The runners don’t even look like the same colors in these photos but it was fabric that I got for 40% off at Joann’s and then used no-sew hem tape on the sides. Never again will I sew a runner. This was so super easy. And as a side note, I’m in love with the orange-y yellow color of the runner because it pulls out that color in the rug. So I may or may not still have a giraffe runner on my table… 🙂
Let’s talk food. One of my all time favorite breads is from Jessica’s Brick Oven and it’s a cinnamon brioche. It’s health food. Well… on the plus side, it’s all natural. On the downside, it has about a week’s worth of your sugar allotment in a slice or two. I made mini french toasts out of this and put individual syrups on each plate (they are really espresso cups but they worked fine for this!).
The yogurt parfaits stemmed from something I saw on Pinterest and then recreated based off my fave yogurt treat… I topped each parfait with a mint leaf.
The mini quiches were made in my popover pan and then placed in adorable little paper ice-cream cups from Joann’s. Here is the recipe I used… but made some slight changes like adding feta cheese to it!)
Lastly I did some fruit skewers with fresh fruit!
For the favors I put one of my absolute favorite treats ever into mason jars: Trader Joe’s Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Pretzels. To die for. But for the purpose of this party they weren’t pretzels… they were giraffe spots.
The basket that I placed the gifts in was a find on the side of the road… like half my house… 🙂
What parties are you planning now? Anything wild or cute or super feminine?
I’m already planning Elle’s first birthday. And yes, she’s not even four months yet. 🙂 I just got a really good, and super little girly, idea the other day so I’m brainstorming… but not wishing away these precious months.
Perfect, amazing, adorable, and lovely! I’m obsessed with that leafy backdrop!
🙂 Thank you, April!
Love, love, love!!! The giraffe theme is so cute!
I concur on that bread – we shop the same chain. 🙂 Strangely I happened to have made French Toast out of it for a guest on Friday! She raved it was the best she ever had. Its all in that perfect French Toast bread. (And giraffes are my fave animal so I’m loving this theme.)
It is the absolutely perfect French Toast bread. I could eat it all day long… and in fact I did because there were leftovers that tempted me every time I opened the fridge. 🙂
if only I had an ounce of your creativity – love it!!
Thank you, Beth! 🙂 Always love reading your encouraging comments!
I absolutely love reading your blog and seeing your pictures. I wish I could make comments to your posts everyday. I just wanted you to know that your daily email is a bright spot in my day everyday even if I dont get to comment very often. Your creativity amazes me! I love it. Thank you for sharing your ideas and your life! Pierson Gladney
I just read your comment aloud to my husband… we are dealing with some issues at a rental property now that has us totally stressed out and so YOUR comment was a bright spot of my morning! 🙂 Thank you, Pierson, and love your name. 🙂
Please excuse all my typos. I’m trying to go to fast. Pierson
How fun!! Love the jungle inspired backdrop. A giraffe theme is so cute!