Wednesday, April 22, 2009

lucky to be...33








When my husband asked what I wanted for my 33rd birthday, I replied that I wanted a party for some friends - with him cooking, serving, cleaning. He quickly (surprisingly!) obliged, and I have to say it was one of the best birthday gifts ever.

The plan...
I have long wanted to host a 'lucky' party- one that celebrated all the friends in my life that I felt lucky to have. The reality of throwing an all-out bash was overwhelming, however, so we decided to have a small-scale dinner for some close friends. We decided that 6 was a manageable size- which turned out to be the perfect number (even though one had to cancel at the last minute).  I figured with my husband taking care of the big stuff, I could finally take time to focus on all the small detail stuff that I enjoy doing. However, this was...

The reality...
I realized not much more then a week before the party that I had not sent out invitations. It was too late to send out an HPG creation, so I threw something together quickly. I printed the invitations and Super 77'ed some remnant wrapping paper to the back to give it some pattern. Once the invitations were out, I thought I would focus on the fun small stuff. However, with a weekend trip, a mis-scheduled house cleaning, and the usual mom brain- I neglected to focus on any of the fun stuff until the day of. And I was too busy cleaning and taking care of my son to really go to the lengths I had planned on. I was still pleased with the results, though. 

I used a 'lucky'/horseshoe theme- chocolate horseshoe favors were given to the guests, with a blurb telling them what I was lucky to have them for (kindness, humor, spirit, friendship, creativity, etc). Horseshoes I purchased on etsy were loosely placed on the cocktail table and dinner table. I wanted everything to be cohesive, but not too thematic. I used the wrapping paper as the jumping point for the color palette- red and pink and lots of white. My husband (who I promise dressed himself), even showed up in a pink striped shirt and tie- perfect

The evening couldn't have been better, and I really couldn't be any luckier to have such good friends and an amazing husband. I'm already trying to talk him into doing it again next year. I highly recommend a similar evening as a fabulous way to ring in a 'boring' birthday. 

25 comments:

emily said...

You did a marvelous job! I love how crisp everything looks.

chiara said...

how sweet. loving the pink and red combo.

Tania McCartney said...

Gorgeous! Also loving the lone pink balloon - so sweet. Happy birthday!

Kim - The TomKat Studio said...

Happy Birthday! I love the idea of a "lucky" themed party! I may have to borrow that one for one of my own birthdays! :) Great job on little time, I know how that goes! I always end up doing my own party stuff last minute!

Heather said...

i love the colors you chose. very cute in a sophisticated way. and the horseshoes are to die for.

Chelsea said...

This perfect! I love your modern aethsetic. Just lovely.

Jolie Goodnight said...

This is incredible! My husband and I both love horseshoes. He's in Iraq right now so I think the next package I send him will be inspired by this.

Jane said...

what a great party! i love it all.

happy birthday :)

jane
simple-pretty.com

:: imprintables:: said...

This is exactly why you are party perfect because you have the most ingenious ideas - love, love, love the decor. I love that it's understated yet super stylish. Happy birthday to you! 33 years young!

N. said...

What a lovely birthday party - I'd love to host one like that for my husband and myself next year. I love the lucky theme.

I wish I had seen those etsy offerings before my daughter's 9th birthday party - the diecut horseshoes and trophies would have been perfect!

Pam Walter said...

The theme and the colors are both fantastic! Sounds like a great time and has made me think about doing something just to celebrate the blessings of friendship! http://blog.sweetservices.com/sweetscandyblog/

Anonymous said...

That sounds so amazing!

Joslyn said...

happy, happy birthday.

ok, seriously this is the best idea ever. total perfection and i'm fully planning on stealing it all for my boring 36th birthday at the end of the year!

Anonymous said...

I love this theme! Thanks for sharing. I hope you don't mind if I borrow this theme for an upcoming event! :)

our corner around the globe said...

Fabulous. Happy birthday!!!

jessica said...

Love this theme! How fun and unique! I love the horseshoes and color palette.

Michelle said...

What a fun theme! You did a great job - it all went together so well!

Kendra@My Insanity said...

That's probably the only way to get the kind of party I would love!

Hubby's just don't always think the way we do, do they? But mine can cook! I think I will steal your idea! All of the details look fantastic!

paula said...

What a fabulous party. I may borrow this idea for my 30th. Oh, and Happy belated birthday!

Unknown said...

Love it! Can you PLEASE tell me where you got the birds?

by Sara Hicks Malone said...

birds are vintage- bought on ebay (sorry!) --- I bought the round balloons online (try googling big round balloon- I don't remember the exact source) and had Party City blow them up. Thanks for all the great comments everyone!

Allen said...

Hi! Can you please tell me where you got the napkins? My wedding is going to be navy and white striped and those napkins would help coordinate everything so nicely! Thanks!
Melissa

by Sara Hicks Malone said...

red stripe napkins are from IKEA

Sara Zmith said...

i love the colors you chose. very cute in a sophisticated way. and the horseshoes are to die for. incontinence supplies to Depends and on Attends

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