FINALLY! After several nagging (love you guys!) emails from friends, I have found the time in my supremely busy schedule to post the Curious George/Curious Pearce 1st birthday party pictures. Pearce is my best friend Kalle's son and he is SO precious! He is such a curious little boy, so that's how the theme came about. I talked about this party here. First up - the birthday boy: With his beautiful mama Kalle... He just woke up from a nap but was ready to partay as soon as he saw all his adoring guests: See what I mean - he was totally raging in his Curious George gear: Here was one of his favorite presents. He needed a little help on the slide from Grandma, but he was having the time of his life. As a side note. I cannot emphasize how small this slide was. I can't believe someone is small enough to slide down it without breaking it to 50 pieces. (Like I would have done. Not that I thought about testing it out or anything.) Heyyyyy.... (that was supposed to be "The Fonz") ... Check out Mr. Cool in the baby aviators our friend Leighton gave him. Ladies, watch out for Pearce. He's a heart breaker. Note - His t-shirt says "Curious Pearce." Personalization is key people. Let's talk decor...the colors were red, yellow and brown. As if people were unaware who the party was for, we made sure they knew they were at the right house with this front door sign: A little story about these letters. My usual cutter was not around (that would be Mr. Fo of the steady hand). So while I am trying my very best to cut these letters out of foam, Kalle innocently says "Aww, that is so cute, you are trying to make them look childlike since it's a kids party!" Insulted, I say, "Umm... No I'm not Kalle. This is just the best I can do, but thanks. I did not mean to cut them as though a 7 year old had done it but it's always good to recognize your skill level." That's the last time I freehand cut anything. (Note: Clearly the bitterness about that comment has not subsided) My favorite part was the mantel decorations. Let's let the pictures do the talking: Let's just state the obvious here ... Is Curious George not the cutest monkey you have ever seen? I want a Curious George party for me! Curious Jackie! It has a nice to ring to it. After all, I do cut like a 7 year old, so it's fitting. Anyways... back to the mantel. I bought the 5 frames from the dollar store (Total: $5. Math Whiz) and spray painted them red. I then printed out Curious George pics and one Curious Pearce pic for the large frame. I made the ribbon garland using Banana, Circle and Monkey die cut shapes I purchased from Little Extras. This is a GREAT site for scrap booking supplies and die cut shapes. They have every shape you can think of! I used the extra to scatter around the food table as confetti. I also found the curly ribbon at the Dollar store. I wasn't looking for it, but I saw it and knew I could use it somewhere. I think if you find an item you love but don't have a specific idea for it's use, buy it anyways. Once you have the decorations in place, the creative juices will start kicking in and you will find a place to use it. For the outdoor tables, I kept it simple. I found this awesome Curious George wrapping paper at Party City and knew I would find a use for it. This added a lot to the backyard tables and was ideal for a kiddie party. No mess to worry about - just toss the "tablecloth!" Let's get to my favorite topic, the food. Kalle and I brainstormed a menu that would be cute for a kids party but would fill up the adults. There were several banana themed dishes. George would approve. Note... the napkins were rolled by my father in law - Best napkin rolling I have ever seen Art :) Pearce's Curiously Delicious Menu: PB&J Grilled Cheese Veggies and Dip Fruit Chocolate Covered Bananas on a Stick Banana Pudding Cupcakes Banana Daiquiris I cut the PB&J sandwiches out in circles using different size circle cookie cutters. (Note: All of my food labels are crooked in these pictures! I blame the little rugrats running around ;) ) Look at this banana pudding Kalle made. OMG. It's so good you can't believe it. Cupcakes with cute George toppers. It's like he's welcoming you to the cupcake. "Eat me! I'm cute!" The Daiquiris were delicious. Here is an important lesson I learned: While vintage paper straws are adorable, they are not conducive for drinking a thick daiquiri. I was thinking cuteness, not practicality. Whoops. My favorite party food of the day...Bananas on a Stick: These were SO cute. Kalle just froze the bananas for a few hours and then dipped them in melted chocolate. We put them out right before the party started. To get these to stand up, I bought Styrofoam blocks from Michael's and spray painted them red. I put some crinkly red shredded paper (best stuff EVER btw) over it to cover up the Styrofoam. Then we stuck the sticks right in the foam! Note that Styrofoam works much better than floral foam for something that has weight on it... like a chocolate covered banana. Here's the birthday boy enjoying his first dose of real sugar. Yes, that's correct. Kalle is what you might call a "health nut." I am surprised she ever sets foot in a grocery store and doesn't just hunt and scavenge for her own twigs and berries herself. But it pays off, she looks fantastic and I'm sure her insides are the picture of health. Unfortunately, poor P will never know what a fruit rollup or cheetos will taste like (until he comes over to Aunt Jackie's... muahahaha). Suffice it to say, Pearcey eats more along the lines of organic graham crackers from Trader Joe's as opposed to cupcakes with frosting on it. So take a look at this guy as he experiences the joys of sugar for the very first time.... here's pretty much how it went: Well there you have it. The cutest monkey and the cutest 1 year old make for a pretty cute party. Have a GREAT WEEK everyone!