5.4.3.2.1. Blast off! A 5th birthday party

hello hello~  we have been pretty busy around this casa over the past few weeks.  The boy turned 5 and  we had a party just the 3 of us. Then a few days later a bunch of family and friends came to celebrate this little man.  We also found out that he was accepted into a program that he was on a waiting list for earlier this year. We had to juggle some school things around and are getting into a somewhat of a routine.  We love planning his birthday every year and this year he had plenty of his own input which made it even better.

The theme this year was ROCKET!  The Mr. designed and block printed the invites and made the 3 of us some pretty sweet shirts too.  We wanted a retro rocket theme.  We had originally planned on a Man in the Moon theme like from "Trip to the Moon," but after talking it over, we decided on a comic-y look.  I punched out several stars and sewed a little garland and draped them all over the treat table.

I bought some starry lights and they didn't really do what I wanted them to do based on the placement of light sockets and tape not holding the wires, but that is okay.  I am sure I will find another use for them.

We found all kinds of different candy and treats and I came up with some names and the Mr. made signs.  I found this great vintage set of cardboard standups with spacey things like rockets and aliens.

The lemon cupcakes had sprinkles shaped like stars. The cake pops did too!  I loved how the stars looked on the outside of the dark blue cake pop coating.

We had sixlets, pretzel sticks dipped and sprinkled, Milky Ways, rock candy on sticks, flying saucers (a really strange candy!) and cake pops.

The Mr chalked this giant comic book cover of the little man riding in his rocket

The rocket was the little man's and the Mr's project.  They went to Home Depot and found all kinds of stuff to repurpose and create this rocket.

They added a small fan to "fan the flames."

We had other food besides the cavity makers... really yummy tiny tacos, but we forgot to take a photo.  I made some limeade and some raspberry lemonade for punches.

I made some confetti out of tissue paper and put it in some clear balloons. It was much more exciting the next morning when we had to pop them. Confetti everywhere!!  Or, more confetti everywhere!

I found a company on etsy that makes these great wooden puzzles and they had rockets!  The treat bags had that and a space crayon and a Milky Way bar.

We had a blast!!  This may be the last birthday party in this house.  I sort of joked with the Mr that we should take into account decorating for birthdays when we are house hunting.  But, really, I was being serious.

More soon.... I have been busy knitting scarves for my December project!!

In the middle

Let me be the first to tell you, in case there was any doubt: opening and decorating a shoppe is much more fun than closing down two studios and moving everything.  That has been our life for the past few weeks.  We have everything out now and we are in full on party mode for baby hughes' 5th birthday.  The boy wanted rockets, so we are giving him rockets.  Not live ones, mind you.  That would be a disaster.  In the midst of all this, the Mr. has been super busy (which we are grateful!) He went to Chicago last week to chalk a booth at the BlogHer conference.  

We are giving ourselves at least until after the birthday party to really tackle what we need to get the house ready and on the market.  We are torn on putting it on the market this fall/ winter or waiting until spring.  I think the earlier, the better, but then I also don't want the house on the market over the holidays.  So, we will see.  I am just ready to start packing!  But, I also know that this move is much bigger than the ones I made in my single days.

The middle stages are always the hardest for me.  There is a momentum of an end and an excitement of new beginnings, but the middle is just kind of ehhh when it is longer than a few days or weeks or doesn't even have a determined amount of time.  I know it will all happen in time and to enjoy all the parts.  But, patience isn't one of my strong points.

It looks like there is a good chance that we will be moving to the Tri-Cities area if we stay in Tennessee, which we would like.  We still want to make another in depth trip there this fall and really look this time to see if it fits the bill.

Saying goodbye to our little space on Hardin Alley was hard, even as much as I like change.  I loved having my little shoppe there.  And, I know that it most likely won't be the only shoppe I have over the years, I will still have great memories of my time there.  And, I am excited to come back to visit.  Our friend that we met through the shoppe when she came to buy furniture for her sweet daughter is opening up a bakery there in the next little bit.  If you are local, you need to check out Delectable Art Bakery in Spring Hill.  I was so happy that someone I know is going to love the space as much as I did.

Okay, I think it is time to start cutting out several hundred stars!  I love party time!

Ding-Ding. I.Am.A.Robot~ A 4th Birthday

Hello there!  It has been a few weeks since the party, but Mr. Hughes has been so very blessedly busy that he hasn't been able to edit the photos from the party, so I stole the camera and did what little I can do.  We had a more low key year than the years before... we decided to have it on a Sunday and we had almost all our very favorite people with us to celebrate our little guy.

Originally, back when we started planning birthday number 4 (ahem... shortly after his 3rd birthday... hey, we like to party!) we thought we would have a superhero inspired party.  I pinned away superhero themes and dinosaur themes too.  Then, one day the Mr. came home with this 4 and it looked very robot-y to it.  We gave the boy the choice and I didn't even get out the whole word and he yelled... ROBOTS!!!  So, there you go.

