happy birthday, husband!

I can hardly believe that my adorable mister turned the big four-oh yesterday. we had a southern themed party last night that was tons of fun. I'm just now getting around to downloading the pictures, so I will definitely share later in the week, but it was a blast! happy 40th to the sweetest, smartest, funniest, kindest, most talented husband on the planet. I adore you, robert.

happy 26th birthday, sissy!

such a ham, that kid!

 

{kara in 1987}

birthday party goodies

I mailed my good friend kristin a goodie box of stuff I put together for her 29th italian-themed birthday party in manhattan last week.  the template for these mustache straws came from the paper + craft book I got for christmas. and of course my first sewing project, the bunting (although I have to say I hope she didn't hang it on the door like that! sheesh!).

{photos by ty mecham}

mrs. doubtfire party

my sister turned 25 years old a few weeks ago, which is reason enough for a special celebration. her favorite movie of all time just happens to be mrs. doubtfire, so I figured that would be the perfect theme for our dinner party. but be forewarned: my family & I are huge dorks (if you haven't noticed already). we dressed the part, ate the part, talked the part & of course sang along to the movie soundtrack that robert made. euphegenia doubtfire would have been awfully proud, dear.

{the invitation}

designed to look like the movie poster. 

{the guests}

dad dressed as mr. lundy, complete with a glass of scotch & a  fake beard. kara went as euphegenia doubtfire. and mom as miranda, with her design portfolio in hand.

{the decor}

lots of tea cups, framed pictures of the hillard family, balloons on the ceiling (like at chris' birthday party), & lemons & limes for the "run-by fruiting".

{the props}

I had movie props hidden all over the house. whoever could spot the prop & quote the corresponding movie line won a prize. humor me- do you know any of these movie lines?
 

{the food}

robert & I made the exact same meal from the movie that mrs. doubtifre serves her first night on the job: raspberry salad, shrimp on colored linguine with orange sauce & baby carrots (I have no idea HOW this goes together, but it does in the movie, so that's how we did it) . I also made the soccer cake from the movie, in a pink box, of course.

{the gifts}

mom gave kara 25 gifts for 25 years. she had been collecting all kinds of little vintage things for kara: pins, gloves, rings, pocketbooks, a hand mirror. you name it, she now has it in her collection.

I'd rather be thrifting

I love ashleyg; we have a couple of her prints hanging in our home. when I saw her most recent "I'd rather be thrifting" print, I knew it would be the perfect gift for my vintage-loving sister, who is the queen of thrift stores & estate sales. I bought a frame & then had a matte cut to fit. turned out pretty darn cute!

bubblegum birthday card

I totally copied this former martha stewart editor's idea for an edible birthday card.  my jack & lulu's stationary ran out, so I reused the box. just printed the message on cardstock & stuck it to the bottom. the bubblegum was $1 at target. cute, easy & mailable. happy birthday to a wonderful friend!

the best birthday ever!

not to brag, but I have the best husband... ever. he made my birthday on thursday so very special.

it started out with homemade pancakes & raspberries for breakfast on the "today's my special day" plate (a long-standing tradition in my family. we kinda think birthday's are a big deal).

then I received beautiful yellow tulips at work.

he took me to a new restaurant called taverna for dinner which was absolutely delicious. there was cava waiting for us at the table (which we drank when we were in barcelona a few months back). we ordered some really good wine, a fabulous ricotta & fig compote appetizer and some pizzas. ah!

and if that wasn't enough, robert had my favorite cake from sheila's waiting for me at home for dessert. he calls me katie-bird as a nickname, so he had asked for the outline of a bird on the cake, which is pretty hilarious.

ok.. and here's the best part. robert made my gift. apparently for the past four months he had been collecting old wooden letters used for printing (some dating back as far as the 1800s!). he made this incredible collage with the letters, spelling out birthday (the "y" is on the way..), as well as my initials & a few other inside jokes. and even cooler- robert made the frame from salvaged cedar from the closet in our house that we tore out a few years ago!

it is absolutely beautiful & I cannot wait to hang it in our home.

and then we got to celebrate all over again the next night with my family. yea, I'm spoiled. this was one of the best birthday's I've ever had. I am so very blessed!!

surprise date night

look what I found waiting for me when I got home from dance last night... looking forward to birthday date night tomorrow with my sweet husband.