Family Friday {Pinstripes Party}

This past Saturday we celebrated the Boys 5th & 2nd birthdays with a party at the bowling alley. The restaurant provided lunch for all 17 littles along with all the bowling they could enjoy for 2 hours. 

To dress up the space, we went with a blue and red theme compliments of the birthday boys' favorite colors. I created bowling cupcake toppers on picmonkey and placed them on store bought cupcakes iced in red and blue. A few balloon bouquets and monogrammed napkins in blue & white complete the space. 

For favors, I made bowling ball treats out of Little Debbie snack cakes, paper straws and white icing. They were displayed front and center on the dessert table during the party. As guests prepared to leave, I carried the tray to each guest and let him/her remove the treat of their choice.

Peanut requested a special birthday shirt and thanks to the magic of "stitch witch" these were a snap to make. I simply googled an image of a bowling pin, traced it onto white felt, added red ribbon for the stripes & cut the whole appliqué out. The bowling ball was the outline of a wine glass on black felt with 3 gray circles added for finger holes. I am happy to report that these have held up beautifully in the wash/dryer and if it is in the drawer, Peanut wants to wear it….best $3.50 I've ever spent on a shirt.

Once the guests arrived, it was off to the lanes. The party was comprised of preschool, Greek school and family friends. The first two groups received an invitation solely for Peanut's birthday while the family's invites included the baby's name as well.

Between frames Peanut was a wonderful host making the rounds to all his friends and cheering them on as they bowled. We were lucky to be situated in the corner of a private room, so our party of little ones didn't have too far to roam nor the concern of strangers passing by.

Before cupcakes, we had everyone line up in front of the lanes for a group shot that I will include with Peanut's thank you notes. After the littles got their fill of sugar, they bowled a few last frames before packing it up and heading for home.

After unloading the car, we tackled the mountain of presents that included Legos, super heroes and the coolest set of Superman jammies. I'm quite certain he would live in them if I let him, rotating between his new bowling shirt and the caped pjs. 

 Less than 24 hours until he's officially 5!!!

PicMonkey Tools & Family Photos

The family room makeover is coming along. I sat down last night to pour though thousands of photos and whittle down a few to display in the new space. I'm sure it comes as no shock that I turned to picmonkey to take my average photos to the next level.

Here is a quick preview of the various overlays and editing tools I used.

Polaroid Film Filter

Eye Brightener.. Airbrush for stray hairs (ok and the fine lines around my eyes), Black & White overlay

Time Machine Filter

 Color Boost Filter with Black & White on top

Color Boost effect on Bowtie

Eye Brightener, Faded Black & White Overlay 

Eye Brightener

 Eye Brightener & Intrepid Overlay

Now I just need to narrow these down to my favorites. I usually order prints at Costco, but I think I'm going to use Mpix this time around. Any other suggestions for professional grade photo printing?

JJB's 35th Jamboree

Hubby's party was a smashing success. So much so that I hardly took any pictures and didn't even grab one of me with my sweetie. We were simply having too much fun celebrating with our family and dearest friends.

When it came to planning the party, I kept the "theme" to a minimal. I selected a navy & white color scheme and used personal touches like Hubby's monogram & the number 35.

Personalized cocktail napkins & guest towels in navy & white for the evening.


All the party printables I designed in picmonkey. I am in love with that site and all the wonderful resources they offer for FREE! I bit the bullet and upgraded to the primer membership for $36.00 and now have all of their fonts & graphics (along with stellar photo editing) at my disposal.





We had a self serve bar stocked with all the fixings needed for guests to start the night off right. Party goers sipped on margaritas, mojitos, vodka & gin tonics, and my favorite feature of the night the French-75. If you've never had one, you simply must indulge at your next soiree. They are delish!

Bartenders for the evening…Theo N & Thea L.

When it came to the 20+ kids, they enjoyed their own bar featuring pictures of Hubby as a child.





For hors d'oeuvres we served all of Hubby's favorites: YiaYia Terry's famous tiropita (cheese pies wrapped in filo), shrimp cocktail, an overflowing antipasti tray, cheese plate, homemade guacamole (thanks Theo N & Thea L), and crab stuffed mushrooms. I have a serious problem with judging food…I always fear that we will run out and pretty much prep 2x what is needed. As a result, we could have moved directly to cake after appetizers.

For dinner we offered our guests the chance to concoct their own gourmet burger. Guested chose from 9 different sauces, three types of buns, 4 different cheeses, and topping including sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions, bacon, jalapenos, banana peppers, roasted red peppers, lettuce & tomatoes.

YiaYia made a pine nut & goat cheese pasta salad and a broccoli salad which we served alongside the burgers. The burger bar was a home run! My mouth is still watering for another brie, garlic aioli, sauteed mushroom & caramelized onion burger on a pretzel roll!


Thankfully we had a beautiful day so the kids burned off  their energy while the adults dined al fresco & enjoyed selections from the cigar bar.

Eventually we made way to the dessert buffet & sang "Happy Birthday" to Hubby. Our favorite bakery was closed for vacation so Hubby's resigned to blowing the candles out on a Costco cake…still quite yummy. The littlest guests were tickled pink to enjoy a full stocked ice-cream sundae & float station.







My sweet besties H & B helped me clean up the kitchen before we parked ourselves in the living room. Eventually each of our Hubbies, along with Hubby's cousin & his doll of a girlfriend, joined us and we
spent the rest of the night talking & laughing.



While the adults chatted the night away, the kiddies enjoyed having a "late over" in the basement. We finally called it quits at 1:20 am.

I would say it was a wonderful way to usher in Hubby's 35th year!