Meet Bink the Robot.  baby hughes was a little disappointed that he didn't move or talk, but, I think the Mr. did a great job on him.

The Mr. brought these home last year... why I don't know.  But, they ended up being perfect for the party entrance.

A few hours before the party, Mr Hughes got a wild hair to chalk some boards with a bunch of different robots.

I totally forgot to take photos of the cute robot lollipops and little windup robots before I tied up the bags, but they are there.

The tissue decorations reminded me of gears and I love tissue decor... it is so festive!

baby hughes requested cake pops, cupcakes and cookies this year (he actually asked for a robot cake too, but I decided that is where I would stop.)  This was my first time making cake pops and they were yummy, but very sweet.

I found a cool gear shaped cookie cutter and used a little round one I had to cut out the center.  I rounded up some industrial trays that I got long ago to use for the food.... and there was food besides the sweets... not sure what happened to the photos of it.

The cupcakes were golden with salted caramel icing.  Mr. Hughes drew some fun robots and printed for me to make some cupcake toppers.

The Mr. used his extraordinary chalking skills to draw a robot as a backdrop.  

We had a few Rock 'em Sock 'em sets so everyone could play.  We have since used them to settle debates.

One of the last minute ideas the Mr had was to turn our metal set of drawers into a makeshift robot.  He gutted the vintage tv tube that didn't work and replaced it with a newer one that did and added a DVD player to play movies.  He did that with another thought in mind and just happened to place it on the set of drawers and voila... Robot!  He went and bought some arms and we played videos and photos sequences of baby hughes

Well, that was year 4. If you want to see previous years, check out 1, 2, and 3.  We obviously love having these parties and this year was fun since the little man had quite a few opinions regarding colors and what he would like and who to invite.  I hope he lets us do these for many years to come.

be back soon.  Things have been super, duper busy around these parts and I haven't been able to sit down and blog as much.  And I miss it!

bye for now~

It's that time of year again....

Yep.  It is about that time when the Mr. and I lose our minds and devote our energies into having a fun bash for baby hughes.  He is going to be 4.  The time truly flies.  This year we are going with a robot theme.  

For a long while, he has put a box on his head and said... ding-ding, I am a robot.  Something he came up with entirely on his own.  So, the Mr. designed a simple robot stamp and insert and baby hughes and I decided on the colors.  He has since told me that yellow is his favorite, not orange.  Oh well!  Maybe orange will be his favorite again in a few weeks.

He has also decided that he wants cookies, cupcakes, cake pops, and a BIG cake.  I am so glad we got a new oven to handle all this baking that is expected of me *wink*  This is has been fun planning since he is in on it.  He has told me things he wants and we have looked at ideas together.  The little "4" on the balloon is actually one that we were selling in the shoppe and he found and brought it to the desk and said he wanted it for his party *so proud*

Well, back to planning!  Have a lovely week!!

bye for now!

Meet Hazel

Hello there.  We did something a little crazy this week... not really crazy.  Just a little.  You see, I have been wanting something for awhile... not a Vespa, but I want one of those too.  Nope, I have been wanting a little camper.  Not that I camp.  I like the outdoors and we are outside quite a bit, I just like to sleep in my bed, with my pillows.  I just want one to decorate and possibly have a mobile Vintage Junky booth.  Wellll, Mr. Hughes found an a great little camper on craigslist and now....

.....Meet Hazel!

She was born in 1963 and has been all over the Southeast.

Check out her sweet colors!!

Ignore the little hyena that was so enamored that he threw a fit when Mr. Hughes left to park her at a friend's house.  We can't have her in our subdivision... I know some of you are thankful for subdivision rules because of neighbors like us!

She sleeps 2... we will remove the mattress and just turn this area into a bench seating area.

And here is the little dining area..... the table fell down on the trip over... you can also sleep here too.

There is no stove or potty or sink.

So... what do we have planned for Sweet Hazel?  We are thinking that when she isn't on official Vintage Junky business we will rent her out for photo shoots and birthday parties and such.  We have big plans for this lady.  But, first, as fine as she is, she will need a little spiffing up... so here are a few inspiration photos from my board on pinterest

She will have a bunting, of course!

This is what we have planned for her most of the time... a little booth on the go.

Love this!  Maybe we will take out the table top and add a fun little table.

I love the color combo here!!!  I think we will use yellow with the awesome aqua that she already has. In fact, I have some yellow fabric to make some itty bitty curtains.

I love her!!  I can't wait to put our own stamp on her... a little less retro... a little more us.

If you guys have any inspiration for Hazel's makeover, please send it on!  There are some great photos on pinterest.  We want to have her all spiffed and ready to go by August for baby hughes' birthday... his 3rd.  It is a train theme and he seriously thinks Hazel is his "caboose!"  I only have one regret... that Mr. Hughes sold our Jeep Wagoneer... Gabe would look great with little Hazel following behind.. oh how I miss Gabe *tear*

Well, that is all for today... I will be back tomorrow for a very special Friday Etsy Favorites... lets fix Hazel up etsy style!

bye for now!