Overboard? I think not.

I'm hardly known for going overboard on anything, right? I never start painting a room and end up remodeling a whole house, right? And I hardly ever buy 8 longalls and 12 pairs of pajamas for Evans in one day, right? (ok ok, I was watching MTV's The City the other day and it drives me NUTS that that girl Whitney answers everything with "I know, right"? I think she is haunting me). So, why should I go overboard on Evans' first birthday party? Wouldn't it be just my style to have a quiet family gathering? Wrong. While my intentions were mild, this first birthday party has turned into a bit of a circus. I'm just hoping to pull it off and avoid the rain.

I want to share a few of the details because I know that once the party happens, I'll never go back and actually write about them. Currently my mom's dining room is the staging area for all my "accoutrements" and I am positive she doesn't mind at all (I didn't even hear her gasp all the way down the hall when she got back from the dentist this morning when she saw all all the stuff). I feel like I have been collecting the perfect things for ages! Yesterday morning I picked up our party favor cookies that a friend of mine from high school made for us. I could not have been more excited because they turned out perfectly. Mabry's Preppy Confections can be found on Facebook and I can attest to how awesome her cookies are. She even put them in the cellophane bags for me (she would have done the ribbon too except that I had already picked some out I liked).They really turned out great and I can't wait for another occasion to be able to order more! I'm sure all our guest will really enjoy the favors! Who wouldn't?

Originally a friend of mine was going to make cupcakes and a cake with the giraffe theme. It's so hard to find good cake people in Atlanta if you want to spend less than one arm and one leg for their services. And I can sort of understand why now. I decided that I would make my own cupcakes (yes, I am at least capable of this) but that I would also make a fondant giraffe cupcake topper. I found a blog with instructions and the woman who wrote it insisted that her 4 year old daughter made these by herself. I must not be as talented as that 4 year old. First of all I went to Michaels to buy the supplies to make these and that alone cost me $40. Then the real hassle started. I had to dye to fondant yellow so they would at least look REALISTIC and it took me about 8 years to figure out the best way to actually mix the food coloring into the fondant. Those yellow stains on my mom's nice granite cutting board did NOT come from me I swear. HOURS later, with a cramped hand, I finished my cupcake toppers. There are so many of them that I could probably make 3948 cupcakes. However, I think they did turn out very cute. Just don't eat them, they taste like crap.Yes, the giraffes are smiling. I see nothing odd about that.

The rest of my stuff is strewn around all over the place but here are a couple more pictures of what I have in store. Everything will look better once it is set up AND of course, I don't want to give ALL my secrets away. I'm certain our guests are eagerly checking my blog in hopes of finding out what is in store for them! ha.

Don't worry, it might appear that those are all non-alcoholic drinks but the booze is in the garage. :) That's all for now!