{Real Parties}: Playhouse Warming / 4th Birthday Party

The latest event that I just planned was for my biggest joy and greatest blessing...

my daughter, Hannah.

From the moment I knew I was pregnant, with a girl, (and finished crying with sheer joy),

I started planning the next few years (hey, I'm a planner I can't help it!) I

imagined planning tea parties, playing dress up, make believing we were princesses, and watching her do ballet in a tutu.

My dream had come true.

Fast forward a couple of years and I asked my husband if we could have someone build a playhouse in our backyard. I had one growing up and loved it. Well, my husband's exact words were "find some plans online and I will build one". He didn't have to ask me twice. My husband altered the original plans to create something far more beautiful than I could have ever imagined, and it was definitely a labor of love.

So on March 28, 2010 we hosted a "Home Sweet Home" Playhouse Warming Party

to celebrate my daughter's 4th birthday.

Here is the masterpiece!

The entire playhouse was built as a DIY by my husband and some occasional help from a couple of his friends. There is a wrap around porch, bamboo flooring and it's wired for recessed lighting, air conditioning and a flat screen TV to watch princess movies.

Here is a picture of the birthday girl during the ribbon cutting ceremony!

These are images of the interior of the playhouse. I chose a yummy yellow color called

"Lemon Sorbet" to paint the interior.

These are images of the tablescape I designed for the sweets

This next image was the area that greeted our guests as they arrived. I used fabric squares

for guests to sign as an alternative to a guest book. I asked each guest to write a note,

a memory or a prayer for my daughter and I will sew them together as a memory quilt for her to enjoy in her playhouse.

One of my favorite things to have at a party is a "Signature Cocktail". Since this was a party for a 4 year old (although we had friends here of all ages) I decided to have a "Signature Mocktail" (non-alcoholic cocktail) and chose a Cotton Candy Mohito.

I just love this next image...it really touches me. I shot it at the end of the day, after all the guests had gone home and it speaks volumes of all the anticipation, dreams, planning, (a few tears) and love that went into this moment in time. It's one of my favorite images of all time.

Everything from the invitations to the floral vases, fabric pennant banner, tissue poms, dessert labels, beverage menus, drink stirrers, cupcake toppers, and gift bags, etc., were all DIY by yours truly. I also restored a lot of the playhouse furniture (with the help of my amazingly talented mom)!

Besides my husband and my mom, there are a couple of other people that I want to say a special thank you to... Mary with Jay's Catering graciously emailed me and wanted to make the cake for Hannah's party. It was so adorable and tastes as good as it looks! I am so grateful for Mary's generosity!

also

All the fabric for the flag bunting pennant and the memory quilt was graciously donated by my good friend, Feanna, the designer behind Kait Emerson Designs, an upscale children's clothing boutique that my daughter is fortunate to model for!

I will be posting my links for inspiration, tutorials, templates and the infamous Cotton Candy Mohito mocktail recipe in future posts so keep checking back!