galentine's fun

We had a lovely weekend celebrating love with our family and friends. On Saturday, Elia and I hosted a little "galentine's" play date. A group of my mom friends and their kids came over in the morning and we drank mimosas, made some Valentine crafts, and enjoyed more than our share of sweet treats (thank you to Jennie, Maddie, Sarah, Parker, and Anya for bringing the delicious and adorable cookies and cupcakes!).

Elia loved having her little friends over to play and she especially enjoyed sneaking doughnut holes while I wasn't looking.

spooky fun

I decided a while back that I wanted to make a big deal out of holidays for my kids. It's fun to do and holiday themes are a nice way to pepper the day to day with something to get excited about. Elia couldn't have been more excited about Halloween and Wells just thought it had something to do with playing peekaBOO all day long so he was pleased.

Our parents came over to go to a trunk or treat with us then hang out while we passed out candy to trick-or-treaters. Elia was so pumped about her party and practiced trick-or-treating for a week ahead of it. She kept asking when the trick-or-treaters were going to come to her house. Soon enough, Guapa, soon enough.

porch party

This week I attended a Porch Party Workshop hosted by 6.25 Paper Studio, Art of the Table, and Aperitivo at 6.25's storefront downtown. When I signed up for the event I wasn't sure what to expect but they mentioned party decor and summer cocktails and that sounded just grand to me. My mom attended as well and we had the best time.

We were greeted by a darling tablescape, complete with personalized straws and pinwheels. The decor was so playful and inviting.

The workshop began with a presentation by Amy Ruis, owner of Art of the Table, a local staple for gourmet food gifts, wine, and kitchen decor. She also owns Aperitivo, a wine and cheese bar in the Downtown Market, a favorite of ours. 

Amy taught us all about cheeses and accompaniments, giving us great suggestions for entertaining, as well as a few great cocktail recipes.

6.25 took over from there, leading us through our first activity of the night, painting a chalkboard cheeseboard. We painted our boards, had some snacks, and then spent time creating our own paper decor as we enjoyed Amy's libations.

All of the hosts were fabulous and the mood of the evening was so fun and light, and I really enjoyed tapping into my creative side. We left with great ideas for summer parties and I'm looking forward to future events like these at 6.25 Paper Studio. 

For great summer cocktail recipes and porch party ideas, check out the book they recommended: Porch Parties: Cocktail Recipes and Easy Ideas for Outdoor Entertaining.