Ella's "You are my Sunshine" 2nd Birthday Party!

It seems like only yesterday we were celebrating Ella's 1st Birthday.  This year, my sister-in-law had the best idea to have a "You are my Sunshine" themed second birthday for adorable Ella!  It was the perfect theme for such a bright and happy little girl!

I used a friend's Cricut for the banner ~ I am officially hooked.  I NEED one of these!

Vanilla cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

Chocolate cake pops ~ a favorite!

View from the backyard ~ gorgeous!

The Etsy print that inspired it all!  {Also a birthday gift to Ella from Auntie & Uncle}

Cocktail Umbrella Topiaries ~ so easy to make!  I'm already thinking of more occasions where I can use the left-over colors!

AND NOW...PREPARE FOR CUTENESS OVERLOAD...

The birthday girl herself, dancing to the Biebs!

Beautiful Ella & Mama!

Too much!

Silly girl!

Mmmm!

We had such a good time celebrating the cutest little sunshine girl!

We love you, Ella Marais!

{Sneak Peek} Ella's "You are my Sunshine" Birthday Party

I can't believe our second-born niece and goddaughter, Ella, is two today!

We are celebrating her birthday this Sunday.  One of the first songs Ella learned to sing was "You are my Sunshine."  My sister-in-law saw this Etsy print, and the inspiration for the party was set!

Here's a sneak peek at what I have planned...

{Mama, Ella, Dada}

Happy Birthday, Sweet Ella Marais!  We can't wait to celebrate YOU this Sunday!

Love, Auntie Ashley

Mom's Favorite Coconut Cake ~ Happy Birthday, Mama!

{image via Seven Spoons}

{The Sweetest Kitchen}

I miss the days where I could come home from college, curl up on the couch with my mom, watch endless episodes of The Barefoot Contessa and Everyday Italian, and sip on our coffee.  My mom has influenced me in so many ways.  Cooking and baking are just a few.

I remember one time we were swooning over Ina's Coconut Cake.  I made it for her birthday a few years ago, and that was that.  We fell in love.

So in honor of my mom, I thought I'd share it with you all. 

Get the Coconut Cake recipe HERE & the Coconut Cupcake recipe HERE!  You can't go wrong with either one.

I know I've been writing this ever since I learned how to spell, but...

 Happy Birthday to the best mom in the world.  I love you!

It's My Half Birthday?!

My sweet 6th grade students surprised me by celebrating my half birthday today! 

All throughout my childhood I longed to be one of those kids who got to bring in cupcakes for the class, or who got a "free homework pass" on their birthday.  But, my birthday is August 16 - right smack at the end of Summer vacation.  Usually when I tried to have pool or beach party, many of my friends were on vacation. 

My job is definitely not always a cake walk~ but I am continuously amazed by the little lives I'm blessed to teach every day.  And my students are sixth graders...so for them to do something so sweet is a pretty big deal. = )

I was greeted at my classroom door this morning by smiling Ally who had a skinny vanilla latte in hand...

\

Later in the day, I came into my classroom to see that my desk had been decorated with lime green streamers (it is COOL - kind of like a fort made out of streamers) and balloons.  I was also given this...

...with explicit instructions that, "Yes, you HAVE to wear it ALL day!"

Lunch time rolled around and in walks another student with this...

Love my Chicken Strips Salad from Chik-fil-A!

As if the day couldn't get any sweeter, my Room Mom popped in at 2:00 with all the goodies to make these adorable cupcakes...

{from Hello, Cupcake!}

What a fun day with my students!  I'm beginning to wonder why I've never celebrated my half birthday before!

Happy Wednesday!

A Very Minnie 2nd Birthday Party!

We did our first official kids party as Yours Truly ~ Wedding & Event Design yesterday!  The party girl was my adorable niece Madison who will be turning two this Wednesday.  The theme was Minnie, so we stuck with the red and black color scheme and threw in touches of zebra.  It turned out great, and it was such a fun day for Maddie!

Head over to our BLOG to check out more pictures from the party! And if you are not a follower yet, we'd love for you to be!  You can also keep up with us on FACEBOOK!

Wishing you all a restful few days before Christmas!

Thomas the Train Cupcakes

My friend's son celebrated his 2nd Birthday this weekend.  They had a casual birthday bbq at Irvine Park on an absolutely gorgeous day.

I had so much fun designing these Thomas cupcake toppers ~ and making the Funfetti cupcakes!  I didn't get too many shots of the party (I wish I would have ~ there were so many cute decorations!).  We had another party to run to, and I had a sister to prep for her first Homecoming. 

Happy 2nd Birthday to (I'm convinced) the biggest, cutest Thomas fan out there! = )